Probably the most successful attempt at bringing Shakespeare to the small screen in recent years was The Hollow Crown, if only because they took some of the history plays (no-one reads the history plays, not even English students, even if they’re studying them) and made popular films out of them. Part of that has to be down to the decision to film them not as plays, or in any way stagey, but instead to film them as straight period dramas. It’s something the BBC excels at, and allows what might be unfamiliar stories to take prominence, rather than any dramatic techniques.
by Helen Langdon
Probably the most successful attempt at bringing Shakespeare to the small screen in recent years was The Hollow Crown, if only because they took some of the history plays (no-one reads the history plays, not even English students, even if they’re studying them) and made popular films out of them. Part of that has to be down to the decision to film them not as plays, or in any way stagey, but instead to film them as straight period dramas. It’s something the BBC excels at, and allows what might be unfamiliar stories to take prominence, rather than any dramatic techniques. by Cookie N Screen Big Train is perhaps one of the funniest sketch shows of the early noughties. Created by Graham Lineham and Arthur Matthews, it was a wonderful and fast paced show with far out humour. With some brilliant sketches that are hilarious each time, it boasts a wicked cast of now much beloved comedy actors. Simon Pegg, Mark Heap, Catherine Tate and many more graced our tellies to give us some rib ticking moments like “The Stare Contest Commentators,” “I Don’t Speak English” and “Jesus and the Devil Office Politics.” While the second series wasn't quite as memorable, the first one was a riot with hilarity in nearly every sketch. If you haven’t watched Big Train, I urge you to stop what you are doing, order the DVD and be thankful that we introduced you to it. by Leah Stone Last week left us with a plot twist that would make many an avid watcher of the series extremely angry. This plot twist? Agent May seems to be in on some secret plan with someone, having set up an unapproved phone line connected to someone not revealed to us. Is she under Director Fury’s command, or worse, under the control of the Clairvoyant? This week didn’t exactly clear things up on that front. by Helen Langdon What time is it? Well, as of Monday, it’s Adventure Time again! Season Six is now underway, which means it’s the perfect time to tell you all about one of the hottest cartoons currently on air. by Robbie Jones I was all ready for Game of Thrones last night. I sat down, put my feet up, was about to press play, but then I got a text from the writers of the show. They said to me “Hey Robbie, you know your favourite character that you keep trying to defend? Yeah, we’re gonna make that a lot harder tonight. Lol soz” It was an odd text. What on Earth could they possibly mean? .....Oh. That’s what they meant. by Helen Langdon Someone once said there are only a certain amount of stories in the world. At their most basic, stories can be reduced to one of eight basic structures. It’s the set dressing you place around those structures that make for original stories. But here’s the thing – sometimes those trappings get weirdly specific. Like the trope in TV of finding out that characters have been dead all along. Not shows like Reaper or Pushing Daisies, where the line is never blurred. Instead, these shows feel like the writers saw The Sixth Sense before planning out their plots. by Graham Osborne Fargo is following in the recent trend of adapting a story from another medium to the TV screen. Such notable mentions include Game of Thrones, Hannibal and Bates Motel. Set in the same area as the Coen Brother’s original 1996 film, it begins with the same claim of events happening in 2006 and at the request of the survivors the names have been changed, but the rest of the story has been left untouched out of respect for the deceased. by Cookie N Screen I am going to introduce this week’s review on a personal note which I had originally spoken about before. I am a massive fan of the Thomas Harris book series and this year would mark about ten years of being (crazily) obsessed with Hannibal Lecter, his stories and his films (bar the one that shall not be named.) So one of the reasons I admire the Hannibal television series is because Bryan Fuller and his team have adapted it in the most brilliant way. Changing it to our era, but still combing through the original canon to upturn some gems for Hannibal fans. Now is the turn for the delightful (note: sarcasm) sibling duo of Mason and Margo Verger in this week’s Su-Zakana. And just their presence has shown some exciting premise for the television series. by Cookie 'n' Screen It is back. Thank the lords, praise the gods and kiss your family. Throw your hands up into the air and scream “hell, expletive, yeah!” Because THE best show to come from Netflix and possible one of the greatest new television series of the last year is one its way back to us. Orange Is The New Black is Orange Is The New Back! Yes, this all may seem like the ramblings of a crazy person, but who cares? You should all be rambling like a crazy woman because Pipers Prison Problems are on their way back into our lives. by Julia Lawson The Wicked Witch has Storybrooke right where she wants it – at the centre of her big green plot. Yet also slap bang in the centre of the plot for this episode is Captain Hook and his band of pirates. What happened in the missing year? What has Hook neglected to share with the class? There be a storm on the horizon Mr Smee… |
TV Editor: Graham Osborne
TVReviews on the best TV has to offer, as well as retrospective looks at the shows of yesteryear we miss so much. Email: [email protected]
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