Category Archives: TV

But it’s news… Some questions about Woolwich coverage

Posted on May 23, 2013 by samiraahmed

 I’ll be discussing questions about BBC TV’s news coverage of the horrific Woolwich street murder of a young soldier on Newswatch with the head of the BBC Newsroom, Mary Hockaday on Friday May 24th. This blog post lays out some … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Justice, journalism, Media, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 45 Comments

From avenger to screamer: How Dr Who assistants remain trapped in time

Posted on April 9, 2013 by samiraahmed

The Reunion programme for Radio 4, produced by Peter Curran, recently brought together some of the original cast and crew of the first episode of Doctor Who. The first Dr Who team was notable for its diversity — Waris Hussein … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Culture, Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Loving the Alien: Bowie and the ‘Burbs

Posted on March 15, 2013 by samiraahmed

              How did  I come to make a documentary for Radio 4 called I Dressed Ziggy Stardust? It was pitched and commissioned about 6 months ago, long before anyone thought Bowie might be releasing new … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Culture, Media, Music, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Alan Bennett: Why spilling all is not the art of the monologue

Posted on March 8, 2013 by samiraahmed

I was lucky enough to be asked to chair an In Conversation with the playwright, diarist and screenwriter Alan Bennett at the British Film Institute last night. It was focussed on his skills with the monologue, as part of a season of TV monologues. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Comedy, Culture, Film, Media, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

A child-sized gap in the TV schedules?

Posted on January 29, 2013 by samiraahmed

Children’s TV is on my mind this week as I’m chairing an event at the BFI Southbank on Saturday Feb 2nd with the original creator of Playschool,Jackanory and producer of Catweazle Joy Whitby. They’re screening several of her programmes and … Continue reading →

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Poor Cows and Angry Young Men: 50 years of Kitchen Sink Drama

Posted on January 24, 2013 by samiraahmed

The director Ken Loach and the theatre critic Michael Billington remember the dawn of the 60s well. “The 50s weren’t bleak and depressing,” spluttered Loach, listening to art critic Rachel Campbell-Johnston explain the grim postwar era that spawned the new … Continue reading →

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Mocha in the Family Latte: Race on American screens

Posted on January 15, 2013 by samiraahmed

“He should not be here, ” said the fish in the pot. ” he should not be here when your mother is not.” – The Cat In the Hat Dr Seuss (1957) It is a conundrum worthy of the massive … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Cowboys!, Culture, Film, Media, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

That Was Then, This Is Now – Satire from JFK to Savile

Posted on November 28, 2012 by samiraahmed

Last night I went to the British Film Institute’s celebration of 50 years of the breakthrough TV satire programme, That Was The Week That Was. (TW3). It featured many of the original cast, writers and modern satirists, and clips including … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Media, Politics, TV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Martin Landau and the Art of Darkness

Posted on October 21, 2012 by samiraahmed

I was lucky enough to interview Martin Landau when he was in London for the Film Festival premiere of Frankenweenie. Like a lot of 70s kids I first discovered him as Space:1999′s haunted looking Commander Koenig. When discussing his career … Continue reading →

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Hacks on Film: Essential viewing and reading

Posted on October 3, 2012 by samiraahmed

This is an updated version of an article I first wrote for The Spectator blog, that formed the basis of a lecture to journalism students at Kingston University in October. It has links to scripts, films and articles about all … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, History, journalism, Media, Politics, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment