They've been talking about it for years, but finally Russia's version of Life on Mars -Обратная Сторона Луны (aka Dark Side of the Moon, since Bowie was unknown but Pink Floyd was big in those days) - has emerged, with a modern day Russian policeman travelling back in time 30 years to work with a KGB officer and work out what he's doing there: is he mad, in a coma or back in time?
The big change, apart from it being set in Russia? The KGB lot very much played by the rules so it's the modern-day cop who's the fast-and-loose Gene Hunt to the KGB Sam Tyler. Here's a trailer (no subtitles, I'm afraid).
And if your Russian is good, you can watch the entire first episode (and others), too:
In the annals of British TV police series, few shows have been as influential or as important as The Sweeney. Starring John Thaw - the future Inspector Morse - as DI Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman - the future Minder - as DS George Carter of the Metropolitan Police's 'Flying Squad', the show spawned imitators (Special Branch), homages (Life on Mars) and movies (The Sweeney), and even influenced the then-new Flying Squad themselves, showing them how to be the Flying Squad.
What's not as well known is that The Sweeney actually started as one of Thames TV's Armchair Cinema season, the continuation of ITV's Armchair Theatre play series. It was written by Ian Kennedy Martin - the brother of Z-Cars (and The Italian Job and Edge of Darkness) writer Troy Kennedy Martin - with John Thaw in mind, Kennedy Martin having been script editor on 60s show Redcap, of which Thaw was the star.
Most of the essential elements of The Sweeney are here, so see below how the show started, in today's Wednesday Play.
As I've mentioned before, the second Totally Serialized is about to take place in London. Featuring international cinema and TV, as well as UK shows such as Doctor Who and Peep Show, it'll offer you the exclusive chance to see:
The first episode of the mini-series Labyrinth, based on the multi-million selling novel by Kate Mosse, followed by a panel Q&A with cast and key creatives
The UK premieres of innovative French shows Rebound, Spin and The Church Men
A panel on TV screenwriting with Jack Thorne (The Fades, This is England), Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars) and French screenwriters
The world premiere of Flight of the Storks directed by Jan Kounen
The world premiere of Jo attended by Jean Reno
A comedy medley of French and British sitcoms (The Thick of It, Peep Show, Kaboul Kitchen, Workingirls)
A Skins revival to say goodbye to the cult show ending this year, with a screening of the very first episode and a Q&A with the creator Bryan Elsley
A night of Doctor Who fun with fancy dress, music, quizzes and a writing masterclass with Toby Whithouse.
Full details of what's on are here and here's a trailer:
And I have a pass to give away to one lucky person for all of Friday 18th's events, which will include:
The UK premiere of the first episode of Spiral series 4
The UK premiere of new Scandinavian sci-fi show Real Humans
Episode two of the French political series Spin
A Q&A with actor Grégory Fitoussi
Here are some trailers - yes there will be English subtitles:
To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is leave a comment below before midnight on Tuesday 14th January, after which the results will be announced. Good luck and spread the word!
About the blog
This is a UK media blog with daily news, views, exclusive reviews and good conversation. There's a bit of a bias towards the latest and greatest US TV, but we also cover UK TV ranging from new Doctor Who to old Z Cars, and BBC4 to S4C.
Add in film, theatre, art, books, events and competitions and you've (hopefully) got officially the fourth best blog on the web for media lovers. Oh yes, and there's The Carusometer, the ultimate guide to quality TV.
Praise for the blog Cision: fourth most important UK TV blog Blogging Edge: Blogger running Britain 2013
"For most of us watching the telly of an evening is a way to wind down and relax, but for Rob Buckley it’s his blogging bread and butter. With reviews of cult classics and up and coming US and Brit television shows, The Medium is Not Enough is fast becoming essential reading for TV buffs, with over 50,000 hits a month."
"The Medium Is Not Enough is a light-hearted look at TV, often from the US, but also from the UK. With varied, well-written content, the blog features healthy engagement and features well in search engines."
"I trust Rob Buckley's taste. And if I know more about how television works in the UK it's because of Rob and his outstanding blog. And did I mention his good taste?"
"Billing itself as 'officially the fourth most popular UK TV blog', there are several whimsical regulars here that could help it climb as high as number three…"
About me
I'm Rob Buckley, a freelance journalist who writes for UK media magazines that most people have never heard of, although you might have heard me on Radio 5 Live's Saturday Edition. I've edited Dreamwatch, Sprocket and Cambridge Film Festival Daily; been technical editor for trade magazine Televisual; reviewed films for the short-lived newspaper Cambridge Insider and the equally short-lived Death Ray and Filmstar magazines; written features for the even shorter-lived newspaper Soho Independent; and was regularly sarcastic about television on the blink-and-you-missed-it "web site for urban hedonists" The Tribe. I'm freelance now and have contributed to the likes of Broadcast, Total Content + Media, Action TV, Off The Telly, Action Network and TV Scoop.
