Sometimes, things can’t help but strike you as odd, or out of place. An orange in a bowlful of apples, for example. A gecko in a punnet of raspberries. Or Rob Lowe in a British drama series set in the wilds of Lincolnshire.
It’s rare for television series to last much longer than a few years. It’s mainly soaps that linger, occasionally getting the tabloids in a lather with a racy storyline.
A marvel of the universe, meandering gently through the cosmos, provoking awe and wonder, Brian Cox was back with a new series this week, The Planets (BBC2, Tuesdays, 9pm).
There’s something about a daring heist that makes for great entertainment. Ocean’s 11, The Italian Job – the first one, not the rubbish Marky Mark effort – Robin Hood, they all play into our glee at seeing the plucky underdog rob the undeserving rich and stick it to the man.
Ian Dury once sang about ‘reasons to be cheerful’. There was “Hammersmith Palais, the Bolshoi Ballet”, and “cheddar cheese and pickle” and “phoning up a buddy”.
Tell you what, telly was a bit dramatic this week, wasn’t it? Twists and turns galore, unexpected plotlines, minor characters suddenly taking on major significance.
Rail bosses say engineering work to the West Coast Main Line over the bank holiday weekend was completed on time, but warned of more disruption to come later this month.
The Daily Star came under fire this week, after a front page from December branding primary school children as snowflakes for attending mindfulness lessons went viral on social media.
