As we all know, Sky1 doesn't produce much original content, and what it has produced has tended to be lowest common denominator crud that sucks in the extreme. But the times they are a changing. The new philosophy at Sky 1 is that if they make programmes that are halfway decent, that will entice people to take out subscriptions - in particular, HD subscriptions.
So how about this for tempting: Mad Dogs, an HD-only four-part crime series set on Mallorca that stars Max Beesley, Ben Chaplin, Marc Warren and the Life on Mars/State of Play dream team that is Philip Glenister and John Simm? Maybe with just a hint of nudity from these stars…
Sounds good huh? Well, it doesn't stop there, when it comes to BSkyB pulling out all the stops for this one: cue the promotional trailer by David LaChapelle. We can talk about whether it's any good or not after the break…
Well, we all loved the BBC mini-series State of Play, starring John Simm, David Morrissey, Bill Nighy, James McAvoy, Kelly Macdonald, Marc Warren and Philip Glenister (at least I hope we do. If we don't, we need to get it on DVD instantly). Now a Hollywood adaptation is on the way and is due to be released in US cinemas on April 17th.
Starring Russell Crowe (as John Simm), Ben Affleck (as David Morrissey), Helen Mirren (as Bill Nighy), Rachel McAdams (as Kelly Macdonald), Jason Bateman (as Marc Warren) and Harry Lennix (as Philip Glenister) it's got big budget US thriller all over it and not in a good way. Plus what's up with Russell's accent? Here's a trailer – see if you disagree with me. For comparison's sake, the trailer for the original mini-series is after it. You can also find photos from the movie at IMDB.
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.
