A Question Of Sport

Sue Barker hosts another round of the quiz show legend that is A Question Of Sport, with team captains Matt Dawson and the entertaining Phil Tufnell. This show started back in 1970 and apart from a couple of sort breaks it has been ever present on our screens for approaching a whopping 40 years.

While the team captains are changed on a regular basis, Sue Barker has been on the show since 1997, taking over from the famous David Coleman who hosted from 1979 to 1997 after replacing the original presenter David Vine. Fun, frolic’s and some hilarious moments have been had on the show which has taken in over 20 team captains although it was the late great Emlyn “Crazy Horse” Hughes and his tussles with Bill Beaumont which attracted many to the show.

Even thought the show has a very strict format of subject matter, special rounds and questions it is the ad-libbing which attracts most people to the show and why it has seen some of the UK and world’s sporting greats vying for a spot on the show. The team captains of note include:-

Henry Cooper
Bobby Moore
Bobby Charlton
Ally McCoist
Ian Botham
Frankie Dettori
and Shane Warne

One of the more interesting angles of A Question Of Sport has been the ability of the BBC to reinvent the show on a number of occasions and reposition it to a wider and wider audience. This reinventing of the show has been carried out while retaining the same basic format which the watching public have come to expect.

Many quiz (especially sports quiz) shows have come and gone without trace but A Question Of Sport seems to have created an indefinite shelf-life for itself. If you don’t believe us – 800 shows cannot be wrong!

The Royle Family

There can be few shows which have seen as much laughter, fun and misery in one short episode than those emotions experienced in The Royle Family. Set in a working district of Manchester the show ran between 1998 and 2000 before the co-creator Caroline Aherne encountered a somewhat traumatic stage of her life which saw her drop out of the TV writing and acting scene for a few years.

However, it is good to see the return of The Royle Family on UK Gold at a time when there is a definite lack of new and original comedy on the TV. Caroline Aherne and co-writer Craig Cash star as Denise and Dave, with Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson taking centre stage as her onscreen parents. Ralf Little also made a name for himself as Denise’s little brother Anthony. For those who have seen the show you would be lucky to find a group of actors who could portray this simple format in such a way as to catch the attention and respect of the audience.

Centred around the family living room, the vast majority of the show sees the family sitting and watching TV, chatting about what they plan to do, what is going on the neighbourhood and what is on TV. Ricky Tomlinson is hilarious in his role as the head of the family, a man who thinks he is in control, when it is really his wife who keeps the family unit together.

Due to its short duration, much like Fawlty Towers, of which there were actually very few episodes produced, The Royle Family has the chance to retain a long term cult status with UK comedy fans.

The Inbetweeners is The Anti-Skins

I tuned in for a peek at The Inbetweeners which premieres tomorrow night on E4 at 10pm. You see, I saw the ad and thought ‘argh, Skins. Again.Why? We already have one….’ Plus I was confused since they are both projects of channel 4. Only it turns out this is the first sitcom commissioned for E4, so that’s pretty big, and also, actually having seen it, its kind of The Anti-Skins.

So why is it The Anti-Skins? Well, this show isn’t about pregnancy, near deaths and eating disorders, oh no, The Inbetweeners revels in the puerile, shallow concerns of adolescence. Virginity, mockery and parents all feature. This is more American Pie than your usual dirty gritty channel 4 drama.

Will is a public school nerd who has moved to the local comprehensive and is trying desperately to fit in. Since no one except the ‘freaks’ will talk to him he forcibly befriends some marginally cooler kids who want nothing to do with him. He ploughs on regardless. It’s weird, but this idealism in the face of true loserism makes him a strangely likeable character.

The set up is as snappy as the dialogue, which is good because the acting is at times (ok most of the time) pretty heavy handed. It kind of gives you the feeling you are watching your kid brother in a well written school play. But it’s filled with laugh out loud lines that pin with uncanny accuracy the bolshy, bull***ing nature of teenagers.

The casting is great, from Will (Simon Bird), who holds himself like a middle aged man and talks with the accepting irony of a self aware loser, to the brutal head of sixth form played by Greg Davies.

All round, definitely a good one to watch.

The Inbetweeners premieres tonight on E4 at 10pm

Escape from Alcatraz : The True Story

Al Capone While the Alcatraz prison, which was located on Alcatraz island in the middle of San Francisco, closed down in 1963 it is still possibly the best known prison in the world. It housed some of the more dangerous criminals in the US and was known to many as a fortress, until that fateful day in 1962 when three prisoners decided to break out.

Escape from Alcatraz : The True Story tracks the amazing escape attempt, how it was planned and exactly what happened to the three prisoners, who were never seen again. The show has footage of interviews with former inmates who knew what was happening, prison guards from Alcatraz and FBI agents.

Each of these contributors offer an interesting angle on life at the prison and how likely it was that the men actually made it to shore in their makeshift raft. Three modern day coastguards agreed to retake that fateful journey in a replica of the raft which the prisoners used to escape, in an attempt to see if it was possible that they survived.

While the stories about Alcatraz continue to circulate to this day, by far the most high profile of “guests” was the gangster “Al Capone” who arrived on the island with one of the worst reputations in US criminal history. As soon as he “landed” it was stated that he would not receive any special treatment from the guards and was just another inmate, but the fact that he was still able to run his criminal rackets from Alcatraz island is a mystery!

Alcatraz seems to have one of those reputations which continues to grow even though it was decommissioned back in the 1960s. Afforded official US designation in the 1970s and 1980s the island is now operated by the National Park Service and open to the public for tours.

Bad Manners Britain : Tonight

If like many of us you are sick and tired of being labelled as loutish and ill mannered just because a handful of the UK population feel it is ok to act that way, take a look into the real world of the UK with Jonathan Maitland.

Bad Manners Britain : Tonight investigates whether the UK population have wholeheartedly taken on the mantle of boorish louts with bad manners, or whether the minority in this bracket are the ones damaging our rep. The program takes a look at a number of different areas, attempting to pinpoint a specific demise in British behaviour over the years.

Maitland and his team have enlisted the help of an amateur football team, aiming to turn them into gents on the field to see if this has any impact on their performance and general outlook on life. While football has long been the number one sport in the UK, it is never too long out of the headlines with many fans and players alike showing unnecessary aggression towards each other and match officials.

Tonight’s show should certainly prove thought-provoking. Writer and author, Maitland has a history for courting controversy and getting to the heart of the matter, having carried out a number of hard hitting investigations for programs such as BBC’s Watchdog and ITV’s House of Horrors. It will be fascinating to see the results of an investigation that should hopefully dispel some of the labels that many of the UK population have been unfairly afforded.

EastEnders Teaser

Lucy’s back and it’s like she’s never been away. This week Steven goes to great lengths to keep her away from Ian - maybe worried that he’ll hit her again. After all Steven and Lucy have a bond these days, especially since she passed him the gun with which he kidnapped Ian - and shot Jane. All of which raises the question: Steven or Lucy – who is crazier? Talking of crazy, Sean Slater’s on the rampage again. Can the Millers stand up to him? And who’ll be bad boy Sean’s next target? He’ll run out of victims if he carries on at this heady pace.

Meanwhile at the Vic, Roxy is acting oddly. Even more oddly than usual… But then, after sleeping with her sister’s main squeeze, she would be feeling more than a little odd - especially after she has an examination at the hospital. Things are going to get extremely tough for Roxy very soon. Pat has had her heart broken by the death of Frank - and now has had her leg broken after being knocked down accidentally by Roxy (it’s not Roxy’s week, is it?) At the hospital, something sinister looks set to occur in Pat’s cubicle.

Elsewhere Ben hopes that Phil doesn’t find out about his dancing exam, while Roxy and Peggy try to reassure Ben that real men do dance. Of course Phil would beg to differ on that point. Bianca is broke and is struggling to find another job in Walford. Yes, the carefree wild-child of yesterday has well and truly been replaced by the downtrodden single mum we see before us now. Scheming Clare has tricked Bradley into a very dodgy visit. Will it all end in tears?

Neighbours Teaser

Toadie is a Ramsay Street resident who has never been lucky in love. Always the joker, he never seemed to get the girl. From his early obsession with Steph Scully to his fling with married Maggie Hancock, Toadie always ended up a shoulder to cry on rather than the man of anyone’s dreams. After a string of failed relationships Toadie appeared to have finally hit the jackpot when he married Dione Bliss. However, in one of the biggest tragedies to rock Ramsay Street, he was distracted by a kiss from his new missus and drove their car off a cliff. Oops. Now though, his luck might be about to change. When Libby learns that Steph has kept news of her divorce from Toadie, she forces her friend to ask herself if she sees Toadie as a friend or a lover. Meanwhile Toadie fears they are on the verge of breaking up. Matters come to a head when Steph returns from Shepparton and stuns everybody by declaring that she wants to marry Toadie. The neighbourhood celebrates the news but Libby and Valda wonder if Steph is ready for such a big step.

A bidding war breaks out as the auction of the Timmins’ house gets underway. The Parkers intend to make a bid, as do Carmella and Marco who see the house as a place where they can raise baby Chloe. But the Ramsay Street locals are outbid by smooth lawyer Tim Collins who plans to build three houses on the site. Just when it seems Tim is about to get his hands on the property, Steve loses his cool and makes a shock bid way above his budget. A furious Miranda confronts her husband and accuses him of him putting their future on the line. As the pair trade insults that cannot be taken back, their marriage seems to be in danger of falling apart.

Elsewhere Elle is tormented by disturbing flashbacks of the roof collapsing at the dance party. Riley suspects she is hiding the extent of her trauma so he challenges her to re-enter the crumbling warehouse to prove she does not have a problem. But Riley’s plan backfires…

Emmerdale Teaser

Poor old Pollard is shocked to his very core when he receives a blackmail letter containing incriminating photos of him with Rosalind. But who on earth could have sent it? To find out Pollard lies in wait for the culprit after dishing up the blackmail cash. Seeing Val, Pollard jumps to the conclusion that she is the blackmailer. As it becomes clear that he has got the wrong end of the stick, Pollard tries to explain himself and inadvertently lets the cat out of the bag by mentioning Rosalind. Horrified at what he has done, he begs her forgiveness saying that he loves her deeply. But will Val ever be able to forgive her fiance?

Elsewhere, Greg tells Mel that they need to go to the hospital to get some answers. Mel reluctantly agrees but it is clear she is terrified. At the hospital the doctor admits that there is a possibility that Arthur could be Laurel and Ashley’s baby and that they need to do a DNA test. Fearing the worst, Mel decides to flee the village with Arthur and persuades Greg to leave with them. Shadrach agrees to drive the couple to the airport, unaware of what they are up to. Back at the village, Ashley twigs what’s going on when he sees Jake loading Mel and Greg’s suitcases. Will he get to the airport in time to stop the couple leaving the country with his possible son?

As Gennie and her mother Brenda are leaving Paddy’s they witness a drunken Shadrach being led home by Lisa and Zak. Will Gennie introduce her adoptive mother to an inebriated Shadrach or will she snub the Dingles? When Donna tells Viv that there is still no news on Freddie, Viv is distraught and asserts that if the police aren’t going to do anything about finding Freddie, she will have to take matters into her own hands.

Hollyoaks Teaser

Calvin struck up a relationship with Carmel McQueen and started dating after he rescued Carmel’s ring from a drain. Now Carmel may well end up wearing his ring on her finger. Calvin has been missing Carmel like crazy in the wake of their tiff, and when they bump into each other Calvin is stunned as Carmel asks him to marry her. Meanwhile Sasha is avoiding Calvin like the plague. She’s worried that he’ll be able to tell that she’s been back on the gear. Michaela sees a wasted Sasha and Fletch at the park and pities her foolish friends.

A few weeks ago, stupid Ste was caught stealing a purse and lied that he needed money for Leah’s leukaemia so he wouldn’t get into trouble. The fib quickly spread out of his control, and Ste and Amy began raking in money as they wondered when everyone would find out the truth. Now Amy decides to go along with Ste’s plan to pretend that Leah has recovered from leukaemia, but insists they tell Mike first - which could be a bad move…

Elsewhere, Max presents Steph with a portfolio of pictures, but since Steph has been worrying about an audition instead of putting her efforts into making Tom a costume, Max is left feeling disgruntled. But not as disgruntled as Steph would be if she new that Newt had ruined her portfolio. Newt feels a little guilty about this but Eli shows no remorse and hides the portfolio under Newt’s bed. Steph searches high and low for it, taking no notice of Max as he talks about Tom and marriage lessons.

Jacqui and Dom remain uncomfortable in each other’s company. Tina and Tony pick up on the animosity and insist that they all spend the day together.

Coronation Street Teaser

Maria has lost the baby and isn’t telling anyone about it. But Audrey, to whom Maria has fled, finds some very disturbing things in Maria’s overnight bag. But Audrey’s shock is nothing compared to Liam’s when a midwife turns up at the house looking for Maria to check that she is okay after the stillbirth. On the day of the baby’s funeral, Maria is insisting that she won’t attend. Audrey tries to convince her that it’s a bad idea but Maria is sure she’ll make things worse with Liam by going. Carla offers her support to Liam and accompanies him to the church. Will Maria change her mind and be there to bury her son?

The Corrie writers probably started working on a credit crunch crisis storyline as soon as the subprime mess spread to the UK. And here it is. Ashley arrives home from work to find Claire in a state of panic cutting up their bank and credit cards. She explains that someone has cleared out their accounts and she can’t get to see the bank until tomorrow. She is stunned when Ashley tells her that no one has got access to their accounts - he has used all the money to shore up the business. He assures her they will work it out. Yeah right.

Marcus is delighted by the early return of Sean, whose protestations that he just wanted to come home don’t ring true. It isn’t long before Marcus discovers the real reason Sean has caught an early flight home. At the detention centre, dotty David is delighted when Tina turns up for her visit. The two are nervous with each other and he is still unsure of why she’s come to see him. Does she want to give it another go? If she does, she’s as crazy as he is… Gail is determined to get to the bottom of her mum’s meetings with Ted Paige and quizzes Rita on what’s been going on.

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