Watchification » police

Mark Lawson Talks To: GF Newman

Juliet — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:40:27 +0000

I’ve loved these programmes, and this one is a great example of how wonderful it is to have undiluted access to an interviewee. GF Newman is a strange fish. A believer of reincarnation with no argument to support it, famous for imposing a vegan regime on film sets, and personally crediting himself as the inspiration for Dick Wolf‘s Law & Order series, he makes compelling viewing if for no other reason than he is really quite scary to watch. Like a coiled spring, or Hannibal Lector eyeing up his next victim, I’m surprised Lawson managed to stay so calm. Only a day or so left… Hurry, hurry, hurry.

Holby Blue

Steve Bowbrick — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:31:56 +0000

Early evening crime in Britain is pretty wholesome stuff: more soap than episodic drama. Later in the evening things get a bit tougher and more inventive (with, like, time travel) but before the kids are in bed it’s all nicely-starched uniforms and cheeky shoplifters. Holby Blue’s an interesting effort to bridge the gap. A pre-watershed slot and a cast of soap stalwarts mashed up with grittier, more urban plots and some well-staged action. This episode’s final scene is genuinely dark and affecting; lit like a movie, it’s more like something from the mean streets of Baltimore or Miami than a made-up town in primetime Britain.