BB FANS

Stoppard back on the BBC after an interval of three decades
By Ian Burrell, Media Editor Independent

New Dramas For BBC One

Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama and Commissioning, today announced three major new dramas for BBC One - Exile, Taken and South Riding.

Stephenson said: "BBC Drama allows original writers to do their very best work and the story going forward is about putting writers and authorship first in order to deliver audiences the range of varied and ambitious drama they expect.

"Andrew Davies, Danny Brocklehurst and Stephen Butchard's new work represent the range of high quality and imaginative drama that pushes the bar of what mainstream is on BBC One."

Exile is written by Danny Brockenhurst, it is a three-parter about prodigal redemption, but also becomes an investigative crime story.

The two investigations dovetail – the intimate story of a son returning to dissect the history of his family, and the digging into a mind blowing scandal two decades old, whose effects still live on.

Taken is a new single 90-minute film from Stephen Butchard about human trafficking in Britain today, where children are brought here for a better life but end up working illegally outside the system, it's a story of modern child slavery that demonstrates the broadening scope of singles on BBC One.

Andrew Davies's new three-part adaptation of lost classic South Riding, by Winifred Holtby, is a portrait of a Yorkshire community in the Thirties.

All three dramas were commissioned by Jay Hunt, Controller, BBC One and Ben Stephenson and will transmit in 2011.

waveguide.co.uk

Robert Plant: 'I feel so far away from heavy rock'

Ahead of the release of his new album, Band of Joy, Robert Plant talks to Andy Gill about the move from fronting the biggest band in the world to his success in exploring a diverse range of styles, from vocal harmony and country to North African and Arabic Independent

Annie Nightingale: The first lady of Radio 1
Forty years ago, men ruled the airwaves. Then along came Annie Nightingale to prove that she could put a fresh spin on being a DJ. Ian Burrell meets her
Independent

Sky Reaches HD Landmarks

Living HD launches today on Sky, meaning that Sky has now confirmed all 50 High Definition (HD) channels that will be available by Christmas, in line with its promise to customers, the broadcaster said today.

Good Food HD launched earlier this week, and HD channels including Eden HD, ITV 2 HD, ITV 3 HD and ITV 4 HD will follow Living HD, which becomes the 46th HD channel on the Sky platform. More HD channels will be announced in the coming months.

The announcement coincides with the news that Sky has now attracted more than three million HD subscribers.

Sky increased its HD customer base by 429,000, bringing twelve month cumulative growth to 1.6 million.

Upcoming highlights on Living HD include the current series of Britain's Next Top Model, presented by Elle Macpherson, which concludes with the first ever live final on October 4.

Also launching on Living HD in October are brand-new US drama Nikita, and Four Weddings spin-off Party Wars.

waveguide.co.uk

Airline Comedy Starts Filming

New comedy series, Come Fly With Me, starring and written by the makers of Little Britain, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, has commenced filming for the BBC.

Set in a busy airport, the show features all new characters played by Matt and David, plus special guest appearances throughout the series.

The six-part series is now in production in the UK, filmed in HD, for broadcast later this year.

waveguide.co.uk

C4 Show For Jimmy Carr

Channel 4 has reportedly signed Jimmy Carr, Charlie Brooker, David Mitchell and Lauren Laverne to appear in a new topical comedy series with a working title 10 O'Clock Live.

The four presenters previously appeared together in Channel 4's The Alternative Election Night.

The show, made by the Alternative Election Night producer, Zeppotron, a subsidiary of Endemol UK, hopes to give a comic, fresh take on the week's issues and events.

10 0'Clock Live has been commissioned by the entertainment and comedy commissioning editor, Darren Smith, who commissioned Alternative Election Night.

Smith said: "The success of the Alternative Election Night proved that there is an appetite for a show that mixes comedy and the news agenda together in a way that produces genuine insight as well as laugh-out-loud moments.

"10 O'Clock Live will provide a fresh and unashamedly intelligent take on current affairs from a young perspective."

waveguide.co.uk

Water-cooler TV!
As viewing figures hit an 18-year high, we trail the shows that everyone will be talking about.

By Andrew Johnson and Jonathan Owe - Independent

Fans pass out at Danny Boyle's hideous realism
First screenings of '127 Hours', about a trapped climber, provoke extreme reaction

By Cahal Milmo, Chief Reporter Independent

Now he's Under Pressure! Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury in biopic Mail

Seriously funny: satirist takes on the US Congress

Stephen Colbert stumps Republicans with immigration broadside

By Guy Adams


If the Republicans are hoping that flag-waving members of the populist Tea Party will help them to victory in November's mid-term elections, then America's Democrats appear to be putting faith in an even more colourful group of cheerleaders: the nation's best-known left-leaning comedians.

Not long after announcing that he and his Comedy Central colleague Jon Stewart plan to organise a demonstration against what they call the increasing extremism of the Republican movement, the satirist Stephen Colbert travelled to Washington to address lawmakers grappling with the thorny issue of illegal immigration. In an occasionally farcical speech to the House judiciary subcommittee, Colbert discussed what he'd learned from filming a recent episode of his chatshow in which he spent a day picking vegetables with migrant farm-workers in upstate New York.

Adding to the surreal nature of the occasion – which he was attending at the invitation of Democrat Zoe Lofgren – Colbert chose to appear in character, as the blustery, right-wing political pundit he portrays each night on his Emmy-winning show.

"America's farms are far too dependent on immigrant labour to pick our fruits and vegetables," he duly told baffled lawmakers. "Now the obvious answer is for all of us to stop eating fruits and vegetables. And if you look at the recent obesity statistics, you will see that many Americans have already started." The satirical five-minute speech brought a crowd to the usually empty room where the subcommittee was meeting to consider efforts to give farm workers who are in the US illegally a path to citizenship.

"This is America," said Colbert. "I don't want a tomato picked by a Mexican. I want it picked by an American, then sliced by a Guatemalan and served by a Venezuelan in a spa where a Chilean gives me a Brazilian .... Maybe, the easier answer is just to have scientists invent vegetables that pick themselves."

Colbert's speech drew criticism from several Republicans, who argued that it eroded their committee's credibility. Even one Democrat was uneasy: after thanking Colbert for bringing an impressive crowd to the hearing, John Conyers asked him to leave. The comedian politely declined.

His critics looked particularly pained when he suggested that "few Americans are clamouring to begin an exciting career as seasonal migrant field worker" and challenged Republicans on the committee to shed their reputation as the "party of no", and come up with a viable solution to the immigration problem.

"What's the answer?" he asked. "Normally, I would leave this to the invisible hand of the market. But the invisible hand of the market has already ... shut down a million acres of US farmland due to lack of available labour. Apparently even the invisible hand doesn't want to pick beans."

Though Colbert's alter ego boasts fans across the political spectrum, he has lately begun to explicitly ally himself to liberal causes. At the end of October, he and the satirist Jon Stewart are organising a public rally in Washington that hopes to provide a left-leaning counterbalance to Glenn Beck's recent demonstration there.

Stewart will lead a "Rally to restore sanity" on 30 October. On the same afternoon, Colbert's character will invite supporters to join what he is calling, with his usual brand of somewhat un-American irony, a "March to Keep Fear Alive".

Congressional Cameos

George Galloway

Most witnesses at Congress are in awe. Not so George Galloway, who used a hearing on profiteering in Iraq to slam the Senate for traducing his name. He told Republican Norm Coleman: "I know that standards have slipped. But for a lawyer, you're remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice."

Kevin Costner

Celebrities are often invited to give evidence to draw attention to their pet cause. But when Kevin Costner was there, he spoke as a real expert, giving evidence about technologies that could mitigate oil spills based on his own experience as an entrepreneur and inventor.

Elmo

Easily the cutest celebrity to appear before Congress, and the only non-human, the Sesame Street star came to discuss music in school. "Elmo loves to sing and to dance," he explained. "It helps Elmo learn ABCs."
Independent

US TV dramas: American beauties

Can US TV dramas continue to dominate our schedules? Yes, says Sarah Hughes – and there are some real scorchers coming this way


In recent years they've given us double-dealing ad men and meth-dealing teachers, convinced us that glee clubs might actually be cool and shown that when it comes to vampires, a way with a one-liner is just as important as a sharp pair of fangs. Now the latest crop of US television shows hopes to prove that the best accessory this season is a healthy dose of fear. Not since The X-Files has paranoia been so rampant. Whether it's Rubicon's shadowy agency employees sneaking around New York clutching files and constantly looking over their shoulders or The Event's regular guy swept up into a conspiracy so complicated that even strangers in the street might be involved, this year's new shows are all about the creeping sense that the real enemy is within. AMC's zombie drama The Walking Dead takes that paranoia to its logical conclusion with an apocalyptic, plague-ridden world where the person you love most could soon become one of the undead.

Even those dramas that aren't fuelled by paranoia are filled with secret lives and dual existences. Thus Boardwalk Empire's Nucky Thompson is both politician and gangster; Lone Star's con-man hero has two lives, and also two wives; The Big C's seemingly straightforward suburban heroine is hiding her (possibly terminal) illness from her family, while the glamorous leads in Undercovers are caterers by career and spies by inclination.

That's not to say that every new US show is concerned with secrets, lies and noir lives. The success of Glee and Modern Family has led to a record number of commissioned comedies, although few of them seem truly outstanding on first viewing and one – Outsourced – may be the worst show ever to make it on air. Meanwhile, from the laid-back team in the Hawaii Five-0 remake to the stressed-out detectives of Detroit 1-8-7, every network seems to have placed their faith in that good old reliable standby, the police procedural.

Thank goodness then for Terriers. The private detective drama might not be the most original or complex tale out there, but its combination of strong dialogue, deft characterisation and well-paced plotlines help to make it the most purely enjoyable new show of this year.

THE BEST OF THE NEW SHOWS

The Event

What's it about? Good question. An amalgamation of Lost, 24 and FlashForward, the season's most high-concept drama stars Jason Ritter as the (very) confused Sean Walker, an ordinary bloke caught up in a web of conspiracy involving a kidnapping, detainees in a mysterious prison and possibly the President of the US.

Planned UK broadcast It starts on Channel 4 next month.

Boardwalk Empire

What's it about? Terence Winter's prohibition drama gave HBO its highest-ever ratings for a premiere, with 7.1 million people tuning in to watch this compelling tale of corruption and greed in Atlantic City. With a strong cast, incredible attention to detail and a cleverly scripted storyline centred around the beginnings of the gangster myth, Boardwalk Empire served notice to the rest of US cable TV that HBO is back at the top of its game.

Planned UK broadcast The series starts on Sky in early 2011.

The Walking Dead

What's it about? One of the most anticipated shows of the year, Frank The Shawshank Redemption Darabont's take on Robert Kirkland's acclaimed graphic novel, about a handful of survivors trying to make their way through zombie-infested badlands in the American south, stars Andrew Lincoln as reluctant leader Sheriff Rick Grimes. It was described by sci-fi website io9 as "Dawn of the Dead, the original, meets The Wire".

Planned UK broadcast The Walking Dead starts on FX in November.

The Big C

What's it about? Laura Linney is Cathy, a repressed suburban high-school teacher who has been diagnosed with stage IV malignant melanoma, in this acerbic comedy from Darlene Hunt. A good supporting cast bring the laughs, but the real appeal of the series lies in watching Linney's Cathy as she struggles to come to terms with her diagnosis and reconnect with the life she's been sleepwalking away.

Planned UK broadcast Nothing confirmed, but a deal is expected.

Raising Hope & Running Wilde

What are they about? The season's most high-profile new comedies both deal with class, in very different ways. Raising Hope (above), from the creators of My Name Is Earl, follows an eccentric trailer-park family as they attempt to cope with the Hope of the title, after her mother ends up on death row. It's worth catching for Martha Plimpton's ballsy performance as the clan's caustic matriarch. Running Wilde, from the team behind Arrested Development, starring Will Arnett as a spoiled millionaire's son and Keri Russell as his first love, the housekeeper's daughter, attempts to update the screwball comedy for a new generation. The first couple of episodes are patchy – but the talent involved means that it's hard to give up on entirely.

Planned UK broadcast Raising Hope comes to Sky in November. Running Wilde has yet to be bought by a UK channel.

No Ordinary Family

What's it about? Heroes has only just gone off air, but those who crave a superhero fix can get one with Greg Berlanti's drama about a family who find themselves suddenly transformed into superheroes following a plane crash. No Ordinary Family's strength lies in its cast – in particular The Shield's Michael Chiklis as the family's dissatisfied dad. The show's creators get bonus points for making having superpowers look like fun – in contrast to the relentless misery of Heroes.

Planned UK broadcast No deal is in place yet.

Lone Star

What's it about? Rising star James Wolk is a conflicted con man and bigamist whose complex life is just one step away from unravelling entirely. A strong supporting cast includes Jon Voight and Friday Night Light's Adrianne Palicki while the Texas setting, all sunlight and neon, makes for a convincing, if soapy modern-day noir. The only problem – it's the sort of smart show that would flourish on cable, but a poor start means that it will need a miracle to survive past two episodes on Fox.

Planned UK broadcast Ratings willing, it's due to air on Sky in 2011.

Terriers

What's it about? A wonderfully laconic tale of two unlicensed private detectives working out of San Diego's rundown Ocean Beach, which ignores the standard "crime of the week" tales in favour of an altogether more scenic approach to life's detours. Starring Donal Logue as a cross between Jim Rockford and The Big Lebowski's Dude and True Blood's Michael Raymond-James as his roguish partner, this is one shaggy-dog tale that's definitely worth checking out.

Planned UK broadcast Not yet, sadly.

Rubicon

What's it about? AMC's slow-burning conspiracy thriller is half way through its season, leaving fans no clearer about the connection between Miranda Richardson's bewildered widow and James Badge Dale's twitchy analyst. While it can be obtuse to the point of obduracy, Rubicon should also be commended for its refusal to spoon-feed its audience. Playing out like a cross between a Seventies paranoia movie and the TV series of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy it's worth spending time with, even though a second season looks increasingly unlikely.

Planned UK broadcast It will air on BBC4

Hawaii Five-0

What's it about? Surfing, laid-back cops, "Book 'em Danno!" – we all know the score. The CBS remake of the classic cop show works precisely because it doesn't pretend to be groundbreaking. Instead, this is American trash TV at its best: fast-moving with plenty of action and a witty script. CBS's hunk du jour, Alex O'Loughlin as Steve McGarrett, and Daniel Dae Kim (Det. Chin Ho Kelly) provide the eye-candy, but the show is stolen by Scott Caan as Danny "Danno" Williams and Battlestar Galactica's Grace Park as a now-female Kono.

Planned UK broadcast The series starts on Bravo UK in October.

Undercovers

What's it about? Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe star as the world's sexiest married couple in J J Abrams' entertainingly over-the-top tale of two spies who also happen to run a catering business (yes, really). Essentially, it's Hart to Hart for the 21st century, with added implausibility, a great central pairing and oodles of charm.

Planned UK broadcast Not yet, surprisingly.

Detroit 1-8-7 & Blue Bloods

What are they about? Can we really be bothered with two more cop shows? Yes, when the casting is this good. Detroit 1-8-7 stars the wonderful (and wonderfully eyebrowed) Michael Imperioli as the tortured head of Detroit's homicide division in a show that starts unevenly, but has the potential to transcend its clichés, while the (initially at least) more interesting Blue Bloods stars the evergreen Tom Selleck as the head of a family of cops in a well-acted, smart tale that's surprisingly buried in the Friday night slot.

Planned UK broadcast Not yet, although Blue Bloods deserves to.
Independent

Spielberg picks new leading lady from wards of 'Casualty'

By Guy Adams in Los Angeles Independent

Carlos - review

Olivier Assayas's engrossing movie traces the life of one of the 20th century's most notorious terrorists.
INDEPENDENT