Tonight's The Night That These Things Are Happening
On Sky Atlantic at 9pm, new Steven Soderbergh x Clive Owen hospital-set drama The Knick begins, with possibly one of the most sanguinary opening episodes of all time. Probably best not to watch with your tea. Or your eyes open.
Two veritable icons, Julian Cope and Elvis Costello, both have gigs tonight, the former plays the Exeter Phoenix, the latter is at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin.
Elsewhere - Galway to be precise - Galway comedy carnival begins, with the inimitable Judah Friedlander (aka 30 Rock’s Frank Rossitano) among this evening’s opening line up.
Neil Patrick Harris Is The New Oscar Host
Neil Patrick Harris will be hosting the 2015 Oscar ceremony, as he announced via this video earlier:
Which lots of people are quite looking forward to since - judging by previous awards outings - he’s likely to bring some actual entertainment to the ceremony.
Something that will be especially welcome after last year, when that mind-numbingly ubiquitous Samsung selfie was what passed as entertainment.
Musical numbers at the Oscars can go horribly wrong though. Seth MacFarlane’s monumentally misjudged boob song is obviously a lowlight, but also kind of offensive was host Hugh Jackman’s 2009 post-crash economical musical number, which featured cut price costumes and props and, by the sound of it, bargain basement writers too.
Now let Chris Rock’s wholly righteous and brilliant 2005 Oscar opening monologue take the bad taste out of your mouth...
10 O'Clock Dead
10 O’Clock Live - Channel 4’s stab at a topical satirical show that could emulate the success of those across the pond - has been canned after three series, it’s been announced.
It’s not really that surprising, considering how much of it revolved around Jimmy Carr’s dead-eyed stand-up - and it’s not like British people are clinically unable to produce good satire this Millennium (look at John Oliver) - so we probably should be able to do a bit better.
Charlie Brooker’s contributions, though, will really be missed: you can (and REALLY should if you haven’t) watch his pretty much legendary witch hunt poem here.
Lunchtime Links
More names have been confirmed for Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer Celebrity Gogglebox specials, which will air tomorrow. Noel Gallagher, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell will be giving their two pennies worth on various TV shows, as will Miranda and her sitcom co-stars Sarah Hadland and Tom Ellis - and also Paul O’Grady and Kathy Burke. Judging from the preview clip below, it looks like it’ll be a pretty meta affair.
Julio Bashmore’s has released new track Rhythm of Auld, the second from his upcoming debut album, due out in February. Listen below.
Excitingly, the Radio Times have digitised all their back copies here so you can find out, among other things, what was on the BBC schedules the day you were born (my parents sadly missed out on Opportunity Knocks with Les Dawson and a total of 5 hours and 15 minutes of Grandstand, in case you were wondering).
Ozzy Ozzfiesta
Ozzy Osbourne has announced that he’ll be hosting a five day music-and-other-things festival in Mexico this May called Ozzfiesta.
The line up isn’t looking particularly great at the moment (it’s never good sign when Sharon Osbourne comes in at second billing)...
... but there is of course that all important “...AND MORE!” to get the imagination going. And after Ozzy’s recent remarks on 9/11 - he was reported as saying “I wasn’t scared, I was excited! It was my kind of craziness, y’know” - who the hell knows what his ideas about how to have a good time will yield.
Erykah Badu: Singer, Actress, Busker, Head Custodian, Mailman etc
Erykah Badu has posted a video online of her being perhaps the most abrasive busker in Times Square history.
With all that wailing and bellowing in children’s faces and (I’m hoping post-production) alarm clock effect - along with the fact she’s begging for money wearing a load of huge silver necklaces - it’s not really a surprise that she only makes $3.60.
Although at least she doesn’t have to worry about paying her staff...
