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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News

End of the week news

15 December 2006 Rob Buckley 3 Comments

Tennant in specs

Doctor Who

British TV

  • BBC3’s just unveiled its Winter/Spring season (free registration required). In the list is a spin-off from Spooks called Rogue Spooks, featuring some young agents who ‘follow a different rule book’ (sounds horrid); six new comedy series, including Gavin and Stacey starring Rob Brydon and Alison Steadman; and Road Kill Café, in which a professional forager tries to persuade members of the public they should ditch regular food for stuff found dead on the motorway.
  • Just in case Gillian McKeith doesn’t horrify you enough already, imagine what it would be like having her live with you. Pity then, the poor participants in the next series of You Are What You Eat.

US TV

  • Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller have both been refused cameos on 24 because they’re too recognisable.
  • E!’s Watch With Kirstin has an interview with Dexter‘s ‘ice-truck killer’. Don’t read it if you haven’t started watching yet. There are also a couple of spoilers for Sunday’s finale.
  • The remaining episodes of 3 Lbs. are up on Innertube.
  • This year’s Golden Globe TV nominations are available. Yet again, Battlestar Galactica has been shafted, but Dexter is seeing some love, as is Ugly Betty. And if Alec Baldwin doesn’t win the best comedy actor award for 30 Rock, I’ll be surprised…
  • Talking of Battlestar Galactica, there be pretty significant spoilers ahoy over at the Chicago Tribune, including an interview with Ronald D Moore.

Thursday news

14 December 2006 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

All the news the Norse god of thunder thinks is worth printing

Doctor Who

  • There’s an official Christmas Invasion trailer now.

Film

British TV

US TV

Audio and radio play reviews

Review: Sapphire and Steel – Water Like A Stone

13 December 2006 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

Water Like A StoneNigel Fairs has a lot to answer for. The producer of the Big Finish range of Sapphire and Steel audio plays, it was his decision to make the stories more ’emotional’. The result, so far, has been something other than the Sapphire and Steel we came to know and love when we were growing up/bought the videos in the early 90s/bought the DVDs a couple of years ago. Instead of weird, alien logic, and morals that make no sense or are completely counter to conventional morality, we’ve had standard dramatic clichés (eg homophobia is bad) and plots that have drifted between comedic and uninteresting.

Now we have one of Fairs’ own stories, Water Like A Stone. It has good points, but for the most part, it has all the things wrong with it we’ve come to expect from the range.

Continue reading “Review: Sapphire and Steel – Water Like A Stone”

News

Wake up to the news

13 December 2006 Rob Buckley 3 Comments

Doctor Santas

Smell the TV coffee:

Doctor Who

Film

British TV

US TV

Torchwood’s back – on BBC2 first

12 December 2006 Rob Buckley 10 Comments

That second series of Torchwood has finally been commissioned. This time, it’ll air on BBC2 first.

The press release is full of ‘interesting’ quotes that sound slightly distant from reality:

Julian Bellamy, Controller of BBC Three, said: “Breaking all records on BBC Three is no mean feat and we’ve been proud to help build Torchwood into one of the most talked-about and eagerly-anticipated series of recent years.”

Jane Tranter said: “Torchwood is a modern and innovative drama that has truly captured the imagination of its audience, and we are very excited that there will be more of the adrenaline-fuelled, action-packed adventures of our team of Torchwood heroes.”

And then there’s

Russell T Davies said: “The whole team is bristling with ideas and we are delighted that Cardiff is going to be home to more monsters and mayhem.”

Gosh, RTD. You make it sound so… adult.