Every now and then, I get the proverbial swarm flying around my headgear as people announce, predict, or incarnate the end of television. This generally takes the form of remarks such as ‘My children don’t watch television,’ ‘Nobody I know does it,’ or ‘Kids today aren’t interested.’ From music to politics, television’s day is supposedly over. This isn’t only true of everyday talk, of course.
Why the parentheses? Well, the established argument is that television’s very domesticity and ‘ordinariness’ militates against any capacity to produce ‘stars’ in the sense that cinema is traditionally perceived to have done.
As a TV scholar and a science fiction fan, I enjoyed watching An Adventure in Space and Time , a drama documentary about the early years of Doctor Who when it was broadcast in November of last year as part of the series’ fiftieth anniversary celebrations.
Popular music’s relationship with TV is an uneasy one. Pop on TV, particularly in the age of talent shows like *Pop Idol *and The X Factor , lacks credibility. So why has the global megastar Prince, arguably the most enduring and respected popular music stars of his generation, chosen to embrace the small screen?
Since October 2012 New Scotland Yard’s future has become increasingly uncertain. Following government cuts it was announced that the iconic 20-storey stainless steel office block could be sold in an attempt to save £500m annually. Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Craig Mackey has planned to move the headquarters to a nearby location in Cannon Row that houses approximately 31,200 less staff.
On 1 January 2014, Greece assumed the rotating presidency of the EU Council. Although it is the fifth time for the county to be in charge of the European Union, holding the presidency comes at a crucial point, a critical transitional juncture for Europe.
It may seem odd to suggest that the second series Bron/Broen (*The Bridge 2011-) *had a purity of narrative line. This was after all a series that began with a crewless tanker with its hidden plague-ridden cargo drifting into the bridge and ended with a disrupted European summit and the death of a high-security prisoner.
Benefits Britain: The live debate was broadcast this week. Reality television meets explosive talk show as Channel 4 use Question Time producers Mentorn to capture the reaction to their ratings hit Benefit Street . It was perfectly timed, live, at the end of the series.
On 1 January 2014, Greece assumed the rotating presidency of the EU Council. Although it is the fifth time for the county to be in charge of the European Union, holding the presidency comes at a crucial point, a critical transitional juncture for Europe.
The key won’t quite turn in the front door, my hand unsteady in its intoxicated disenchantment. My loose change has already fallen from my pocket, splashing gold and silver into the rusty wide-open drain. I fall in, switch on the fluro lights, and crash on my sofa, grasping the TV remote as I do. The smell of beer, kebab, and stale perfume rises off my wasted body;
One of the most common questions I get asked when I am at a conference abroad is what television is like in my own country. As a researcher mainly interested in British and American television, people ask me if Spanish TV is of the same quality as English-speaking productions.