Friends: The Reunion turned out to be a pointless nostalgia-fest
The much-hyped comeback was a waste of time
Television
Monday
Friday
A film festival fiasco in Narrowsburg, New York
Castellano and Castaldo descended upon Narrowsburg with a gust of wind, declaring that they would open an acting school, start a film festival and make it ‘the Sundance of the East’
Thursday
My painstaking preparations for Prince Philip’s funeral
The files arrived marked ‘STRICT EMBARGO’ and ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ and ‘FORTH BRIDGE REVISED’ and stamped with various crests and insignia. My dog Mot was intrigued and sniffed the stack warily. I have a few days to ingest this mass of information — ceremonial detail, armed forces involvement, order of service, processional arrangements, musical selections, historical precedent, the unabridged chronicle of Windsor and its College of St George and its splendid chapel — before hosting the BBC’s coverage of the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh. In four hours of live broadcasting, watched by an audience of millions, the focus is on accuracy and tone. Most of the people doling out advice
The deafening rise of ‘background’ music
One of my favourite things on British Muslim TV is Ask the Alim. An alim is a learned expert in the law. He’ll answer anything, live. The 2020 Best Bits highlights programme included a question about divorce. Can a man take back a woman he has divorced? Good question. It depends whether the divorce is revocable or irrevocable, according to the alim. Boris Johnson has been doing something similar on Facebook recently: Ask the Prime Minister. Instead of expertise on Shariah, he offers an ‘irreversible roadmap to freedom’. But there has been something a bit weird recently about the broadcasts (easily viewed and reviewed to your heart’s content on Twitter,
Wednesday
Picking Apple
There probably is something here for everyone. But maybe only one thing
Tuesday
Ridley’s game
Raised by Wolves reviewed
Monday
Boys will be boys
Whatever happened to the heroes?
Wednesday
Mostly ghostly: Henry James haunts Bly Manor
If you’re hoping for a show that requires your blanket be used to cover your eyes, skip this one
Monday
The next American revolution will be televised
Is COVID-19 the series finale of Trump’s dramatic presidency?
Tuesday
Are viewers falling out of love with the Trump presidency?
Watching the Donald used to be unmissable television. What happened?
Tuesday
The Trump presidency is taking its toll…on the once fresh faces of CNN anchors
Usually it’s the president who looks worse for wear
Wednesday
Russell Baker and Masterpiece Journalism
The absence of directness in modern American journalism reflects the cowardice and complicity of the journalists
