I just want to write a quick note about all this fuss over the Eastenders Danielle death thing. I read what happened before I saw it because I am always miles behind, but I am now caught up. In fact, I even watched the extra programme on BBC3 that was behind the scenes of the whole story. I am that sad. The problem seems to be that it's not fair …

I have never watched a minute of this show, but it's certainly very popular, as it's been recommissioned for a fifth series. Waterloo Road covers stories in and around a school, including both the adults and the teens attending. For the new series, the school is being merged with another, which will no doubt create a raft of new story arcs and characters. Eva Pope returns, and although there are …

A new natural history programme for BBC One is going to take a look at the earth through the eyes of birds. Called Earth Flight, the series of five episodes will travel with various birds as they make their journeys across the earth. From the press release: Using cutting edge new filming techniques to show everything in exquisite detail, viewers have a uniquely privileged perspective flying 9,000 metres high over …

The Wire was broadcast for five seasons in the US, produced by HBO to rave reviews from the critics. A total of 60 episodes were released between 2002 and 2008, and now UK viewers will get a chance to catch every season. BBC Two has confirmed they will screen the series, with transmission dates forthcoming very soon. The show is about crime in Baltimore, and takes the unusual step of …

Sweeney Todd star, Helena Bonham Carter, is making the transition from big screen to small to play children's author Enig Blyton in a one-off drama about the popular writer. The show will also star Matthew Macfadyen and Denis Lawson. Blyton remains one of the most popular author's for young children despite having been published for almost 80 years. From the adventures of the Famous Five and Secret Seven, to the …

I have never actually watched this Sunday night show, but what started out as a short series has now gained massive popularity for it's feel good nature. The BBC today confirmed that Lark Rise to Candleford will return for a third series, remaining in its family slot. The show is written by Bill Gallagher, as an adaptation of books by Flora Thompson, and has a host of stars attached. The …

The complaints over this episode range right across the spectrum. Some believe that the BBC should have made more of the fact it was the first soap episode in TV history to not feature a white person. Others think that drawing attention to it at all was simply making it an issue, when all that matters is the acting. Then there are those that thinking bringing up the Notting Hill …

Being Human began as part of a BBC Three pilot trial, and was successful enough to garner a commission. The first series of the programme comes to an end on 1st March, and it's now confirmed the sci-fi drama will return for another eight episodes. Following the lives of a vampire, werewolf and ghost co-habiting in Bristol, the RDF Media Group show has proved a hit in it's BBC Three …

Elbow have been having a stellar couple of years, with the Mercury Music prize under their belts, plus the Best British Group gong at the 2009 BRITs. Now it seems their popularity translates to the Red Button Music Sessions. The Red Button service often provides coverage of music festivals and events throughout the year, and also screens performances that are usually recorded for radio. Elbow were playing for Radio 2, …

It's been on the cards for a while now, with subtle hints being left every now and then, but the long-lost son of the Masood family is about to show up in Albert Square. Syed Masood will appear in May, and looks set to be a sophisticated chap who will find it hard fitting back in with his family. From the BBC Press Office: A natural charmer, a smooth talker …

I don't know the extensive details of the Digital TV Transition in America. I don't know much about it here, either. I know there are coupons involved. I already have digital TV, and barely watch anything on the actual box as it is, so the stories have been washing over me for months. Of course, the time has been ticking ever onwards and the US switchover was supposed to happen …

With iTunes now starting to roll out HD versions of some TV shows, alongside the standard def versions, we had to investigate. Given the option, it feels wrong to buy a lesser quality version, even if it is slightly more expensive to do so. LOST returned to our screens recently, and by screens, I mean monitors playing the HD show with the help of an Apple remote. I wasn't sure …

Browsing through the iTunes TV Programmes store yesterday, I came across this little gem: That's one single TV episode, that lasts for an hour and is £2.99. Is this the first time that iTunes have given in to the variable pricing pressure? I haven't seen it before. When NBC said they'd be returning to iTunes, we all assumed they'd had to give in and admit that Apple's platform is a …

I'm all for the return of Top of the Pops and TOTP2, and I don't really think they should have disappeared in the first place. There are very few decent music programs on TV as it is, I'm pretty sure the Beeb could have adapted Top of the Pops to remain mainstream if they'd really wanted to. Of course, they didn't, and then they announced it wouldn't even be back …

Via the iPlayer, I watched a four-part series about Mark Beaumont. He's a cyclist from Scotland who set himself the challenge of crossing the world - 18,000 miles - in under 200 days to set a new Guinness World Record. If you missed the programme, there's plenty of information about it on the BBC website, including when and where it will be on (if it's repeated). The guy was absolutely …

Out of the Blue has been axed. Well, that's out of the blue. Ha. Sorry, couldn't resist. If the numbers in that story are to be believed, chances are you won't have even heard of this programme, and now you probably never will. But I want to take a closer look at what happened, because it makes for an interesting story. The problem Here is how to systematically undermine a …

I know, I know, this blog has been about television far too much recently. The problem is that at the moment, it’s the only other non-Sidepodcast thing I’m interested in. ITV hasn’t really featured in my thoughts recently, but now two things have happened that sort of cancel each other out. Let me explain. The Good ITV shows are now available on iTunes. Get your hands on Cold Feet (yay!) …

Podcasting News » LonelyGirl15 Creators Get $5 Million For EQAL Startup I both love and hate LonelyGirl15 at the same time. It's an interesting mix! *** Podcasting News » Audience For Audio, Video Podcasts Way Up Everyone loves a good set of stats. *** Quelle horreur! How can the French Eurovision song be in English? It irks me when songs have both English and their native language in there. Pick …

Seth's Blog: Write like a blogger Surely everybody does have a blog, don't they? *** Podcasting News » Watch Twice As Many YouTube Videos I just have one question - why? *** EastEnders - Soap Scoop - 'Enders begin filming in Weymouth - Digital Spy Bit different from their original plan of Spain. No way the weather will hold.

Daisy Whitney » Blog Archive » New Media Minute 3.31.08 An interesting look at the demographics, but doesn't this just prove that you can never really rely on stats THAT much? *** US TV - News - Ioan Gruffudd joins US drama pilot - Digital Spy Mmmm, yum.

I have been putting off writing this blog entry for a long time because, well, basically because it means admitting that I watch Dawson’s Creek. Before you laugh at me, I’m going to tell you a little story. I used to watch it when it was on originally, I saw the first few series, then it moved to Five. At the time, I couldn’t get Five, it was a snowstorm …

TV Scoop: TV Review - Sleeping with my Sister, Channel 4, Thursday, March 27, 9pm (Link retired) I didn't watch it, and to be honest, it creeps me out a bit. *** Eastenders: HILARIOUS!!! Bianca’s Jackson Five Spoof Video - Unreality Primetime (Link retired) Clearly the singing leaves something to be desired, but now the song is stuck in my head. *** 10 Millionth Article Written on Wikipedia I don't …

I don't actually watch Eastenders, but I have had a look at the YouTube clips associated with this story. So, Eastenders featured a buried alive storyline. Max Branning (who?) apparently cheated on Tania Branning (who?) and she got her revenge by burying him alive. This was something he was particularly afraid of. She and her new boyfriend dug a grave, put him in a coffin in the hole and left …

Soaps - News - 'EastEnders' burial prompts 100 complaints - Digital Spy I don't watch Eastenders, but I know that some things are just not necessary.

I was going to write a post about the ITV player, and how it's new and improved and could start rivalling the iPlayer. But then Channel 4 released some shows onto iTunes and I forgot about everything else. The most important thing to note is that I have now given up buying a TV Guide, and I'm relying on TV blogs to tell me what to watch, and I'm relying …

First the iPlayer, and now iTunes. Finally, the BBC have allowed their programmes to be on the iTunes store. It’s only a select few at the moment, and only one that I’m particularly interested in, but this is a revolutionary moment. I understand that there are limitations and conflicts with the BBC’s charter – they can’t charge us for content when we pay our licence fee, can they? But I …

I posted recently about the brilliance of the iPlayer and how it had revolutionised my television viewing experience. Well. I take it back. After booting up my laptop today, I opened the iPlayer Download Manager only to find a message suggesting I did not have anything to watch. Except that is a blatant lie, because I have been quite happily downloading things for the past few weeks. I've been storing …

In the good old days, I used to enjoy television at Christmas. Actually, let's rephrase that, I used to enjoy television full stop. My dad has always been one for guessing plot lines before they happen, working out the twists, the jokes, even the next words out of an actor's mouth. It was quite annoying, but I guess if you can see these things, you want to share them. Since …

My inaugural post as a somewhat techie blogger must be about the BBC iPlayer. I have been using it for about a week now and I've formed some initial impressions. Firstly, confusion reigned supreme. Back when the iPlayer was announced, I quite obviously checked it out. Having TV accessible via the Internet is something I am keeping a close eye on, and I have strong views about the BBC as …

A few years ago, my friend and I would spend a lot of time watching University Challenge. We would shout out all kinds of crazy answers, the first things that came into our heads, and very occasionally, we’d get the answer right. We would count up our scores and be chuffed if we got five between us out of a half hour programme of questions. You see, the thing with …

I think there was a programme on the BBC called It's Not Easy Being Green. I didn't watch it but I am currently reading the book, and it's brilliant. It's all about a family who gave up their home and moved to Cornwall, to set up a much more eco-friendly life. They didn't give themselves up to the land or anything, and are still normal people with jobs and lives, …

We have now officially started a new day! I was thinking, earlier, about how rubbish television is. I love watching it and I spend much too much time in front of that grey box in the corner of my living room, but it's actually getting quite predictable. The thing that most dramas are based on know is the lack of communication. The only way soaps can have so many bust …

Last weekend, I had to catch up with all the television that I had recorded whilst we were on holiday and the recovering week. I basically spent all afternoon watching different dramas. I was busy doing other things at the same time, so it's not like I wasted an afternoon or anything, but it was a lot of television. So many different stories appeared on the screen, that they started …

I think I've told you about how I read the entire first season of LOST through transcripts before it was aired in the UK. This wasn't the cleverest thing for me to do, because I was discussing each episode with a colleague of mine and suddenly started getting confused with what I had seen and what I had read. I stopped watching, but kept up the pretence of talking about …

You know, I was so excited that Big Brother was back on our screens. Looking forward to the opening credits, to seeing the lunatics they've picked out and, of course, the new diary room chair. A few days in, and I'm bored. It's not the people, though, I think previously, they would have been very entertaining. It's me. I've changed. It makes me so angry when they won't listen to …

I watched the first episode of the second series of LOST. I thought about staying up to watch the second one but midnight was just a little bit too late for me. Anyway, you know what it's like, by the time you actually get to bed and get to sleep, time is ticking on. That means, this morning I am tired. I set the alarm to get up to go …

Last weekend, whilst watching the few remaining episodes of Baywatch that we had stored, I thought to myself "That's two days of my life, cooped up inside." Although it was brilliant fun and I absolutely adore Baywatch, having done the exact same thing for the previous three weekends as well, I was starting to think maybe there was something else I could be doing with my free time. Now Baywatch …

UKTV Gold have been playing repeats of Baywatch. Man, I love this show. I think I got into it when I saw my brother watching it, but that wouldn't have been until about the seventh or eighth series. We've been watching the first series. It was on every weekday, so I recorded them all up and we've been settling down to watch them at weekends. Five hours of Baywatch certainly …

Overheard today: "Is it just me or are you completely bored about the whole George Best in hospital saga?" "I haven't really heard that much about it, I don't watch the news." "I mean, honestly, he's back in hospital, he's on a life support machine, he's in a coma. Aren't there any real newsworthy stories to report on?" And that's the thing. There aren't. Not when you have to fill …

It's new. I like things that are shiny and new. It has a TV guide within it that is actually correct. Our previous Freeview box kept losing the time and would show us a guide for the following day. Not very helpful. Within said TV Guide, you can schedule a recording with one click. It doesn't always work and I've yet to figure out why it is so selective, but …

I just watched The Hoobs (absolutely rubbish, potato printing is so not what kids these days want to do), and I realised that one of the Hoobs is voiced by the same guy that voices one of the Hyenas in Ministry of Mayhem. I need to get out more.

Three things I need to admit to before I start this post: I didn't know there was such a thing as the Stirling Prize before we caught the awards on television. We only watched two and a half out of the six entrants I am biased towards all things F1 So, flicking through the channels, we stumbled across Kevin McLoud. I got all excited, thinking a new series of Grand …

Jo Whiley on Radio 1 is starting a campaign to stop people watching television for one week. It's part of her 'I Have Never' slot which is there to get people doing things they would never normally dream of, getting them to engage with other people (I have never given a flower to a stranger), getting them to embrace new things (I have never been to see a band I've …

Extras I really liked this. Lots of people and a hell of a lot of critics have been whining about its similarities to The Office but it not being as funny. I think you have to take this show as it was intended. It's similar to The Office, in that it makes you cringe and the people won't shut up when they really should. But I think that's where the …

I watched the first three episodes of LOST) on E4 last night, and I just have a couple of questions. Given the acres and acres of ocean that they were flying over, what exactly are the odds of the plane crash landing on the island itself and not in the water? What are the programme makers going to do if the show is infinitely successful but people start leaving? There's …

Last year, the Technophobe and I gossiped at the water cooler about Big Brother. That's right, he knows how to use a television. Actually, we didn't do that because the water cooler is the other side of the office and we sit next to each other anyway, so that would have been silly. We would predict nominations and evictions, gossip about the housemates and bitch about those that were driving …

I'm disappointed. My television has disappointed me. I've been watching the new series of Cutting It with interest as the writing has been superb and the acting first class. The storyline with Allie finding out she has cancer was done brilliantly. I read an interview with her in a TV guide and she said she was leaving so I said to Mr C "She's definitely dying of the cancer." He …

I mentioned previously that whenever I vote for something, it has the opposite effect than what I'm aiming for, so I'm not voting for anything ever again. Remember that? Well, since I went and sat in front of the television, Andy Murray has gone from two sets up to playing catch up in the fifth set. This is ridiculous. Does that mean I can't watch tennis anymore either because they'll …

Dear Strictly Dance Fever people, Are you freaking kidding me with this? Sadie and Joseph? No. I know they're brilliant choreographers but Danny and Jodie should have won. Dear Big Brother people, Why kick out dear ol' Mary when you could have kicked out boring Craig? I mean, at least Mary was interesting (if a little too interesting) at times. Craig has done nothing but sit around and bitch about …

I'm often told that if I'm going to watch television so much, I should take the time to watch educational programmes instead of Emmerdale and ER and such. I'm all for learning about stuff. I thought Journey Of Life was excellent, although some might think that a TV vet should probably stick to what he knows best and not try to be a presenter. I also started to really enjoy …