Good Omens finale review

 

Having been squeezed into ninety five minutes or so from an originally intended six-part series, its reputation tarnished by the allegations against its co- author, the third instalment of Good Omens seems determined to make a stand. Every scene is accompanied by grandiose incidental music, the story moves fast because it has so little time and the actors give it their best oratory.  Visually it manages to convey a lot even on a reduced budget. In some ways the truncated form helps; season two was definitely prone to meandering whereas this third part focusses on its two main characters, always the key asset. While the reduced screen time does sometimes help, it can also mean narrative leaps that are not always earned.

 

Top of the Pops 2nd May 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Simon Mayo: “Hello. Good evening. Tonight is club night. Welcome to the nicest nightclub in the nation with no dress sense required [glances at the woman to his right]… as you can probably tell. We’re going to start with the most incredible opening to Top of the Pops ever, ever seen. I mean it. Try this at number three. This is KLF. Take it lads.”

 [3] THE KLF: LAST TRAIN TO TRANCENTRAL. The Main Stage is full. I count 11 people, 10 of them dressed in white, diaphanous, robes and Ricardo da Force wearing black. Oh and Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty (or should that be King Boy D and Rockman Rock?) both have a single enormous tusk strapped to their head.

Eurovision 2026 Songs Reviewed

 

In an age when we’re all amateur pundits now, I thought I’d do mini reviews of each song entered into this year’s Eurovision. There’s thirty-five of them altogether and I’d say the standard is a little down on the last couple of years yet also more varied. Trends I noted where the inclusion of operatic influences in several songs (though nobody is spinning on a disk like Nemo) and what has become a Eurovision trope- a song starting as a ballad then lurching into all out techno. There are a lot of serious songs, so much so that a couple where the singer actually smiles and seems to be having fun really stand out. Disappointedly there’s no outright bonkers song this year; in fact the UK’s entry is at the quirkier end of things. It is though a vast improvement on our last couple of attempts.  Of course some of these thirty five songs will be eliminated in the semi- finals probably making my predictions seem totally wrong but that’s half the fun.

 

Top of the Pops 25th April 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Nicky Campbell: “Yes. Top of the Pops. Welcome to your weekly dose. Lewd gyrations. Hips swivelling and loud music. Oh! The youth of today. What a show. The greatest show on Earth in thirty minutes. What a start. Welcome, the amazing E.M.F.”

 [22] EMF: CHILDREN. This sounds to my tin ear like a very guitar and drum heavy song, with not a lot to do for the keyboard player. This might explain why he’s really hamming it up at one side of the stage dragging the keyboard around and battering the keys like he expects them to jump up and attack him. Or, has he been watching the keyboard player from Jesus Jones, and decided to nick his shtick?

ComicCon Liverpool 2nd/ 3rd May 2026

 The essential ingredients for attending a ComicCon are stamina and a good pair of shoes. There is a lot of walking and a lot of queuing which is inevitable when you realise there are 50,000 attendees. This was probably the largest Liverpool event yet staged though its only one of a number around the country.  In common with most events these days everything is done on a large scale while the guests are front of camera people so if you're after insights into production, direction or writing then you won't find them here. For those willing to pay there ae photos or autographs with the stars of some of your favourite tv shows. Plus its not unusual to see Darth Vader or Davros or Spiderman walking around.

Dracula review

 

Most people have a working knowledge of the Dracula story- or do they? There have been so many iterations, adaptations and interpretations of Bram Stoker’s novel, first published in 1897, that many of us are largely unaware of what the original book is like. This daring production aims goes back to the source while also utilising strikingly modern production techniques and an amazing performance by Cynthia Erivo to takes the audience deep into those gothic pages.

Top of the Pops 18th April 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

 Jakki Brambles: “Hello, good evening, and welcome along to Top of the Pops on BBC1 and of course we are live in stereo on Radio 1FM. We’ve got a right good rollocking show for you tonight, it’s a pleasure to be here. Will you welcome our first band of the night, with Sit Down, live on stage on Top of the Pops, it’s James.”

 [2] JAMES: SIT DOWN. If you haven’t watched it, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWZHPUGPxfo and have a look at the behind the scenes report from the 8.15 From Manchester, 20/04/1991 edition. Michael Hurll is interviewed around 4 minutes in and says: “The producer Paul Ciani at the moment unfortunately is in hospital and they asked me to just pop in and do it. I haven’t done it for four years.”

It would be really interesting to find out when Michael Hurll stepped in to the production cycle. Who took the initiative for the redesign of the Film Strip stage? The big central circular element has been left in the scenery store. A huge grey cyclorama has been hung behind the stage and on it Graham Rimmington is projecting big colourful moving flower shapes. It looks really good. It makes the stage look massive, especially in comparison to the normal look which is designed to create an enclosed, performance space. This is a wide open blasted heath that King Lear could really dig.

Boarders review

A few years ago, a group of under privileged but intelligent pupils spent a period at Rugby public school and it is that as well as his own experiences as a black pupil at a mostly middle class, white University that inspired writer Daniel Lawrence Taylor to pen Boarders.  I would doubt though whether a lot of the scenarios depicted in this lively and occasionally riotous series actually happened which is a good call that pulls the series a\way from being too over earnest. Set over three six-episode series, Boarders charts the varying experience of five bright sixth formers who are plucked from urban surroundings by an outreach programme and placed in the somewhat rarefied country atmosphere of  St Gilberts school. It’s a place with a raft of traditions, some formal school activities with Latin names, others exuberant and often weird student traditions. The narrative tries to cover each of the pupils equally, their different journeys exploring all the possibilities of the experience.