He said Captain, I said what

Spectrum is Green

Following the debacle of last year’s Thunderbirds movie there must have been concerns over the resurrection of Gerry Anderson’s Captain Scarlet. At first glance it appears that these fears were unfounded.

While the original was a cool idea, the limitations of the puppetry format and some rather stiff upper lip playing by the voice artistes always left the show seeming rather stilted. That is not a criticism that can be levelled at this revisionist incarnation.

The CGI, or as Mr. Anderson prefers, Hypermarination, looks superb and there is now a fluid all action feel to the show. Couple this with a pulsing score from Crispin Merrell and you have an exciting heady mix.

Grouchy thirtysomething kids like me may grizzle a bit over the changes from the original but overall I think it works well and kids should love it. I much preferred it when Destiny Angel had a sexy French accent but that’s a minor gripe.

The scheduling leaves a lot to be desired, embedded in the middle of the atrocious MUM. At present despite its separate listing in EPGs, it’s impossible to Sky+ it. This is sure to lose the show viewers and ITV bosses should have a serious think about moving it or at least scheduling a repeat. After the football results would seem a good spot to me.

The man who would be king

TV stations pulled out the stops when the announcement of Charles and Camilla came out.

Over on BBC One/BBC News 24, a stream of people including Anthony Howard kept saying how the whole country would be delighted by the news, a view barely challenged by the presenters.

Happily, over on Radio 5 Live, presenters are a snappier breed. When Howard tried the same assertion on a Victoria Derbyshire who had spent two hours dealing with calls and e-mails to the contrary, she gave him short shrift. If only the television people could show such spirit.

Both the BBC and ITV showed Charles and Camilla specials in prime time that were little if anything more than rehashed repeats of their Evening News bulletins. Daft really.

What we want is a candid interview with the Prince where he can answer many of the public’s genuine concerns over the union. It won’t happen though.

The Likely Lads

Noel Edmonds must look at Saturday Night Takeaway and weep since it really is remarkably similar to his House Party.

Harmless enough Saturday night entertainment but was the Gladiators sequence really necessary? The Wolfman is obviously not as pumped as he used to be and his man breasts looked positively saggy.

As the for this week’s Gotcha, oops sorry I mean Ant and Dec Undercover, featuring Joe Pasquale, I was left with a feeling of so what.

The Takeaway format is beginning to stale now and producers should look at introducing new elements (like Noel used to) to keep the show alive. They can’t rely on the Geordie charmers’ charisma alone if ratings are to remain high.

Top 100 lazy television executives

All of these top 100 and top 50 shows are breeding at a rate of knots. How long before we get the Top 50 of Top 100 shows?

Having said that, I had a jolly good wallow in four hours of Top 100 Greatest Videos this week. The joy of this, apart from arguing with your buddies over the actual placings, is the wave upon wave of nostalgia you feel when faced with those old tunes from the past.

My personal favourite, Fatboy Slim’s Weapon of Choice featuring an eye-popping performance from Christopher Walken only made No.37 but hey, there’s no accounting for taste.

Despite the long running time, the show was conducted at such a breakneck pace that there was little time for analysis. Occasionally though, an interesting piece emerged. Disturbingly the guy who directed Brittany Spears Baby One More Time video couldn’t seem to see that he’d made something that may have appealed to paedophiles. He wondered what dubious 55-year-old men were doing watching MTV anyway. Pleasuring themselves to your videos pal, that’s what.

Jimmy Carr, an intelligent comedian, hosted the whole thing. The problem is that instead of laughing at Jimmy’s gags, one tends to merely admire their cleverness with the result that there are more rye smiles than belly laughs. Ho-hum.

Yesterday’s World

Clever rather than funny would be good way to describe Look Around You. While it perfectly captures the feel of those early eighties factual shows, to the extent that you expect Chris Serle to come on at any minute, surely this is not enough.

Having the ghost of Tchaikovsky judge a song contest or having a disease which turns people into a pile of rocks may be surreal but it’s not especially amusing.

The Brits

Quite why they can’t broadcast this show live is beyond me. What is the point of showing an awards ceremony when the vast majority of the audience know the results before it’s screened?

There was a lack of controversy this year and as host, Chris Evans, it appears, has definitely lost his mojo. That skit with Billie Piper was probably the most cringeworthy moment of the TV year so far.

There were some bits worth watching, such as the Scissor Sisters performance with Muppet-like creatures. Other bits such as Robbie Williams’ performance with Joss Stone didn’t seem to work as well. Was it just me or did Rob seem like a dirty old man as he sidled up to Miss Stone?

I was always a big Boomtown Rats fan but a lifetime achievement award for Sir Bob? They’re having a laugh aren’t they? I like Bob’s music but he’s hardly made a big splash musically since the Rats split up.

Highlight of the show was the look on Robbie’s face when Evans announced that Gary and Howard from Take That were taking to the stage. Classic. Funny as the Little Britain guys were, you have to wonder how much fun it would have been had the real Take That guys appeared.

and finally…

Stan Richards 1930 - 2005

Sad to hear of the death of Stan Richards who played Emmerdale’s Seth Armstrong for a quarter of a century.

A talented performer, he had a flare for comedy which made him ideal as the comic relief in this show as it climbed the ratings.

He could also do the dramatic just as well and his scenes when screen wife Meg passed on were among the most moving in soap history.

He’ll be much missed.