An archive of blog entries about UK TV programmes and production.
The nice lads at TV Today are wondering where all the good theme tunes have gone to these days. Any ideas? Off the top of my head, I could only think of some good US theme tunes and Torchwood‘s and The IT Crowd‘s (as well as the eternal Sky at Night‘s and Pobol Y Cwm‘s). Anyone got any better ones or know where the good themes have gone?
Film
British TV
US TV
Doctor Who
Film
British TV
US TV
In the UK: Mondays, 9pm, ITV1
In the US: Not yet acquired
Once upon a time, ITV ruled the roost of action TV. With the classic shows of ITC such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Danger Man and The Avengers, ITV pretty much dominated the 50s and 60s. Then there was The Sweeney, The Professionals, Out et al during the 70s and Robin of Sherwood in the 80s, as well as all those glorious US action imports that almost always ended up on ITV first.
In the 90s, post-franchise change, it all went pear-shaped. Now ITV1 is a bit of a gamble when it comes to action shows. You might get lucky and find a show like Sharpe’s Progress/Plimsolls/Whatever that starts off well and continues to be good. Or you might find a show that starts off well then becomes a bit of a turkey (eg Ultimate Force). Most of the time, though, you’ll come across something dismal like The Outsiders that’s so bad it has a biohazard warning next to it in the Radio Times.
But ITV1’s turned over a new leaf. It wants to be known for quality programmes. Can it do quality action TV? The Fixer, which started last night, is actually a very good attempt at a quality action show.
Doctor Who
Film
British TV
US TV
© 2022 The Medium is Not Enough
