All articles by Stephen Price – Page 38
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RatingsLast-ditch win seals it for Sky
Football produced some of the best drama as Bournemouth fans knocked over their cocoa, leaping out of their bathchairs at an unlikely win.
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RatingsCamp finale ends on high
Now the bugs have gone, ITV2 will reflect happily on its camp outings, while E4’s theoretical physicists will, like so many, be pleased to see the back of the whole tropical chaparral thing.
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RatingsAntiques bring value to BBC2
As if it’s not quite thrilling enough seeing long-haired lover Donny Osmond and Amarillo-dreamin’ Tony Christie rummaging around the Midlands for bric-a-brac, this week, BBC2’s antiques ramble went berserk and put Donny in a De Lorean – the automotive equivalent of bric-a-brac.
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RatingsStrictly pips I'm A Celebrity final
I live quite close to what was Rillington Place. It has changed its name since and the houses are modern, but there’s a gap where No.10 would have been. Filling it is a small garden, impaired by history, rather melancholy but quietly dignified.
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RatingsSky's robots outgun pope
It can’t be long before some writer coming down with a fever in their freezing garret dreams up the idea of having Lenny The Pope wander into the artificial Wild West. After a few weeks on Sky Atlantic, it’s clear who’d win that particular gunfight at the corral.
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RatingsBig Show adds to X Factor misery
After much probably unintended yet welcome hilarity, a teenager finally dropped its Ed Balls. No amount of coquettish pouting on Strictly’s 14th series was going to save this man from the sequinned boot once the red dance-off beam of doom had him in its sights.
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RatingsWestworld loses to Gold Rush
This week, Sky Atlantic’s more theatrical version of the Wild West wrestled the ‘real men’ of the gold rush to a standstill before the sheriff in the white hat (also known as the PVR) rode into town to restore order.
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RatingsPlanet Earth II soars higher
This week, after the whole iguana/ snake fandango of the opening episode, viewers flocked, ran, leaped and swam to the second of BBC1’s Planet Earth II on Sunday.
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RatingsI'm A Celebrity...Jungle Extra sets up camp
This week, ITV2’s rebooted Extra Camp brand extension got into full swing and those additional tent poles and camp stoves seem to be doing nicely.
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RatingsC4 washed out at low tide
Beyond the shouty entertainment shows elsewhere, Channel 4 went all beachcombery on Saturday night — while BBC2,s arts strand was like Bargain Hunt on acid.
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RatingsX Factor shows its age
Once, like a colossus, ITV’s singing competition stood proudly across Saturday and Sunday nights, squishing all-comers.
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RatingsPlanet Earth sequel beats original
As sequels go, BBC1’s returning Planet Earth was more of a Godfather II than a Grease 2.
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RatingsI’m A Celebrity spin-off boosts ITV2
At the beginning of last week, BBC4 examined past American elections in the final day BT (Before Trump). Elsewhere, ITV2 changed the title of its brand extension and camped it up.
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RatingsThe Young Pope loses followers
HBO’s Westworld had its fair share of troubles as it lurched through production, but it must all seem worth it now that a second season has been confirmed.
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RatingsClose To The Enemy trumps prison doc
I met Stephen Poliakoff once. It’s likely I remember it more clearly than The Great Beard does.
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RatingsTV's first night a hit for BBC4
Some eight decades ago, a modestly sized bunch of people stood around a slowly warming cabinet, waiting for the much-ballyhooed television to start.
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RatingsHaunted Hotel closes doors
This week, W finished spooking the heebie-jeebies out of celebrities on Halloween. Fox’s own undead shuffled along nicely, while its new comedy-drama attracted small numbers but positive responses.
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RatingsViewers warm to Arctic Live
Some newspapers get into hysterical froths about anything these days, so it’s not surprising there are epic warnings of some kind of icy Armageddon bearing down on us – it’s best to keep every one cowed.
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RatingsPlanet Earth takes off
This week, BBC1’s sequel, Planet Earth II – the return of the killer planet – dealt with the opposition in much the same way as that pit of snakes did the sea-bound baby iguanas.
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RatingsWalking Dead still living it up
This week, Jude Law playing a chain-smoking American pontiff debuted with record ratings – in Italy at least. Over here, we seem more possessed by bloodless perambulations and celebrities finding things in locked cupboards.