True Love. “Nick”, Television Review. B.B.C. Television.

Originally published on L.S. Media. June 18th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

Cast: David Tennant, Joanne Froggatt, Vicky McClure, Lacey Turner, Luke Bryant, Jo Woodcock, Peter McNeil O’ Connor.

It may be the thought of Sky Arts encroaching into old familiar B.B.C. territory with their half hour series of plays that forced the channel to follow suit and commission Dominic Savage to write five stand-alone plays that break the boundaries of television drama production.  Whatever the reason, Dominic Savage came up with the goods in the first of these to be televised over the next few nights and in Joanne Froggatt, David Tennant and Vicky McClure they hit quality drama gold.

True Love. “Nick”, Television Review. B.B.C. Television. full post

(480 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

The Man. Television Review. Sky Arts.

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 9th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

Cast: Stephen Fry, Zoe Wanamaker, Stellan Starsgard, Hayley Atwell, Tony Cosh.

The second play written for the Sky Arts series of plays by Sandi Toksvig, the engaging The Man was quite possibly one of the strangest that the series had produced so far and yet also one of the most compelling for viewers to get their thoughts around.

The Man. Television Review. Sky Arts. full post

(419 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

The Secret History Of Our Streets, Television Review. B.B.C.2.

Originally published on L.S. Media.

L.S Media Rating * * * *

At the time of Charles Booth, London was the biggest and most populated city the world had ever seen. An ever changing metropolis that Charles Booth mapped with great care and dedication on how each street fared in its social standing, position, the type of people who lived there and needs.

The Secret History Of Our Streets, Television Review. B.B.C.2. full post

(426 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Walking The Dogs. Sky Arts. Television Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 2nd 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * *

Cast: Eddie Marsan, Emma Thompson, Russell Tovey, Bryony Afferton.

The latest in the Sky Arts Playhouse Presents series, Walking The Dogs, tackles the very real life moment when in 1982 Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace.  This event caused a sensation, resulting in a media fury as it was revealed he had gained entry to the Queen’s bedroom and chatted with her about a variety of subjects.

Walking The Dogs. Sky Arts. Television Review. full post

(398 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Care. Television Review. Sky Arts.

Originally published by L.S. Media. May 20th 2012.L.S. Media Rating ***

Cast: Gina McKee, Aimee Kelly, Margaret Jackman, Kevin Watham.

The latest in the series of one-off plays shown by the Sky Arts channel dealt with the bleak and socially topical subject of care within the community.

Titled Care, the half hour drama starred Gina McKee as a district nurse charged with looking after Elsie, a long term diabetic, in the long-neglected and infamous Byker Estate in Newcastle. Like other productions within this series, it dealt very heavily with the idea of what goes on in the mind, although in this particular case it was how the mind could be seen to deal when something inside finally snaps.

Care. Television Review. Sky Arts. full post

(480 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

The King And The Playwright: A Jacobean History. Television Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. May 11th 2012

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

It was a time of turmoil, political instability, plots, attempted assassinations, plague and unheard of unions and William Shakespeare was there to capture it all.

American Scholar James Shapiro’s insightful look at the decade between King James III coming to the English throne after the death of the much loved Queen Elizabeth, and William Shakespeare finally retiring to his beloved Stratford-Upon- Avon, was captured over the course of three programmes titled The King and The Playwright.

The King And The Playwright: A Jacobean History. Television Review. full post

(382 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

The King Of The Teds. Television Review. Sky Arts.

Originally published by L.S. Media. May 6th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

Cast: Tom Jones, Alison Steadman, Brenda Blethyn.

Whoever thought of putting Sir Tom Jones in one of Sky Arts Playhouse Presents plays needs to be taken outside the old B.B.C. building and be told, “They would have loved you here in the heyday of drama production.”

The King Of The Teds. Television Review. Sky Arts. full post

(443 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Nixon’s The One. Televsion Review, Sky Arts.

Originally published by L.S. Media. April 30th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

Cast: Harry Shearer, Demetri Goritsas, Jeff Mash, Corey Johnson.

American politics is littered with moments at the Oval Office being governed and run by those that are easily lampooned, satirised and generally ill thought after their death. Perhaps in modern times none so more than Richard Millhouse Nixon, he even beats Presidents Reagan and Bush in terms of those that want to try to understand how he ticked, none so more than American comedian and professional Nixon impersonator Harry Shearer.

Nixon’s The One. Televsion Review, Sky Arts. full post

(519 words, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

The Minor Character. Television Review. Sky Arts.

Originally published by L.S. Media. April 15th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * * *

Cast: David Tennant, Lucy Cohu, Mark Bonnar, Sara Stewart, Richard McCabe, Saskia Reeves, Richard Lintern, Darrell D’ Silva.

Will Self’s half hour play The Minor Character kicked off a new season of performances for the Sky Arts channel and on the basis of the first offering, home grown drama still has a place for all. Invoking memories of the much loved B.B.C’s Play for the Day, Will Self penned a play that is both enjoyable, slightly psychologically disturbing and one that needs to be watched more than once just to catch every nuance of David Tennant’s sparkling delivery and interaction with the rest of this perfect cast.

The Minor Character. Television Review. Sky Arts. full post

(471 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Titanic. Episode Three. Television Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. April 8th 2012.

L.S Media Rating * * *

Cast: Stephen Campbell-Moore, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Celia Imrie, Toby Jones, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Lyndsey Marshal, Stephen Waddington, Sophie Winkleman, James Wilby, Lee Ross, Linus Roache, Geraldine Somerville, Dragos Bucar.

With the final episode of Titanic looming and drawing ever closer to the fateful moment where the death knells of the “unsinkable” ship will forever be remembered, the third episode looks primarily at three of the couples thrown together on board and shows the some of the back story that led them to the moment when the Titanic began to sink.

Titanic. Episode Three. Television Review. full post

(468 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)