TV - Laurie Cunningham: First Among Equals

Wednesday 6^th March, 10.35pm

ITV

Racism still defiles the beautiful game but, happily, the sport has come a long way since the pioneering days of Laurie Cunningham-the first black footballer to play for England in 1979.

His life was cut tragically short when Cunningham died in a car accident aged just 33, but the impact he had lives on to this day.

During his short but promising career, Laurie refused to let chanting from the stands intimidate him and this one-off documentary explored how this third of West Brom’s legendary “Three Degrees”, dealt with the pressure and opportunity put on his shoulders.

Unprecedented access to Laurie’s mother’s scrapbook, as well as anecdotes from players and friends, tell Cunningham’s story extraordinary story from the most personal angle.  

DVD - Hope Springs (12)

Thirty years of marriage has left Kay (Meryl Streep) aimlessly skirting around her cantankerous, predictable husband, Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones).

Streep’s meek, downtrodden Kay is so far from the vivacious women we’re used to seeing her play and her last-ditch desperation is heart-breakingly palpable.

Can a renowned couple’s therapist (Steve Carrell) help them reconnect, or will Kay and the sceptical Arnold’s relationship prove broken beyond repair?

Directed by David Frankel, known for The Devil Wears Prada and dog-centric weepy, Marley and Me, the latter of which Hope Springs is in the same vein.

Mother’s Day is on Sunday 10^th March, by the way, so if you order this most mum-friendly of DVDs from your preferred online retailer now, you should be covered.

TV - Anna & Katy

Wednesday 6^th March, 10.30pm

Channel 4

Fringe favourites, Anna Krilly and Katy Wix, have landed a new Channel 4 comedy show which sees them cavort alongside celebrity cameos and the best up and coming sketch circuit talent.

The show hinges on insightful television pastiches, including Rice Britannia, a take on the runaway success of The Great British Bake Off that focuses instead on the nation’s love of rice.

The pair also send up the recent flurry of two-hour, z-list celeb fronted review programmes, with their own versions-World’s Worst Words and The World’s Most Annoying Colours.

There’s also an unrepeatabley titled German version of Countdown, which features a guest appearance from Lee Mack, and a disastrous interview slot on Ruby Wax’s chat show.

CD - Lianne la Havas: Is Your Love Big Enough

The Mercury Prize nominated singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is due to play to a sold out audience at The Cambridge Junction tomorrow (Thursday 28^th March), off the back of just one album-Is Your Love Big Enough.

La Havas has produced a broad collection of songs ranging from Café del Mar vibed, Au Cinema, to wisely and harshly worded break-up lament, Forget, (the one you’re most likely to have heard on the radio following it’s release last week) and a vocal marriage made in musical heaven with blues artist, Willy Mason.

Her youthful, velvet voice is the main attraction on each, unique song, pulling everything together and ensuring Is Your Love Big Enough avoids the fate of some varied albums branded as inconsistent and lacking in style.

Lianne is a great alternative to, and a gentler, more intimate performer than the, obviously talented, but perhaps over-exposed vocal powerhouses (Adele, Emelie Sande, etc) dominating the scene.

DVD - Ruby Sparks (15)

This is about the time of year all the good indie films that crept in after summer blockbuster season are released on DVD.

We’ve already had The Imposter, Perks of Being a Wallflower and Liberal Arts, and now Ruby Sparks to flesh out your dinner party conversation-appropriate film arsenal.

Wunderkid author, Calvin, (Paul Dano) is struggling to follow up his bestselling debut and so, plagued by writer’s block and failing to adjust to his newfound celebrity, pens his ‘perfect’ woman, Ruby,  and wills her in to existence.

His conflicted mind begins to sabotage his own creation though and Calvin must harness his creativity in less destructive ways before Ruby destroys him and herself.

Ruby Sparks is the first screenplay from Zoe Kazan, who plays the title role, and her charming, insightful story is brought to life by the directing duo behind Little Miss Sunshine.

CD - Delphic: Collections

Described at their show at The Junction in Cambridge last week as, “Foals with glow sticks”, Delphic have done an about turn since their first album, Acolyte, which was a dance-inspired mash up of euphoric builds and vocals flips between the heart-bleeding end of Bloc Party and the shoutier end of Klaxons.

Collections is a slinkier, yet mismatched assemblage of moody pop.

The band’s first single, Baiya, from this new album, however, will likely lose them the glow stick-wielding fanbase they’ve built thus far, but this seems to have been their intention.

Delphic promises to be a band that never produces the same album twice, so if you weren’t feeling their synth-heavy debut, nor this smoother, more professionally arranged follow up, revisit them upon their next release and they may have something for you.

TV - The Brit Awards 2013

Wednesday 20^th February, 8pm

ITV

James Cordon returns to host this year’s Brit Awards on ITV tonight.

Celebrating the great and the good of our Isle’s musical talent, everyone from Plan B to Paloma Faith will compete to be crowned Best British Breakthrough Act, British Male and Female Performer and Best British Single.

Pop/Country superstar, Taylor Swift, tops off a stellar line-up of live acts confirmed for the night, hopefully not in the Mr Monopoly get-up she sported at the Grammys earlier this month.

Justin Timberlake will also take the stage for another ‘come back’ performance after quite the recording hiatus, with Robbie Williams, Muse, Ben Howard and Mumford and Sons getting up there to show him how it’s done.

DVD - The Perks of Being a Wallflower (12A)

Stephen Chobsky’s novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, was quickly elevated to Modern Classic status and, thirteen years later, Chobsky himself directed intelligent outsider, Charlie (Logan Lerman), and accepting high school seniors, Sam (Emma ‘Hermione’ Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller, We Need to Talk About Kevin) in the cinematic adaptation of his coming of age tale, which is now available on DVD.

The soundtrack does not mirror that of the book however, which will upset fans of the original literary incarnation of Perks, seeing as it was such an integral part of the story, but its celebration of the power of the introvert will exonerate anyone who ever felt marginalised, unsure of themselves or alone.

Of course, the film cannot capture every subtle side-story woven into the book, but if this big-screen portrayal introduces more young people to the themes and issues therein, that can be let slide.

TV - Her Majesty's Prison Aylesbury

Monday 18^th February, 9.00pm

ITV

Aylesbury prison’s inmates make for some unsettling statistics.  Home to Britain’s most dangerous young criminals, one in five is serving a life sentence for their crimes, so heinous were they that the public need protection from these individuals.

Scarier still, Aylesbury’s oldest prisoners are just 21.

Programme makers, Wild Pictures, have won critical acclaim for their previous work in Strangeways, Holloway and Wormwood Scrubs prisons, and were given unprecedented access at Aylesbury prison, Buckinghamshire, over four months to make this two part documentary for ITV.

Officers battle daily to keep control over the rapists, paedophiles and gang members who may never again see outside the prison walls, as well as the, perhaps more difficult task, of rebuilding the lives of the young men who will.

CD - Alicia Keys: Girl on Fire

In the last couple of months, Alicia Keys opened Super Bowl 2013 and saw her latest album, Girl on Fire, hit Number 1 in the US, her fifth consecutive album to do so.

She’s back to her basic best with piano ballad, Brand New Kind of Me, whose lyrics don’t escape her Hell’s Kitchen-cultivated pride but are influenced with a softer, prettier, radio-friendly arrangement, thanks to unofficial host of the London Olympics, Emelie Sandé, who co-wrote the track.

Keys’ new husband, Swizz Beatz, did the best job for her of all her collaborative producers on New Day, the only track on the album you can dance to, and Nicki Minaj injects some much needed excitement into the album version of the caterwauling single, Girl on Fire.

Other than this, Girl on Fire will be exactly what Keys’, surprisingly mature in their years, core fan base are after-more of the same.

DVD - Liberal Arts (12)

Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother) has done a Zach Braff (Scrubs) and written and directed an indie vehicle to distance himself from the frothy sitcom that made him famous.

Liberal Arts is the story of 30-something Jesse who returns to his alma mater for his professor’s retirement party and meets, Zibby, 16 years his junior but with an inescapable attraction.

Radnor nobly avoids a Hollywood ending and is so, so, so on the money with the intimate intricacies that mean some relationships can’t work, despite one, or even both, parties wanting it to.

His subtle characters lay out the sad, unromantic truth that so many other things have to be in place to allow people to be together, but somehow leaves viewers with a sense of understanding and closure over this difficult, yet strangely uplifting, story.

CD - Biffy Clyro: Opposites

Scottish alt-rockers, Biffy Clyro, return after a three year hiatus with their sixth studio album, Opposites.

It’s the band’s affinity for playing live for their fans that saw the biggest gap in Biffy’s recording history between this and their last release, Only Revolutions.

Originally intended to be a ‘pair’ of albums, the double-discs of this release are individually named: The Land at the End of Our Toes and The Sand at the Core of Our Bones.

The two are complete opposites of each other in tone and vibe, with lead singer, Simon Neil, describing The Sand… as exploring the darkness in your past and the difficult things that brought you to this point in life, whereas, The Land… takes a more positive look at the future, offering a more uplifting side to the usual angry, thrashing angst we’re used to hearing from Biffy Clyro.

TV - My Life

Tuesday 12^th February, 5.45pm

CBBC

CBBC’s Bafta award winning series, My Life, returns on Tuesday with this fourth series visiting young people who are at a crossroads in their life.

The first episode, as with all previous, is likely to inspire and intrigue young and older viewers alike when we meet 13-year-old Ella, a rock climber hoping to break an incredible record.

We follow Ella and her dad from Sheffield to Yosemite Valley in California where the father daughter team will attempt to climb El Capitan, a rock face that towers as high as six London Eyes on top of each other.

If they can overcome the searing Californian heat, a four-day ordeal and each other’s patience, Ella will become the youngest person ever to have scaled the rock that has beaten some of even the most seasoned professional climbers.

DVD - The Campaign (15)

2/5 stars

If you like your comedy slapstick then try Will Ferrell and Zach Galifanakas’ political tet-a-tet, The Campaign.

Two greasy CEOs, desperate to earn some pulling power in their district, pit an unlikely rival candidate, bumbling tourism manager, Marty Huggins (Galifanakas), against reigning congressman, Cam Brady (Ferrell).

Director, Jay Roach, is something of a comedy box office god, with Meet the Parents, its sequel, and three Austin Powers films to his name, but The Campaign suggests he may be losing his touch.

He’s relied on the powerhouse performances of his comic leads, but without good writing and a strong storyline, the pair fall short of even their ropiest work. If this is the first you’ve seen of Ferrell and Galifanakis, you’ll be crying with laughter, but for the rest of us it’s just more of the same.

TV - Derek Series 2

Ricky Gervais’ latest original comedy series, Derek, divided fans and critics alike with the first series, but the Golden Globe winning writer is sticking by what he pronounces as his favourite creation to date, with a second six-part series starting on Channel 4 this Wednesday (Janaury 30^th).

Kind-hearted, naïve Derek (Gervais) is still working at the old people’s home with friend and caretaker, Dougie (Karl Pilkington) but their jobs and the kind, funny, but unlucky in love, Hannah’s are under threat when the local council announces budget cuts that need to be implemented by ‘streamlining’ staff.

Derek and Dougie fail to impress when the home is inspected but the ever-dedicated Derek attempts to get a petition going in the town centre to try and keep the home open, whereas Dougie takes a more verbally direct approach.

A massive departure from Gervais’ other work but oddly enthralling.

CD - Les Misérables Original Sountrack

If you were one of those applauding and weeping in the aisles at your local cinema’s opening night of Les Misérables  you’re undoubtedly one of those who queued outside your doomed local HMV and put the soundtrack at number one in the album charts.

None of the cast have Broadway standard voices but it’s this rough, ready and real delivery that lends this adaptation of Les Misérables the visceral vocals that may attract a new audience who would usually stay away from the caterwauling of musical theater.

The 20 track album captures every oral offering from Anne Hathway, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfriend and the rest of the cast, with One Day More topping the bill as one of the best ever group recordings of the climactic song.  

DVD - Girls Season 1 (18)

Lena Dunham, the show’s inaugural creator, writer and star, scooped two Golden Globe awards last week for the first season of her New York-based comedy-drama, Girls, which will be available on DVD on March 4th.

Comedy producer extraordinaire Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up) took television wunderkind, Dunham, under his wing to produce the ten episode series following struggling writer, Hannah, and her tight-knit band of twenty-somethings “almost getting it king of together” as they seek professional and romantic fulfilment in their own, roundabout way.

Girl lacks the plastic sheen and perfectionism of most female-led TV shows, speaking to a new generation who couldn’t relate to the impossibly well-heeled and creatively accomplished Carries and Gossip Girls of the television world even if they tried.

TV - The Secret Life of Dogs

Thursday 31st January, 9pm
ITV

This one-off special documentary, narrated by Martin Clunes, and featuring real-life stories of doting dog owners and their extraordinary pets delves deeper than ever before into how, and why, our canine companions behave the way they do.

The documentary explores the reasons people who have dogs live longer and enjoy better mental wellbeing as well as showcasing barely believable examples of devotion from these most loyal of mammals.

Among the personal stories are wheelchair bound, ex-Navy Officer, Allen Parton, who formed an intense bond with Labrador, Endal, despite not being able to recognise any of his family following a Gulf War injury-Endal went on to recover Parton from a further accident with more capability than some adult humans in the same situation.

Maureen Burns also tells how her dog, Max, detected her breast cancer before doctors, a scientifically proven canine ability, along with being able to detect low blood sugar levels in diabetics.

CD - Quartet OST

If you enjoyed the Dustin Hoffman’s charming tale of retired opera singers, Quartet, were especially touched by the music, the good people at BBC Films have teamed with Decca Records and kindly put together a soundtrack for you to relieve the seraphic tunes that so inspired our quartet to harmonise together again.

Along with the expected classical and operatic tracks, they’ve included nostalgic tunes, sung by Trevor Peacock’s (The Vicar of Dibley) character, George, such as Are You Having Any Fun and Gilbert and Sullivan’s, So Please You, Sir, We Much Regret, performed by Valerie Masterson.

The 24 track CD also features pieces from Italian composer, Dario Marianelli’s, original score.  The Oscar winning musician has created memorable work for Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, for which he one the Academy Award.

DVD - Shadow Dancer (15)

An active member of the IRA in 1990’s Belfast is forced to become an informant for MI5 in order to protect her son.

Marred by the tragic death of her younger brother, Colette must navigate through her distorted world of violence and conflicting morality.

Director, James Marsh, and writer, Tom Bradby, make a powerful pair, with the former responsible for the Oscar winning documentary, Man on Wire, and Bradby having worked as a news reporter in Northern Ireland in the 90’s before writing this first of his six thrillers.

Stick with what seems a slow start-director, Marsh, reels you in stealthily and doesn’t let your heart rate drop until the very end.

You don’t need any prior knowledge or understanding of Ireland’s ‘troubles’ to be affected by this film, it stands alone as a formidable, all-out thriller.

CD - Jake Bugg

Noel Gallagher and The Stone Roses saw in Jake Bugg what the rest of us finally tuned into during the second half of 2012 when both acts enlisted him to support them on tour at just 18 years old.

The tawdry teenager’s music compliments these pioneers of the ‘Madchester Movement’, writing and playing whatever it is he wants, not what a record exec wants him to sell, and the potency packs a punch.

Inspired by the mean streets of Nottingham (specifically Clifton, at a guess), Bugg pairs his at once crashing and melodic guitar with not overbearing but youthfully stirring anti-authority and mild drug references.

Lots of fun.

The Bob Dylan and Gallagher comparisons hold up and Bugg, thankfully, doesn’t seem the type to sell out-he’ll be turning out albums like this decades after those identikit ‘singer songwriter’ berks from X Factor have returned to their day jobs.

TV - The Great Comic Relief Bake-Off

Monday 21^st January, 8pm

BBC Two

The Great British Bake-Off has built up a fervent fan base during its three season run on BBC2, so this Comic Relief special should placate the obsessives who’ve been missing Mary and Paul’s culinary themed double entendres.

The four part special will feature 16 celebrity bakers who will face weekly challenges set by the chicest granny on TV, Mary Berry, who will then judge their efforts alongside master baker, Paul Hollywood.

Model turned kitchen goddess, Lorraine Pascal, will also be on hand reporting on the work funded by Comic Relief in Ghana.

This first episode sees cantankerous comedienne, Jo Brand, attempt a black forest cake featuring an iconic hero and Stephen K Amos trying his hand at flour-less baking…

TV - Utopia

Tuesday 15^th January, 10pm

Channel 4

Dennis Kelly's (writer of BBC Three comedy, Pulling, and Matilda the Musical) new conspiracy thriller, Utopia, sees a group of previously unconnected people brought together on a forum discussing the legendary graphic novel, The Utopia Experiments.

The group find themselves in possession of an original manuscript of the fabled book, a heinous crime against the origin and meaning of the story, according to a violent and secretive unit called The Network, who relentlessly pursue our conspiracy lovers with devastating, and in one’s case, deadly, consequences.

The remaining members of the group begin to run out of ways to evade the malignant Network, until they stumble upon an enigmatic stranger who claims to offer them a way out.

DVD - The Imposter (15)

5/5 stars

If you haven’t a decent arts cinema nearby, you’ll have missed The Imposter earlier this year, but you should definitely, most definitely, catch it on DVD.

13 year old Nicholas’ family were devastated when their blonde haired, blue-eyed boy went missing from his Texas home in 1993, so when the authorities call them out of the blue several years later to say they have found him in Spain, the family are understandably ecstatic, the only issue being, ‘Nicholas’ now has a French accent, brown hair and eyes and can’t seem to remember anything about his childhood.

This is a personal docu-drama of one family’s stranger than fiction missing persons case, and right up until the final credits role, revealing those last few killer bits of information, you’ll flip back and forth between siding with the family or Frédéric Bourdin, the man they now believe to be Nicholas.

CD - The Beatles: Early Years

In the years before Ringo joined the bowl hair-cutted quartet, The Beatles were languishing around the bottom of the German pop charts, trading under the name The Beat Brothers and acting, to all intents and purposes, as back-up singers for Tony Sheridan, when they released this album, originally titled, My Bonnie.

This (re)release is one for the hardcore collectors rather than anyone looking to get into The Beatles and it certainly won't make the late George Harrison happy, seeing as he loudly complained of previously ill-thought out releases of the band's earlier, perhaps unfinished stuff.

Another year, another 'exclusive', 'previously released' collection of songs by the boys from Liverpool before Beatlemania set in. 

DVD - An Idiot Abroad: Series 3 (15)

Watching the less than intrepid Karl Pilkington get shipped from pole-to-pole by Rickey Gervais and Stephen Merchant still hasn’t gotten old and the third series of Karl’s travel diary is now out on DVD.

This time around, Gervais hopes to inspire Karl by having him follow explorer, Marco Polo’s, historic route from Venice to China, via Eastern Europe and India (spoiler: the cultural significance is lost on Karl).

He won’t be alone on this latest trip, however, as Harry Potter star, Warwick David, is accompanying him for the whole 5000 miles and is intent on making sure Karl doesn’t miss out on any of the heart-stop, possibly death-defying experiences he would, ordinarily, have skipped on if it weren’t for his pestering chaperone. 

CD - Jools Hollands: The Golden Age of Song

Emperor of New Year’s Eve and honcho of Hootenannys, Jools Holland, has put together a compilation of memorable performances backed by his infamous Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.

Holland’s arrangements bring out the best in his guest performer’s voices and his song selections suit most of them more than their own releases ever have.

Paul Weller has never sounded as smooth and oddly alluring as he does on September in the Rain, and the Hootenanny host even manages to soften Florence Welch’s trademark powerhouse caterwauls on their rendition of My Baby Just Cares For Me. 

TV - The Jonathan Ross Show: Series 4

Saturday 5th January, 9.45pm
ITV

Wossy returns to his prime-time Saturday night slot in 2013 with the fourth series of his ITV chat-show.

His first show this weekend will feature Entourage star, Jeremy Piven, adorable comedian, Sarah Millican, and ex-Doctor Who turned film star, David Tennant.

Next week’s show sees Ross’ sofa graced by a similar calibre of star, with Oscar and Grammy winner, Jamie Foxx, supermodel and failed Strictly contestant, Jerry Hall, and potty-mouth cockney, Micky Flanagan. 

Christmas TV - The Snowman and the Snowdog

Christmas Eve

Channel 4

The main television event of Christmas 2012 absolutely has to be the return of The Snowman, with an all-new animated film, The Snowman and the Snowdog.

This enchanting sequel to The Snowman story tells of a young boy, Billy, who moves house with his mother just before Christmas and discovers a mysterious box has been left under the bed in his new room. The box contains a scarf, some lumps of coal and a tangerine-everything you need to make a snowman!

Billy sets about building his new friend and finds that he has just enough snow left to for a snowdog too.

As with the original story, at the stroke of midnight, the frosty creations come to life and, when Billy awakes, he runs out to join them. The trio embark on a magical night-flight over London to the North Pole, where they take part in the Annual Downhill Race, which snowmen and women from around the world gather together to compete in. The fun must end however as dawn begins to break and Billy must leave his friends outside and return to bed, but first, a wonderful surprise awaits him…

This sequel to Raymond Briggs’ beloved original story has been specially created, with the writer’s blessing, to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the enchanting Oscar nominated film that has captivated generations every Christmas since 1982. The magic has been recaptured this time around by director and art director, Hilary Audus and Joanna Harrison, who both worked as animators on the original film.

The Art of The Snowman and the Snowdog, also being shown on Channel 4 over Christmas, is a behind the scenes look at how this entirely new film was hand drawn, with the talented animators bringing the characters to life with just a pencil and a light box. 

Christmas TV - Downton Abbey

Thursday 25^th December, 8.45pm

ITV

Downton is back for an epic two hour special on Christmas Day, in which the family travel to Duneagle Castle in the Highlands to visit Rose and her parents.

Despite a warm welcome, the fiery tensions between their hosts are undeniable and, of course, most unbecoming in Dame Maggie Smith’s eyes.

Back at Downton, Carson is struggling to keep the servants working hard in the absence of the family, and romance could be on the cards for Mrs Patmore. 

Christmas TV - Panto!

Thursday 27^th December, 9pm

ITV

The build-up has fizzled out, the day itself has been and gone and, hopefully, all your houseguests picked up and left on Boxing Day-but just when you thought the Christmas spirit had abandoned you for another year, ITV have thoughtfully scheduled a one-off festive film, Panto!, written by comedian, John Bishop, and acclaimed Coronation Street writer, Jonathan Harvey.

Bishop plays Lewis Loud, a local celebrity due to make his stage debut in the pantomime, Dick Whittington, but who sees his ambitions slipping away at a tension-filled dress rehearsal where Loud’s backstage romance, estranged son and an accident prone Chesney Hawkes collide in fantastically, theatrical pantomime style. 

Christmas TV - Miranda

Wednesday 26^th December, 9pm

BBC One

This Boxing Day special sees Miranda put on a detox by her overbearing mother, who has also threatened to cancel Christmas if her daughter doesn’t sort her life out.

Gary and Miranda continue with their struggle to remain ‘just good friends’ and Stevie escapes into a new executive job, which Miranda tries to mirror, with the usual flustering hilarity.

Christmas TV - Carols from Kings

Monday 24^th December, 6.15pm

BBC Two

For many all over the country, the true start of Christmas is marked by a traditional carol service filmed just down the road in the fan-vaulted splendour of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge.

The world famous chapel choir will perform carols by candlelight, with the Christmas Story told in the words of the King James Bible and poems by Rainer Maria Rilke, William Austin and Laurie Lee.

Xmas TV - Bad Santas

Monday 17^th December, 9pm

Channel 4

Bad Santas takes a warm-hearted look at a group of carefully selected men who have been given the chance to turn their life around by managing directors of Ministry of Fun, James and Matt, who believe the Christmas spirit should be extended to those who truly need it, and so, have agreed to put the group through Santa training camp in the hope that it will help them regain their confidence and seek an honest living.

This first episode sees James and Matt whittle down their enormous naughty list of Santa hopefuls, some of whom are homeless, jobless or had brushes with the law, before subjecting them to a rigorous set of tests as they work towards their Santa graduation. 

The second in this two part series will go on to chart our Santa’s success as they find out just how difficult their past will make it to find a job.

DVD - New Girl Season 1 (15)

Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) is an adorably awkward primary school teacher who finds herself moving in with a mismatched trio of guys when her boyfriend leaves her, and sets about imparting her innocent, wide-eyed wisdom on her new housemates.

Jess and her thirty-something screen buddies are all reassuringly unsettled and neurotic in their own ways and their opposing careers and love lives make for scene-by-scene comedy gold.

Stand out episodes include Wedding, when Jess acts as a human diversion tactic, complete with comedy teeth, and a turn as a hand bell troupe coordinator in Bells. Also, Bad in Bed, who’s visual riches must be seen to be believed.

Probably THE most likeable female lead in television history and the most well-written mixed-bag cast since Friends make New Girl one of the most entertaining and accessible things on TV, and one which is, thankfully, already in its second series on E4.

CD - Only Boys Aloud: The Christmas Edition

If you caught them on Britain’s Got Talent this past summer, where the cherubic all boys choir came in third, you would have seen this festive release coming a mile off, but that doesn't mean to say they haven’t delivered on the warming your cockles front.

Only Boys Aloud have concocted more palatable versions of the Christmas album staples already peddled by Rod Stewart and Michael Buble this year, resisting the urge to add cheesy flourishes to White Christmas and straight-up owning Happy Christmas (War is Over).

They’ve injected this charming, choral collection with one, genius comedy offering-a cover of Fairytale of New York with Mancunian comedian, Jason Manford, and Roxy Mitchell from Eastenders taking lead vocals.

Cute, inoffensive background music for a multi-generational holiday gathering.

TV - Rhod Gilbert Work Experience: Drag Artist

Thursday 13^th December, 10pm

BBC Two

 

Sour-faced TV panel show guest and stand-up comedian, Rhod Gilbert, has turned his acerbic witted hand to a range of careers in his new series, Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience, and this week’s is a good’un, with Rhod diving jock-strapped, wigged and sequinned into the world of drag artistry.

Internationally famous female impersonator, Ceri Dupree, mentors Rhod while he finds his stilettoed feet as his alter-ego, Rachel, but does the burly Welshman have the social confidence to perform a Shirley Bassey tribute routine at a rural working-men’s club?

Catch Rhod’s other forays into the workplace on i player-he’s already had a crack at primary school teaching and zoo keeping, both with pleasantly enlightening outcomes.

DVD - The Paradise (PG)

If you’re obsessed with Downton, then you’ll no doubt have been consumed by the BBC’s rival drama, The Paradise, but if you missed the sumptuous Victorian series, which ended last month, then why not catch up with it on DVD over the festive period.

Tenacious shop girl, Denise, left her Uncle’s failing business to serve in London’s first department store, where she quickly impresses the handsome owner, Moray, with her forward-thinking sales ideas, ideas that see her fall out of favour with her colleagues and Ladies Wear mistress, Miss Audrey, played to surprisingly stoic perfection by Coronation Street Alumni, Sarah Lancashire (Curley’s wife).

 The well-heeled, Katharine Glendenning is fantastically manipulative villain, as is her father, who’s back-handed business tactics see Moray bound to them in matrimonial and monetary terms.

Secrets, betrayal, unexplained deaths, disappearances and multiple misguided affections threaten to throw Moray’s vision and true love off-course.

CD - Michael Buble: Christmas

Never have the sexes been more divided than when declaring their love or loathing for Michael Buble and his million mega-watt smile, and the Canadian King of swing deserves a medal in Christmas cashing-in, as this album is in fact a re-release, with just three new songs, well, Christmassy covers, added since it first swooned into our lives around this time last year.

In addition to the sixteen festive four-minute musical feasts featured on the album’s original track list, Buble has found it in his heart to croon through three extra holiday favourites, Winter Wonderland, Frosty the Snowman and Silver Bells.

Inoffensively light and jazzy in a warm, middle-of-the-road way, and far less shrill than Katherine Jenkins’ Xmas offering, but not as kooky as Rod Stewart’s genius take on the holiday album, Merry Christmas, Baby.

TV - Solar Mamas

Sunday 2^nd December, 9pm

BBC Four

Solar Mamas is the story of a mother of four from Jordan, Rafea, who is one of many women around the world working to pull their families out of poverty - and Rafea is going to do it by bringing electricity and light to her impoverished village.

BBC Four follows Rafea to India as she enrols on a life-changing six month course at the Barefoot College, a school run by social activist, Roy Bunker, who was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2010 and has helped over 3 million people train in sustainable disciplines such as midwifery, architecture, teaching and, in Rafea’s case, solar engineering.

Rafea’s new skills will certainly benefit her community for generations to come but they have an unanticipated effect on her relationship with her patriarchal husband.

CD - 18 Months: Calvin Harris

King of Collaborations, Calvin Harris’, third album already spawned five summer smashes before its release at the end of October and, despite the expected two or three filler tracks that could never stand on their own, Harris could easily release the rest of the album piece by piece, and I’m sure the singles chart hasn’t seen the back of 18 Months.

The whole thing is pretty aurally friendly but look out especially for I Need Your Love featuring Ellie Goulding, her voice was made for his euphoric electro stylings.

That said, I’m not sure 18 months would sell if it weren’t for the all-star line-up of collaborators.

Calvin’s sound is identifiable and dance-floor filling, but it’s the unique touches provided by the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Rhianna and Florence Welch that furnish his musical foundations with chart topping extras.

DVD - Your Sister's Sister (15)

1/5 stars

Your Sister’s Sister was billed as one of those mildly gritty, low-key, yet entertaining indie films. So low-key in fact that you probably missed its limited cinema release in June and if you’ve been waiting to see it on DVD, I’d advise that you give it a miss.

Emily Blunt is in danger of slipping into the same type-casted trap Hugh Grant fell into in the 90’s, making us question whether she can play anything other than a self-deprecating, ‘best-friend-you-happen-to-love’.

Between Blunt, her shamefully selfish sister, martyred, lay-about best friend, and their equally self-serving motives, there’s not one character you care about. It’s slow, dull and the ending isn’t worth sticking around for.

If you’re still in need of an indie fix, try Safety Not Guaranteed, which was also recently released on DVD, and has the same writer, director and leading man, but the kookiness actually pays off.

CD - The Rolling Stones: GRRR!

In the extremely likely event that you haven’t got a spare couple hundred quid to spend on tickets to celebrate sinewy Brit-rock gods, The Rolling Stone’s, 50^th anniversary with them in the flesh, they’ve kindly released a more affordable keepsake for their fans.

GRRR! delivers a lot for your money, with three discs worth of tracks (50 altogether) for the price of any old album, however, any true fan will already have these Best Ofs in their collection, so your only really paying for the two, brand new “we’ve still got it” songs, Doom and Gloom and, One More Shot.

If you want to invest in something special to mark the Stone’s Golden Jubilee, go with one of the pricier box sets, keep it in the cellophane wrapping and sit on it for another 50 years.

DVD - Arthur Christmas (U)

4/5 stars

Arthur Christmas was the runaway family hit of Christmas 2011 and, being so seasonally specialised, we've had to wait an entire year for its DVD release, but tis the season once again, and we can finally watch the adorable Arthur save Christmas all over again.

Arthur is Santa's kind-hearted but dim and clumsy son, forever in the shadow of his military-minded brother, Steve, who has been at Santa's side for years, slowly turning his century's old traditions into a high-tech operation.

When Santa's reputation is threatened, however, it's Arthur's traditional approach and true love for the holiday that sees the spirit of Christmas saved for children all over the world.

It may be a children's film but Arthur Christmas will have adults laughing from start to finish and the techy twists and army of SWAT team elves will please 21st century kids.

TV - Captive: The Sex Slave Girl-True Stories

Thursday 29th November, 10pm

Channel 4

Madeline McCann, Jacyee Lee Duggard and Elisabeth Fritzl's stories of captivity all dominated global news, but Tanya Kach's story is just as, if not more, twisted than all of these girls, whose ordeals turned them into household names and sparked worldwide panic over our children's safety.

14 year old Tanya left her parent’s house for school in 1996, but never arrived. A missing person's investigation threw up no leads and Tanya was presumed dead-until she showed up ten years later, having been held captive by her school's security guard, Tom Hose, who lived just a stone’s throw from her parent's house.

Questions and gossip abounded in the small town-how could her captors parents, who lived with him, have not known anything; why had she not escaped sooner, considering the freedoms she was afforded; and, most sensationally, did Tanya stage her own capture so that she could be with Hose?

DVD - Mid Morning Matters (15)

Steve Coogan has finally placated patient, long-time fans by reviving his character, Alan Partridge, in this fly-on-the-wall mokumentary series, Mid Morning Matters.

Alan is back on the radio with a weekly slot on North Norfolk Digital, where his mid-morning discussions on important matters of the day are beamed via webcam from his studio for the viewing pleasure of his many, many listeners.

Coogan’s sidekick this time around is Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, Tim Key, whose relentless political incorrectness drives Alan to find a replacement producer in the (much too young and attractive) Zoe.

Cue Alan’s trademark cringeworthy attempts at romantic advances and a suitably awkward finale when Zoe too, calls time on her role as the sports-coat loving DJ’s producer.  

CD - Rod Stewart: Merry Christmas, Baby

Rod Stewart, with his fantastically highlighted mullet, is first off the block with a Christmas album release this year and, by way of congratulations, (and probably to many people’s dismay) it’s being reviewed in mid-November.

You wouldn’t need more than three guesses to predict the entire thirteen track playlist, but that’s a good thing when it comes to Christmas albums, and Rod has made sure to croak his way through all the favourites of the season, including Auld Lang Syne, White Christmas and Let it Snow.

He’s got a voice that either feels like a cheese grater or warm honey, depending on your personal propensity for him, but most would fail to be charmed by Rod’s kookily calming renditions of What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

The Hour Series 2

Wednesday 14^th November, 9pm

BBC Two

Award-winning, Abi Morgan, (whose writing credits include The Iron Lady, Shame and Birdsong) has gifted the BBC with a second series of The Hour, a newsroom drama full of loose morals, power hungry behind and front-of-camera characters and enough brooding, smoking and drinking to match Mad Men.

We pick up a year after we left off, in 1957, with Peter Capaldi (of The Thick of It) joining the cast as the eccentric new Head of News who must strive to restore order and reputation to the programme.

With Bel (Romola Garai) growing increasingly obsessed with Britain’s criminal underground, she is desperate to reunite the old gang to help her break the story, but Hector (Dominic West) has allowed himself to be swallowed up by his new-found celebrity and Freddie (Ben Whishaw) ditched London to go travelling after being fired in the last series.

Oh, and the Cold War is upon them.

TV - Peep Show Series 8

Channel 4

November

The wait has been horrendous but, just as the clocks go back, your money starts going on things for other people, leaving you with no choice but to stay in and rely on the good people in the television production industry to entertain you, Peep Show has returned to Channel 4.

We revisit Mark and Jeremy exactly where we left them, on New Year’s Eve, with Mark asking his adorably geeky, battle re-enacting girlfriend, Dobby, to move in with him.

Jeremy, of course, has other ideas, and while Mark’s patience is tested in waiting for him to move out, Jeremy turns to a therapist when he realises his life has amounted to very little to date.

Just as Jeremy’s psychological intervention and Mark’s new job seem to put the car-crash pair back on the right path, an unforeseen tragedy sets them back on a dark, downward spiral.