Top of the Pops 26 April 1990

 Words: Chris Arnsby

 Bruno Brookes: “Good evening. Yes, here they are, Britain's biggest hits in vision. This is Top of the Pops, Europe's biggest and most prestigious pop show. Hope you're well. We start off with a song which was a big hit for Odyssey all those years ago, it's now back in the top forty. Use it Up And Wear It Out with Pat and Mick.”

 [25] PAT AND MICK: Use It Up and Wear It Out. Use It Up And Wear It Out was a hit for Odyssey in the summer of 1980. I don't consider that to be “all those years ago” but Bruno Brookes clearly believes the Odyssey version was decoded from hieroglyphs found on the side of a pyramid; right next to the announcement of Alan Freeman's birth.

What's happened to the captions? They've gone all basic. A quick check of the closing titles (they look rubbish) reveals the caption for Cypher Graphics operator has been deleted. Has the Cyper caption machine been sabotaged by the Quantel Corporation? I hope they haven't broken David Ward's thumbs.

Doctor Who- The Well review

 

Something Doctor Who does less frequently these days is the outright horror story in which something terrible is lurking picking off victims. `The Well` is an excellent example of how to do this yet keep within the show’s remit of being inclusive to a younger audience. Its secrets were held back during the promotional trailers for good reason because this is one of those episodes that needs to be watched with as little information as possible for it to have maximum effect. So, if you’ve not watched it yet, please don’t read this review or any other reviews till you have.

Spoilers past this point

 

Andor Season 2 Episodes 1 - 3 review

 

I only got to see the first season of Andor last year so its fresher in my mind than it will be for many, which is a help as this second season jumps right into things. Set a year on from the end of season one this first trio of episodes charts events that represent the differing fortunes of the Empire and the rebels. The scenes- sometimes intermeshed with the same incidental music- paint a vivid picture of life at the top and at the bottom while also humanising both sides with some rich characters that make even the slowest sequences shine. In other words it’s as good- and often even better - than season one.

 Spoilers after the break

Top of the Pops Triple April 1990 Megamix!

3 Editions- words: Chris Arnsby

 05/04/1990 

Anthea Turner: “Hello! Good evening! And welcome to Top of the Pops! On BBC1 and Radio 1! Tonight in the studio we've got Jason Donovan, our Song For Europe sung by Emma and Snap! But we're gonna start off tonight's show with a brand new entry at number sixteen! It's Happy Mondays! Step On!”

[16] HAPPY MONDAYS: STEP ON. Paul Ciani is unsure of the status of Bez. Everyone else gets at least one close up but not Bez. He is just there. The camera constantly glides past him to focus on Shaun Ryder, Paul Ryder, Rowetta, whoever, but Paul Ciani relegates Bez to Andrew Ridgeley status.
Bez does not care.

 

Doctor Who- Lux review

 

There are times when it seems like Doctor Who can’t offer anything new and is destined to run itself dry repeating variations on previous themes. And there are times- less so nowadays- when it excels by trying something new. `Lux` is by a long way the best episode since Russell T Davies returned to the show, surely the first classic he’s written in his second era. Its consistently interesting, throwing up the unexpected and visually manages to do something we’ve not seen before in the show. The sequence where Mr Ring-a -Ding steps out of the cinema screen was the most arresting moment of the earliest trailers; little did we know what an involving narrative it was to be a part of.

Top of the Pops 22nd & 29th March 1990

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

22/03/1990

Gary Davies: “Hello. A very good evening to you. Welcome to Top of the Pops coming to you in stereo on Radio 1FM. Three bands making their debut tonight we have Snap, we've got Orbital, and They Might Be Giants but we start off with no strangers to Top of the Pops with Handful of Promises, it's Big Fun.”

 [21] BIG FUN: HANDFULL OF PROMISES. Bletch. I'm obviously in a rotten mood. I can't be bothered to try and find anything positive to say about Big Fun. The blonde one, the blonde one, and the blonde one go through their pre-programmed moves. It's not really any different to their other songs. If you like those then you'll like this because this song is also those. The only real amusement comes from watching the cameras try and give equal time to the blonde one because if the camera favoured the blonde one over the blonde one or the blonde one, then the blonde one and the blonde one might get jealous and the whole group could fall apart.

Doctor Who - The Robot Revolution review

 

If you’ve been following the lively on-line chatter preceding this season then you may know that the future of the series, at least in this current iteration, seems to be in doubt. Even Russell T Davies, always optimistic in his assessment, has back pedalled from suggesting the show is safe to recent statements suggesting he knows there is going to be a hiatus. Meanwhile even more ardent fans seem to concur that last season was underwhelming and does not seem to have captured enough of the wider public imagination to justify Disney’s continued co funding. One thing RTD did say somewhere lately though is that this version of the show is being targeted towards a younger audience and its worth bearing that in mind when watching.