Television has long been accused of creating zombies….breeding an audience that sits transfixed in front of their TV screens, hypnotized by the presumed-to-be mind-numbing qualities of this ‘mindless’ entertainment. This idea continues to haunt popular culture, so much so that it has been used, quite ironically, within such cult TV series as Angel (WB 1999-2004) and Doctor Who (BBC1 2005-) to comment upon the negative potential of television.

In the early days of TV, some people apparently said that television was just radio, with pictures. Now, the general opinion would be that this is by no means the case. So it seems a little perverse to write here about something that could easily be described as radio with pictures: the BBC Young Musician 2014 competition final, as broadcast on BBC Four, though also covered on BBC Radio 3, on May 18th.

Dear Sajid Javid Please accept this column as my application to become the next Chair of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s Trust. I know the monarch ultimately makes such decisions, but between you and me, I believe you have a part to play. I am a straightish, whiteish, maleish subject, so I come from the kind of background that has been favored in the past for such jobs.

“Fire up the Mexico” Philip Glenister presents For the Love of Cars I first became interested in cars when I was four. That year my father got his first company car, an Austin Maxi.

In light of the recent furore regarding Jamaica Inn (BBC, 2014), this week’s piece takes a look at – or a listen to? – the actor’s voice on television, and how its production and delivery has altered over the years. For those who missed it at Easter, the BBC’s adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel was roundly criticised by press and public alike for the unintelligibility of its cast;

NB- Post may contain spoilers regarding Game of Thrones Season 4 Over the past few weeks, CST Online has seen a number of posts discussing the nature (I might say, ethos) of television studies. The question has been addressed from multiple perspectives;

There has been plenty of discussion on this blog and elsewhere about the difficulty that many of us have as television scholars ‘keeping up with television’. It’s certainly something that comes up repeatedly as a topic of conversation in meetings of the Midlands Television Research Group.

A furry number 2, perched on a neatly-draped table set with fruit and little cakes, peers at a bowl of strawberries. In the background birthday cards pinned to a cheerful yellow wall spell out the number 50.  But with its colourful balloons and table full of goodies, this is more like a nursery party than a marker of maturity.

I thought this time I would take a moment to reflect on some of the ideas generated by three recent CST blogs: TEACHING TELEVISION: WHERE DO I START? by Elke Weissmann, THE PLACE OF THE PROGRAMME IN TELEVISION TEACHING by Catherine Johnson TRUE DETECTIVE AND PRACTICAL CRITICISM by Jason Jacobs.

I remember watching ‘Mystery Men’ the fourth episode of* Mad Men*’s extraordinary fifth season and being struck by the moment when Joan at the breakfast table, tells her husband Greg, an army surgeon who is voluntarily returning to Vietnam, to leave.  ‘If I walk out that door, that’s it,’ he shouts at her; ‘That’s it,’ she replies, effectively ending their marriage.

Recently I re-watched Battlestar Galactica .  No, not that one, but the 1978-1979 series that originally aired on ABC, complete with tinny Cylons, hysterically questionable ‘triad’ costumes and a ‘daggit’ named Muffy.  A while ago Kim Akass pointed out that she grew up alongside Dr Who.