• A black and white photograph of Hermann Gross holding a metalworking tool, with an in-progress sculpture before him.

640px-Peter_Falk_Richard_Kiley_Columbo

Two More Things…Two videoessays on Columbo

by David Martin-Jones In a previous post, David Martin-Jones, author of Columbo: Paying Attention 24/7, explored the recent and enduring popularity of the cult detective show, fifty years after the first episode aired. In this follow-up, David discusses two videoessays…

Marvel’s Scarlet Witch: From Page to Screen

by Miriam Kent Wanda Maximoff, known as the Scarlet Witch, is one of Marvel’s most enduring characters. Her history has spanned multiple decades and media formats. Disney+’s WandaVision recently receiving praise for its characterisation, aesthetics and settings. WandaVision inserted Scarlet…

Diversity in British Cinema

Diversity in British Film and Television

The controversy over ‘all-white’ 2020 BAFTAs once again shows the importance of understanding that issues of diversity are at the forefront of debates film and television. But it’s not just a question of who is, and is not, in the…

Doing History in the Age of Downton Abbey

Julie Anne Taddeo As the most watched period drama in television history, Downton Abbey has met with popular success but not always critical acclaim. Historians in particular have criticized what they see as the series’ conservative politics and nostalgic view…

6 Books for TV Lovers

By Jennifer J. Smith It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is so much great television. From limited streaming series to mainstays of broadcast networks, great storytelling is happening on the small screen. Episodic television tells big stories in…