Features
Features, articles and essays on video on-demand shows and movies, streaming services and the VOD industry.
Top 17 TV shows of 2017
December 31, 2017 | David Farnor2017 has been a year that has seen the very meaning of the word “television” change, from the BBC’s shift towards box set releases to Twin Peaks’ unique, 18-hour return being crowned the best film of the year among David … Read More
Top 25 films of 2017
December 31, 2017 | David Farnor2017 has been a fantastic year – well, for movie lovers, anyway. With Netflix and Amazon going head-to-head at the Oscars, MUBI, Shudder and Curzon providing digital platforms for arthouse and genre titles, and filmmakers such as Bong Joon-ho given … Read More
What’s on UK TV this Christmas? Your 2017 catch-up guide
December 24, 2017 | David FarnorChristmas is here – and so is the age-old battle for the remote control in the living room. Except that these days, Britain has put the strictly scheduled past behind them. Now, we use catch-up services to keep up-to-date with … Read More
The Grand Tour: What Season 2 needs to get back on track
December 7, 2017 | David FarnorThis Friday sees Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May screech back onto our screens for Season 2 of Amazon’s The Grand Tour. After the first season’s uneven run, we look at the seven improvements the show needs to get … Read More
Stranger Things 2: Spotting the 70s and 80s references and influences
November 12, 2017 | Victoria CuratoloIt’s been several weeks since Stranger Things re-entered our lives and it’s safe to say that the majority of us devoured the retrospective spectacle within just a few short days (read along with our reviews of each episode). After the … Read More
Netflix and Amazon: Friend or foe to British TV?
November 5, 2017 | David FarnorNetflix, Amazon and other online streaming services could spell bad news for British TV, the BBC has warned this week, as funding in homegrown productions face a “serious threat”.
The rise of streaming platforms has been both a boon and … Read More
Jim Hopper dancing in Stranger Things wins the Internet
November 4, 2017 | David FarnorNetflix’s Stranger Things returned last weekend for Season 2, drawing a reported 15 million viewers in its opening three days alone. Some binge-watched their way through the whole thing in a matter of hours, others are still savouring each episode … Read More
5 reasons why the BBC’s Robot Wars reboot works
October 22, 2017 | David FarnorRobot Wars. Everyone’s favourite TV show about giant mechanical monsters beating each other to a pulp in Glasgow. The best thing about it? The monsters actually exist. In fact, they’re built by normal people across the country in their garages … Read More
Why Larry David is the hero we need right now
October 9, 2017 | Mike WilliamsLarry David is back on our screens. And with the re-emergence of Curb Your Enthusiasm (for a ninth season, no less) comes all the cringe-worthy controversy we’re accustomed to, and, dare we say, endeared to, ever since that misunderstanding of … Read More
The Walking Dead: The 10 best zombie kills (Seasons 1 to 7)
September 29, 2017 | Neil BrazierAfter seven seasons of the hit zombie horror show The Walking Dead, countless walkers have been slain at the hands of the survivors. It would be easy, then, for the series to get stale. Despite their craving for brains, most … Read More