Screen
Writers Blocked
The odd script may show promise but TV executives are stifling British dramatists
Prisoners of Bad Conscience
BBC 4 failed to deal impartially with Amnesty International’s shameful loss of impartiality
A Marriage of Convenience
The sycophantic coverage of the royal wedding sidestepped the essential debate on the monarchy
Politically Suspect
British TV producers love the ethnic minorities but don’t give them any work
They Missed the Story
Ignoring the silenced millions, Western journalists got the Middle East all wrong
Murder Most Mundane
British crime drama should emulate a Danish series as good as anything from America
The Moral Low Ground
American TV dramas are often realistic and authentic, unlike their British counterparts
Keane Goes Back to Basics
The BBC correspondent may have launched ‘emotional journalism’ but he has returned to reportage
Different Class
Only in Britain could a TV company get away with a drama that looks so lovingly at the past
Culture? Reach for the Remote
French TV may be dull, but it is unashamedly highbrow. Not so British broadcasting
Why Remoaners should back Boris
“Boris, ironically, now offers Remoaners the best chance of a soft Brexit, or at least a sensible one. And to those who want a second referendum—’the people’s vote’—there may even be a chance of that too.”
On the road
“In the summer of 1980, in the grip of some Kerouac-ish fantasy, I opted to hitch-hike from Laredo to New York”
Discovering the Great War of China
A third of a million Chinese labourers helped the Allies defeat the Kaiser, but their huge unsung contribution ended in betrayal