I was heaping praise on Andy Gray and Martin Tyler on FA Cup Final day. Not now though.

The European Cup Final was a fantastic match, full of incident and talking points but Andy Gray managed to whinge and moan throughout. The reason? Arsenal’s goalkeeper brought down a Barcelona player just outside the box, Barcelona managed to get the ball into the back of the net anyway but unfortunately the ref, who had a nightmare game in any case, had already blown for the foul, leaving him no option but to send the keeper off.

Great drama, as Arsenal had to reshuffle their pack to accommodate their spare keeper and play the rest of the game with ten men. Now for the football purist expecting a beautiful spectacle this may have been cause for dismay but what actually transpired was a night of high drama as the plucky gunners took an early lead and then tried to hold while outnumbered and facing some of the best players in the world.

It was marvellous but Gray just couldn’t let the sending off go and constantly referred to it instead of just enjoying what was a marvellous evening. He was such a grumpy trousers that he put in mind grouchy old Barry Davies who could lament for England.

They should bear in mind that for big occasions such as this, many viewers who don’t know their offside from their elbow tune in. It’s was cracking entertainment but Gray put the dampeners on it to a certain extent.

Perhaps I’ll go back to ITV1 next year.

The power to shock

Even all these decades on, the story of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady still has the power to shock and it was brave of ITV1 to commission a drama based on the story.

Interestingly, the story was told more or less from the point of view of Hindley’s sister with Joanne Froggatt showing that she’s come on leaps and bounds from her days on the cobbles of Coronation Street. Maxine Peake had the thankless task of portraying Hindley but there was little here if anything which explored what motivated her to partake of such heinous actions despite the fact that we were told the script was based on extensive research. Sean Harris was truly chilling as Brady and wisely he was used sparingly.

This was obviously a very difficult subject to tackle and if I had a criticism it would be that there was very little perspective from the parents of the victims. Should this horrendous case ever be tackled by dramatists again it is that angle that needs to be explored.

Grim but worthy

It was a good week for Joanne Froggatt as she popped in up a gripping episode of The Street. Lee Ingleby and Christine Bottomley have featured in the sidelines throughout the run and this tale of an abusive relationship was powerful though yet again almost unremittingly grim.

I’m pleased a second series of this has planned but let us hope that Jimmy McGovern and his posse of writers manage to add a bit of light to the shade in the next run. Alongside the big names it has also been an excellent showcase from the talented crop of young actors we have. There has been some star making performances here.

I fought the law and the law won

New Street Law had three big effects on me. I really hate smart arse do-gooder Jack and I watch episodes hoping those meanie posh prosecutors will win. John Thomson is the best thing in this by a street, so much so that when it comes to recommissioning I’d ditch the rest and make him the centre of the show. It seems Stan the Man was a just a flash in the pan. Lastly Chris Gascoyne’s appearance showed me how much he’s been missed in Coronation Street. Bring him back.

Poor Craig

Down Weatherfield way things have always been tough for Craig Harris. He arrived on the street on the run from murderous gangsters, his best mate is David Platt – no wonder he wears a crucifix – his sister went off and had an affair with the only nurse in Wetherfield – how are they coping healthwise now Martin’s gone - and as a result she murdered his dad, then killed herself and as a result of this his mum is now languishing in prison, having already done a stint in Bad Girls.

Now he is forced to live with one of the boring characters ever to grace the cobbles in Keith while girlfriend Rosie seems to have been in a permastrop for the last three years. Surely, we all thought, nothing could happen to him that’s worse than any of that.

We were wrong. Kevin asked him to dinner. He’s a brave lad that Craig. Personally I wouldn’t go anywhere near Sally Webster without a stab vest and set of earplugs. Leave her Kevin. That nice Natalie’s only just up the road working a school with Fiona the hairdresser, Maria’s dad, Rebecca from the days when there were two nurses in Weatherfield and Ken Barlow’s ex. Run like the wind.


Snips

Sky One’s Celebrity Soccer Six was pretty dire though watching the likes of Rebecca Loos and Caprice trying to kick a ball about was very entertaining.

Prince Charles is all over the telly at the moment. He’s looking a bit weather-beaten too. He’d be better off on the radio.

Sir Paul and Lady McCartney’s split is sad for them but if it means they’ll be making no more documentaries together it is good news for us.

I’ve always thought that Penny Smith was full of herself but somehow that exuberant personality is far easier to take on primetime BBC One than it is at six in the morning.

The BBC has had to ask its own staff to attend recordings of its shows as it lacked a licence to entertain. This explains Davina.

Sulky Square

Things haven’t half got dull again down on Albert Square. The Sonia/Martin/Rebecca/Naomi stuff really is dragging on now. So much so I’m even starting miss the Ferreiras. Even Grant is down in the dumps, the Little Mo stuff has been very wearing and now even Dot Cotton’s got genuine reason to be unhappy.

Things need perking up. If they carry on like this Pauline will be most cheerful character in the show.

Island life

The dynamics in Lost have changed as the second series hits its admittedly slow paced stride and I have to say that I like it. Mister Eko is cool and it’s good that Jin is being given more to do that look broody and snap lines out in Korean.

I love the sense of darkness and impending menace they’ve created though some of the flashback sequences I could do without. The one featuring the tale of how Jin and Sun got together was very touching though.

I know they’ve thrown shed loads of cash at this but it’s the creativity that really impresses. With this, Doctor Who and Smallville there’s plenty of escapism to be had.


If there is a problem with the American imports it’s that the adverts get in the way a bit. Now I know many of us can’t blitz through these in next to no time with our PVRs but it still can break the mood at key moments, especially in moving episodes like those of ER set in Darfur.

It’s an increasing phenomenon now that many people prefer to wait and shell out for the box sets of series rather than catch them “free” but interrupted and often edited too on the broadcast channels. Couple that with downloads, both legal and illicit and you can see why audiences may be diminishing globally. The problem here is that if enough people don’t view through the networks that support the shows, the shows themselves get cancelled.

I wonder whether Star Trek Enterprise could have made it to a further season if all the people who watched did so legally over the network which funded its production.

As the way we choose to view our shows fragments, market forces may mean that big budget shows become rarer and even then find it difficult to survive.

Television has never been free and if we are turning our back on the ads, we’ll have to be prepared to shell out directly. The worry there is where this leaves productions that could never make a profit as standalones and get made off the backs of the big earners.

Change is upon us and we as viewers should think about how our changing habits affects the shows we love.