BBC releases Notting Hill Carnival documentaries exclusively on iPlayer

The BBC has released four new documentaries about Notting Hill Carnival exclusively on BBC iPlayer.

The BBC is placing an increasingly large focus on iPlayer as its digital media platform, not just revamping the VOD service earlier this year but … Read More

TG4 gets the TV App Engine treatment

One of the main problems facing the VOD industry is fragmentation. Not just of services, but devices – with so many platforms to through on your telly, developing an app that can work across all of them is a challenge. … Read More

Richard Eyre’s Olivier-winning Ghosts available to watch online in September

Richard Eyre’s Olivier award-winning production of Ibsen’s Ghosts will be available to watch online around the world on DigitalTheatre.com in September.

The production, which sold out at the Almeida before transferring to the Trafalgar Studios where it played to packed … Read More

Vimeo launches new Roku and Apple TV app

Vimeo has launched a revamped app for Roku streaming media devices designed to make it quicker to view videos.

The first major refresh since the channel launched in 2011, the Vimeo app now features a custom-built user interface that makes … Read More

Bill Cosby and Bill Burr join new slate of Netflix original stand-up comedy

Bill Cosby and Bill Burr are part of Netflix’s new slate of original stand-up comedy.

The four new specials, which the Internet TV company announced today, join the previously announced October 10th Chelsea Handler one-Hour comedy special, Uganda Be … Read More

PlayStation TV UK release date confirmed as 14th November

Sony has confirmed that PlayStation TV will launch in the UK on 14th November.

The device, which has already been released in Japan, is Sony’s entry into the increasingly crowded streaming media device market.

The tiny box will allow … Read More

RIP Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall has passed away at the age of 89.

The legendary actress made her debut in To Have and Have Not at the age of just 19. The film paired her with Humphrey Bogart, whom she would go on … Read More

RIP Robin Williams (and a list of his films available on Netflix UK, Prime and NOW TV)

“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.”

That was Robin Williams in 1989’s Dead Poets Society. 25 years later, the actor and comedy has tragically passed away – but if there was one thing he was never short of, it was words.

His unique motormouth comedy soon won him fans on the stand-up circuit and that manic energy translated perfectly onto the screen in a storm of hyperactive roles, from a rapid-fire radio DJ in Good Morning, Vietnam to the Genie in Aladdin. Williams improvised 16 hours’ worth of material for Disney’s classic – so much that the Academy reportedly refused to nominate it for Best Original Screenplay. “You never had a friend like me,” he sang. Everyone believed him.

That universality was equally mind-boggling. Even though his trademark was spouting barely comprehensible nonsense at an almost inaudible speed, people around the globe connected with Robin Williams. When his death was reported last night, Twitter exploded into endless tributes from accounts the world over. The trending topics were solely comprised of Robin Williams references, but what was telling was the variety of them. Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society, Hook. Even Patch Adams and Bicentennial Man. Robin Williams wasn’t just a versatile performer; he was a versatile performer whom people loved in everything he did. Just Google “Mrs Doubtfire hello” and marvel at how many have recorded their own version of his frosted fridge door greeting.

His dramatic roles were as moving as his silly ones were side-splitting. In the second half of his career, he stunned those who had grown up with his cross-dressing granny and magical blue guy with silent turns in Insomnia and One Hour Photo, that twinkling smile given an unnerving stillness. For all his exuberance, he had brilliance in his quiet moments; his bearded professor lecturing Matt Damon’s student on experience vs knowledge would reduce anyone to tears, while his
Carpe Diem lesson passed on to students at Welton Academy never fails to inspire. But he brought a humanity to each performance, whether finding a heartfelt note in a comedy or using humour to hold back the darker elements of life.

That range and sincerity makes it impossible to pick a favourite moment from his career; even his impression of a hot dog is laugh-out-loud funny. Patch Adams’ message that laughter can sometimes be the best medicine might have been hailed as too saccharine – and offered a tragic contrast to his own off-screen battle with depression – but when Williams was switched on, his infectious, impossible wit could make you forget about everything else and stand up on your desk. He was a whirlwind of giggles and ideas contained in a human. And that genius continues to be bottled in every film; a creative force waiting to be unleashed at the rub of a lamp.

“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world,” he said 25 years ago. If there was one thing Robin Williams was never short of, it was words. And as tributes continue to pour in from fans everywhere, you can see how much his actually have changed the world. Not in a big, political way, but in a smaller, arguably more important way. We never had a friend like him.
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New Amazon Instant Video pilots to premiere on 28th August

Amazon’s latest round of pilots for original TV shows will premiere on Thursday 28th August, including talent ranging from Whit Stillman and Steven Soderbergh to Ron Perlman, Adam Brody, Chloë Sevigny and David Gordon Green.

After its second batch of … Read More

NOW TV introduces weekly sports pass to watch Premier League online without Sky

NOW has introduced a new weekly sports pass to allow fans to watch Premier League football online without Sky.

NOW’s sports pass was previously only available for a single day, giving fans without Sky live streaming access to all Sky … Read More