Orange Television Blog

Celebrity MasterChef: The Final, Friday, BBC1

2009-07-10T21:43:14+01:00

Posted by Liberty Jones Thank God they didn't drag Celebrity MasterChef out any longer, because if things had got any tougher at this stage, the contestants would've been boiling their own genitals into a nutritious broth. As it was, all they had to do for their final challenge was cook three restaurant-quality courses in two hours… a breeze, compared to what they'd faced earlier in the week. Former athlete Iwan Thomas – a man who'd barely unsheathed a Peperami before the competition began – was the first to present his dishes. His starter of Thai prawn soup was praised to...

Getting On, Wednesday, BBC4

2009-07-08T23:03:00+01:00

Posted by Liberty Jones We were expecting great things from Getting On, a pitch-black comedy set in the geriatric ward of an NHS hospital – and by and large we weren’t disappointed. Devised and written by the female cast members, the show centres around three brilliantly observed members of staff. Jo Brand plays a common-sense nurse called Kim Wilde (apparently the real Ms Wilde approved the choice and even offered to appear as a patient), while Joanna Scanlan is harassed nursing sister Den Flixter and Vicki Pepperdine faeces-obsessed doctor Pippa Moore. In last night’s opener, the staff were struggling to...

You Have Been Watching, 10pm Tuesday, Channel 4

2009-07-07T23:37:27+01:00

Posted by Jane Murphy Following in the great tradition of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You and They Think It’s All Over comes yet another quiz show, in which it doesn’t really matter which of the celebrity guests wins - just so long as they keep the funnies up throughout. You Have Been Watching is presided over by deadpan TV critic Charlie Brooker, who - for last night’s opening episode - was joined by singer/OK! regular Jamelia, quiz show rent-a-face Rufus Hound and comedian Richard Herring, sporting a mildly off-putting Hitler moustache. (He’s reclaiming clipped ‘taches...

Four Weddings, Monday 9pm, Living TV

2009-07-06T22:00:00+01:00

Posted by Stewart Turner Everybody knows the best thing about a wedding is the chance to rip it unceremoniously to pieces afterwards. Whether it be the bride’s OTT meringue-like wedding dress or the ill-advised choice of Slipknot’s ‘People = S***’ as the first dance, we all love a good post-nuptial gossip. And with this in mind, Living TV has commissioned a Come Dine With Me-esque wedding show, where a selection of Bridezillas rate and slate each other’s big days, and the winner takes off on a dream honeymoon. So far, so good, but it seems most of the budget was...

Teenagers Fighting Cancer, Monday, Channel 4

2009-07-06T21:30:12+01:00

Posted by Liberty Jones This poignant documentary – about youngsters receiving cancer treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham – didn't make for easy viewing. Filmed over nine months, it focused on a handful of the 2000 teenagers diagnosed with cancer in Britain every year. One was 18-year-old Rebecca, who had just been diagnosed with bone cancer. Realising she'd probably lose her hair during chemotherapy, Rebecca organised a sponsored head shave to raise money for other young cancer sufferers. Watching this articulate young woman having her beautiful long hair shorn, as tears rolled down her cheeks, was utterly heartbreaking. Later,...

Gerry's Big Decision, Thursday, Channel 4

2009-07-02T23:00:00+01:00

Posted by Liberty Jones After trying to save the NHS in a BBC series in 2007, charismatic entrepreneur Sir Gerry Robinson now turns his expert attentions to British companies suffering in the current economic climate. Promising a vital cash injection from his own pocket to those he believes have a long-tem future, Gerry started by visiting two independent breweries on the verge of collapse. The voiceover informed us that Gerry originally trained as a priest – and there seemed little doubt that the businesses in question were going to need some divine intervention if they were to survive the recession....

The Best Job in the World, Thursday 9pm, BBC One

2009-07-02T22:31:00+01:00

Posted by Will Parkhouse Our rating: So, what’s the best job in the world? According to the Queensland Tourism Board, it involves being sent to the Great Barrier Reef for a year to live in a luxury villa, writing a blog about your experiences and getting paid £70,000 for the privilege. What a drag. This hour-long documentary told two stories: on one hand, we had the tale of the 50 candidates who made the shortlist (focusing on the British ones) after 34,000 people applied for the post; and lurking just below the surface, there was the story of one of...

Madonna and Mercy: What Really Happened, 8pm, Channel 4

2009-06-30T00:22:33+01:00

Posted by Jane Murphy If ever two people were less destined to meet, it’s Madonna and Mercy James. At least, that’s according to presenter Jacques Peretti who travelled to Malawi in an attempt to uncover the truth behind the recent adoption saga. So on the one hand, we have the 50-year-old Queen of Pop - a “single mum from New York”, who co-founded the Raising Malawi charity with Kabbalah leader Philippe van den Bossche. And on the other, we have a four-year-old “orphan” who’s been offered a “better” life overseas. Except, of course, Mercy isn’t really an orphan because her...

Ugly Betty, Wednesday 10pm, Channel 4

2009-06-25T23:00:00+01:00

Posted by Jane Murphy Betty’s back! Just when bright, breezy, throwaway US dramas seemed a little thin on the ground, Channel 4 has come up trumps by filling the vacant slot left by Desperate Housewives with series three of Ugly Betty. And as last night’s opening episode quickly conveyed, a lot’s been happening while Betty’s been off our screens. Having dumped both of her love interests and been on a US road trip, our not-so-ugly heroine has arrived back in Manhattan brimming with enthusiasm and ideas about how to clamber up the career ladder at Mode magazine. However, Mode’s now...

Jack the Ripper: Tabloid Killer - Revealed, Wednesday 8pm, Five

2009-06-24T21:31:00+01:00

Posted by Will Parkhouse Our rating: Kicking off with a shot of former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie saying: "A 120-year mystery has just been solved" and promising "startling new documentary evidence", this programme about the Jack the Ripper murders began with a kind of tabloid brashness wholly appropriate to its salacious subject matter. With history buffs in coats and hats still getting their kicks taking late night Ripper tours round East London and theories about the killer's identity making the headlines to this day, "the legend of the Ripper," said Kelvin, "has an eternal fascination". Well, it doesn't, what with...