Criminal Justice

This is my first post in about a week, mainly because I have spent the past 5 days pre-occupied with the excellent Criminal Justice.

Ben Wishaw in Criminal Justice

This was a 5 episode drama running every night on BBC1. Monday night’s episode was somewhat delayed by the tennis match between Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet - but it’s for that reason that I ended up watching it. The extra tennis time gave me a chance to properly read the TV magazine which came with The Times on Saturday and I couldn’t help but notice that fact that they referred to Criminal Justice as the ‘TV event of the year’. I decided to watch the 1st episode and see if they were right.

Well, I was hooked! Every night I had to tune in to find out what was happening to poor Ben, both in prison and the court room. Basically he was accused of murder. All he knew was that when he woke up after a night out, the girl he had met (and drank a lot with, taken drugs with, and done things only married people should do with) was dead, and he had no memory of what had happened. I suppose the idea was that the viewer had no idea what had really happened either, but the BBC obviously hadn’t reckoned with my husband, who cracked the case without even seeing all the episodes. (He always does that!)

Anyway - it kept me guessing right until the end. I was a little bit disappointed with the final episode - I just felt it ran out of steam and wasn’t as good as the others but overall the series was really good. It certainly made me never want to end up accused of anything in future, and I might start looking in to a good honest lawyer NOW just incase … (Because according to this programme there are not many out there, but if you want to discuss that sort of thing then The Guardian might be a better place to do that).

Catherine

Telly Addict

It was with some surprise and confusion that I awoke at around 3.30am today with the sound of Sky Sports News drifting up the stairs. My first thought was that Andy had got up for some early morning football updates (not that he’s ever done that before I hasten to add) but once I had woken up properly I realised that he was actually still in bed. So who was watching Sky Sports?!

Andy was awake too by this stage (probably because I hit him in the face while trying to work out if he was still in bed or not) so I informed him of the situation and asked why he thought the TV was on. ‘It’ll be Dylan’ he mumbled.

I’m not sure when Dylan became a sports fan - but Andy was right. I stumbled out the door, down the stairs (nearly tripping over her in the process) and into the living room where not only was the TV on, but it was absolutely blaring. Dylan had obviously stepped on the remote and turned up the volume too - so much so that she’d obviously freaked herself out and left the room in a hurry. There was no sign of her brother so Dylan is really the only possible suspect. Unless of course we had an intruder who really had to check the scores …

Catherine

If only….

If only ‘Lost’ was like this, then I might watch it:

Andy

The Big Questions 2

This just in! The topic for this week’s The Big Questions has now been confirmed. It’s nothing to do with joy … it’s all about greed amid fears of a recession and recent stock market turmoil.

What’s more - Alex MacDonald’s fellow panel members will be David Steel (or Lord Steel if you prefer), Mona Siddiqui (Professor of Islamic Studies and Public Understanding at Glasgow Uni) and there will be a guest appearance from John Michie (who used to be/is on Taggart?)

But that’s not all! I have saved the most exciting panel member until last. None other than yet another of my favourite TV personalities … Hardeep Singh Kohli!

Hardeep is a very funny man. I’m intrigued to see how this is going to go …

Catherine

The Big Questions

Set your Sky Plus box, or your video recorder now! Yet another of my favourite Free Church ministers is making a TV appearance. This time it’s Alex MacDonald and he will be appearing on The Big Questions - a new religious debate programme on BBC 1, hosted by just one of my favourite TV presenters - Nicky Campbell.

Alex

Alex will be one of the panel members, and although the topics have not yet been confirmed there’s a possibility that there will be some discussion about that article in The Monthly Record. Yes … the one about joy!

The show will be recorded and shown live at 10am on Sunday 27 January. That’s why you will need to record it - because if you’re going to church at 11am (and if not, why not?!) then you will miss the end.

Nicky

Check out The Big Questions website here. This includes the facility to watch the programme for a week after it is shown.

Catherine

BBC iplayer

The BBC have really been pushing their new iplayer internet service over the last couple of months. For those who hibernate over the winter, or who are Americans (!) it’s a way of watching terrestial TV on the net for free. I was sceptical of the whole thing, thinking that there would either be a catch and it required a subscription, or that it just wouldn’t work on our Macs. The reality is that it seems like a simple, straightforwrd way of watching that missed episode of your favourite programme. Check it out if you don’t believe me…..

BBC iplayer

Andy

Visionary Missionary

Tonight at 11.05pm there is a programme on STV about just one of my favourite Free Church ministers, Iain MacAskill. Even though it is on past my bed time I think it will be worth staying up late to watch it. It follows him around Uist as well as Moldova and Peru.

Here’s what it said about it in The Metro TV listings today:

“Film following the enlightening journey of a modern-day man of faith. Regarded by some as a visionary missionary, he challenges views in his native islands and reaches out to assist impoverished communities overseas.”

It’s in Gaelic (and I suppose there might be a little Peruvian and Moldovan too) but there will be English subtitles.

Catherine

Jerusalem Wall

Did you watch it then? We did. I’m not going to go on and on about it. All I’m going to say is that, for those who don’t go to church, not all churches dance to the Pre-mil tune and place great emphasis on the importance of the Jewish nation returning to Israel. The term ‘evangelical’ is being used incorrectly again. Oh, and not every church has a ‘Jerusalem wall’ built inside their building made from stone shipped over from Israel! Wow, that part was scary!

Andy

Worth Watching?

It’s one of those ‘will I - won’t I’ moments on C4 tonight.

http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/can_you_believe_it/debates/vegas.html

Andy

My Wife’s Political Views (2)

Another political treat from Catherine as we watched This Week:

“Is Peter Mandelson married to that woman?”

Andy