The return of Black Books did a very neat thing. It reminded us of the relationship of the three characters by splitting them up. It also did a tremendous sight gag without ever having to show it. The plot was simple. While Fran was on holiday, Berna[…]

THE ICK FACTOR: confirmed
There were always two problems with my First Iron Law of Cinema, that “No Good Film Has Ever Been Made by Someone Whose Name Ends in the Letters I C K”: i: You had to do some fancy (not to say fraudulent) spellin[…]

The Marriage of Figaro, Hackney Empire
Whole cities have been built in the time it has taken to refurbish Hackney Empire. It has reopened to muted fanfare aware that a big gap in the outer brickwork doesn’t add to its aesthetic value. Inside, h[…]

HERBIE HANCOCK – Zippit
Imagine if you will that you are a jazz musician (horrible thought I know). You’ve played with the – ahem – greats such as Miles Davies, Canonball Adderly and Quickdraw McGraw. You have even survived th[…]

Lite Brite, Schmite Brite: At first, I thought sciencists were jonesing on a scatological gene-splicing tip – “And for our next trick, we will breed pigs with break away tails! And then cows with incisors! Sharks with opposable thumbs![…]