The arts in 2012: television
Richard Vine picks his highlights of the year aheadNew GirlIf the words "pixie", "kooky" and "Zooey Deschanel" are a turn-off, then this is not for you. If you're a fan, however, this is a breezy riff on the apartment-sharing sitcom that should sit we...
BBC’s Football League Show faces axe
Football League Show dropped from BBC1 schedule for holiday period, as programme's contract comes up for renewalThe BBC's Football League Show could face the axe after two Christmas editions were dropped as part of a "budget decision", fuelling specula...
Media predictions for 2012: TV and radio
Olympics, Euro 2012 and anniversaries set to dominate schedules overshadowed by BBC cuts and wrangling over policyTelevision2012 will a big year for TV, both in terms of content and regulation.The London 2012 Olympics, Paralympics, Euro 2012, the Queen...
Matt Smith interview: lord of misrule
He spends all his time in Wales, has no social life and he's just broken up with Daisy Lowe. But as Doctor Who returns, Matt Smith tells Euan Ferguson why he's the luckiest man on TVI don't think Matt Smith has an unenthusiastic bone in his body. True,...
It’s worth staying up, if only to avoid a night in with Manish | Martin Kelner
As Saturday night turns into Sunday morning, the Football League Show will ask serious questions about your durabilityThe Nativity play season is upon us, and many of you, I suspect, will be taking an afternoon off to sit in uncomfortable chairs in a s...
A League of Their Own – and they’re welcome to it | Martin Kelner
Sky has learned from the Teletubbies, which appeals to toddlers mainly because of the noise, the colour and the constant repetitionIt is a big responsibility, this column, knowing one is just a sarcastic jibe, a harsh judgment, away from ruining career...
Lord Mayor’s Show is a bit of an own goal for BBC
The Corporation wiped several episodes of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's groundbreaking 1960s comedy series Not Only But Also yet has kept every Lord Mayor's ShowWas there ever a more shocking example of cultural vandalism than the BBC's wiping of sever...
Gary Lineker and pals put their shirts on Match of the Day’s future | Martin Kelner
Newly fashionable presenters bring an exciting, chemise-related touch of Gok Wan to the Saturday night football highlightsSuddenly the shirts are getting interesting on Match Of The Day. Gary Lineker was wearing a dark blue number with a black collar o...
Fabio Capello reveals his debt to Theatre of the Absurd | Martin Kelner
England coach's discussion of Wayne Rooney's red card was a pantomime of non-sequiturs and hidden meaningsI don't know whether anyone has considered releasing the Geoff Shreeves-Fabio Capello dialogues as a CD or some other form of home entertainment, ...
How John Motson became the greatest commentator – if not the best | Barney Ronay
The BBC favourite's longevity has elevated him to a position where his ability no longer mattersEnglish football has always had a sense of itself as something noisy and unbound, a business above all of sounds and textures. With this in mind it is not s...
Will you try to buy a foreign decoder card for watching football on TV?
Will you try to take advantage of the European court of justice decision on football TV rights?
Gary Lineker’s jokes have you itching for a touch of punk from Africa | Barney Ronay