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Television Highlights w/c 1st October 2007
Posted by: Attentional | 08.10.07
Friday 05th October 2007
BBC2 unveiled a brand-new historical drama on Friday evening as The Tudors took centre stage between 9-10pm. The series is written by Michael Hirst, who also penned the BAFTA-winning film Elizabeth, and stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII. This is by no means a docu-drama and watching it will not help you get an A-level in history, but it’s an enjoyable romp set to a historical background – the opening episode featured more than a few sex scenes as the young king enjoyed his power, and a jousting competition. It’s filmed in Ireland and is produced by Peace Arch Entertainment for the Showtime network in association with Reveille Eire, Working Title Films and the Canadian Broadcasting Commission. The BBC was not involved in production, but has picked up exclusive UK rights. The Tudors made a confident debut with 3.2m (15.3). This was a long way short of the 6.6m (27.2%) who tuned in for the debut episode of historical drama Rome on BBC2 back in November 2005, although Rome subsequently shed viewers to reach a series average of 3.6m.
Tuesday 02nd October 2007
Stephen Fry hasn’t ducked away from difficult issues, as witnessed by his intensely personal documentary Secret Life of the Manic Depressive. He started a new two-part documentary on BBC2 last night examining the threat of HIV and Aids, a disease that has largely disappeared from the headlines since its emergence in the 1980s but is still claiming lives. Fry has lost good friends to Aids and there’s a palpable sense of anger at a new generation that seem oblivious to the risks. Stephen Fry: HIV and Me drew 2.5m (11.2%) between 9-10pm.This was a good performance given the difficult subject matter, and a testament to Fry’s popularity.
Monday 01st October 2007
The much-anticipated launch of Virgin 1 came last night on the satellite, cable, and freeview platforms, taking the place of FTN. Although the new channel opened slowly at 21:00 with crime-drama Criminal Minds (251,400, 1.3%), which had already been shown on Living, the jewel in the crown came at 22:00 with the first UK showing of the Emmy-nominated US Drama The Riches. The series stars home-grown actors Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver, as the parents of a family of con artists that tries to pass itself off as a respectable brood. The Riches, produced by FX, attracted an audience of 323,100 (2.5%), which was a strong opening performance, especially when going head-to-head with the second episode of Sky One’s stalwart performer Prison Break, also airing in the 22:00 – 23:00 slot (463,800, 3.3%). The premiere of The Riches in the US drew an audience of 3.8m.
For a more detailed summary of the week’s television, please visit http://www.attentional.com/bristolmediablog.php
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Comments | Leave a response
Isn’t Virgin 1 just another insugnificant use of the airways, with a mix of programs that you may or may not watch depending on your mood – where has all the quality programs gone – there are just too many hours to fill with nothing of worth!
I totally agree with jeff
Here here
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