Lord of the Fans

British Sci-Fi Telly.

Right since its very earliest days, British television has provided us with some truly cracking morsels of science fiction. One of the first fine examples to grace our screens was the 1958 BBC adaption of, %u2018Quatermass and the Pit’. Starring Andre Morell as the intrepid rocket scientist, this was genuinely scary stuff for the time; even when it is watched today, there is something decidedly creepy about this superb BBC TV dramatization. And (if you still aren’t convinced of its scare factor), you should be aware that both John Carpenter and Stephen King have cited %u2018Quatermass and the Pit’as a major influence on their work.

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Adults only!

Once upon a time cartoons were for kids. Once upon a time executive office furniture was used for sitting on rather than racing up and down the corridors, but times have changed on both counts. At least in my house and my office they have anyway! The Simpsons started it, although the humour in that is so gentle and inoffensive you could let your kids watch it safe in the knowledge that the worst they would here is “Cowabunga!” Futurama, the second (and I think better) creation by Matt Groening went a bit further, with a slightly foul-mouthed, alcohol, kleptomaniac robot, a few vaguely sexy scenes and plenty of humour that would have sailed over the heads of any little ones watching…

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Bean There, Done It

British actor Sean Bean is one of the most rugged actors around. For years he has dominated historical television series with his iconic role as Sharpe in the long-lasting Napoleonic War epic, originally written by Bernard Cornwall. This series saw him as a lowly but tough and dependable soldier in the British army fighting off the French forces from Spain to Belgium where the decisive battle of Waterloo was fought.

Through most of the series he depicted grime, chin stubble More

Potter Rules

Some of the best British films of the last decade have been the Harry Potter franchise. With the seventh book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) being split into two for filming purposes, these eight films have brought work, money and kudos to the British film industry.

It is probably a bit over the top to say that the Harry Potter franchise has revitalised the British film industry all on its own, but the series has certainly helped More

Run Fatboy Run

I love British films. I love them because they are so very British. Rather than trying to emulate the French or the Germans, we really have carved our own small form of art out. Now, a British film stands out a mile off and that can only be a good thing!

One such very British film that we must here endorse is Run Fatboy Run – the film which definitely helped catapult Simon Pegg into a better position for his More

I Am Iron Man…2!

‘Iron Man'presented the world with a nice surprise in 2008 – a superhero movie that didn’t take itself too seriously! Which considering it dealt with the issues of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction is quite a feat! Now two years and some diminished box office returns later, ‘Iron Man 2'slams onto DVD standing up somewhat awkwardly to its older brother.

Whilst ‘Iron Man 2'follows the example of not taking itself too seriously, it does suffer a bit from the More

Ultraviolet - The series, not the awful US movie

Anyone who says Britain can’t make decent genre television really needs to remove their chin from the cesspit of generic US imports. Britain has and still does make wonderful genre shows. The only difference is money. Today I’m going to talk about one such show that sadly was a victim of merciless budget cuts; ’Ultraviolet’.

Created and written by Joe Ahearne, ‘Ultraviolet'paved the way for modern genre shows to be taken seriously. At its core the show was essentially a More

Poor Keith

My good friend Keith Proctor introduced me to The Brittas Empire, and to begin with, in those first few seconds where Keith told me all about the premise – a sports centre ran by, essentially, the world’s most irritating maniac, and staffed by people like Colin, who was literally rotting from the inside out… – I was worried. Worried because Keith could be awfully passionate about really rubbish things, and he was just one of those people you get who More

Natalie Portman Deserves The Best Actress Oscar

Natalie Portman, the 29-year-old actress whose filmography includes blockbusters such as the Star Wars prequel trilogy and “V for Vendetta”, as well as artistic dramas such as “Closer"and “The Other Boleyn Girl”, has finally been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. The role that earned her this nomination was Nina, a troubled ballerina in the psychological thriller “Black Swan”.

On Sunday, February 27, 2011, Portman, who was previously nominated in 2005 for More

How To Train Your Dragon

I’ll admit it right away: I was highly sceptical about what Dreamworks SKG (the animation branch of the mega film company) were going to bring to the table with this one. On the surface, the film sounds like everything a really good Pixar film usually is: fun, interesting, and full of inspired ideas that are usually…well, very Pixar and not so much anyone else.

Sitting down to watch this on my laptop, having just seen a particularly intriguing Fosters Beer More