Just a reminder about 'The Detonators', tonight at 9pm/10pm on Discovery/Discovery +1.

Doh! Missed it. Repeats any times do you know?

Too late to mention the Battle of the Atlantic shown over the last 3 weeks on Channel 4. Liverpool got two or three mentions, but overall slightly disappointing in that it made a great play on the strategies of the Germans lead by Admiral Donitz, but mentioned not a word about the leading characters at Derby House, Johnnie Walker etc.

A bit poor that, in an otherwise very good series.

Doh! Missed it. Repeats any times do you know?

Friday 25th September -
3:50am/4:50am
11:00am/12:00pm

Sunday 27th September -
4:00pm/5:00pm

Cheers for that!

From RadioTimes.com -

The Secret Millionaire

Wednesday 30 September
9:00pm - 10:00pm
Channel 4

Series in which a millionaire goes undercover in a deprived area in the hope of changing someone's life with a generous gift of their own hard-earned money. Successful businessman Tony Banks, whose care home empire is worth an estimated 50 million pounds, goes incognito in one of the toughest areas of Liverpool.

According to the Sky EPG, the 'toughest area' in question is Anfield.

http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=132&programmeId=103717639&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp

From RadioTimes.com -



According to the Sky EPG, the 'toughest area' in question is Anfield.

http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=132&programmeId=103717639&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp


The poor don't need 'generous gifts' they need a tax system in which the rich pay their fair share.

......... Or perhaps a stab at a job would suffice?

The poor don't need 'generous gifts' they need a tax system in which the rich pay their fair share.

What do you consider a fair share? The top 1% of earners pay circa 37% of income taxes and the top 10% cover circa 55% (before scheduled rises in tax on higher earners which will ironically likely reduce the proportion of tax paid by high earners as a proportion will choose to sever attachments to the UK). They are also the group least likely to utilise the key services such as National Health and State schooling so any reduction in their numbers will have little effect on reducing the cost base of these services. Personally think this Country passed the optimum point of taxation long ago (i.e. revenue maximisation over the medium to long term) and that we are taxed to the point which creates a strong disincentive to innovation and risk.

Agree with Rock Savage that most people just want opportunity though.

Out of interest, could you define 'innovation' and 'risk'?

Out of interest, could you define 'innovation' and 'risk'?

Given a couple of years I could certainly make a bash at it ... in this context I was referring to "innovation" as the profitable commercialisation of invention and idea and "risk" in terms of the risk individuals and organisations take with investment of capital, effort, time and opportunity cost to bring their products and services to market. If taxation levels are too high they increase the level of risk in any given venture and make it more difficult to innovate. Naturally this is a little simplistic and high taxation is only one of the barriers to innovation and risk taking in the economy but it is a very potent one. In recent years the increases in tax have been masked by the ready availability of cheap credit and hence there has been a lag in their impact.

I am not trying to be antagonistic, I am genuinely interested in what level of taxation people consider "fair". My personal belief is that we already have a deeply progressive taxation system but am aware that many believe that it is not progressive enough.

From RadioTimes.com -



According to the Sky EPG, the 'toughest area' in question is Anfield.

http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=132&programmeId=103717639&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp

I missed the start so am recording the repeat. I told my dad about it and he was already watching it and advised me not to watch it as the start was just a hatchet job of lies, myths and fabrications about the city.

Any suggestions?

Joe,

I'm afraid my box was already tied up with other things, so I set it to record the 10pm showing, so I can't comment on what might have been shown earlier. Now you've said that however, I'm wondering whether to watch it at all. If it's as your dad says, do I really want to watch it?

He knows I'm a narky bastard though. You come across as a bit more mild-mannered than me. Maybe the hatchet job is specifically about Anfield, where they live and I grew up, so might not offend you so much. I'll wait for feedback. He did say that 20 minutes in, he was getting into it so fingers crossed.

I'm fully aware that this programme was never meant to be an advert for the city, and I do believe you have to take the rough with the smooth. You can't just accept plaudits and reject criticism. However I'm only happy to accept criticism that is justified. For example, saying the city is one of the most deprived in the country is OK - parts of it are. However the comments made by the local outside the station are not fine, as they perpetrate an image of Liverpool being a crime hot-spot, when that is not true.

I also think the programme failed to properly explain the extent to which the issues highlighted exist. Clearly in some areas they urgently need addressing. However anyone watching this programme might infer that Liverpool had not progressed since the days of the Toxteth riots, as there doesn't seem to have been any indication of how widespread the issues shown are. We all know where they do exist, they are limited to a small handful of areas, but people from outside the area wouldn't know that. However I'm sure it makes for better TV to allow the idea that the issues are city-wide to remain unchallenged.

One thing that did jump out at me is that the people in the programme were like night and day. Some were clearly caring, considerate, genuine people who had been through a lot, and/or wanted to make a difference. Others seem to think nothing of making comments, that will clearly be picked up by the media, and will do no end of harm to the city's reputation. That I don't understand. I'm not suggesting that people shouldn't voice concerns they have about where they live, but do it to someone who could potentially make a difference - a councillor, or an MP. Don't do it to visiting media, who will broadcast your comments nationally, further re-inforcing harmful stereotypes, that will ultimately make your situation worse as needed investment and development is scared off.

There hasn't been much of a response to the programme on media forums. What has been posted is (relatively speaking) quite encouraging given what was shown, and how it was presented -

Anyone see tonights? I didn't realise Anfield was so rough!!

It was one of the good ones... he helped some really good people.

Yes a very "feel good" factor one tonight.

Aww, I've just finished watching this on +1, how good was tonights episode? Brought a tear to my eye so it did. Well done that man.

I think ultimately these programmes always tarnish the reputation of wherever they are filmed to a certain extent. However I hope that those who have and will see it, are also left with the impression that there are good people in this city, who want to achieve in life, both for themselves, and for others.

Thanks Chris. I'll give it a whirl.

I haven't watched it - once you have seen one of these programmes you have seen them all.

I think it's important to remember that if you live in certain parts of our city and you're grubbing around for the next 50p, and the prospects of change are slim that you will probably paint a grim picture of life in the city. Imagine living in a street where most of the houses are tinned - it's a mind fuck, a continual attack on your sense of well-being, and vast areas of our city are like this and have been this way for decades.

It's rightly shameful.

^^^^Agree. It's a genre now "the poor as entertaiment" the "ASBO Channel" the "Dysfunctional family on the estate" all dressed up as human interest programming. In reality titalation tv, this particular programme is the"derserving poor" where the "philanthropist" delves in to the personal circumstances of the underclass or the margins of it, okay for the winner i suppose.

Three people have so far told me that it was a disgrace, unbalanced, they don't recognise this as being anything resembling an accurate reflection or desciption of Liverpool / Anfield. Two live in the area and one is from Dovecot so none are exactly in some affluent, suburban cocoon, unaware of Liverpool's problems and issues.

Wasn't there one from Kensington a while back? I guess it will be Toxteth's turn next time - maybe if Curtis Warren gets off in Jersey he can don a disguise and do it? We might see some gun action, too. That will boost the viewing figures.

They've done Toxteth already, along with Kensington, as Babs suggests. This is the third time one of the "millionaires" has visited Liverpool that I'm aware of.

^^ That was one i seen, there's been 3 in Liverpool so far, one was in L8. There were complaints from people who featured on the Kensington one.

Do we hold the record then for the number of rich bastards who parade their social conscience on national tv whilst making great play of 'helping' the 'deserving poor'?

Do we hold the record then for the number of rich bastards who parade their social conscience on national tv whilst making great play of 'helping' the 'deserving poor'?

Don't know but our "deserving poor" are obviously more entertaining.

Three people have so far told me that it was....unbalanced

From Channel 4/the production company's point-of-view, I'm sure they feel the programme was balanced. In fact I can see how in some respects they could argue it was. They've shown some of the worst behaviour of people in the city, but also some of the best, most upstanding behaviour too. In that respect it can be argued it was balanced. However like I mentioned last night, by not explaining the extent of the issues shown, in other words how many areas are afflicted by them, the programme in this respect came across as unbalanced.

Would it really have hurt to have some passing shots of the new developments in the city, and a few shots of the leafy suburbs around Sefton/Calderstones Parks, with a 'progress has been made, but just a few miles away...' voice-over? This wouldn't be to purposefully act as an advert for the city (although I suppose it might indirectly), but it would have put the extent of the issues shown into context, and would have gone some of the way towards making this aspect of the programme balanced.

Well I guess if the charities have more money to make more peoples lives better I guess its worth it. We know how bad Anfield is, but the programme should of said the area is in transition

Piers Morgan's Life Stories

Cilla Black

Saturday 10th October
10:00pm
ITV1

also showing on

Thursday 15th October
10:35pm
ITV1

I'll have to set my Sky+ for that one and then throw it out of the window.

You'd have to call a priest round to perform an exorcism on the box after that.

From RadioTimes.com -

Most Haunted

Tuesday 13 October
9:00pm - 10:00pm
Living

Speke Hall

Yvette and the crew are back for a brand new series of chilling investigations. The team visit Speke Hall, a Tudor manor in Liverpool where a ghostly white lady is said to roam the hallways.

http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=197&programmeId=104396010&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp

Living - Sky 112, Virgin 109
Living +1 - Sky 113, Virgin 111
Living +2 - Sky 172, Virgin 159

Also showing on -

Sunday 18th October
9:00pm
Living 2

Living 2 - Sky 114, Virgin 112
Living 2 +1 - Sky 173, Virgin 160

Anyone watching come dine with me?

Anyone watching come dine with me?

Yeah! It gets better every time!!!

Come Dine with Me was OK. Nothing really that could give off a bad impression, and a few nice passing shots of the city too.

Ray (?) the awkward veggie bore could give off a bad impression of any city, or species for that matter!

I found his excessive talking only gave an impression of him, not of the city itself to be honest. Another thought I had, I know some of the hosts were actually from the Wirral, which may explain it. But it was nice to see people from the city region who didn't have a really hard Scouse accent. We've discussed on here before about the way the harshness of the Scouse accent varies from place to place, however that difference is rarely shown on TV, so that was nice to see.

Back on topic -

Inside Out

The Liver Birds

7:30pm-8:00pm
Tonight
BBC One

Building of the Year

RIBA Stirling Prize

8:00pm-9:00pm
Saturday 17th October
Channel 4

I found his excessive talking only gave an impression of him, not of the city itself to be honest. Another thought I had, I know some of the hosts were actually from the Wirral, which may explain it. But it was nice to see people from the city region who didn't have a really hard Scouse accent. We've discussed on here before about the way the harshness of the Scouse accent varies from place to place, however that difference is really shown on TV, so that was nice to see.

Back on topic -

Inside Out

The Liver Birds

7:30pm-8:00pm
Tonight
BBC One

Building of the Year

RIBA Stirling Prize

8:00pm-9:00pm
Saturday 17th October
Channel 4
I do hope that Liverpool One does get the Stirling Prize... It would hopefully give Liverpool the recognition for the regeneration but also spur on further investment into the city! Does anyone reckon that One Park West's negative publicity has affected its chances?

I found his excessive talking only gave an impression of him, not of the city itself to be honest. Another thought I had, I know some of the hosts were actually from the Wirral, which may explain it. But it was nice to see people from the city region who didn't have a really hard Scouse accent. We've discussed on here before about the way the harshness of the Scouse accent varies from place to place, however that difference is rarely shown on TV, so that was nice to see.


Agree with that.

I do hope that Liverpool One does get the Stirling Prize... It would hopefully give Liverpool the recognition for the regeneration but also spur on further investment into the city! Does anyone reckon that One Park West's negative publicity has affected its chances?

For fulfilling it's objectives handsomely it deserves the award, especially given the awful housing estate that won it last year.

The truncated Pelli could count against it ........ either that or it's rather naff exterior which I think detracts from the elegance of the general design, being in a prime spot.

Anyone watching come dine with me?

The vegetarian would have lasted 5mins in my house before I lashed him out. What a nobhead.

I didn't watch it but throwing a vegetarian into the mix is probably meant to have that effect.

^^

The fact he was vegetarian wasn't really the main source of his fellow diners irritation. It was the fact he didn't know when to shut up and let other people talk that was the basis of the problem. I mean if you've hosted your dinner party, and are at someone elses two or three nights later, you don't go on about how you prepared your soup on your night, especially when you already touched on that topic on your night.

Also, did anyone see Most Haunted last night? I thought it was interesting enough, although one thing I did pick up on was the fact that they referred to Speke Hall as being 'spookily derelict'. Spooky? That's open to debate. Derelict? Even their own footage shows that it's anything but.

Prescott: the North/South Divide

Tonight 9pm BBC 2


... Securely strapped into the back seat of his Jaguar, he visits Liverpool to talk to a man who has been out of work for five years, goes to Hull for a fish and chip supper ...

The documentary's real delight is Prescott's lovely wife, Pauline, who kindly extricates her husband from his gaffes - such as the priceless exchange with two Liverpool girls about their St Tropez tans.

God Bless the BBC. I just don't know how it manages to stay so fresh, innovative and cutting edge, and still find time to produce another adaptation of a Jane Austen classic.

In the spirit of a fair and balanced programme, I wonder whether they will highlight the fact that there are some pretty bleak, rundown areas down south, while there are some wonderful areas up north, rather that just go for the 'It's grim up north and the south is everything the north isn't' version of events which is what the stereotypes would have you believe?

To be fair, they did show squalor in the South, indeed it was the worst in the programme by far.

Not a great piece of journalistic investigation though. It wasn't even a polemic. It was an extremely flimsy, shallow programme which taught nobody anything.

For example, the fool from the Policy Exchange got a free ride. Also, the supposed clash with Brian Sewell was also a complete non-event. Sewell's attention seeking idiocy had not one single rational challenge presented.

From a Liverpool point of view, there were a few presentational positive perhaps, as the new skyline and Liverpool One were the initial focus of the first 10 minutes.

However, on balance I actually think that it would have been better to simply not appear in THIS programme at all, rather than be the main northern city featured.

Of course to be fair, it they'd used Manchester instead, and shown, for example, MediaCity, rather than Liverpool One, we (I) would have felt it was an example of a Manchester bias/obssession. At least post 2008 Liverpool seems to be firmly back on the radar, both for good and for ill.

Still, I think it would have been better to simply not bother making such a weak, insubstantial programme.

The concern is about the tired old cliches and narratives that the BBC continually trots out and reinforces.

Where are the programmes about the gap in wealth between rich and poor in London?

Where are the programmes that look at the tensions between different communities in London?

Why isn't the holy grail of enforced multi-culturalism ever interrogated?

North - South divide? It's friggin' music hall. :nuts:

Boxing live on Sky Sports
Check out our live fight list - from both sides of the Atlantic

Last updated: Wednesday 28th October 2009
Date Programme Channel & Time Venue
OCTOBER
Fri 30 British Super-Middlweight title
Tony Quigley v Paul Smith Sky Sports 1
Sky Sports HD110.00pm Echo Arena
Liverpool

James May's Toy Stories - Meccano

Tuesday 10th November
8pm - BBC2

See James May crossing the canal link at the Pier Head on a bridge made of Meccano.

Did anyone catch "Come Dine with me" last week? Or is it too girly for all of you men?!
Anyway , I don't think Natasha Hamilton's house was really hers as she has kids but seemed to live in a flat in the middle of town!

Yeah I saw it. A brief shot showed one of the others walking down the bottom end of Hanover Street (you could see the Bling building in the background). I wonder then whether she may have rented one of the apartments in the Casartelli building for her night, rather than using her real home? She wouldn't be the first person on Come Dine with Me, in both celebrity and normal versions, to use a home that isn't their own.

Yeah I saw it. A brief shot showed one of the others walking down the bottom end of Hanover Street (you could see the Bling building in the background). I wonder then whether she may have rented one of the apartments in the Casartelli building for her night, rather than using her real home? She wouldn't be the first person on Come Dine with Me, in both celebrity and normal versions, to use a home that isn't their own.

No:ohno:!!!!! It must be their own home?! I have often wondered as some of the houses look too perfect and the blonde woman from the non-celeb Liverpool episode didn't even know how to work her own blender. Very strange

to be honest she probably never used it before, but its not rocket science is it?

James May's Toy Stories - Meccano

Tuesday 10th November
8pm - BBC2

See James May crossing the canal link at the Pier Head on a bridge made of Meccano.

A reminder for the above. :)

EDIT - I've also just noticed the following is showing tonight too -

From RadioTimes.com -


New Most Haunted

Tuesday 10 November
9:00pm - 10:00pm
Living

Yvette and the crew are back for a brand new series of chilling investigations. The Most Haunted team visit Toxteth's Gaumont Cinema, where sightings of mysterious lights and strange ghostly figures have been reported.

http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=197&programmeId=105860300&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp

Living - Sky 112, Virgin 109
Living +1 - Sky 113, Virgin 111
Living +2 - Sky 172, Virgin 159

It's brilliant :)

I enjoyed the programme. The historical parts I found quite interesting, while the trials and tribulations of bringing the bridge to a reality was also good to watch. With regard to the former factory on Binns Road, it is a shame that there is nothing left. I suppose in some respects it fell victim to the situation the city found itself in from the late 1970's onwards, where any investment had to be grabbed with both hands, meaning a site that should have been preserved, or at the very least marked in some way, is home to a cinema and a gym, with no indication anything of significance was ever there.

On a slightly more negative note, I could have done without the occasional comments about drugs and stuff being stolen. Maybe it's just me, but I just don't find those things funny. I also thought Edwina Currie's snide remark about Tunbridge Wells was uncalled for. I mean if you don't want people to slag off Liverpool, you can't then have pops at other places, even minor ones.

Away from those issues, I think the city came out of it quite well, not least because the repeated shots of the 20th and 21st century architecture, standing well, side by side with each other at the Pier Head, which I'm sure many viewers from outside the area wouldn't have necessarily been aware of. The hard work put in by the team at university should also have given a good impression of the city.

If you missed it, it's now on the BBC iPlayer - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00nxcg6/James_Mays_Toy_Stories_Meccano/ - available until 8:59pm, 1st January, 2010.

re: Toy Story

I thought the city came out of it very well indeed. Lots of cool shots of the waterfront and the Metropolitan Cathedral (used at one point as a counterpoint landmark to the Eiffel Tower) plus no focus whatsover on poverty or distress.

There were a couple of inevitable scouser jokes, plus May's frequent version of the accent for comic effect, but I thought all of that came more from affection than prejudice, no reason at all for reflex defensiveness.

Overwhelmingly positive.

It was another example of Liverpool being firmly back on the radar as a significant place, as an important component part of the British story and the British present and future; rather than a lazy shorthand symbol of urban decline and Thatcherite destruction.

In fact, my perception is that Liverpool has had far more media visibility throughout 2009 than it ever did in 2008 - CoC year. From "Newsnight" to "Who Do You Think You Are", from "Toy Story" to "Location, Location, Location" and "Come Dine with Me" to the Stirling Prize. The new skyline continues to catch the eye and the sense that Liverpool has turned a corner is now, I think, firmly established in the media consciousness. Over time that will soon inform the national consciousness.

I'd even suggest (as someone currently living in the SE and therefore not regularly exposed to NW regional news) that it is possible that Liverpool has recently had better direct visibility on TV and Radio than Manchester has. I think that's partly because people have been reminded how much more photogenic the former is than the latter.

Did anyone catch "Come Dine with me" last week? Or is it too girly for all of you men?!
Anyway , I don't think Natasha Hamilton's house was really hers as she has kids but seemed to live in a flat in the middle of town!

Last year in the run up to the EMA's in Liverpool, she did a show on MTV counting down 100 best 'scouse' songs (something like that anyway) and was in the same (or near identical) flat, so either rented out one of the Hannover flats for both or it is actually here home

Sainsbury advert for chrimbo with Jamie oliver and a gang of kids in Clayton Square.

Last year in the run up to the EMA's in Liverpool, she did a show on MTV counting down 100 best 'scouse' songs (something like that anyway) and was in the same (or near identical) flat, so either rented out one of the Hannover flats for both or it is actually here home

It's probably her second home as it's not the kind of place that usually houses children. Her breasts look fake too but I might come across as bitchy for saying such a thing so I won't mention it:nuts:

Remember, there are no such things as fake boobs. There are only better than real ones.

You have to be male and young to say such a thing! Real ones feel much better than fakes but men aren't picky when it comes to such matters:nuts:

Um... some are. :shifty:

Lamby - I've just turned 40 and my standards are slipping a tad and I've had a few large vodkas but if that's you on your avatar, you'll do for me. :nuts:

Flog It! - Liverpool

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ny8s9/hd/Flog_It_Series_8_Liverpool/

The opening is a bit mixed - literally - with reasonably update to date shots of the Pier Head and over towards the arena amongst other things, together with older aerial shots from back when Unity was still U/C.

The main piece of interest though is an interesting enough feature on the history of the Albert Dock from about 19:55 onwards.

3 Minute Wonder

7:55pm
Monday 14th - Thursday 17th December
Channel 4

Tate Liverpool's ambitious and revolutionary look at the history of modern and contemporary sculpture was a great starting point for acclaimed filmmaker Mike Figgis to ask, what is sculpture? In these four playful and provocative films, the renowned director brings priceless works of art to the public, including taking Duchamp's Fountain to Liverpool Student Union loos, and Carl Andre's, 144 Magnesium Square to a flooring warehouse. These films challenge how, where and when art should be talked about.

Link - http://uk-tv-guide.com/programme-details/Channel+4/14+December+2009/19%3A55/3+Minute+Wonder/Arts/

John Bishop will be appearing on 'Live at the Apollo', tonight at 9:40pm on BBC1.

For those who missed it earlier.

Great British Railway Journeys:Liverpool to Eccles
On the first leg of his journey, Michael learns to speak Scouse in Liverpool and finds out about the first railway fatality.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00psx88/hd/Great_British_Railway_Journeys_Liverpool_to_Eccles/

There was a fantastic piece on Inside Out last night,,it was basically about a machine here (Hilbre Island) and at Bidston Observatory that helped predict the World's tides and as a result of this was used to defeat the Nazi's U Boat threat.They also took you to the U Boat Museum,anyway it's still on BBC i-player for anyone who finds this remotely interesting,to me it was facinating and well worth a watch.:cheers:

Here's the programme I was on about.

How Mersey tide shaped The Empire

BBC reporter Andy Johnson has been to investigate a plain, old, metal cylinder which once helped Britannia rule the waves.

For thousands of years, before air travel and trains, the sea was the only way to reach other countries, whether we wanted to conquer or trade.

Liverpool was the primary port of The Empire and the study of the Merseyside coastline helped change our relationship with the sea.

A metal cylinder two miles off the coast from Wirral has taken tide measurements since Victorian times.

A measuring device is still kept in the old lifeboat station on Hilbre Island.

Dave Cavanagh, ranger of Hilbre Island describes how it works:

''As the tide goes in and out the water underneath goes up and down.

"There's a float which is attached to the wire underneath and to some gears. The results are recorded on graph paper."

The information from this small room on the north west coast has been used to increase people's knowledge of how tides work across the world and changed Britain's fate forever.

As Britain was a small island it was unrivalled knowledge of the oceans which led to success which lasted until the 20th Century.

Research on the tides around Merseyside played a crucial role to the wealth of the country as whoever controlled the oceans, controlled the world.

For nearly four hundred years Britain held dominance over the seas and much of the world.

Not really about Liverpool, but a group giving a positive impression of the people of the city nonetheless -

From the Echo -

Liverpool's Dance Dynamix impress Pussycat Doll with routine

Jan 27 2010 by Dawn Collinson, Liverpool Echo

IT takes quite some nerve to perform a sexy Pussycat Dolls dance routine ... especially when one of the Dolls is watching your every move.

So Nazene Langfield admits it was a tense moment when her dance troupe discovered that Kimberley Wyatt was one of the judges on Sky 1’s Got To Dance show.

“We had no idea when we entered the competition and we just chose a routine we’d already done in some of our school shows,” explains Nazene. “Then we got to the auditions and saw Kimberley and she was being so strict and hardly putting anyone through.

"We thought, oh God she’s really going to hate us for doing one of her songs.

“We were sure she’d write us off straight away so we just decided to give it our best whether she liked us or not. But she actually loved it, she was bopping along and had nothing but good things to say about us.”

In fact Kimberley was full of praise for Nazene and the troupes from her Nazene Danielle Old Swan dance studios.

“She actually said to the other judges that ours was the school she would send her kid to, which was an amazing compliment,” says Nazene.

“And while we were still on stage after our performance she told me she thought I was a fantastic teacher and gave me a big clap.”

Kimberley wasn’t the only one who was impressed. Her fellow dance experts, West End star Adam Garcia and Britain’s Got Talent winner Ashley Banjo from Diversity, also had no hesitation in putting Nazene’s troupe through to the series semi finals.

Now the 11-piece Dance Dynamix – including Nazene herself – will face the challenge of a live studio contest, vying for the public vote.

Got To Dance is on Sky1 and Sky1 HD on Sunday, 6pm.

Full article here - http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-entertainment/echo-entertainment/2010/01/27/liverpool-s-dance-dynamix-impress-pussycat-doll-with-routine-100252-25692067/

Dont worry about me

David Morrisey's first feature as director.

The film follows David (James Brough), a twentysomething London lad who finds himself a fish out of water in Liverpool following a one-night stand. Attempting to win his fare back to the big smoke, David strikes up a rapport with demure betting shop assistant Tina (Helen Elizabeth) and his plans suddenly change.

Deftly played by its young leads (the authors of the stage play, The Pool, on which the film is based), Don’t Worry About Me makes sublime use of Morrissey’s Liverpool hometown to reveal how we might find beauty and friendship in the most unexpected places.


:)

Anyone see Panorama about Alder Hey. The fact that it was called Spoilt Rotten makes me feel a bit uneasy. Here's the BBC blurb anyway.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8615000/8615795.stm

From National Geographic -

Britain's Underworld

Behind the bright lights and bustling streets, Britain's cities are also home to some of the country's biggest criminals. Britain's Underworld lifts the lid on the crime lords who have flourished in Britain's roughest, toughest cities - from the 1950s petty-safe blowers to the drug kingpins of the nineties. Told by the police and some of the ruthless gangsters themselves, this gripping series reveals how gangs have shaped the streets and changed the very nature of UK crime.

Always a tough town, Glasgow has long held the reputation of being Britain's most deadly city. In the first episode hear about brutal gangland hits and a lethal turf war conducted by ice-cream van drivers. Then meet Glasgow's first godfather who flourished from local hardman to become the mastermind behind an epidemic of armed robberies, as we expose how Scotland's second city turned to crime.

Episode two takes us to the world famous as the home of the Beatles, Liverpool - but we investigate the darker side. Using the port as the foundation for a criminal empire based on drug dealing, Scouse villains started to import cannabis, heroin and cocaine on an unprecedented scale. Exploring run-of-the-mill provincial crooks to some of the wealthiest gangsters in British history (including one with an entry in The Sunday Times Rich list); we chart the rise of the drug pioneers. Plus, find out how a supergrass helped bring down two of the country's biggest and richest criminals.

Renowned throughout the world for its music, football and club culture, for decades Manchester has also seen a deadly battle played out on its streets, earning it the nickname 'Gunchester' in the eighties. This final show features members of the mysterious Quality Street Gang who, for the first time, talk about how they once ruled the city's underworld and reveal that one of the most lethal wars in gang history started with a row over a girl! Also find how the police fought a desperate battle to keep lawful control on Manchester's streets.

http://natgeotv.com/uk/britains-underworld

Britain's Underworld: Manchester

Friday 23rd April - 12:00am
Saturday 24th April - 11:00pm

Britain's Underworld: Liverpool

Monday 26th April - 8:00pm (Also in HD)
Thursday 29th April - 9:00pm

Britain's Underworld: Glasgow

Saturday 1st May - 9:00pm
Thursday 13th May - 10:00pm

Further showings of all episodes, including HD showings of the Manchester and Glasgow episodes, take place in May.

National Geographic /+1 - Sky 526/7 or Virgin 230/1
National Geographic HD - Sky 543 or Virgin 232

^^

I saw a trailer for the above earlier, and while I'm not going to take issue with them making the programme - you have to take the rough with the smooth - I did feel the voiceover stating 'forget everything you know about Liverpool' was a strange comment. Viewed one way, it could be viewed as being unfair towards the city by telling people to forget all the good stuff, when good has to balanced against bad. Viewed the opposite way, it seems contradictory as for some people Liverpool = crime, so they're being told to forget that, and then are being shown a trailer about crime in the city. Also, stating, 'a city living on the edge of the law', to me paints an unduly negative picture of the level of crime in the city, and the amount of people involved in it. Quite a questionable trailer on the whole I thought.

I'm not sure of the precise time but

Come Dine With Me

Guests - two mouthy ex-pats: Edwina Currie and Degsy Hattonopolis (along with Brian Paddick and Ron Liddle).

The clip I saw showed Degsy bad mouthing Ron Liddle. Ever seen a 16 year old lad getting stopped by the filth on Berry Street and then expressing his indignation at high volume?

It was a bit like that.

Rod Liddle? Ex editor of the Today programme?

EDIT: Google says yes.

A couple of local interest -

The Box That Changed Britain

Poet Roger McGough narrates the story of how a simple invention - the shipping container - changed the world forever and forced Britain into the modern era of globalisation. With a blend of archive and modern-day filming, the impact of the box is told through the eyes of dockers, seafarers, ship spotters, factory workers and logisticians. From quayside in container ports to onboard enormous ships, the documentary explains how the container has transformed our communities, economy and coastline.

Sunday 9th May - 9:00pm
BBC Four - Freeview 9, Sky 116, Virgin 107

Also showing -

Monday 10th May - 3:50am
Tuesday 11th May - 10:25pm
Wednesday 12th may - 2:45am
Saturday 15th may - 7:00pm
Sunday 16th May - 4:00am

Passport to Liverpool

Documentary looking at the history of Liverpool, the former gateway to the British Empire whose character was built on the dockside by seafarers and immigrants who came from around the world seeking a new beginning. It examines how the city's maritime history and mixture of people has made its citizens uncertain of their English identity.

Sunday 9th May - 10:00pm
BBC Four - Freeview 9, Sky 116, Virgin 107

Also showing -

Tuesday 11th May - 11:25pm

All details from http://www.uk-tv-guide.com/

^^

This is well worth watching:

Passport to Liverpool
Sunday 09 May
10:00pm - 10:50pm
BBC4

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51b64JURSEL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

If anyone sees this thread too late, the programme will be available later on the BBC iPlayer at this link - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00d2zdk/Passport_to_Liverpool/

^^

This is well worth watching:

Passport to Liverpool
Sunday 09 May
10:00pm - 10:50pm
BBC4

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51b64JURSEL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

I saw this programme last night. It was very good and very positive, although some may say overly sentimental. In reality it did what it said on the tin: described the city’s relationship with the river and the sea, and highlighted the more international feel that the city has compared to other provincial cities in the UK.

All this without dwelling needlessly into the usual easy pickings of poverty, slave trade and the Beatles.

I did note that the program was apparently made in 2008. Has it been shown before?

yeah i remember watching it in 2008, because one of my lecturers was in the programme.

yeah i remember watching it in 2008, because one of my lecturers was in the programme.

Must have missed that. There should have been a series of programmes like that about Liverpool in 2008.

To be fair also, I think it would be brilliant to see something like that one to be done for all our great provincial cities.

A Tale of Two Rival Cities

Broadcaster and writer Stuart Maconie takes a wry look at the rivalry between the two great northern cities of Liverpool and Manchester through historical objects. They've both been at the heart of developments which have shaped the world, and their economies have been interdependent. Yet everyone knows Mancs and Scousers hate each other - but why? He discovers that the roots of the rivalry are buried centuries back.

Monday 17th May - 7:30pm
BBC1 North West

Details from http://www.uk-tv-guide.com/

Derren Brown Investigates: The Man Who Contacts The Dead

Derren Brown takes off around the globe to uncover some extraordinary supernatural and psychic claims. He starts in Liverpool, meeting Joe Power, who claims the ability of communicating with the dead, including John Lennon. In this episode, Joe comes face to face with Derren's discerning eye. Expect the unexpected...

Was on Channel 4 on Monday 10th

now on 4OD.. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/derren-brown-investigates/4od

The Passport to Liverpool programme was excellent. It was particularly interesting to see the view of Liverpool coming in from the bridge of one of the ACL container ships and the way it navigates the opening of the mersey and then the gladstone dock.

Also quite emotional when they were describing how old dockers like to get together in the blob on "mad mondays" and have a mini pub crawl round coopers, globe, etc. One of the fellas seen wandering into the boozer was my dad who was a docker. He passed away a few years back and it was quite emotional seeing him on this.

A Tale of Two Rival Cities

Broadcaster and writer Stuart Maconie takes a wry look at the rivalry between the two great northern cities of Liverpool and Manchester through historical objects. They've both been at the heart of developments which have shaped the world, and their economies have been interdependent. Yet everyone knows Mancs and Scousers hate each other - but why? He discovers that the roots of the rivalry are buried centuries back.

Monday 17th May - 7:30pm
BBC1 North West

Details from http://www.uk-tv-guide.com/

BBC iPlayer link - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00sj1fd/A_History_of_the_World_A_Tale_of_Two_Rival_Cities/

Available until 7:59pm Monday 24th May 2010.

Pretty mediocre. It's a pity when the so-called Liverpool experts appear to know less about the city's history than the average clued-up person on these boards.

Pretty mediocre. It's a pity when the so-called Liverpool experts appear to know less about the city's history than the average clued-up person on these boards.

:lol: Oh dear, even by your standards that statement is something else!

Now here's a crazy idea. Maybe the experts do know a thing or two, and instead its the mob on here who know nowt?

its the mob on here who know nowt

Yes, Dawz, quite right, you know nowt (oh, adorable! Lancashire mill-town dialect).

Lancashire, eh?

You mean that county which Liverpool used to be part of, the same time as Manchester?

Tonight on bbc 4 at 11.30 , Touring Britain The Victorian Way. Using a 1887 Baedeker travel guide as a reference , David Heathcoat visits Liverpool and Manchester and then across to York .

It's been on before, but is worth a look -

From UK TV Guide -

How Britain Was Built

Liverpool gets a lively visit from Adam Hart-Davis as he gets to grips with its spectacular architecture and discovers the people who helped build this magnificent port city.

http://uk-tv-guide.com/programme-details/History/19+June+2010/14%3A00/How+Britain+Was+Built/History+Documentary/

Today at 3pm on History / 4pm on History +1

History - Sky 529, Virgin 234
History +1 - Sky 530

From the Daily Post -

Architecture expert scales Liver Building for TV show

Aug 17 2010 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

AN ARCHITECTURE expert got up close and personal with the city’s iconic Liver Birds for a forthcoming TV documentary.

Dr Jonathan Foyle is filming in Liverpool for a new BBC series called Climbing Great Buildings.

The programmes, to be shown next month, will celebrate the past 1,000 years of British architecture.

Article continues here - http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2010/08/17/architecture-expert-scales-liver-building-for-tv-show-92534-27075608/

^^

From UK TV Guide -

Climbing Great Buildings

Dr Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian and novice climber, scales Britain's most iconic structures to reveal the buildings' secrets and tell the story of how our architecture and construction has developed over 1000 years. The next step of Jonathan's journey takes him to the Liver Building in Liverpool. Built from 1908, this behemoth in concrete was Britain's first skyscraper that influenced buildings all over the world.

From here - http://uk-tv-guide.com/programme-details/BBC+2+North+West/23+September+2010/17%3A30/Climbing+Great+Buildings/History+Documentary/

Thursday 23rd September
6:30pm - BBC2

Also on a similar theme -

From UK TV Guide -

Kevin McCloud's UK Superstructures

Kevin McCloud scales Liverpool Cathedral's vast gothic arches - the highest ever built - revealing the medieval working methods used to construct the 20th century building.

From here - http://uk-tv-guide.com/programme-details/Discovery+Science/17+September+2010/11%3A00/Kevin+McCloud%27s+UK+Superstructures/Documentary/

Friday 17th September
12:00pm - Discovery Science

Discovery Science - Sky 524, Virgin 219
Discovery Science +1 - Sky 549

It's ten years old now, but is still worth a watch.

^^

From UK TV Guide -



From here - http://uk-tv-guide.com/programme-details/BBC+2+North+West/23+September+2010/17%3A30/Climbing+Great+Buildings/History+Documentary/

Thursday 23rd September
6:30pm - BBC2

Also on a similar theme -

From UK TV Guide -



From here - http://uk-tv-guide.com/programme-details/Discovery+Science/17+September+2010/11%3A00/Kevin+McCloud%27s+UK+Superstructures/Documentary/

Friday 17th September
12:00pm - Discovery Science

Discovery Science - Sky 524, Virgin 219
Discovery Science +1 - Sky 549

It's ten years old now, but is still worth a watch.

Cheers Chris, I will try and catch that one.

The Kevin McCloud program has been on before and is as you say quite an old one now. It shows the cathedral in a good light but can't resist the usual references to social deprivation that just become tiring ........

I have enjoyed the recent Jonathan Foyle programs. He wears his passion on his sleeve and seems genuinely blown away by the architecture in Liverpool in particular.

The Black Stuff

Sunday 19 September

10:00pm - 11:40pm

BBC4

When Alan Bleasdale's one-off drama The Black Stuff aired on BBC2 on 2 January 1980, it could hardly have had less fanfare. The production had been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years and was billed by Radio Times in a few bare lines at the back of that year's Christmas double issue. It didn't help that it was scheduled against variety monster The Good Old Days on BBC1, which probably got several million more viewers, but it proved to be the start of something big. The tale of a Merseyside tarmac gang whose spirit of free enterprise leads them astray was well enough received that a series followed and Boys from the Blackstuff went on to become the definitive television drama of 1980s TV, its sharp dialogue and black humour charting the fortunes of unemployed men - most memorably Bernard Hill as perennially stymied Yosser Hughes - in the Thatcher years. Here's a rare chance to see how Yosser, Chrissie and the rest of the lads started out.

http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=47&programmeId=131898569&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp

Just a reminder that tonight's Question Time at 10:35 comes from somewhere in Liverpool (any ideas where?!) and IIRC will focus on the Lib Dem conference. Ian Hislop's on it so it should be a good one!

Tony Bellew is fighting on Sky Channel 511 now.




EDIT: He won on points.

Morning in the Streets

Sunday 26 September
7:30pm - 8:05pm
BBC4

A documentary originally shown in 1959, depicting life on the back streets of Liverpool as the city still struggled to recover in the aftermath of the Second World War.



Boys from the Blackstuff

Sunday 26 September
9:35pm - 10:30pm
BBC4

Jobs for the Boys
1/5

We've come a long way since the slogan "Britain's bread hangs by Lancashire's thread" held any truth, as this first, textile-themed revisit to the 1984 series about working life in the 20th century highlights. We get the original broadcast complete with testimony from weavers, plus an equally well-researched update that focuses on the increase in imported clothing. Industrial decline is also the main concern of the uncompromising 1982 drama from Alan Bleasdale. The first episode serves as a reintroduction to wry but worn-out Chrissie and the dandyish Loggo, but is really the story of Snowy Malone, a lifelong socialist hanging on to his beliefs amid resignation from his workmates. There is still time, though, for a brief appearance from threatening loner Yosser (Bernard Hill) who uses his trademark head-butt when his bricklaying is mocked.


Of Time and the City

Sunday 26 September
10:30pm - 11:40pm
BBC4

Film-maker Terence Davies ruminates on his alienation from God and the Liverpool of his youth in this highly personal documentary that slips between eulogy and onslaught with a waspish wit. Juxtaposing idealised recollections of austere Christmases, day trips to New Brighton and divine visitations to the movies with jaundiced snipes at "Betty Windsor" and the Beatles, Davies delights in his own sentimentality and indignation, as his hushed narration laments the failure of the world to live up to his youthful expectations. But while the intimate reveries recall the brilliance of his earlier autobiographical features, such as Distant Voices, Still Lives, the despondent diatribe on the decaying multicultural port that Davies left behind is regrettably dismissive of the subsequent generations he seems unable or unwilling to understand. So, while this is a masterly piece of cinema that conveys the personal significance of a bygone age, it's less successful as a piece of either epochal or local history.

http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=13&broadcastType=1&searchDate=26/09/2010&searchTime=21:00&jspGridLocation=/jsp/tv_listings_grid.jsp&jspListLocation=/jsp/tv_listings_single.jsp&jspError=/jsp/error.jsp&listingsFormat=G#mainContentWide

Just a reminder that tonight's Question Time at 10:35 comes from somewhere in Liverpool (any ideas where?!) and IIRC will focus on the Lib Dem conference. Ian Hislop's on it so it should be a good one!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tz00f/Question_Time_23_09_2010/

It came from St. Georges Hall. Looked resplendent.

From UK TV Guide -

MOBO Awards 2010

Live coverage of the 2010 MOBO Awards, presented by Reggie Yates, Alesha Dixon and with special backstage reporters, N-Dubz. Some of the world's biggest stars are set to descend on the Liverpool Echo Arena for a stellar evening which includes performances from, amongst others, Mark Ronson, Tinie Tempah, JLS, N-Dubz, Jay Sean, Taio Cruz, Tinchy Stryder and Professor Green.

From here - http://uk-tv-guide.com/programme-details/BBC+3/20+October+2010/20:00/MOBO+Awards+2010/Entertainment/

Wednesday 20th October
9:00pm - BBC3

BBC3 - Freesat 106, Freeview 7, Sky 115, Virgin 106

Highlights -

Friday 22nd October
11:30pm - BBC1

Saturday 23rd October
1:30am - BBC HD

BBC HD - Freesat 108, Freeview 50, Sky 143, Virgin 108

The BBC have announced that this year's Christmas Midnight Mass will be broadcast live from the Roman Catholic Cathedral.

The schedule for Famous and Fearless, being broadcast from the Echo Arena next week -

Sunday 2nd January and Friday 7th January
8:00pm - 10:00pm

Monday 3rd January - Thursday 6th January
8:00pm - 9:30pm

All episodes showing on Channel 4, and available one hour later on Channel 4 +1.

Countryfile tonight is from Hilbre Island if anyone's interested.I should imagine the Seal colony and all the islands great birds will be the main focus.

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/2435/a21ww2.jpg

^^^^ Good one Paul.

^^

Watched it on iPlayer: talk about anti-climax! From the RT, I thought most of the programme was coming from the islands, exploring them in depth.

Oh well.

Yes I agree it could definitely have been a longer piece but it's done our region no harm,it showed some great overhead shots of the coastline and it mentioned it was a stones throw away from Liverpool and that can only be good.

If you like Horses...


Teen Horse Whisperers Friday 25 February
7:30pm - 8:00pm
Channel 4
Lucy Kaye's documentary follows five students from an alternative school in Bootle, Merseyside, as they try to tame wild horses at the Shy Lowen Horse and Pony Sanctuary. Over the course of two months, the film reveals how the teenagers address their own behavioural issues and try to build up relationships with the animals. Part of the First Cut strand.

:okay: more interested on how the kids get on than the horses tbh:) but good one.

^^
I was really impressed by the work carried out in the Shy Lowen centre in Netherton. In particular the skill displayed by Bernadette Langfield in helping kids reflect on their own mental states, the choices they make and how to make sense of the how others are responding to them.

So many 'professionals' appear so laboured and precious when attempting this type of work in front of camera, Bernadette did it without any side whatsoever.

:applause:

For more information about the centre:
http://www.shylowen.com/

^^^^ I agree about that lady, she was genuinely interested in the children but the programme was disappointing in that it far too short at 24 minutes or so. I think it was more about the centre and its work than the children. On a positive note, it's good to see it's there and doing a great job:cheers:

From UK TV Guide -

Crimes That Shook Britain

The Murder of Rhys Jones

The parents of innocent 11-year-old Rhys Jones, shot on his way home from football club in Liverpool 2007, speak about the harrowing day when they lost their son.

http://uk-tv-guide.com/programme-details/Crime+And+Investigation+Network/20+March+2011/21%3A00/Crimes+That+Shook+Britain/Documentary/

9pm - Sunday 20th March
Crime & Investigation Network and HD

Crime & Investigation Network - Sky 553, Virgin 237
Crime & Investigation Network HD - Sky 555

BBC Radio 5 Live in Liverpool for Grand National in April

BBC Radio 5 live will bring a whole host of programmes to Liverpool in the run-up to the biggest and most prestigious horse race in the world, the Grand National, on 9 April.

* Biggest-ever live show of Fighting Talk
* Meet BBC racing commentators
* See Radio 5 live shows broadcast live
* Full Grand National build-up and commentary

You can be part of the audience at the four days of events and programming that will be mainly staged at the City's newly renovated historic Epstein (formerly Neptune) Theatre. The station will bring live shows in front of audiences including the biggest-ever live broadcast of the hugely popular Fighting Talk in front of 2,000 people at Liverpool's Empire Theatre. Listeners can also meet and question the BBC's racing commentators.

http://www.newsonnews.net/radio/7762-bbc-radio-5-live-in-liverpool-for-grand-national-in-april.html

http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab353/Babaloo5/Screenshot2011-04-01at094159.png

Robert Pugh, Gary Mavers, Gillian Kearney and Jake Abraham star in Justice, a five-part daytime drama due to start on BBC One on Monday 4 April 2011

Justice is a five-part play due to be shown on consecutive days on BBC One starting on Monday 4 April 2011. Each 45 minute episode will look at a different case brought before the Doverfield Public Justice Centre, a novel one-stop shop for crime and punishment run by Judge Paddy Coburn, played by Robert Pugh.

Filmed and set in Liverpool, the court is not a normal court. While the judge can still send people to prison, he has a range of other options at his disposal, such as community projects, educational workshops and drug rehabilitation programmes. Rather than a formal court, it is more like an open-plan office where the police, Crown Prosecution Service, probation service and youth offending team sit next to drug, alcohol, housing and debt advisors. Among them is probation officer Joe Gateacre (played by Gary Mavers) who has to work hard to get the local community to trust the new judge.

The established judicial system opposes the centre and the judge also faces problems from journalist Louise Scanlon (played by Gillian Kearney) and criminal Jake Little (played by Jake Abraham).

The Actors in Justice

Robert “Bob” Pugh played Sapper Powell in Danger UXB back in 1979. Since then he has numerous roles including Andrew Ponting in Casualty, Billy Hodge in Telltale, Danny McCrea in Resort to Murder, Father Matthew in The Lakes and Charles Freeman in In a Land of Plenty. More recently, he has played Toby in The Time of Your Life, Tony Mack in Doctor Who and Peter Macshane Senior in Accused.

Gary Mavers is best known for playing Doctor Andrew Attwood in Peak Practice and DI Will Manning in Casualty. He was also Bill Thug in the 1991 TV series GBH and recently played Flight Lieutenant Sweeney in S.N.U.B!.

Another Casualty veteran, Gillian Kearney played Jessica Harrison in nearly 100 episodes from 1991 to 2010. Liverpool born, she starred as Debbie McGrath in the early days of Brookside. Other roles include Helen in Waterfront Beat, Kitty Burton in Hope and Glory, and Sue in Shameless.

Jake Abraham has never appeared in Casualty though he has appeared as different people in two episodes of the Casualty spin-off Holby City. He is best known though for playing Dean in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Other roles include Brian Samora in The Governor and Black Waiter in GBH.

Also in Justice are Christine Tremarco as Marie, Jodie Comer as Sharna Mulhearne, Ellie Paskell as Kaz Kenny, Tom Georgeson as Father Jim Kelly, Louis Emerick as PD, Chris Mason as Peter Catley, Tricia Penrose as Haley Gosling, Kelli Hollis as Kelly Catley, Noreen Kershaw as Sarah Myerson, Sheila Reid as Alice Sparks, Alicya Eyo as Angie Sparks, Nicky Bell as Darren Green and John Conteh as Leonard Hancock.

Awaydays based on the Wirral is on BBC2 right now. I've never heard of it and it doesn't rate well on IMDB.

I watched the first episode on i-player last night. It's not too bad for daytime tv. It's about a place called 'Dovefield' and it doesn't use instantly recognisable shots of Liverpool - an aerial shot of St George's Plateau for example. There's also one over the edge of St John's Gardens towards the Liver building. I think they are using the County Sessions House in lieu of the crown court. The rest are staple inner city shots with one of Toxteth Park cemetery (I couldn't really tell because clearly defining landmarks were absent) where the main character, Judge Patrick Coburn visits the family grave. His accent/idiom is all over the place. I guess if they wanted a more authentic sounding voice depicting a working class Liverpolitan who went to an Oxford college: a variation on how Frank Cottrell Boyce talks might not have come amiss.

The main premise seems to be a recently opened community justice centre headed up by an ex-scal made judge is in danger of having the rug pulled because of poor results and questions about his honour's past.

All the staples are there: old codgers who haunt the local alehouse (no bar this), the catholic priest at the centre of his community, out-of-control-young-scals-who-can-be-won-over-when-you-talk-straight-to-them, kids in care in danger of going prozzie, a statue of Our Lady Mother of God on a mantelpiece, a villian the colour mocha, a namecheck for John Lennon, a ...

Apparently Coburn left Liverpool or Dovefield in a hurry and there's a hint that he may be a bit of a crim himself - or on the run from the long arm of the law, or from an act of treachery or betrayal. Who knows and does that stop him getting his fat arse on a BMX and revisiting his local haunts? What do you think.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0107s0z/Justice_This_Town/

Baby Hospital
9pm, ITV1

As documentary subject matter goes, there's little more emotive than the sickness of children, but there's an added resonance when the children are as young as they are here. The neonatal unit at Liverpool Women's Hospital cares for perilously ill babies in their first days and weeks of life, some weighing just half a pound, others who have been starved of oxygen during birth. The focus here is on the unimaginable bravery of the families.

Next on:

Sunday, 22:25 on BBC One (North West only)
Synopsis
Episode image for Hidden Paintings of the North West

Paul McGann goes in search of the North West's hidden war paintings. With 80 percent of the national art collection in storage, there are thousands of hidden treasures in the basements and storerooms of our museums and galleries. Liverpool actor Paul McGann visits the Walker Art Gallery in his hometown and Manchester Art Gallery, in search of the lost art of World War II. In Liverpool he is captivated by the work of Britain's youngest war artist and in Manchester he finds some long-lost depictions of the city's prodigious war effort.

Not that I think any of us on here will watch it (other than for morbid curiosity anyway), but just for the record, Desperate Scousewives starts on E4 on Monday 28th November.

Sky Arts at the Open Eye Gallery

Comedian Alexei Sayle heads to Liverpool's Open Eye Gallery to speak to photgraphers Mitch Epstein and Chris Steele-Perkins and finds a wonderful archive of the city.

Wednesday 22nd February - 2:15am
Sunday 26th February - 2:00pm

Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 1 HD

Sky - 129
Virgin Media - 281/282


It's only on for ten minutes but is interesting enough.

Liverpool's Titanic Girl

Wednesday 25th April
7:30pm - BBC1

Gillian Keaney narrates the story of May McMurray, the young girl whose letter to her father - who went down on the Titanic - inspired a series of events that brought Liverpool to a standstill.

This is being shown as a regional opt-out - the rest of the country gets Rip-Off Britain.

Caught a snippet at the end of tonight's NWT, due to "schedule changes", it's now going to be shown next Monday, 30th April at 8.30. Rip off Britain must be more important!

The Liverpool Mayoral candidate is on BBC 2 next Tuesday at 8 pm in 'The Town Taking on China'


http://www.caldeira.com/tv-programmes.html

Blurb:

Tony Caldeira is a man on a mission - to create a British workforce who can defeat the economic might of China - using only cushions!

Until recently, manufacturing in China was cheap and that meant British manufacturing couldn't compete. Cushion-magnate Tony, like many businessmen, turned to Chinese workers to make his products. However, soaring wages in China mean that Tony is now embarking on an ambitious experiment - to bring jobs back to Britain. The question is - does Britain want to work?

More info on Tony Caldeira:
http://www.caldeira.com/pdf/ldp-business-mag-sept-2010.pdf

"Get your dirty pillows away from me!"