86 posts tagged with UK.
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The Great British Sewing Bee: Episode 1  Season 10, Ep 1

Week 1 of series 10 of the Great British Sewing Bee. Ten new contestants, a new presenter, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, and the same two judges, Esme Young and Patrick Grant. The tasks this week are a denim skirt, a t-shirt transformation, and a casual dress. [more inside]
posted by paduasoy on May 26, 2024 - 14 comments

Movie: Notting Hill

A set of circumstances makes Anna Scott, a famous actress, fall in love with William Thacker, owner of a bookstore in Notting Hill. But the paparazzi's fascination with her complicates their bond. [IMDB] [Letterboxd] [more inside]
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs on May 21, 2024 - 4 comments

Movie: Four Weddings and a Funeral

Over the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love. [IMDB] [Letterboxd] [more inside]
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs on May 21, 2024 - 4 comments

Faking It: All episodes  Season 0, Ep 0

Faking It was an early British reality TV show. Its challenge was based on Shaw's Pygmalion: experts get a month to train a member of the public to the point where a panel of their peers would be unable to pick them from a group as an imposter. Often there might be a loose connection between the existing and new occupation of the candidate: "Sheep sheerer to hairdresser" or "Show girl to show jumper", for example. The trainee would live with the experts for the month and would usually undergo a makeover as well as training by actors. After their test - they would return home - either reluctantly or gratefully. [more inside]
posted by rongorongo on Oct 10, 2023 - 4 comments

Book: The Secret Hours

Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating "historical over-reaching" by the British Secret Service. Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any hint of misconduct by any MI5 officer—and allowed Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, the two civil servants seconded to the project, unfettered access to any and all confidential information in the Service archives in order to do so. But MI5’s formidable First Desk did not become Britain’s top spy by accident, and she has successfully thwarted the inquiry at every turn. Now the administration that created Monochrome has been ousted, the investigation is a total bust—and Griselda and Malcolm are stuck watching as their career prospects are washed away by the pounding London rain. Until the eve of Monochrome’s shuttering, when an MI5 case file appears without explanation. It is the buried history of a classified operation in 1994 Berlin—an operation that ended in tragedy and scandal, whose cover-up has rewritten thirty years of Service history. [more inside]
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol on Sep 15, 2023 - 3 comments

Blue Lights: Blue Lights Season One (full)  Season 1, Ep 0

Blue Lights follows rookie police officers working in Belfast, a city in which being a frontline response cop comes with unique pressures and dangers. The city, nominally "post-conflict" still has sectarian divides, paramilitaries running drug operations and conditions which make police work difficult. The Guardian "Don’t sleep on this fantastically tense Belfast cop show". The Spectator "The BBC’s Blue Lights is a near-perfect cop drama" First shown by the BBC March 2023 and currently available on iPlayer.
posted by rongorongo on May 2, 2023 - 4 comments

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Biden's Border Policy  Season 10, Ep 10

This week.... Matthew McConaughey's had a five-and-a-half-hour-long "The Art of Livin'" Virtual Live Event that was bonkers. In the UK, they prepare for Charles' coronation despite facing serious economic problems. And Now: Is Matthew McConaughey OK? Main story: Biden, and the ways in which he's failed to live up to his campaign rhetoric regarding immigration, like the continued abuse of Title 42, a public health law, which began under Trump as a way to prevent access to immigrants and asylum seekers was began under Trump policy golem Stephen Miller, and which Biden has notably failed to stamp out." And Now: Wait, Did Tucker Carlson Know This Was Coming? (Statements Carlson has said on Fox News that could be seen to refer to his recent resignation-probable-firing.) On Youtube. (20 minutes) Finally, an update over the ads fo Radiant Plumbing and Air Conditioning, who makes strange and wonderful toilet-themed parodies of big movies for commercials. Last month LWT challenged them to make a toilet-themed commercial parody based on a movie of their choosing. They accepted in brilliant fashion, and the movie choice was, of all things, Magnolia. What they produced, awesomely, was... Magtoiletolia.
posted by JHarris on May 1, 2023 - 2 comments

Movie: All Night Long

British director Basil Dearden followed his gay blackmail thriller Victim with 1962’s All Night Long, which re-imagines Shakespeare's Othello at a late night London jazz jam. Patrick McGoohan is drummer Johnny Cousins, the scheming, pot-smoking Iago who prowls the party stirring up jealousy and fear to tear the interracial couple of bandleader Aurelius Rex and his wife Delia apart so Delia will sing with Johnny when he leaves Othello's band. An excellent score helps drive the tightening downward spiral, with Charles Mingus and Dave Brubeck showing up as themselves throughout the party. [more inside]
posted by mediareport on Apr 25, 2023 - 4 comments

Movie: Victim

Basil Dearden's landmark 1961 noir about gay men in London victimized by a blackmail ring is credited with helping shift British attitudes about homosexuality. Closeted actor Dirk Bogarde plays the guilt-ridden lawyer who decides to fight back. Surprisingly thrilling, and sympathetic to a range of gay characters who are presented with minimal stereotyping (for the time). Banned from wide release in the US because Dearden refused to make concessions. 100/87 at Rotten Tomatoes, on HBO and the Criterion Channel. [more inside]
posted by mediareport on Apr 8, 2023 - 2 comments

Stonehouse: Stonehouse (Full Season)  Season 1, Ep 1

A bingeable three-episode series on Britbox/Amazon Prime about "the life and times of disgraced Labour politician John Stonehouse, a high-flying minister of Prime Minister Harold Wilson's government who vanished from the beach of a large luxury hotel in Florida in November 1974, leaving a neatly-folded pile of clothes as he swam into the sea, intent on faking his own death." (IMDB)
posted by Countess Elena on Feb 12, 2023 - 3 comments

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Bail Reform  Season 9, Ep 27

This (well last) week.... Liz Truss resigns as UK Prime Minister after 45 days, to be replaced by Rishi Sunak. And Now: Unnecessary Full Disclosure. Main story: Bail reform, and how important it is despite it being used by right-wing attack ads to try to damage progressive, and, you know, just plain non-evil candidates. On Youtube (27 minutes) This is LWT's second report on bail; here is the first. (18 minutes) And Now: Unnecessary Full Disclosure All Tamron Hall Edition.
posted by JHarris on Nov 6, 2022 - 0 comments

Movie: The Lost King

An amateur historian defies the academic establishment in her efforts to find King Richard III's remains, which were lost for over 500 years. [more inside]
posted by paduasoy on Oct 30, 2022 - 0 comments

Taskmaster: Series 14  Season 14, Ep 0

Little Alex Horne (6'2") kicks off Season 14 by posting his interview with/analysis of Dara Ó Briain. The other contestants vying for the Golden Noggin are Fern Brady, John Kearns, Munya Chawawa, and Sarah Millican. The fourteenth series airs Thursday, September 29 through December 1, 2022, on BBC 4 (never mind on their goofy-named streaming service, Taskmastersupermaxplus). There's another series preview on their twitter channel. Who will win? Hopefully, the audience.
posted by not_on_display on Sep 27, 2022 - 63 comments

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Bolsonaro  Season 9, Ep 23

This week... Biden declares the pandemic to be over, which it isn't. Florida governor Ron DeSantis flies migrants (from Texas, not Florida) to Martha's Vineyard at Florida taxpayer expense in a ridiculous stunt for the benefit of Fox News. Puerto Rico, hit by Hurricane Fiona, has power problems again, in large part due to the mismanagement of LUMA Energy. Puerto Rican rap artist Bad Bunny drew attention to the island's continuing electrical woes with a video that at first appears to be a music video, but then turns out to be a 22-minute documentary. And Now: The Queue to End All Queues (the one to pay respects to the deceased Queen of England). Main Story: A return to Jair Bolsonaro, the far right President of Brazil who is running for election. He seems likely to lose but may decide to refuse to leave office, following Trump's example and encouraging a riot. On Youtube (20 minutes). At the end, John Oliver wishes support for the people of Brazil, speaking Portuguese while swinging nunchaku around. There's a reason, kind of.
posted by JHarris on Sep 26, 2022 - 3 comments

Mystery Science Theater 3000: GORGO  Rewatch   Season 9, Ep 9

Rewatch! It's Godzilla in the UK! A couple of guys capture a giant sea lizard and show it at a carnival, not realizing it's just a baby, and its mum is pissed. Leonard Maltin shows up in host segments. Previously.
posted by JHarris on Jul 21, 2022 - 5 comments

Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE DEADLY BEES  Rewatch   Season 9, Ep 5

Rewatch! Bees are on the rampage in the UK, and a singer in the country for a rest cure tries to figure out why they're killing people, while the British bureaucracy churns away trying to send someone to investigate. An odd movie with a very weird moment right at the end. In subplot news, the other Observers show up and try to get Brain Guy to go off with them to observe things. Previously.
posted by JHarris on Jun 23, 2022 - 2 comments

Book: Bad Actors

A governmental think-tank, whose remit is to curb the independence of the intelligence service, has lost one of its key members, and Claude Whelan—one-time head of MI5's Regent’s Park—is tasked with tracking her down. But the trail leads straight back to the Park itself, with Diana Taverner as chief suspect. Has Diana overplayed her hand at last? What’s her counterpart, Moscow’s First Desk, doing in London? And does Jackson Lamb know more than he’s telling? Over at Slough House, with Shirley Dander in rehab, Roddy Ho in dress rehearsal, and new recruit Ashley Khan turning up the heat, the slow horses are doing what they do best, and adding a little bit of chaos to an already unstable situation… [more inside]
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol on May 14, 2022 - 2 comments

Taskmaster: Series 13: The whole thing, beginning with the preview.  Season 13, Ep 0

Taskmaster: Series 13 [TRAILER] premieres Thursday 14 April 2022. A live studio audience will be in attendance for the first time since Series 9—Nov 2019! The lucky panelists whose personal items and egos will be on the line are Ardal O'Hanlon, Bridget Christie, Chris Ramsey, Judi Love and Sophie Duker. Their time ... starts ...
posted by not_on_display on Apr 5, 2022 - 52 comments

Taskmaster: The Entirety of Series 12  Season 12, Ep 0

Alan Davies, Desiree Burch, Guz Khan, Morgana Robinson and Victoria Coren Mitchell all vie for the Golden Head of the Taskmaster—and to eventually advance to the Champion of Champions III! But first they have to elbow their way through the ten-episode labyrinth of odd tasks overseen by Little Alex Horne... and then convince Greg Davies—the Taskmaster—that they actually performed said tasks, nevermind whether they may have done well. See the astonished looks on everyone's faces when Greg totally mishandles the doling out of precious points. [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Sep 25, 2021 - 76 comments

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Housing Discrimination  Season 8, Ep 18

This week: another show from the void, but maybe not for much longer! The Tokyo Olympics proceed despite a spike in COVID cases, and the UK prepares to lift nearly all restrictions despite an uptick in cases over there. And Now: People On TV Mean "Fucking" (Olympics Edition). Main story (32 minutes): Housing Discrimination, its legacy in the US, how its effects are felt today, and what can be done to rectify it. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Jul 26, 2021 - 6 comments

Small Axe: Lovers Rock  Season 1, Ep 2

Lovers Rock is a 2020 romance film directed by Steve McQueen and co-written by McQueen and Courttia Newland. It stars Micheal Ward and Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn as two lovers who meet at a reggae house party in 1980 in West London. The film was released as part of the anthology series Small Axe.
posted by latkes on Feb 14, 2021 - 4 comments

The Great British Bake Off: Week 1: Cake  Season 11, Ep 1

IT'S HERE! After six weeks in a bubble the beloved baking show is back with a brand new batch of bakers. Week 1 brings Battenbergs, Bromeliaceae, and . . . busts? Airs on Channel 4 in the UK on Tuesdays and on Netflix in the US on Fridays. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 22, 2020 - 52 comments

Movie: Sorry We Missed You

Hoping that self-employment through the gig economy can solve their financial woes, a hard-up UK delivery driver and his wife struggling to raise a family end up trapped in the vicious circle of this modern-day form of labour exploitation. The newest film from Ken Loach. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Jul 11, 2020 - 5 comments

Gangs of London: Season 1  Season 1, Ep 0

The city of London is being torn apart by the turbulent power struggles of the international gangs that control it and the sudden power vacuum that's created when the head of London's most powerful crime family is assassinated. [more inside]
posted by Hartster on May 8, 2020 - 6 comments

The Crown: Cri de Coeur  Season 3, Ep 10

As her marriage falls apart, Princess Margaret finds solace in the arms of a much younger landscape gardener. The Queen and the nation celebrate Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. (Season finale)
posted by Cash4Lead on Dec 2, 2019 - 10 comments

The Crown: Imbroglio  Season 3, Ep 9

While Princess Anne dates her elder brother's polo rival, Andrew Parker Bowles, Prince Charles falls deeply in love with Camilla Shand, causing the Queen Mother and Lord Mountbatten to interfere.
posted by Cash4Lead on Nov 29, 2019 - 11 comments

The Crown: Dangling Man  Season 3, Ep 8

Charles visits the exiled Duke of Windsor in his Paris chateau, only to find him very ill. But will the Queen make peace with her uncle before he dies?
posted by Cash4Lead on Nov 27, 2019 - 13 comments

The Crown: Moondust  Season 3, Ep 7

The 1969 moon landing occasions a mid-life crisis in Prince Philip, who thinks of the adventures he has missed as the Queen's consort.
posted by Cash4Lead on Nov 26, 2019 - 17 comments

The Crown: Tywysog Cymru  Season 3, Ep 6

Prince Charles is sent to Aberystwyth to learn Welsh from an ardent nationalist in preparation for the ceremony for his investiture as Prince of Wales.
posted by Cash4Lead on Nov 25, 2019 - 17 comments

The Crown: Bubbikins  Season 3, Ep 4

Left without a home by a political coup in Athens, Philip's eccentric mother, Princess Alice of Greece, is invited to live in Buckingham Palace by the Queen. [more inside]
posted by Cash4Lead on Nov 21, 2019 - 11 comments

The Crown: Aberfan  Season 3, Ep 3

A horrible disaster in the Welsh town of Aberfan leaves scores of children dead, but when the Queen takes a week to decide to visit the town to offer solace to its people, she must confront her reasons for postponing the trip.
posted by Cash4Lead on Nov 20, 2019 - 23 comments

The Crown: Margaretology  Season 3, Ep 2

While Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon visit the USA, the queen, at the bidding of Harold Wilson, asks them to make a side trip to Washington, D.C. to ask President Johnson for financial assistance for the United Kingdom.
posted by Cash4Lead on Nov 19, 2019 - 12 comments

The Crown: Olding  Season 3, Ep 1

The royal family mourns the passing of Winston Churchill. The United Kingdom ushers in a new prime minister, the Labour Party's Harold Wilson, whom Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth hear might be a Soviet spy.
posted by Cash4Lead on Nov 18, 2019 - 16 comments

This Way Up: Season One (All Episodes)  Season 1, Ep 0

A young woman puts her life back together after suffering from a nervous breakdown.
posted by DirtyOldTown on Aug 26, 2019 - 5 comments

Book: The Rook

"The body you are wearing used to be mine." So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her. [more inside]
posted by soelo on Jun 4, 2019 - 33 comments

Movie: The Party

Janet hosts a party to celebrate her new promotion, but once the guests arrive it becomes clear that not everything is going to go down as smoothly as the red wine. [more inside]
posted by sapagan on Feb 17, 2019 - 3 comments

Special Event: The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2019: Documentary

ShortsTV presents a theatrical release of the five Oscar nominees for Best Documentary, Short Subject [more inside]
posted by Eyebrows McGee on Feb 15, 2019 - 2 comments

Humans: All Episodes  Season 3, Ep 0

A year has passed since the synths gained consciousness, but they're fighting to survive in a world that hates and fears them.
posted by DirtyOldTown on Jan 5, 2019 - 3 comments

Movie: After The Screaming Stops

In the 1980s, "Bros" were one of the biggest bands in the world - for 15 minutes. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Dec 29, 2018 - 4 comments

There She Goes - BBC4

This looks really interesting - "A young girl with a learning disability makes her way through life. " ... stars David Tennant (Doctor Who etc) and Jessica Hynes (Spaced, W1A). Anyone interested in a fanfare post for it?
posted by memebake on Oct 18, 2018 - 2 comments

Bodyguard: Episode 4  Season 1, Ep 4

Struggling to come to terms with the traumatic events of the last 24 hours, the home secretary's bodyguard David Budd himself falls under suspicion. [more inside]
posted by Stark on Oct 3, 2018 - 2 comments

Bodyguard: Episode 3  Season 1, Ep 3

As the terrorist threat increases, PS David Budd strives to prevent the home secretary Julia Montague from falling victim to an assassination plot. [more inside]
posted by Stark on Oct 3, 2018 - 1 comment

Bodyguard: Episode 2  Season 1, Ep 2

Home secretary Julia Montague's controversial policies make her a terrorist target and test the loyalty of specialist protection officer David Budd. [more inside]
posted by Stark on Oct 3, 2018 - 2 comments

Bodyguard: Episode 1  Season 1, Ep 1

A troubled war veteran, PS David Budd, is assigned to protect a controversial politician who may be the target of a terror plot. [more inside]
posted by Stark on Oct 3, 2018 - 3 comments

Movie: King Ralph

As the only relative to take over the Royal throne, a down on his luck American slob must learn the ways of the English. [more inside]
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs on Sep 19, 2018 - 5 comments

Secret Agent Selection: WW2: aka Churchill’s Secret Agents: The New Recruits  Season 1, Ep 0

Fourteen recruits go through the selection process for the United Kingdom’s Special Operations Executive, a secret army of illegal officers drawn from ordinary people, created during the second world war to go behind enemy lines and bring down the Nazis.
posted by infinitewindow on Aug 8, 2018 - 0 comments

Movie: Apostasy

Jehovah's Witnesses, Alex, Luisa, and their mother, are united in their devotion. But as Luisa starts to question the advice of the elders, she makes a transgression that leaves the whole family in fear of God's wrath. [more inside]
posted by chrchr on Aug 7, 2018 - 1 comment

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Stupid Watergate II: Fox News' Cries Of "Witch Hunt"  Season 5, Ep 14

This week:
  • Trump prepares for the (then) upcoming North Korea summit, of course, by not preparing.
  • Philippine President and strongman Rodrigo Duterte very uncomfortably kisses a young woman before a crowd.
  • And Now: Julie Chen Has A Few Questions For The Audience of "The Talk."
  • Main Story: More on Stupid Watergate, this time about Fox News' efforts to normalize the idea that the Mueller investigation is a "witch hunt" by calling that through every channel available to them, in an desperate (yet somewhat effective) effort to get ordinary Americans thinking it must be one, despite the fact that they've already charged 20 people and three companies, and gotten five guilty pleas. Watch it on YouTube (18m).
  • And Now: The Entire Seventeen-Minute Piece You Just Saw, Boiled Down To Eight Seconds.
  • Finally, a bit about the UK. Last week's episode had a segment about the putdowns of House of Commons speaker John Bercow that could not air in the UK, because of a stupid law saying footage of the chamber could not be used in "light entertainment" or "political satire." Because they used such footage this week and thus UK viewers again cannot be shown the whole program, LWT offers five minutes of replacement content: Gilbert Gottfried reading Yelp reviews.
[more inside]
posted by JHarris on Jun 16, 2018 - 1 comment

Misfits UK?

Anyone here a fan? [more inside]
posted by miss-lapin on Apr 21, 2018 - 6 comments

Movie: Threads

Documentary-style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England, and the eventual long-term effects of nuclear war on civilization. [more inside]
posted by MoonOrb on Apr 7, 2018 - 13 comments

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