Tweet      The Apprentice (1) – Mission (sadly) Possible “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to scour the land to find: irreducible egotists with a delusional conviction of their superior abilities and talent, devoid of any objective evidence to justify it and which is disproved by every self-aggrandising word that escapes […]

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Tweet   Oscars Postscript – Zettel There was a pivotal moment, totally unremarked in this marathon, 3-hour Feast of Narcissus. A geeky little Swedish Director and a chubby American Producer picked up the Swede’s first and the American’s second, Oscar. Malik Bendjelloul’s English did not survive his excitement and the tiny delay that ensued led […]

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Tweet      Wills and Kate – at play. Privacy and Privilege Some women like to bathe sunbathe topless, some don’t. It’s a choice. In a public place which is where this occurs for us normal people, any woman choosing this option knows that she will be subject to the occasional surreptitious glance from most […]

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Tweet     The Trouble With Harry – Las Vegas Notebook I was, until this week, blissfully unaware that my life experience was deficient in the cavorting department.  I feel cheated.  Challenged.  I’m panicking.   Is it compulsory?  A civic duty?   Do I need an ‘excused cavorting’ note?  Can I get it on the National Health? […]

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Tweet    Olympics Closing Ceremony – Kim Gavin Gutted. My pride in being British sparked by Danny Boyle’s imaginative, aspirational, well-judged opening ceremony; reinforced by the courageous, dedicated, totally committed performances of our athletes over three weeks of breathtaking, heart-stopping sporting brilliance was shamed and cheapened by this inchoate, muddled mess where even the several […]

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Tweet        The Olympics Opening Ceremony – Danny Boyle + Cast of Thousands “Your Majesty, your Majesties, your Royal Highnesses, President Rogge, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.” In an excellent speech Seb Coe made one serious ‘kick-yourself-afterwards’ omission: his hierarchical list missed out just one group – but the most important to the […]

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Tweet      The Newsroom – Aaron Sorkin Watch this. And don’t delay – it will almost certainly be pulled from the schedules in the US because it is taking on far too many, far too powerful vested interests to be left on the air. It is asking too many questions we, or those in […]

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Tweet        The Newsroom – Sky Atlantic – Tuesdays 10pm Polish up the brain cells. Ignore the critics – especially American journalists and media folk with an axe to grind; and even Brits who should know better but have an easy, world-weary cynicism they haven’t earned that makes them condescend to anything with […]

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Tweet        The Apprentice – The Final: Ricky gives them what Thor.   Professor Michael Sandel*, in his excellent new book What Money Can’t Buy – The Moral Limits of Markets makes some very useful distinctions. Both professional Economist and Philosopher, Sandel remarks: “without quite realizing it we drifted from having a market economy to being a market society. […]

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Tweet          The Bridge – Bron/Broen Writing. Direction. Characterisation. Cinematography. Editing. Acting. All first class and sustained. Need I say more? It is much easier to generate drama and suspense during a thriller than to close it out satisfyingly. If The Bridge didn’t have the rare perfection of a Usual Suspects or a Sixth Sense it did a […]

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