Fazzinchi

Zzzzzzzzz

Well, here it is. Big Brother The Eighth has hit our screens, not with a bang but a whimper. Immediately before the live launch show a solemn voice read out the statement from Ofcom to tell us what a right pig’s ear that Channel 4 made of the Shilpa v Jade racism row in the celeb version earlier this year. However, as soon as over-enthusiastic host, Davina McCall, was up on stage outside the house in front of a couple of hundred, wailing rent-a-crowd employees it was like nothing had changed. Production values were in desperate need of, (more…)

Frost and Pegg Relaxing

I decided to give the latest talking heads/ list show a whirl the other week when I recorded Channel 4’s Perfect Night In, after I had found out that it would be hosted by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg.  The whole series was only a short run of three Sunday nights and, given the fact that the other presenters were the omni-present Lucas and Walliams (who preceeded this one) and Lenny Henry who followed, I think I chose wisely.  It got off to a nervous start as the pair seemed (more…)

Reality Bites

Ok, I am a self-professed fan of the show/format and I watched the launch show but after that, the Other Viewer and I decided not to bother watching any more Celebrity Big Brother because it looked like it was going to be a little dull.  Now look… viewing figures going into orbit, Carphone Warehouse pulling out of its sponsorship, Debates in parliament, and 27,000 complaints to Offcom.  It’s time to go back to Big Brother.  Other people (like TV Scoop) are posting sensible and (more…)

What Is Susan So Upset About?

Amongst the positive deluge of new and returning shows is season three of Desperate Housewives, picking up the story six months after it left off but staying in exactly the same state of mind.  Channel 4 showed back-to-back episodes “Listen To The Rain On The Roof” and “It Takes Two” by way of launching the series.  By all accounts it was this or Lost that they could afford to keep, not both, and I think they probably made the right choice because this is much more their style than (more…)

Statham and Joanna Going Down In Flames

The makers of Green Wing, much like The Office before it, seem to have decided to call it a day after two series and a one-off special and I, among many others, are going to miss it like mad. The 90-minute finale essentially had two main and entirely unrelated stories bringing themselves to their conclusions, interspresed with typical surrealism from Sue White and also the girls in HR. The funniest moments came from Statham and Joanna as they were on the run following their (more…)

Friday Night’s Alright For Watching

Channel 4 have managed to secure the rights to one the current “big” shows from over the Pond.  Ugly Betty is the much vaunted love child of programmes such as Sex And The City and, more obviously, Desperate Housewives.  It’s not an out and out comedy (thankfully we are spared a laughter track) but it’s not anything approaching full-blooded drama either.  Like those other shows, it manages to find its own niche and somehow satisfy both sets of viewers.  The delightfully (more…)