TV: Venus vs Mars
The road from independently developed web drama to established TV presence will become increasingly well-travelled. This series, which also airs on Thursday evenings on Sky Living, is the brainchild of Baby Isako and began as a lively, rough-and-ready online affair. It stars Letitia Hector as a 20-something girl looking for love in London. Not exactly a revolutionary premise but likable enough and, surely, the shape of things to come.
Sky On Demand
Audio: Panoply Podcasts
Panoply is a new podcast platform working as an aggregation site for some of the bigger players in US media. Expect plentiful offerings from the likes of Slate, Huffington Post and the New York Times Magazine with subject matter ranging from cook books and happiness to TV shows and politics. It is, as you’d expect, entirely all-American in both style and content but it’s still erudite, engaging and, thanks to the sleek design, both simple and seductive to interact with. It’s free and smartphone-friendly too so it’s easy to give it a try.
TV: Turn - Washington’s Spies
There’s always room for a drama involving muskets, three cornered hats and labyrinthine political intrigue. The second series of this 18th century US potboiler stars Jamie Bell as Abe Woodhull, a member of a group of spies whose interventions helped turn the tide of the American revolutionary war. It’s based on real historical events surrounding a group known as The Culper Ring – plenty of poetic licence is involved, but the US drama fundamentals of villainous, corrupt and torture-happy Brits being bested by plucky, apple-cheeked Americans remain intact.
Amazon Instant Video
TV: Alan Davies - Life Is Pain
He’s establised a lucrative niche as a middle-brow repository for Stephen Fry’s mostly playful scorn. But before QI and his strangely enduring turn as illusionist-detective Jonathan Creek, Alan Davies was a standup of some repute. He’s been doing little more than keeping his hand in since his telly career took off, but this 2012 show suggested he never quite lost either the knack or the inclination for treading the boards.
TV: BBC4 Game Show Collection
Pointless is currently the undisputed alpha male of the late afternoon game show. So who better than Richard Osman to curate this selection of daytime TV staples? Prepare to shudder once more at the formidable Anne Robinson as she dispatches various Weakest Links all over again.
