Tag Archives: tv

The 70s in brief: If you don’t want it pinched, don’t flaunt it so.

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

The 70s. WTF. The Channel 4 documentary series It Was Alright In the 70s that aired over the last 2 Saturdays drew on the extremes. Rape jokes galore, and X-rated child safety information films that terrified us. For those interested … Continue reading →

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Don Johnson on being a man’s man and “toooo much oestrogen”

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

I interviewed Don Johnson yesterday for BBC Radio 4’s Front Row programme about his new film Cold In July.  Two things that stood out — the way he deploys a disarming exaggerated twang to the end of phrases and words … Continue reading →

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BBC statement on the decision to pull BBC3’s Free Speech debate on gay Muslims.

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

The following statement was provided for Newswatch today about the decision to postpone a debate on homosexuality and Islam on BBC3’s Free Speech programme this week. You can watch Newswatch on Newschannel at 845pm tonight or BBC1 at 745am tomorrow. It’ll be on … Continue reading →

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The only thing I hate more than politicians is puppets: Spitting Image extras

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

  This post has the fun extras from my interviews with some of the core Spitting Image team and one of their targets, for a British Film Institute feature, Spitting Image: Still biting after all these years, about the 30th … Continue reading →

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How RBS bankers wiped The Life of Brian rushes: Stories from Missing Believed Wiped

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

  TV archiving is, it turns out, a lot like classic archaeology. “What archaeologists want to find most is the midden – [the dump] full of waste, and ephemera which tell you the most about a society.” Chris Perry ofKaleidoscope … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Culture, Film, History, Media, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 66 Comments

Plotting the arc of darkness with Joss Whedon

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

Here’s a link to my interview with Joss Whedon for Radio 3’s Night Waves on June 12th. We covered his writing for Roseanne, Shakespearean superheroes, his love of musicals — especially Brigadoon —  the way studios treat writers, (take Firefly … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Children, Comedy, Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Media, Radio, Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

From avenger to screamer: How Dr Who assistants remain trapped in time

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

The Reunion programme for Radio 4, produced by Peter Curran, recently brought together some of the original cast and crew of the first episode of Doctor Who. The first Dr Who team was notable for its diversity — Waris Hussein … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Culture, Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Murder, Mirth and Care Bears: The uses of an Oxford English degree

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

Photo copyright and courtesy of: Ian Fraser at Virtual Archive Writing for news bulletins, writing for standup comedy, writing murders for tv drama, writing for comics and fantasy gaming novels. These were some of the uses to which a group … Continue reading →

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A child-sized gap in the TV schedules?

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

Children’s TV is on my mind this week as I’m chairing an event at the BFI Southbank on Saturday Feb 2nd with the original creator of Playschool,Jackanory and producer of Catweazle Joy Whitby. They’re screening several of her programmes and … Continue reading →

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Poor Cows and Angry Young Men: 50 years of Kitchen Sink Drama

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

The director Ken Loach and the theatre critic Michael Billington remember the dawn of the 60s well. “The 50s weren’t bleak and depressing,” spluttered Loach, listening to art critic Rachel Campbell-Johnston explain the grim postwar era that spawned the new … Continue reading →

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