Top Telly: The Puppet Master/ The Tinder Swindler

A couple of gripping and well- made documentaries about conmen who, far from being charming rogues, are really nasty pieces of work. And, in at least one case, dangerously psychotic.  What’s worse is that these creepy-crawlies are still on the lam. You can check both out on Netflix, if you’re that way inclined.

A Drink With Shane MacGowan

A Drink with Shane MacGowan was a new form of chat show hosted by the notorious Pogues frontman, and commissioned in the 1990s by Channel 4 arts supremo Waldemar Januszczak. However, they never broadcast this anarchic debut featuring live music, lively discussion between actors, writers, and musicians, pizza, and a fair few drinks… Featuring in

‘Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads’ – Theme

‘Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads’ – Theme

THIS/THAT/ & THE OTHER: OCTOBER 2021

And so it came to pass … I’ve pretty much given up proper blogging: reviews, interviews, etc. Mainly because I find it quite hard work, and I’m more than somewhat idle. I recently started a Substack site, mainly to repost flash fiction, but I lost interest soon enough. So, I thought I’d try to post

FIVE CRIME FICTION FAVOURITES FROM 2017.

From my decidedly faulty memory, I’ve picked 5 crime fiction books, films and TV shows that I enjoyed in 2017. There were others, of course, and plenty of pleasures outside the genre too – The Love Witch, Guardians Of The Galaxy 2, and Damnation, for example. Anyway, here you go: FILM DOG EAT DOG I

A Song For Saturday: Benson Theme

A Film For Friday: Mr H is Late

Failing Better: Brit Grit Comedy

“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot. To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it!” – Charlie Chaplin “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.’” – Samuel Becket. As Chaplin showed, there has always been a dark aspect to

Stone Me, What A Life! – Tony Hancock

They say that all small boys are influenced by their big brother’s music collection, and while that may well be true of me, I was also influenced by my family’s taste in other forms of entertainment.  Luckily I grew up in a time when television and radio weren’t as youth focused as they are now

A Film For Friday: Nuts In May

Top Telly 2016

Like 2015, 2016 was another great year for telly. I watched a lot of good TV this year, most of it American and mostly crime fiction. Second seasons can be problematic, as True Detective showed, but Fargo’s second season was even better than the first – cinematic, sharp dialogue, great music and top turns from

Grace Of My Heart by Allison Anders.

  One of the things I did during my brief jaunt to The Big Apple in 2001 was to walk from Times Square- where I was staying – and down Broadway to place my hand on the Brill Building. And I did. It was a hot summers day and I burnt my hand. It’s a

I’m On The TV

“Noir is closer to Laurel and Hardy than it is to Agatha Christie” At the recent Alibi noir festival in Slovenia. Here’s me on RTV 4′s arts programme, Glasnik, talking about noir to journalist Petra Skok. With Renato Bratkovič, Neven Skgratic, Eddie Vega, Andrej Predin and the impression of Richard Godwin. More about the festival soooon … http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/glasnik-oddaja-tv-maribor/174362622

Top Telly: Brit Grit On The Box

It was announced a while ago that Acorn Media, who are the main distributor of British TV programming to North American consumers, had acquired a 64% stake in Agatha Christie Limited. This means that those delicate folk across the pond will have hours of Miss Marple and Poirot to nibble on while they wait for BBC’s latest incarnation of Sherlock or the Inspector Morse prequel, Endeavour. In comparison