Liam Gallagher, art critic (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)

Art is a subjective form of communication. That is to say, whether you’re listening to music or watching a movie or experiencing a painting, the thing the artist things he or she is saying to you isn’t going to be the same as the thing you experience. It can’t be, because the method of delivery is abstracted from the bricks and mortar of rational explanation.

Even writing is an interpretive artform: the words writers use will alienate as many readers as they enthral – that whole paragraph above is incredibly annoying, for starters – it’s all a matter of personal taste. So why do people find it so hard to say “I don’t like that,” and why do they prefer to create statements that sound empirical, but aren’t?

They’ll say a movie is “cheap” or “pandering to the lowest common denominator” (which just means “people who are not me”). They’ll say a record is “manufactured” or “disposable” or that it won’t “stand the test of time” (as if these are reasons not to enjoy popular culture in the here and now). And they’ll make a gradation between popular fiction and literature (as if hard-to-read is synonymous with good). They will, essentially, blame the art for not making the effort to reach out to them personally, which isn’t just unrealistic, it’s downright arrogant.

Liam Gallagher has just done that very thing. He’s not mad on the Daft Punk single “Get Lucky,” and like a lot of dreary people, has chosen to dismiss it by claiming he could have written it himself “in a f***ing hour.” As if the speed of composition implies sloppy work.

This is bull. Some amazing songs have been written in the exact length of time it takes to play them. Others get sweated over for weeks and turn out rubbish. An hour is actually quite a long time in songwriting terms, assuming you start the stopwatch at the moment the first good idea arrives. What takes the time is the endless noodling before you start.

And besides, what Liam may not realise he has said is that if he worked solidly for a whole hour, he would only be able to come up with a song that he doesn’t like. He’s literally THAT talented.

In any case, often the hallmark of good communication is when you experience the beautifully expressed thought that seems like something you, the audience, have already thought, but never quite said in that way. It’s easy to look upon those moments as simplistic or shallow, but you can level that accusation at any basic truth, whether it’s “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” or “you’ve got a friend in me.”

Trouble is, if you really don’t like something, the biggest fear is of appearing out of step with public opinion, because that reminds you that you’re just a small person on a planet of small people. Your point of view, no matter how forcefully expressed, is just that. Your. Point. Of. View. It’s massively important to you – it’s the filter through which you view everything – and if no one else agrees, that’s like being exiled from society, by your own taste.

The only answer is to be honest. Make that first step. If we have to enforce our own opinions using empirical language, it will only perpetuate the myth that there are right and wrong opinions about, well, anything. And if we can’t shift that, there’s no chance of conversation, debate and consolidation.

So, if you want to own your own opinions, say so. Don’t be angry when people make things you don’t like, don’t accuse them of failing you, just as you don’t remonstrate new co-workers when they don’t magically make your coffee just the way you like it. Simply say “I don’t like this, and here is why” and be ready for that view to be challenged.

Unless you’re some kind of professional critic, of course, in which case your job is to know all this and carry on regardless.

Fast & Furious 6 (Universal)

We don’t usually associate the city of London with car chases, but that may change with the release of Fast & Furious 6 this week.

The Vin Diesel/Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson vehicle contains several high-octane (is there any other kind?) car chases in London.

Here’s a clip of one of them, featuring Diesel’s Dom and Michelle Rodriguez‘s Letty. As the blonde chick in the black leather bra says in the clip: “This is London, baby!”

In fact, much of the movie was filmed in the U.K., at the famed Shepperton Studios in Surrey, with lots of London locations.

“I thought we would be shooting in the middle of London,” Rodriguez told the Daily Mail, “and we would have like big double decker buses and stuff, we’d be dodging mini cars. But I guess you guys in England don’t let us explode stuff in London streets!”

Which probably explains why the movie used some other locations like Liverpool and Glasgow as stand-ins for London during certain scenes.

Or maybe it has something to do with London’s system of congestion pricing.

Still, even though there would appear to be fewer movie car chases set in England’s capital than in, say, Los Angeles, New York or even San Francisco, London has seen its share of motoring movie mayhem, and, on the release of the newest Fast & the Furious, we here at Anglophenia thought we’d take a look at some examples, presented here in reverse chronological order:

The Sweeney (2012)

Last year’s movie version of the seventies British TV cop show starred Ray Winstone as a leader of a London police division who’s not known for his respect for rules or procedure. And, for all you sticklers out there, yes, the chase is outside London, but it’s still all about London police:

Of course, there’s also a big-time connection between The Sweeney and Top Gear. As you may already know, members of the Top Gear crew worked on the car chase scenes in the movie.

And producers of the movie also invited Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond to lend their expertise. You may have seen the results on the last season of the show:

In part two of the segment, you’ll see not only Jeremy and Richard’s Top Gear cut but also the final version of the chase as it appeared in The Sweeney:

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

In this sequel to 2004’s National Treasure, Nicholas Cage’s quest to find 18 missing pages from John Wilkes Booth’s diary takes him to London where he is pursued by bad guy Ed Harris. The film’s producers claimed at the time that the sequence “might be the biggest and most elaborate car chase scene ever shot on the streets of London.”

“We knew how logistically challenging it would be to film in London,” said producer/unit production manager Barry Waldman, “and at one point even considered other countries in Europe which we could double for London and make it a little easier.”

But in the end, they decided to shoot in London.

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Okay, so this one is a bus chase. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are pursued by mummies who end up in London.

Trivia note: Dwayne Johnson, who plays a cop in Fast & Furious 6, played the role of the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns. The character was popular enough that he got his own movie named after him in 2002.

Brannigan (1975)

John Wayne played an American detective in London in this ’70s cop thriller, which also starred Richard Attenborough. The Duke seems to do pretty well with right-hand drive.

The Sweeney – TV series (1975)

In case you were wondering about the original television series that inspired 2012 movie at the top of this list, here’s an example of some pretty elaborate car chase choreography for TV, complete with a ’70s Evel Knievel reference:

Robbery (1967)

This thriller, very loosely based on the famous 1963 Great Train Robbery, starred Stanley Baker, but you may be more familiar with the stars who were nearly in the movie. Vanessa Redgrave turned down a role in the film. Three days worth of scenes with Jason Robards were shot in the U.S., but the footage was never used. George Raft was hired as well, but was labeled an “undesirable” by the U.K.’s Home Office and banned from entering the country because of his connection with a gambling casino known as “George Raft’s Colony Club.”

The movie holds a significant place in the history of car chase films. A young Steve McQueen was so impressed by what he saw that he hired the director, Peter Yates, to make the now-classic Bullitt, the gold standard by which all car chase movies are judged.

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Have we overlooked any great British car chase movies?

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The World According to Joan book signing at Selfridges, London in 2012. (AP)

Happy Birthday, Joan Collins!  The London-born actress turns 80 today (May 23).

Collins first became known as an actress and pin-up girl in England in the early 1950s. She made the move to Hollywood in 1955, when 20^th Century Fox signed her as a rival to MGM’s Elizabeth Taylor. She scored her biggest success, however, on the TV screen, when she was cast in 1981 as conniving Alexis Carrington on the American prime-time soap Dynasty, which she helped turn into a ratings juggernaut. Fans of the show remember fondly the many campy catfight scenes in which Collins was called upon to slug it out during her eight years on the show, including this brawl opposite costar Diahann Carroll:

In honor of Collins’ big birthday, here are five fun facts about the star:

Number of times she has been married: Five. Her husbands include (in order), Irish actor Maxwell Reed; English actor-singer-composerAnthony Newley; American music executive Ron Kass; Swedish singer Peter Holm; and Peruvian-born stage manager Percy Gibson (to whom she is still wed).

Number of movies based on her sister Jackie Collins’ novels in which Joan has starred: Two. That would be The Stud (1978) and The Bitch (1979).

Number of novels that she herself has written: Five. The titles include Prime Time, Love & Desire & Hate, Infamous, Star Quality and Misfortune’s Daughter.

Number of memoirs she has written: Four. The titles are Past Imperfect: An Autobiography; Katy: A Fight for Life (about helping her daughter recover from a near fatal auto accident); Second Act: An Autobiography; and A Passion for Life: An Autobiography.

Number of memorable Cinzano commercials in which she appeared: Ten. The classic ads, which co-starred British character Leonard Rossiter, ran in the late 1970s and early ‘80s in the U.K. The 30-second spots always featured Collins getting a drink spilled down her chest. Take a look:

And, just for fun, let’s use the excuse of Collins’ birthday to trot out a favorite sketch with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, called “Lucky Bitches,” in which the comic duo offer a satiric take on the lives of Jackie and Joan Collins:

What would you say to Joan Collins if you were wishing her a happy birthday?  

The boys seem pretty keen on getting back together! (AB)

The boys are back in town — Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan — and they’re ready to kick some alien butt in Edgar Wright‘s The World’s End. Working Title Films has released a new trailer with new bits: We meet Simon Pegg’s love interest (Rosamund Pike); the boys realize they haven’t changed and it’s in fact the entire town; the lads have blood on their hands … blue bood that is. What do you do when your hometown is taken over by alien robots? Blend in! Simon Pegg does a mean impression of a robot. You can catch up with the new trailer, here:

The film was originally scheduled to hit theaters in October but the release date has been pushed up to August 23 in the U.S.

Do you think it’s going to be funny?! 

Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor

For fans of Doctor Who, a regeneration is always a tricky time. You’ve spent the preceding years bonding with this guy, becoming accustomed to his face, enjoying his little quirks and habits, only to discover that he is now dead, and there’s someone else standing in his place, and this fella does everything differently. It’s like being introduced to a new dad, seconds after the last one has taken you out for McDonalds.

This troubling juxtaposition was probably bumpiest of all in the move from the Fourth to the Fifth Doctors. The Fourth had drawn all of the dominant themes of the show together into a well-oiled cohesive unit, driven by manic charm. He’d sonic-ed and jelly babied his way through space and time, sometimes doing favors for the Time Lords, sometimes getting lost in E-Space, for seven long years. Anyone regenerating into his shoes would find it hard to leave the same kind of impression.

And the Fifth Doctor, being a less brash, less breezy, less over-confident incarnation than his forebears – and trying to overcome this by wearing uncommonly bright clothes – really struggled. We know this because we could see it on his face. He wore doubt and uncertainty on his brow, much like the Second Doctor did, only without that pretense of bumptiousness that he would use as a shield. The Fifth Doctor acted as if he was trying as hard as he could, but was not always sure of himself, like a young man in an older man’s shoes, or a newly qualified teacher. Sometimes he would even disguise this with half moon spectacles, for gravitas.

See how he reacts to what, for any Doctor, must have been a very common experience: having to save his friends from death by submitting to the will of an enemy:

Sure, he can argue passionately about the need for emotion – the eternal argument between the Doctor and the Cybermen – and sure, the other Doctors would have probably bent the knee at the same moment (although the Eleventh didn’t, when forced to open his own tomb), but somehow, faced with a Cyber-leader he seems slightly of out of his depth. And this is in a story where one of his companions actually dies. Not a happy time.

(Note: that’s not a reflection on the fine performance by Peter Davison, although again, following Tom Baker is no small task. The Fifth Doctor comes across as a junior partner because that is simply what he is like.)

So, rather than puff himself up like the Third or First Doctors, or attempt to befuddle and distract like the Second or Fourth, the Fifth Doctor tries to reach out, and relate to his friends and foes alike, like a young man would. Rather than eccentrically playing the recorder alone, he plays a team sport: cricket. Rather than waving that familiar alien tool about wherever he goes, he puts a humble celery stalk on his lapel, because, like, salad can be jewelry too, right?

He’s as charming as he ever has been, of course, it’s just that he doesn’t seem to take this for granted any more.

So yes, he’s the Doctor who tried to muck with everyone’s expectations of what a Doctor should do. He’s the slightly foppish young man who inherited the firm his forefathers built, and we get to see him struggle to modernize it because everyone likes things just the way they are, thanks. And you get a sense that he’s someone who, if he was the First Doctor, might not have run away in the TARDIS in the first place, much less lead the Time Lords into the Time War. But since he’s already doing it, why not keep going?

Of course, any critique anyone may have of the Fifth Doctor has probably already been addressed and dismissed in this little presentation here.

You can see all of the youthful vigor and human frailty of his most recent incarnations in the Fifth Doctor’s worried brow. He’s the Eleventh Doctor trying to shout his way out of trouble. He’s the Tenth Doctor seesawing between glee and self-pity, without so much as a jelly baby to console him.

But most of all he’s the Doctor that doesn’t always seem entirely sure about what he’s doing, or who he’s doing it with. A feeling that anyone that has ever been in their twenties can surely relate to.

Find out more about the Fifth Doctor on BBC AMERICA’s Doctor Who Revisited, Sunday, May 26 at 8/7c.

A Companion To The Doctors: The Fourth Doctor

Life Outside The TARDIS: Peter Davison

Fifth Doctor Quotes

Benedict Cumberbatch in a deleted scene from Star Trek Into Darkness

Let’s cut to the chase, because we’re all busy people, we all have hectic lives to lead and those lives should really only be interrupted by matters of extreme importance: matters that take us away from the trivial concerns of our everyday lives, matters that affect us on a deep level, that provide help where help is needed, that challenge our very notions of who we are as people, and as a community, that provide support in dark times and help to rebalance those elements that have become unbalan…

Oh right, right, cutting to the chase.

Did everyone see J.J. Abrams talking about Star Trek Into Darkness on Conan last night? And if so, did you catch the deleted scene they showed of Benedict Cumberbatch’s character John Harrison in a shower, as a defence against accusations of sexism?

Take a moment to recover, if you feel the need.

Now, with regards to the criticisms levelled at the film and the defence offered here, I’m fairly sure visually objectifying a nearly-naked man (whether it’s Benedict or Chris Pine) isn’t the same as visually objectifying a nearly-naked woman, especially as the reason J.J. gives for Alice Eve to appear in her underwear is based on a need to show something about Captain Kirk’s character, not the character of Dr. Carol Marcus. And it does seem that this is something J.J. is aware of, and realises that perhaps he could have done better.

I am equally sure that the decision to cut a scene of Benedict Cumberbatch in the shower is not one that would have been taken by a good proportion of the movie’s audience. Quite the reverse, if our social media feeds are anything to go by.

In fact, it seems likely that a fair amount of that proportion would possibly have preferred the movie to be called Benedict Cumberbatch Into Shower, and may now wonder what other astonishments J.J. may have frustratingly removed in the edit.

Two wrongs, is what I am saying.

Benedict Cumberbatch reclines on the set of ‘Sherlock’ (pic from Mark Gatiss’s Twitter feed)

Let’s be honest, apart from not really needing any excuse to put up any picture of Benedict Cumberbatch doing anything ever, this is a shameless raid on the Twitter feed of Mark Gatiss in order to glean any tiny crumbs of excitement about the next series of Sherlock, because the wait is actually, physically, painfully and entirely non-metaphorically killing us.

What? I’m not even exaggerating.

So, the hot news, as told by Mr Gatiss, is that filming has wrapped on the second story in the series, and that they commence work on the last one in the summer. Or to put in back into his words:

Last day on block 2 of #Sherlock. It’s been a blast as ever! Episode 3 begins shooting later in the summer. twitpic.com/csk1lr

— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) May 23, 2013

He was also quick to dismiss any rumors of a transmission date, because it hasn’t been sorted out yet.

Incidentally, anything online about transmission dates etc is entirely bogus. Noting will be decided for months yet. #Sherlock

— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) May 23, 2013

And yes, we’re all fully aware this is unsatisfactory compared to a proper announcement, or a show to watch, or a kiss on the hand from Mr Cumberbatch himself, but then, what isn’t?

Oh wait, how

The Beatles

When it comes to the stuff left behind by the Beatles, it’s fair to say the madness of collectors has overtaken whatever joy can be gleaned from the items themselves. Why else would the conversation around such items be restricted to their rarity, their value, and the exclusivity of access to them? Why else would books that seek to compile personal correspondence between the Fab Four, in happy times and otherwise, be so quickly consigned to the bargain bins, while the original items, at private auctions, would go for thousands?

And this is a situation that will only get worse as the years go by and there are fewer Beatles left to corroborate these fragments, or generate new ones.

So, it’s heartening to hear the tale of Hunter Davies, the band’s biographer, and one of the first to gather together personal items left behind by the boys as they went about their working lives. His collection of hand-written lyrics from the floor of Abbey Road, and various other notes and letters – early drafts of “In My Life” that reference Strawberry Fields,  a drunken letter from John Lennon to Stuart Sutcliffe – has recently been valued at £1m ($1.5m), but is he willing to auction it all off, into the hands of obsessives with deep pockets? He is not.

He told the Guardian: ”In the 1960s, these were of interest to me, the final versions of songs I’d seen the genesis of in the Beatles’ homes, but they had absolutely no value. Now I could have sold them for a fortune, obviously – but then they’d just have gone into some American billionaire’s bunker and never been seen again. I wanted them out where people can see and enjoy them.”

So he has donated his entire collection to the British Library. Not that he is without moments of chagrin over the money he could have earned:

“In the 1970s our house was burgled, and they got all my signed Beatles albums. At the time I put them down for insurance at £2 each. Recently a friend of mine sold an autographed copy of Sgt Pepper for £57,000, and one lyrics sheet went for nearly £1m.

“The further we get from the Beatles, the bigger they get.”

And the fascinating thing is that, in a bid by the Arts Council to encourage more donations of this sort, Hunter can offset the value of his collection (up to £300,000) against income tax for the next three years. So while his donation is generous of spirit, it’s not without its perks.

Or to put it another way, they never give him their money, and he only gives them his funny papers.

The cast returns for ‘Copper’ Season 2. (Photo: BBC AMERICA)

With temps already climbing across the country and Memorial Day around the corner, BBC AMERICA has sent out a press release previewing its summer programming, led by the second season of its original crime drama Copper. Set in Civil War-era New York City, the series stars British actor Tom Weston-Jones as Irish detective Kevin Corcoran, a talented officer who must tame the chaos of the city’s downtrodden Five Points neighborhood while struggling with his own family’s upheaval. The 13-episode second season, premiering Sunday, June 23, will delve into the political machinations of New York’s Tammany Hall as the country nears President Lincoln’s assassination. Additions to the cast this season include Donal Logue, Alfre Woodard, Eamonn Walker, Lee Tergesen, Andrew Howard and William Baldwin.

Meanwhile, Broadchurch, the much-buzzed-about drama starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman as officers investigating the death of a young boy in a seaside town, will premiere Wednesday, August 7 in BBC AMERICA’s award-winning Dramaville block, while the latest miniseries of Luther, starring Golden Globe winner Idris Elba as the titular detective, will roll out as a four-night event beginning September 3. Also, the final season of Being Human will premiere Saturday, July 13 in Supernatural Saturday.

The channel has also announced the series premiere of Dangerman: The Incredible Mr. Goodwin, a series featuring the British escapologist Jonathan Goodwin as he places himself in some extreme situations, all in homage to his childhood heroes like Harry Houdini. And Top Gear‘s landmark twentieth season will air this summer at an as-yet-unspecified date.

The release notes the previously unveiled airdates for the return of the science series Bang Goes the Theory (Tuesday, June 4) and the zombie miniseries In the Flesh (rolling out over three nights beginning Thursday, June 6).

Here’s the release in full:

BBC AMERICA SUMMER PREVIEW

 

COPPER, LUTHER, BROADCHURCH, IN THE FLESH, BANG GOES THE THEORY, TOP GEAR, BEING HUMAN, DANGERMAN: THE INCREDIBLE MR GOODWIN

 

DRAMA

 

COPPER – WORLD PREMIERE

COPPER, BBC AMERICA’s highest-rated original drama, returns for a second season this June. An American saga set in 1865 New York City, picks-up on the brink of Lincoln’s assassination – with shifts in politics and society altering the landscape for Irish immigrants and African-Americans.  At the center, Detective Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones, MI-5) struggles to tame the wartime metropolis while wrestling with personal demons, including the betrayal of his wife and best friend.  And when Tammany Hall’s outspoken General Brendan Donovan (Donal Logue, Vikings, Sons of Anarchy), returns from the Civil War to restore law and order in the Sixth Ward, loyalties will be bought and sold both Uptown and in the slums of the Five Points as Corcoran, and those around him, fight to find their places in an unforgiving city. Guest stars include Alfre Woodard (Steel Magnolias, Twelve Years a Slave, True Blood), William Baldwin (Gossip Girl, Hawaii Five-O), Eamonn Walker (Chicago Fire, Oz), Lee Tergesen (The Big C, Oz) and Andrew Howard (Hatfield & McCoys, The Hangover). The series is created by three-time Emmy^® Award-winner Tom Fontana and Academy Award-nominee Will Rokos, and executive produced by Academy Award-winner Barry Levinson, Fontana, Rokos, Cineflix Studios President Christina Wayne and Thomas Kelly. COPPER returns Sunday, June 23, 10:00pm ET/PT.

 

BROADCHURCH – US PREMIERE

BBC AMERICA’s Broadchurch, which earned critical acclaim, record ratings and became a Twitter phenomenon in the UK, centers on the investigation into the murder of a young boy in a British seaside town. Leading the investigation are two detectives – the strong yet compassionate local Detective Sergeant, Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman), and the by-the-book Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (David Tennant), Ellie’s newly appointed boss.  By circumstance they are partnered to solve the murder, keeping the newspapers from derailing the investigation and trying to prevent the crime from impacting tourism at the beach where the boy was murdered. The cast also includes Jodie Whittaker as Beth, Andrew Buchan as Mark, Will Mellor playing Stephen Turner and sees Arthur Darvill as the town priest Paul Coates. The series is created and written by Chris Chibnall and executive produced by Chibnall and Jane Featherstone. Broadchurch premieres Wednesday, August 7, 10:00pm ET/PT as part of Dramaville.

 

 

LUTHER – US PREMIERE

BBC AMERICA’s acclaimed mini-series Luther returns as a four-night television event in September. Idris Elba (Pacific Rim, Thor) returns in the title role which won him a 2012 Golden Globe^® for “Best Actor.” John Luther, the near-genius detective struggling to cope with his own demons, is back under intense pressure – with two conflicting crimes to investigate and a ruthless ex-cop determined to bring him down. Luther’s life is his job; that is until love crosses his path and offers him a chance of happiness. Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil, Love Actually) joins the cast as Mary, a woman who works in a vintage clothing shop and meets Luther in a chance encounter.  The series is created by Neil Cross and executive produced by Phillippa Giles. Luther returns September 3-6, 10:00pm ET/PT as part of Dramaville.

IN THE FLESH – US PREMIERE

BBC AMERICA’s In The Flesh, a new zombie mini-series event, will premiere this summer over three straight nights beginning June 6. It follows zombie teenager Kieren Walker (Luke Newberry) and his reintegration back into both the local community and the heart of his family. After his suicide four years ago, his friends and family thought they’d never see Kieren again. But shortly after his funeral, thousands rose from the dead; and after months of rehabilitation and medication, the zombies – now known as PDS (Partially Deceased Syndrome) sufferers – are gradually being returned to their homes. When Kieran arrives, he is forced to confront his family, the community that rejected him and haunting flashbacks of what he did in his untreated state. In The Flesh is created and written by Dominic Mitchell and executive produced by Hilary Martin. In The Flesh premieres June 6-8, 10:00pm ET/PT.

SUPERNATURAL SATURDAY

BEING HUMAN – US PREMIERE

BBC AMERICA’s original hit series, Being Human, returns for its final season. Ghost Alex (Kate Bracken) is adjusting to life after death with werewolf Tom (Michael Socha) and vampire Hal (Damien Molony). Matters become more complicated with the return of Mr. Rook, the shady figure whose government department protects the human world from otherworldly beings.  But they don’t realize they face a bigger threat than Rook and the Men in Grey, when they stumble across the decrepit and repulsive Captain Hatch (Phil Davis). Unknown to our trio, his decrepit exterior hides an ancient evil that threatens not only their friendship, but the entire world. The series is created and written by Toby Whithouse and executive produced by Whithouse, Rob Pursey, Philip Trethowan, and George Ormond. Being Human returns Saturday, July 13, 10:00pm ET/PT as part of Supernatural Saturday.

UNSCRIPTED

BANG GOES THE THEORY – US PREMIERE

BBC AMERICA’s science-savvy entertainment series, Bang Goes the Theory, returns with all-new episodes featuring spectacular experiments and crazy innovations with hosts Dallas Campbell, biochemist Liz Bonnin, engineer Jem Stansfield and evolutionary biologist Dr. Yan Wong.  The action-packed series goes from the sky (in a human-powered airplane) to the bottom of the sea (in the Royal Navy’s latest search and rescue submarine) and everywhere in between to answer some of the most common, and a few not so common, questions.  Making science both inspiring and engaging, the team investigates the issues that affect people every day. Bang Goes the Theory returns with three back-to-back episodes Tuesday, June 4, 9:00pm ET/PT.

DANGERMAN: THE INCREDIBLE MR. GOODWIN – US PREMIERE

Impossible is merely a challenge for Jonathan Goodwin, a new breed of escapologist and a professional dangerman, who puts himself in the most extreme situations. Emulating his childhood heroes, the great American sideshow acts and comic-book characters, Goodwin takes his unique brand of entertainment onto the streets of Britain and the US. He’ll climb buildings, get buried alive, catch arrows and fire a rifle blindfolded in front of stunned onlookers. But viewers will get to know him even better, witnessing the extraordinary processes Goodwin goes through behind the scenes as he trains intensively for his performances, many of which have never been attempted before. Dangerman: The Incredible Mr. Goodwin premieres Monday, July 8, 10:00pm ET/PT.

TOP GEAR SEASON 20 – US PREMIERE

Hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May return for the twentieth season of the world’s biggest car show. The new season features new adventures, stunts and challenges plus the mysterious racing driver, The Stig. Top Gear returns this summer.

SEE ALSO:
A first look at BBC AMERICA’s The Musketeers
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell series to air on BBC AMERICA in 2014
Steven Moffat previews Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary

An English girl, an Irish guy, an American, and a Welshman walk into a TV studio …

The Voice UK is currently #1 on BBC1.

What’s on: The Voice UK  
What is it: Okay, we’re pretty sure most people are familiar with NBC’s The Voice but just in case … it’s a singing competition reality show. The format consists of: 1) Producer Auditions; 2) Blind Auditions; 3) Battle Phase; and, 4) Live Shows. The panel of judges is made up of Danny O’Donoghue (The Script), Jessie J. (English singer/songwriter), Sir Tom Jones (Welsh solo artist) and will.i.am (The Black Eyed Peas), with hosts Reggie Yates and Holly Willoughby. The panelists are sat in swivel chairs and they only hear the competitor’s voice versus being swayed by their look or choreography. If the judge is swayed by the sound of just the voice, they turn around and become their mentor, coach and add them to their team to compete against the other judge’s assembled teams. The audience is the ultimate decider with their votes.
Air-date: March 24, 2012 – present on BBC1
Who’s watching: 8.86 million Brits
Why so popular: Reality shows are crazy popular probably because of mere curiosity and the ability to peek into someone’s life. If you throw competition into a reality it becomes a different animal with contestants really putting everything on the line. The Voice steers away from airing auditions-go-wrong that could be potentially humiliating but rather focuses on high quality music-making. Sometime’s it’s just so heartbreaking and hard to watch but ultimately, there is a winner. The show is a refreshing change from other competition shows with the seasoned performers acting as mentors versus just ball busting judges.
American counterpart: The U.S. has an American version of The Voice, which has been a huge hit and totally embraced by the public, with the original panel – Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton – providing a nice mix of musical talent ranging from alternative and pop to rap and country.

It’s the same name but is it the same show. Decide for yourself! Here’s the trailer for Season 1 of The Voice UK:

Right, well, the premise appears to be the same but what about the judges. The judges size each other up in this clip:

And, the contestants? We’re gonna sneak ahead to the Season 1 finale where you can check out the final four:

As usual, fans are heading to Twitter to show their support. Makes this lad wanna sing!:

The last guy on #TheVoiceUK will win this years show! Pure voice I’m telling ya!! I wish I could sing soooo bad!!

— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) March 30, 2013

A Season 2 contestant makes a cheeky point with this tweet:

It’s so funny how my Neighbours who blanked me a few months ago now all won a have a chat #thevoiceuk #teamtom — Cherelle Basquine (@cherelleartist) May 22, 2013

Alas, not everyone’s a fan:

Queen guitarist Brian May attacks #TheVoiceUK: ‘It makes me sick’ dspy.me/119FdXq

— Digital Spy (@digitalspy) May 21, 2013

Which version do you prefer?