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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More on ‘Little Britain US’ and a new series from Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais

25 August 2006 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Broadcast (normally subscription only, but free for everyone while the Edinburgh Festival is running) has an interview with Simon Fuller about various things, including his bust up with Simon Cowell and the proposed ‘Little America‘ or ‘Little Britain US’ (or whatever it is they’re doing).

“We are on the brink of confirming something rather special,” he confirms. “Comedy of that quality always crosses the Atlantic. Think back to Monty Python. Who would have thought that would have been such a big hit in America?”

The Times has more info. Maybe. It might be reading too much into the Broadcast interview, though.

For those with an appreciation of classic comedy, there’s more good news from Fuller. He’s cajoled Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement, who wrote The Likely Lads, Porridge and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, into creating a new series, too:

“It’s a music drama with a bit of comedy in it. It has the flavour of a very contemporary version of The Commitments for TV.”

Sounds a bit like one of their few flops, Over the Rainbow, doesn’t it? But only a bit. Let us wait and see.

Five US goes live in October

25 August 2006 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Five US, the channel made just for me, is to start broadcasting on October 15th, according to the Media Guardian. And so’s that other one they have planned, Five Life.

Five US will broadcast daily between 4pm and 1am. Vanished and Shark, which I’ve already previewed, will be two of the main attractions, as will Conviction from Law & Order creator Dick Wolf and Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King. Nick Thorogood will be the controller of both digital channels.

You can read the Media Guardian article to find out more about Five Life, since I don’t care. Five US is my channel.

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ITV to remake Sapphire and Steel?

25 August 2006 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Sapphire on Action TVI’ve not seen this reported anywhere else, but ITV has approached Sapphire and Steel creator PJ Hammond about a possible remake of the series. According to Action TV (which just did a Sapphire and Steel issue, so I suspect this is how the news came out), “it is very early days and no decision has been made with a possible new series.” But ITV are at least thinking about it.

What do you reckon? Good news or bad “trampled all over my memories” news?

News

ITV to remake Sapphire and Steel?

25 August 2006 Rob Buckley 6 Comments

Sapphire on Action TVI’ve not seen this reported anywhere else, but ITV has approached Sapphire and Steel creator PJ Hammond about a possible remake of the series. According to Action TV (which just did a Sapphire and Steel issue, so I suspect this is how the news came out), “it is very early days and no decision has been made with a possible new series.” But ITV are at least thinking about it.

What do you reckon? Good news or bad “trampled all over my memories” news?

Some of my favourite TV characters

25 August 2006 Rob Buckley 23 Comments

Okay, so Scott’s already got in on the act and Lisa looks like she’s raring up to do her own posting elsewhere, but here’s a list of some of my favourite TV characters in response to Jess Whedon’s. In no particular order.

  1. Neil Burnside, The Sandbaggers. Lots of explanation over here.
  2. David Creegan, Touching Evil (US version). Lots of explanation over here.
  3. Stringfellow Hawke, Airwolf. Because he was just so hard
  4. Callisto, Xena: Warrior Princess. One of the few villains to have a good – and sympathetic – motivation. Plus how many characters get to die yet end up a god?
  5. Chandler, Friends. Fantastic until he got neutered by Monica.
  6. Lieutenant Castillo, Miami Vice. Even harder than Stringfellow Hawke. That’s how hard he was. The less he said, the harder he got.
  7. House, House. Do I really need to explain this one?
  8. The President, The West Wing. Moral, dynamic, powerful and a complete nerd who speaks Latin. We need more characters like this. He made me want to be American, anyway.
  9. Turlough, Doctor Who. Slippy, weasly and great fun – for three stories. Then he went off the idea of killing the Doctor. Oh well.
  10. Anya, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just endlessly entertaining.
  11. James T Kirk, Star Trek. Well, he was great, wasn’t he?
  12. Spock, Star Trek. And so was he.
  13. Lynda Day, Press Gang. And so was she. Pretty much like most editors you’ll meet, in fact.
  14. DI Rosie Campbell, The Paradise Club. I just loved this posh, Oxford-educated police officer trying to spew out police slang, be street and it all going pear-shaped, every time.
  15. Chloe Sullivan, Smallville. Smart, funny, loyal, brave, and willing to put up with a constantly broken heart for the sake of friendship – the best sidekick a superhero could want
  16. Tony Hancock, Hancock’s Half Hour. The funniest man who ever lived.
  17. Avon, Blake’s 7. Seriously, just watch any episode and you’ll understand.
  18. Jarod, The Pretender. A genius who could be anyone he wanted to be. Great character, shame the show got silly.
  19. Nasir, Robin of Sherwood. Britain’s answer to Lieutenant Castillo.
  20. Austin James, P.R.O.B.E. Another genius, this one scientific. From the brain of Isaac Asimov and pretty much like all his other characters, James was the proto-House of his day

I’ve left a load out, I’m sure of it. But that’s a good crop to be getting on with. Depressingly few women in there, though. How do we up the quota? Give me suggestions!

UPDATE: And Stringer Bell from The Wire! He’s a drug-dealer, but he goes to economics classes in the evening. You’ve got to love that.