TV

I'm a not 'Mac' man at all. In fact, I use a PC and feel that having an Apple logo on the lid of your laptop is actually just a big sign saying 'I'm an insecure herd-following badge snob'. But that's not to say the company from Cupertino hasn't come up with some innovative new ways of doing things. And I believe another one is just around the corner.

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After several seasons of being exiled to Earth, the end of The Three Doctors (the first storyline from the show's tenth season) saw John Pertwee's Doctor finally being given free-reign to roam the cosmos once again. While the subsequent adventure Carnival of Monsters found the time traveler and his companion Jo (Katy Manning) trapped inside an alien sideshow attraction, the next story Frontier in Space truly embraced the space-faring concept with a  read more »

There's good news for fans of the hit TV series Dexter. Showtime, the edgy US cable-network behind the popular serial killer drama, has announced that it will be launching a 12-part series of animated webisodes based on the show to tie in with the fourth series, which recently  read more »

It's not surprising that the hot topic in HCC #171 is Philips' 21:9 TV. As the world's first domestic television designed to perfectly match the 2.39:1 cinema aspect ratio, it's probably the most exciting hardware launch since Blu-ray. Yet I'll admit that ever since I saw a prototype a couple of years ago (from JVC as a matter of fact) I've been sceptical about the whole idea.

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Just when you thought Blu-ray boxsets couldn't get any cooler than Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series, along comes the news that Network will be releasing the cult classic The Prisoner: The Complete Series Blu-ray boxset on September 28.

Priced around £60, the six-disc set marks the first time this provocative and revelatory series has been released anywhere in  read more »

True Blood, based on the popular Sookie Stackhouse series of vampire novels by Charlaine Harris, is another winner for HBO, packed with the network’s usual lashing of sex, violence and jet black comedy.
It’s been several years since vampires announced their existence to the world and now they  read more »

As you are all undoubtedly aware, sci-fi smash Battlestar Galactica is making the jump to Blu-ray later this year. Even before the show came to an end earlier in 2009, fans had been clamouring for the original miniseries and the subsequent four seasons of the hit show to be available to buy in hi-def. Now it's  read more »

Even hardened Stargate SG-1 fans probably didn’t see this one coming: a recut and scored version of the original series pilot from over a decade ago.
But the big surprise is just how compelling the end result is.
Essentially a pet project of executive producer Brad Wright, this feature-length episode now looks as if it was made months rather than years ago, thanks to some cracking new FX and a Listerine fresh edit.
Over seven minutes have been removed from the original, but plenty of  new sequences have replaced them.  read more »

Virgin Media has today announced that the newly-launched ESPN sports channel, which has acquired rights to broadcast Premier League football, will be added to the cable service's channel lineup from Aug 3.

The channel, in both SD and HD flavours, will be free for subscribers to Virgin Media's TV XL package, effectively replacing the now defunct Setanta Sports channels, but adding high-definition into the mix.  read more »

Following a year off the air action series 24 came back with a bang with its well-reviewed seventh season. This latest 'day' comes to a close in both the US and UK next week, with the entire series hitting DVD and Blu-ray across the Atlantic on the day  read more »

Toshiba is to close its long-standing Plymouth TV factory. The Ernesettle plant peaked during the production of Dolby Surround CRT TVs in the eighties and more recently has been used to assemble LCD screens for the UK and European market. Production will now shift to Toshiba’s Polish plant in Kobierzyce. The company says the move was prompted by  read more »

Picking up where Sharpe's Challenge left off, this 2008 outing finds Sharpe and his colleague Harper on the way back to Madras. Coming to the aid of an East India Company baggage train the soldiers soon find themselves caught up in a very familiar plot involving nasty soldiers and opium smuggling. It's all fairly predictable stuff, and while the locations are sumptuous you get the feeling that many of the cast just don't  read more »

Band of Brothers is a truly remarkable TV miniseries. This ten-part series, co-produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, recounts the story of the 101st Airborne Division’s ‘Easy Company’ from basic training through the Normandy landings, Operation Market Garden up to  read more »

Taking elements from three of Bernard Cornwell novels (Sharpe's Tiger, Sharpe's Triumph and Sharpe's Fortress) this 2006 production finds Sean Bean's legendary British soldier undertaking 'one last mission' for the Duke of Wellington. The story takes him to India, where he must put pay to the treacherous Major William Dodd (Toby Stephens) and rescue  read more »

Freesat is to honour the best in digital TV broadcasting and TV services, with the service's first major awards ceremony in May. Industry dignitaries will gather in a central London location to find out who will win in a number of categories, including Best Digital Channel: Daytime Viewing and Best Digital News Channel.

Retailers and installers will also be eligible for specific awards, but while those will be recognised by a panel of experts  read more »