Articles by Rob Buckley

About Rob Buckley
I’m Rob Buckley, a journalist who writes for UK media magazines that most people have never heard of although you might have heard me on the podcast Lockdown Land or Radio 5 Live’s Saturday Edition or Afternoon Edition. I’ve edited Dreamwatch, Sprocket and Cambridge Film Festival Daily; been technical editor for TV producers magazine Televisual; reviewed films for the short-lived newspaper Cambridge Insider; 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. Since going freelance, I've contributed to the likes of Broadcast, Total Content + Media, Action TV, Off The Telly, Action Network, TV Scoop and The Custard TV.
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Audio and radio play reviews

Review: Doctor Who – The Dark Husband

31 March 2008 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

The Dark Husband

I’m quite a fan of David Quantick. He’s written for just about every comedy programme going. He’s collaborated with Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris. He is, to put it bluntly, a talented man.

How, then, to react to the idea of a David Quantick comedy play, particularly one written for the seventh Doctor?

Is it going to be of the science fiction/Doctor Who milieu or is it going to be some random piece of comedy that takes the piss?Is it going to be of the terminally rubbish (but beloved by Big Finish) comedic season 24, or is it going to be of the darker season 25/26 style? Is Quantick going to know the characters and the back story, particularly of new companion Hex, played by Philip "Brookside/The Games/Naked calendars" Olivier? Is it, in short, going to be rubbish, or is it going to be worth listening to?

On balance, I’d say, if it weren’t for the slight hindrances of Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, it would actually be all right.

Continue reading “Review: Doctor Who – The Dark Husband”

Eighth Doctor adventures get new titles

31 March 2008 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Some of the forthcoming titles in the Eighth Doctor range of Big Finish plays, which haven’t been desperately impressive this season, have had name changes. Kidnapped has been renamed Sisters of the Flame and Vengeance is now Vengeance of Morbius. They sound a bit more interesting, don’t they? There’s a trailer available for Sisters of the Flame from the ever-"quirky" Big Finish web site.

Incidentally, the Eighth Doctor range is now available for download at £8.99 per story (down from £10.99 for a CD).

Monday’s replacement skins news

31 March 2008 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Doctor Who

  • BBC7 to run companion show to Doctor Who, as well as Paul McGann repeats. Guest hosts include David Tennant and Catherine Tate

Film

British TV

  • Entire cast of Skins to be replaced for third series [free registration required]

US TV

News

The Amazing Randi returns to UK TV

28 March 2008 Rob Buckley Post a comment

James Randi

Don’t know if you’re aware of The Amazing James Randi or not. He’s a magician, who amongst other things performed a guillotine trick with Alice Cooper during one of his world tours and brought Penn and Teller together.

But he’s most famous for debunking Uri Geller during the 70s, appearing on numerous chat shows to demonstrate the exact same tricks that Geller performs, but without claiming psychic powers. He’s like Derren Brown – and indeed Penn and Teller – but older.

He’s also famous for his million dollar challenge, in which he promises to give $1 million to anyone who can demonstrate psychic or supernatural powers under mutually agreed conditions.

Anyway, he’s returning to UK screens* – assuming the contracts get sorted – to do a show based on his $1 million challenge for Channel 4. He’s going to have a panel of scientifically qualified people of all persuasions to help him. That’s all the details I’ve managed to glean so far from his latest podcast. Fingers crossed it’ll all come together.

* You might also remember him from his ITV show, James Randi – Psychic Investigator, which aired in 1991.