BBC’s ‘Fleabag’ and the Inescapable Awkward Family
Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag forces viewers to sit down at the dinner table with "the family", which is a game of conversational hot potato -- and nobody wants the f*cking potato.
bbc
Mix ‘The Daily Mash’ with ‘The Daily Show’ and You’ve Got ‘The Mash Report’
BBC Two's The Mash Report is funny, and we really need funny these days.
Bridging the Ontological Gap: The Appeal to Emotion in the BBC’s ‘Blue Planet II’
To get people to care about the planet they must feel a connection to it. In this, the BBC Blue Planet series succeeds.
‘Fanfiction and the Author’ Gives Well-Blended Discourse for Maximum Fan Enjoyment
Scholar Judith May Fathallah's work blurs lines between author and ethnographer, fan experiences and genre TV storytelling.
Inane Political Discourse, or, Alan Partridge’s Parody Politics
That the political class now finds itself relegated to accidental Alan Partridge territory along the with rest of the twits and twats that comprise English popular culture is meaningful, to say the least.
‘Thirteen’ Forces You to Confront Your Own Lazy Habits of Thought
Marnie Dickens' BBC mini-series, Thirteen, forgoes simple solutions and easy payoffs in favor of ambiguity and complexity.
Mogwai Explores the Nuclear Age’s Benefits and Disasters on ‘Atomic’
Mogwai finds ways to balance their music to their political stance -- complete nuclear disarmament of all countries in possession of weapons of mass destruction -- with a strong emphasis of dynamics to match the themes of annihilation, despair, and hope, albeit bleak.
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: Pond Scum
To have Johnny Cash perform any song of yours early in your career indicates a pinnacle moment paramount to reaching Mt. Everest or being the first musician in space.
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Time-bending Gothic Murder Mystery
Although some may emphasize the “abominable” in the controversial Sherlock special, “The Abominable Bride”, the marriage of the Victorian and the modern is a match made in heaven.
If We Lose BBC Three, Will We Lose Our Sense of Humor, Too?
With the apparently inevitable closure of BBC Three, comedy lovers will mourn the loss of an important television ally. Will the Internet save it?
‘The Crimson Field’ Addresses War and the Changing Roles of Women
The Crimson Field may not completely enthrall but it is consistently interesting. For a show without grand ambition, you can say much worse.