Channel Hopper

New detective drama Line of Duty

Compelling if not especially complex drama series

When ‘the best detective in this city’ is on the spot to save a young mother from being mugged at knifepoint in the street, you might expect his hero status to go through the roof. Instead, he is slapped with a ‘yellow notice’ for not declaring the…

Once Upon a Time is stylish but vapid TV

The contemporary American fairy tales from the makers of Lost lack substance

Given that Stephen King pretty much owned the franchise on writing twisted tales set in Maine, it’s an act of errant folly that he’s not involved in Once Upon a Time (Five, Sun 1 Apr, 8pm). You can only imagine what fun the horror master would have had…

Channel Hopper - Top Boy

Affecting urban ensemble drama starring Ashley Walters and Kierston Wareing

Vaulting ambition and its often dire consequence are at the heart of London-set Top Boy (Channel 4, Mon 31 Oct–Thu 3 Nov, 10pm) just as it is inherent in every drama from Macbeth to The Sopranos. Some observers will no doubt draw parallels between this…

Channel Hopper: The Hour

Taut, Abi Morgan-penned period news drama starring Ben Wishaw, Romola Garai and Dominic West

Let’s get this straight: here we have a modern BBC drama about a 1950s BBC news programme called ‘The Hour’ with each of its six episodes lasting an hour? Yes, The Hour (BBC2, Tue, 9pm) may originate from a confusing place, but through the spandex-tight…

Glasgow-set Lip Service may have more than just homophobes turning it off

Is new BBC3 drama just The L Word with rain?

A recent poll by the BBC found that one in five people felt ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘very uncomfortable’ with gay people having their stories told on television. A mere 16 years after the ‘Brookside kiss’, such a stat can either be read as slow progress or…

Friday Night Dinner a bit hard to digest - Channel Hopper

New Channel Four comedy one of worst ever opening episodes of a sitcom

'In the best traditions of Channel Four comedy, it successfully marries the ground-breaking with the familiar and best of all, it’s really, really funny.’ Grand claims made there on behalf of Friday Night Dinner (Channel 4, Fri 25 Feb, 10pm) by a very…

Boardwalk Empire gets chance to live up to ‘new Sopranos’ tag

TV series features Martin Scorsese, Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald

With the ballyhoo of its pilot being the most expensive in the history of TV and with Marty Scorsese at the directorial helm, Boardwalk Empire (Sky Atlantic, Tue, 9pm) now gets a chance to settle into its Prohibition groove and show whether it is indeed…

'Comedy about a comedy' Episodes stars Matt LeBlanc, Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan

Channel Hopper

Here comes one of those ‘wonder why no one had thought of that before?’ ideas. The ever-increasing number of British comedies (from The Office to Shameless starring William H Macy) flying their way Stateside for a transatlantic overhaul is a scenario…

Whistle and I’ll Come to You and When Harvey Met Bob among Christmas TV highlights

John Hurt gest haunted and Domhnall Gleeson becomes Bob Geldof

Quite why ghost stories go hand in hand with Christmas has never been quite clear to me. Maybe Charles Dickens is to blame, but whatever the link is, don’t spooks and spectres not get enough press at the end of October? One of the British classics of…

The Day John Lennon Died - Cast of characters recount the events of 8 Dec 1980

Channel Hopper - Only Yoko Ono emerges from this documentary with dignity intact

John Lennon. Devoted husband and father. Pioneer of peace. Writer of landmark pop songs. Had a thing about round specs. Loved a good manly embrace. ‘I remember he immediately put his arm round my shoulder and said thanks for coming,’ notes Andy Peebles…

The Men Who Jump off Buildings - Base jumping

Channel Hopper

‘I think I might die, every time’. When base jumper Dan Witchalls tells his Danish girlfriend how he feels before launching himself from one of London’s many landmark buildings, it looks like she might knock him out flat. ‘Is it worth it?’ she scowls.

The Silence overcomes cliche and shortcomings with pleasing conclusion

Channel Hopper

It’s cliché number 64 in the film and TV thriller world to have someone already in an advanced state of vulnerability being placed into further terrible danger. This might be a child alone at home (Home Alone), a posh bint being weighed down by her…

We need new ‘gritty’ American cop show Southland like a hole in the head

Channel Hopper

Imagine The Wire hadn’t been created through years of painstaking research and sweat-filled toil by David Simon. Imagine, instead, that Jerry CSI/Cold Case Bruckheimer had ordered every writer he has ever known (dead or alive) to come up with a shiny…

Channel Hopper: Men Behaving Badly

The late Frank Deasy had a knack of writing about the frailties of men and the long-term effects of the bad things blokes do even when they try to make amends for their past indiscretions. It’s there in 90s drug drama Looking After Jo Jo, and in his…

Channel Hopper: Idris Elba's Luther is cop with obligatory quirk

Dispatches from the sofa, with Brian Donaldson

Any new cop show these days must have at its heart an investigator with a quirk. They could have OCD (Monk), the ability to travel back in time (Life on Mars) or be a serial killer (Dexter) but they can’t just go around solving crimes before heading…

Channel Hopper: Jack's Back..

There have been many moments to unintentionally chuckle at during the previous seven series of 24 (Sky One, Sun, 9pm): Jim from Neighbours conducting a political coup to claim the US presidency; Kim Bauer being kidnapped every second episode (was I…