The controversial Channel 4 documentary Benefits Street, labelled by many as “poverty porn”, has been hogging the limelight for some time. Somehow, a handful of residents from the impoverished James Turner Street did quite well […]
Banana, Cucumber, Tofu offers refreshing look at LGBTQ community
Russell T Davies has brought TV to life with his new comedy series, Channel 4’s Banana, Cucumber on E4, and Tofu, a 4oD online documentary series focusing on sex. Cucumber is not the first drama […]
Catastrophe: The middle-aged rom com with a twist
Channel 4 is renowned for its high quality, original, British dramas and comedies, and their latest series Catastrophe is the perfect hybrid of the two. Based on the story of Sharon and Rob, who after […]
Black Mirror: White Christmas – The Best of Christmas Television
Here at In the Middle, we’ve been arguing about what exactly was the highlight of Christmas television, and we’ve reached a conclusion. Brilliant, disturbing, blood-curdling and unsettlingly poignant, Black Mirror: White Christmas is a truly dark masterpiece […]
A Matter of Class
Class war, it’s finally upon us. Battle lines are being drawn, levies raised, we’re going over the top, and all because Mitchell yelled pleb at someone, Emily Thornberry hates transit vans, and Red Ed wants […]
Babylon: It’s the sound of the police
It’s fair to say that when Babylon debuted earlier this year with a feature-length episode directed by Danny Boyle it came in for a bit of stick. In truth it was a mess, jumping from […]
Toast of London: Man With the Golden Voice
You could be forgiven for assuming that Matt Berry is just a man who has made a career out of saying things in a funny voice. Although it was Channel 4’s The IT Crowd that […]
TV | Houdini – More Style than Substance
Houdini, Channel 4’s latest US drama acquisition, follows the life of Harry Houdini as he rises from humble beginnings to become a world-renowned escape artist. Written by Nicholas Meyer, and starring Oscar and Academy Award […]
TV | Educating the East End – Another Successful School Series
The latest fly-on-the wall school series has arrived, reminding us of the struggles of adolescents in their secondary school days and the true trials that their teachers face. With two sister series, Educating Essex (2011) […]
TV | The Mill – Bleak historical drama returns
The Mill, a grim and relentless tale of workers at a cotton mill in rural Cheshire, returns for a second series on Channel 4 this summer, and there is little alleviation from relentless bleakness. This […]
TV | Utopia – ‘Going places others can’t and won’t’
For those anticipating the new series of Utopia, Monday’s opener may have come as an initial disappointment. While fans were itching to discover the fates of our protagonists, instead the season began with an […]
TV | Fargo – Finally a television adaptation that does not disappoint
‘Aw jeez, here we go again’, another television series influenced by a popular and rather brilliant film. Normally this leads only to disappointment, anger and a review including of a list of all the things wrong […]