John Wyndham: The Invisible Man of Science Fiction (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) - documentary about the British science fiction writer best known for The Day Of The Triffids
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Nov 17, 2008 - 25 comments

The Kneale Tapes (1, 2, 3, 4) documentary about British science fiction screenwriter Nigel Kneale. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Nov 16, 2008 - 7 comments

Thirty years ago 'probably the single most influential graphic novel to have come out of Britain to date' was published, The Adventures Of Luther Arkwright by Bryan Talbot. Interview - Part 1, Part 2.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Nov 5, 2008 - 23 comments

'From Gateshead pie shops to dog-grooming parlours in Brighton, take a tour of the UK with Magnum photographer Martin Parr' [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Nov 2, 2008 - 7 comments

100 years of Guardian photography. Including Don McPhee and Denis Thorpe.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Oct 23, 2008 - 5 comments

50 Years of Blue Peter. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Oct 16, 2008 - 17 comments

'We are in (a period of) intense turbulence - fasten your seatbelts,' Gonzalez-Foerster told reporters. So why not shelter from the coming apocalypse in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, lying back on a bunk bed, listening to the rain, reading or watching some SF, looking at art.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Oct 13, 2008 - 22 comments

Have you heard the one about the deaf comedian? John Smith is Britain's only BSL (British Sign Language) stand-up.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Oct 12, 2008 - 20 comments

Oasis have been accused of plagiarizing Cliff Richard. Does 'The Turning' have a certain resemblance to 'Devil Woman'? If so, it would not the first time... [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Oct 7, 2008 - 65 comments

"As he walks past I am struck by the way, from his default gloomy expression, he constantly flashes his rictus grin at people, like a doomed and slightly out of control belisha beacon" - The Guardian's cartoonist Steve Bell on drawing Gordon 'Gordy' Brown (video). He's in the process of producing a number of sketchbooks covering the conference season - Liberal Democrat, Labour 1, Labour 2. And he covered this year's Democrat and Republican conventions and also visited 'Manifest Hope' (video), an art exhibition based around images of Barack Obama. Previously.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Sep 25, 2008 - 9 comments

After 30 years, the final bell has rung and it's home time for Grange Hill... [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Sep 18, 2008 - 29 comments

Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) film from 1982 on The Bard of Salford, John Cooper Clarke. You might know him from here. NSFW. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Sep 13, 2008 - 11 comments

When reality bites, it leaves deep scars... behind the scenes of The Jeremy Kyle Show. 'One-Night Stand On CCTV!' 1, 2, 3 - the episode mentioned in the article. Brooker on Kyle. Dead Ringers sketch.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Sep 9, 2008 - 14 comments

A Critical Appraisal of Madness's Videos [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Sep 1, 2008 - 46 comments

When a top black entertainer reaches 50, of course he's going to want to add The Moor to his repertoire... [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Aug 30, 2008 - 14 comments

Oliver Reed. Movie star or hellraiser? Actor or alcoholic? But it was probably not as simple as that... The Real Oliver Reed (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) (Poss. NSFW Brief nudity) [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Aug 25, 2008 - 28 comments

A book by children's author Jacqueline Wilson is to be removed from the shelves of British supermarket chain Asda and re-edited due to the inclusion of one 'rude' word. Is this an over-reaction?
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Aug 22, 2008 - 74 comments

Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish of Adam & Joe fame put forward their proposals for the theme tune for the upcoming Bond film Quantum Of Solace
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Aug 9, 2008 - 14 comments

808 808 808 808 808 808 808 808 808 808 808 808 808 808080808
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Aug 8, 2008 - 49 comments

Jamie Hewlett of Tank Girl and Gorrilaz fame has created the animated film that will be used to introduce the BBC's coverage of the summer Olympics with music by his fellow Gorrlaz compatriot, Damon Albarn, inspired by Monkey, the cult classic television program. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jul 25, 2008 - 21 comments

In July 1988 the art exhibition Freeze, largely organised by Damien Hirst, gave birth to the YBAs... twenty years on the artists involved are reuniting for another exhibition.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jul 8, 2008 - 12 comments

Seventy years ago today a world land speed record was set that has never been broken... on July 3, 1938 LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard reached the giddy speed of 126mph. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jul 3, 2008 - 22 comments

RIP Tartan Films. The UK-based film distribution company has gone into administration, laying off it's entire staff. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jun 28, 2008 - 28 comments

In Bed With Chris Needham (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) A BBC video-diary documentary from 1991 depicting the trails and tribulations of a teenage metal fan as he tries to knock his band, Manslaughter, into shape for its first gig, with many digressions into his philosophy of life along the way. Some NSFW swearing. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jun 8, 2008 - 12 comments

First it was Blake's 7, now another Terry Nation cult classic sf television programme is to return. The BBC have announced they are remaking Survivors. Telling the story of the survivors of a plague that wipes out most of Britain, the original was famed for its gritty and somewhat controversial story-telling.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jun 3, 2008 - 20 comments

To celebrate its hundredth edition the Observer Sport Monthly publishes it's ten best Top Tens. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jun 2, 2008 - 9 comments

"The Guardian has been granted exclusive and unfettered access to one of the most controversial research facilities at a British university." Caring or cruel? Inside the primate laboratory. Audio slideshow. A necessary evil - Colin Blakemore. Wise monkeys - Gill Langley.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on May 31, 2008 - 36 comments

Observer literary editor Robert McCrum, retiring after ten years in the job, writes about the revolution in the book world he's seen over the last decade.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on May 25, 2008 - 16 comments

The Tories first by-election win in over twenty-five years... the end of New Labour?
posted by fearfulsymmetry on May 23, 2008 - 50 comments

The classic post-pub television program of the nineties, In Bed With Medinner had a simple format - Bob Mills would present and comment on clips from the many documentaries he had made over the years. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on May 21, 2008 - 11 comments

George Plemper's extensive photographic record of south London working-class life from the 70s and early 80s, in particular children at Riverside school Thamesmead, was left hidden away in carrier bags for three decades. Now he's put it on Flicker
posted by fearfulsymmetry on May 14, 2008 - 10 comments

From The Adventures of Twizzle to the reboot of Captain Scarlet - for nearly fifty years - Gerry Anderson made television shows, but is still best remembered for the classic 'Supermarionation' period were, as this documentary shows (1, 2, 3, 4) he really was making the 21st century. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on May 9, 2008 - 17 comments

Ebbsfleet? Never heard of it? Not even the new international railway station? A 50m sculpture is hoping to change that... the five short-listed designs have been revealed today.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on May 7, 2008 - 15 comments

Blake's Back! British science fiction classic Blakes 7 is getting the Battlestar Galactica treatment. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Apr 25, 2008 - 45 comments

The Carry On films have been a much-loved part of British life for the last 50 years, and they may even be making a new one. This give a quick feel of what you might of missed (slightly NSFW) And though it does have its knockers, one person liked them so much he made a religion out of them, literally.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Apr 18, 2008 - 31 comments

110 Best Books. 'The perfect library' - According to the Torygraph... at least there's a 'Sci-fi' section among the usual suspects (And one or two bizarre choices - Pelzer! What the heck!)
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Apr 8, 2008 - 78 comments

Growing up in 70s and 80s Britain you were exposed to some rather disturbing Public Information Films on the television. But that was nothing... [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Apr 7, 2008 - 33 comments

So brothers Barney and Daniel Jones, aka Jonba Hehol and Morda Hehol, Jedi Masters, started their own church, and began planning their moon base, but they had underestimated the power of the Dark Side...
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Mar 30, 2008 - 25 comments

Seventeen years Steve Feltham sold up everything, bought an old mobile library van and parked up alongside Loch Ness to look for Nessie... He's still there.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Mar 24, 2008 - 20 comments

Great Poets Of The 20th Century. From The Guardian so Brit bias... Introduction, William Boyd on Siegfried Sassoon, John Banville on Seamus Heaney, Jeanette Winterson on Ted Hughes, Andrew Motion on Philip Larkin, Margaret Drabble on Sylvia Plath, Rowan Williams on WH Auden, Craig Raine on T.S. Eliot.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Mar 19, 2008 - 30 comments

One rather strange minor cultural phenomena you experienced as a kid growing up in 60s and 70s Britain was a number of television programs that originated from beyond the Iron Curtain. Most infamous was the downright scary The Singing Ringing Tree from East Germany (Radio4 doc), later spoofed by the Fast Show but there were several others... [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Mar 13, 2008 - 25 comments

Kids on Aciiiiid! In order to protect her pupils from internet pervs a British headmistress has censored photos on the school's website by slapping smileys all over them. The result is like some combined fever dream of Chris Morris and Banksy.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Mar 6, 2008 - 46 comments

Paul Raymond, billionaire porn baron and property magnate, founder of Raymond's Review bar - the "World Centre of Erotic Entertainment", and publisher of such periodicals as Mayfair, Men Only and Razzle that added much to several generations of English gentlemen's education has gone to the great strip-club in the sky.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Mar 3, 2008 - 28 comments

Whooosh! London to Sydney in 5 hours on the A2 Hypersonic from Reaction Engines. Green too. If they can pull it off.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Feb 5, 2008 - 26 comments

Mark Kermode reviews Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. "Is that a nest of tables? No, it's Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley having some red hot passionate embrace that is positively teaky." [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jan 9, 2008 - 91 comments

The 50 greatest British writers since 1945. A few interesting choices here... the 'novelist's poet' at #1 seems fair enough, but this one, this one and this one?
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Jan 7, 2008 - 107 comments

It's an advert for chocolate. It's a man in a gorilla suit drumming to a track by Philip Collins Ltd. It's been very popular. It's won awards. It's been spoofed. And it's been mashed-up... some bad (Metalica (sic), ACDC, Guns and Roses), some good (Bonnie Tyler, Subsource, A Skillz, Bon Jovi, Deep Purple, Nirvana) and some utterly sublime ('Enders, Bodyrockers, Cameo). But great adverts don't always equal great sales. Bonus: Monkey Drummer. (Previously)
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Dec 23, 2007 - 38 comments

Fairytale of New York... censored! No, not now... Shane will make 50 this Christmas... Sadly not Kirsty.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Dec 21, 2007 - 89 comments

Hammer films are back! ... The classic British horror film company has returned from the dead with the first new film in 20 years to be first broadcast in instalments via MySpace. This has allowed some news programs to camp it up just a little... See the trailer here. Behind the scenes. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Dec 18, 2007 - 18 comments

"'It's been a magical evening,' Joel says as the Great Khali hits the Undertaker with a dustbin lid." Jon Ronson (and son) journey into the world of WWE to investigate the death of Chris Benoit.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Dec 8, 2007 - 18 comments