The series has since received cult status particularly in the UK, and in 2011 received a US TV remake. What I found particularly enthralling with The Killing was, unlike similar British crime dramas, it was spread over 20 episodes whereby the storyline didn’t simply focus on the actual murder, but expanded the depth of the story by introducing a focus on friends and family members; all of whom possibly have a reason to have undertaken the murder. The result was a dark, slow-burning, ever-twisting and highly watchable series that may possibly have had something to do with the style and plot of the latest ITV crime drama.

David Tennant & Olivia Colman star in Broadchurch as two investigating police officers. Tennant has a dark past that he has attempted to flee, while Colman holds a bitter grudge towards him after losing promotion to the newly arrived inspector from Scotland.

Broadchurch is a fictitious small coastal town of 15,000 people where everyone knows each others’ business and no one has reason to consider there may be a sinister underbelly beneath the surface. That is until the suspected murder of 11 year old Danny Latimer begins to take effect on a sleepy, quiet town in shock.

Spread over eight hourly episodes, Broadchurch doesn’t focus so much on the actual murder but the individuals, their stories and how the murder affects the community.

After watching the second episode of Broadchurch tonight I’m totally hooked and considering this may be the best new British crime drama for many years. So…whodunit?

Broadchurch is available on the ITV player & continues on Mondays, 9PM on ITV 1. Roll on next Monday!

TV Celebrity Chefs Cook Up Some Fun For Comic Relief

Red Nose Day 2013 is heading your way on Friday 15th March when the great British public will once again be asked to Do Something Funny for Money.

Raising cash this Red Nose Day can help to change lives forever. That’s because Comic Relief spends the money raised to help change the lives of poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged people across the UK and Africa.

Comic Relief was launched on Christmas Day in 1985, live on BBC One. At that time, a devastating famine was crippling Ethiopia and something had to be done. That something was Comic Relief.

The idea was simple – Comic Relief would make the public laugh while they raised money to help people in desperate need. Before too long, Red Nose Day was created and the first ever event in 1988 raised a staggering £15m. This year, 2013, marks the 25th anniversary of Red Nose Day which has raised over £600m and helped to change lives both in the UK and Africa.

Ten of Britain’s favourite celebrity chefs and cooks have joined forces and swapped their kitchens for the camera lens in aid of Comic Relief for a fun-packed photoshoot to celebrate Emma Bridgewater’s stunning homeware range for Red Nose Day 2013, available to buy now from HomeSense stores nationwide.

Those championing the campaign to get the nation cooking using the Emma Bridgewater Red Nose Day products are (pictured left to right): Angela Hartnett, Michael Caines, Raymond Blanc, Valentine Warner, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Allegra McEvedy, Antonio Carluccio, Glynn Purnell, Aktar Islam and Monica Galetti.

HomeSense launched in the UK in April 2008 and has 24 stores in the UK. HomeSense operates a unique “off-price” concept which offers quality and branded homeware for less than the recommended retail price. These savings are passed on to customers through a combination of opportunistic buying, established relationships with manufacturers and simple, no-frills operation.

Emma Bridgewater’s Red Nose Day range consists of six different mug designs, two tea towels and apron designs, an oven glove and a bag for life, all designed for Red Nose Day to encourage the great British public to ‘Do Something Funny For Money’. The money donated from sales of the products will be spent by Comic Relief to help people living incredibly tough lives across Africa and here in the UK.

Renowned cook and food author Valentine Warner says:

“By purchasing these lovely Emma Bridgewater Red Nose Day products from HomeSense stores you’ll be doing your bit to help raise millions of pounds to help people who need it most in this country and Africa, and that is a really important thing. I urge everyone to go out and buy a bag for life and a mug and some oven gloves. No, in fact, buy one for yourself and one for all your family and your friends, too! Let’s raise as much money as we possibly can for this great cause.”

The products are available from Red Nose Day official partner HomeSense the homeware retailer selling leading brands at up to 60% off the RRP and are already proving to be a massive hit with baking and cooking enthusiasts throughout the country who are helping raise money whilst looking fabulous and getting creative in the kitchen.

Emma Bridgewater Red Nose Day Range
Mugs £9.99 with at least £4 going to Comic Relief
Bag for life £9.99 with at least £4 going to Comic Relief
Tea towels £4.99 with at least £2 going to Comic Relief
Double Oven Glove £7.99 with at least £4 going to Comic Relief
Apron £12.99 with at least £6.50 going to Comic Relief

In Casino Royale the game is Texas Hold’em Poker, and he does pretty well in it too – collecting a cool $150 million only to have it stolen by his girlfriend. The scene is probably the most memorable gambling scene out of the entire collection of Bond Movies. In his final show down with the villainous banker Le Chiffre he makes use of Le Chiffre’s unusual poker tell.

Chemin de Fer must be one of Bond’s favourite games, but then it is a game that favours the high rollers. He plays it in a number of films including Thunderball, Dr No, For Your Eyes Only and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The casino scene in Dr No is set at the Les Ambassadeurs Club in London, but his game with the lovely Sylvia Trench has to be cut short when Bond receives and urgent message. His opponent in Thunderball is Emilio Largo and in Thunderball a man called Bunky. His biggest win on Chemin de Fer was 1 million drachma in For Your Eyes Only.

You would expect James Bond to be a cool Blackjack player and you wouldn’t be wrong. In Licence to Kill he is attempting to connect with Felix Sanchez, the film’s villain, at the local casino, which is good, sice it would be quite a challenge online in http://www.luckynuggetcasino.com/au/online-blackjack/. He sits down at one of the Blackjack tables and soon starts reeling in the cash and he is soon up by $250,000.

Interestingly, to date (with the possible exception of Skyfall where he might well play the game at an online casino) we have not seen Bond play roulette in any of the movies. This is a little strange, for according to his creator Ian Fleming, Bond was quite partial to the game. Even in the opening scene in his first book, Casino Royal, we find Bond sitting at the roulette table where he had been playing all through the night.

Dave Stewart photo: Kristin Burns

Sky Arts announces a new documentary exploring Dave Stewart’s adventures in songwriting and capturing the recording processes behind his albums The Blackbird Diaries and The Ringmaster General.

Dave Stewart: The Ringmaster General captures Dave Stewart through the whirlwind recording process at John and Martina McBride’s Blackbird Studios, of two explosive albums The Blackbird Diaries and The Ringmaster General.

This tongue-in-cheek documentary follows Stewart’s adventures in songwriting, letting the viewer witness his eccentric but compelling methods of creativity.

This extraordinary documentary features contributions from Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss, Reece Witherspoon, Martina McBride, Colbie Caillat, The Secret Sisters, Joss Stone, Stevie Nicks, Jessie Baylin, Diane Birch and Orianthi.

The road that led to The Ringmaster General begins in London with the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Dave Stewart was grounded there with no hope of getting home to Los Angeles.  A fortuitous encounter in a vintage guitar shop opened Dave’s eyes to the stories of a guitar’s previous owner, an eccentric country and western star named Red River Dave. From there, a chance flight to Nashville and the start of a fascinating journey of exploration of this city of music.

A thoroughly-engrossing documentary bursting with passion and fascinating stories, Sky Arts is delighted to premiere this extraordinary piece on the channel.

About Sky Arts
Sky Arts seeks to connect with culture on the ground; creating and collaborating with the best of the arts in the UK and Ireland to bring new experiences to life. It offers an eclectic mix of the best music, arts, biographies, chat shows, film, drama and comedy.

Dave Stewart: The Ringmaster General is on Thursday 1st November at 10pm on Sky Arts 1.

King of Devil’s Island

Based on a true story, King of Devil’s Island follows the hope and friendship of the boys of Bastøy in the face of adversity.  This absorbing Norwegian film stars Stellan Skarsgård, Kristoffer Joner, Benjamin Helstad, and Trond Nilssen.

King of Devil’s Island is the latest stunning offering from Scandinavia. Set in 1915 enter the unsettling world of a group of young delinquents banished to the remote prison of Bastøy.

Read the King of Devil’s Island review.

Buzzin Media Free Competition

PLEASE NOTE: THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

We have 2 Blu-ray copies of King of Devil’s Island to giveaway in our free to enter competition.  To enter, answer this simple question:

Q: In which country is the film based?

a: Norway
b: Finland
c: Alaska

Submit your entries to comps@buzzinmedia.co.uk with the subject line: ‘King of Devils Island’ (other subject lines will not be entered) with your full name, address & contact number.

This Buzzin TV Competition ends on 29th November, 2012.  The editor will randomly choose 2 winners. The editor’s choice is final.

King of Devil’s Island was released on DVD and Blu-ray™ on 29th October.

King Of Devil’s Island

Riding high on the popularity of Scandinavian film & television series, comes the DVD & Blu-ray release of this dark, gritty and very absorbing Norwegian film.

Based on a true story, King of Devil’s Island follows the hope and friendship of the boys of a remote island prison called Bastøy, a correctional home for young delinquents, and their daily struggles against an oppressive regime of hard labour, bullying and sexual deviance.

Under the guise of rehabilitation, the boys’ daily regime is dictated by mental and physical abuse at the hands of their wardens. The arrival of new boys Erling (Benjamin Helstad) and Ivar (Magnus Langlete) sparks a chain of events that ultimately ignite rebellion. King of Devil’s Island explores a sinister moment in Norwegian history that won’t be forgotten.

The film is set in 1915 and stars Stellan Skarsgård as the Governor of the institute who manages to keep a very disciplined regime until one of the boys commits suicide. The death is taken badly by the boys who rebel against the regime in hope to unleash their pain and freedom.

King Of Devil’s Island was winner of Best Film and Best Supporting Actor (Trond Nilssen) at the Norwegian International Film Festival (2011) and Best Feature Film at Lübeck Nordic Film Days (2011).

Director Marius Holst brilliantly captures the hardship of the young boys hard and disturbing lives with a backdrop of snow and ice that enhances the film’s intense bleakness. Holst described the story behind the film as a timeless tale of injustice, repression and revolt. He felt this was a story that begged to be made into film. King Of Devil’s Island is a truly brilliant and absorbing, and the best foreign language film I have seen this year.

King Of Devil’s Island is released on DVD, Blu-ray & digital download on Monday 29th October distributed by Arrow Films.

The famous children’s characters have been brought back from the past to confront today’s modern world, but this time they must account for their outmoded racist and sexist views. But the quintet seem blissfully unrepentant as they gather for a reunion on Dick’s birthday in leafy Dorset – still a magical land of rolling hills, woods, ruined castles and dodgy villains in big black cars.

Dick (Ade Edmondson) has changed little since those early years and is now Assistant Manager for Plasmold, a plastic guttering company in Dorking. Eager to rekindle the joys of their Famous Five youth, he has engineered a few surprises for their reunion. However the others are not as keen to revisit their past. George (Dawn French) is a struggling alcoholic with a string of ex-husbands behind her and only faithful Timmy by her side. Julian (Peter Richardson) having disappeared to Equatorial Guinea for many years, apparently working for a dubious ‘charity’, is now also in need of a stint in rehab. Anne (Jennifer Saunders) the pretty shy one never did become the ‘perfect housewife’. Now a militant feminist / animal rights campaigner, she lives life on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

The famous five are met along the way by a number of familiar faces. Robbie Coltrane returns as a guest house landlady and lecherous Gypsy. Stephen Mangan plays a sexually charged actor, eager to impress Anne and Nigel Planer returns as a police inspector and sinister barmaid. Rik Mayall plays an evil villain who is determined to decapitate a terrified Julian and Daniel Peacock also makes an appearance as snubbed Toby Thurlow who has had 30 years to plan his revenge on the famous five.

Five Go To Rehab was created by the award winnings writers Peter Richardson and Pete Richens who wrote the original Five Go Mad in Dorset film and have since collaborated on many of the Comic Strip films including The Strike, A Fistful Of Travellers Cheques, Four Men In A Car and more recently the highly acclaimed The Hunt for Tony Blair. Five Go to Rehab was directed by Peter Richardson and produced by Nick Smith who also produced The Hunt for Tony Blair.

The Comic Strip Presents ‘Five Go To Rehab’ will be premiered on 7th November on GOLD 9pm.

Spina bifida • Hydrocephalus • Information • Networking • Equality – SHINE

BBC radio football pundit Danny Mills, the ex-England, Leeds and Manchester City footballer, is set to Shine this September as the pundit begins his quest to become Celebrity Masterchef 2012 as well as completing the first Archie Mills Memorial Challenge.

Mills, who will be on the hit BBC show from Monday 3rd September, will be doing his best to out-cook the other celebrity contestants in his bid to win the crown of Celebrity Masterchef 2012.

Danny Mills - Patron for the charity Shine

It is, however, his work as Patron for the charity Shine that has lead Danny Mills to his most significant challenge of the year. Racing in memory of Archie, the son he lost ten years ago to spina bifida, Mills will cycle over 200 miles from Leeds2London and then, the following day, complete the Olympic-Plus distance of the Virgin Active London Triathlon.

It is expected that many cycling enthusiasts will join Mills along the Leeds2London route which has been divided into 6 stages and will travel through destinations including Leeds, Doncaster, Newark, Stamford, St. Neots, Stevenage and London.

Spina bifida
Hydrocephalus
Information
Networking
Equality

SHINE was launched at the organisation’s national headquarters in Peterborough in 2011 and is the only national charity dedicated to supporting everyone affected by spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Through their network of dedicated staff the charity are present from before birth and throughout the lives of those they support.

To ensure these services are always available, Shine relies on generous fundraisers and Mills, as their Patron, is leading the way this September, ‘It’s hard to explain how essential the work of Shine is, what we went through in losing Archie was terrible, the advice and support from Shine enabled us to cope at a time when all seemed lost.’

As Mills embarks on this new phase of life and adds a significant television presence to his extensive work on radio, he is fully committed to raising as much money as possible for the families affected by spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

In addition to huge physical challenge he is taking on, Danny Mills will also be promoting a celebrity cookbook, which is entirely the work of Rebecca Morris, a young lady living with a debilitating form of hydrocephalus. Rebecca has collated over 20 celebrity recipes into a book that will generate both awareness and funds for the charity’s work.

‘The book that Rebecca has put together is great example of how Shine impacts the lives of its members, the support Rebecca received from Shine enabled her to carry on, she then wanted to give something back and this book is top notch.’

In the past DJs have taken over warehouses, fields, car-parks and derelict office blocks. This summer, for the first time ever, DJs take control of a national broadcaster to bring the country together with a six-hour House Party.

With no advert breaks, no commentary and no interruptions, this all night takeover will see a line-up of top international DJs play live to the nation with six hour-long sets in a clubbing experience like no other – this is not a programme about clubbing; this is the club. Channel 4 will turn the television into the ultimate DJ booth with the party blasting through the TV, phone and laptop screens, without the mediation of a presenter or studio audience, to transform living rooms, bedroom and bars across the nation into dance floors.

Commissioned by Arts Commissioner Tabitha Jackson, and part of the London 2012 Festival, this six-hour live event is a visually exciting, experimental and interactive night of music, highlighting the importance of innovation in Arts on Channel 4. House Party aims to push the boundaries of conventional programming and offer audiences a totally new party experience.

Jackson said: ‘There are four things about this all-nighter that excite me. Firstly, almost every element is uncharted territory: from the visual artists having to transform our screens by responding live to the DJs; to the scale of the real time on-screen and online interactivity; to the DJs having to reach directly into our living rooms rather than playing to a venue. If we can pull it off, we will have created a pretty unique experience.’

‘Secondly, great DJing is about much more than just hitting play and standing there with your hands in the air. We are about to get up-close and personal with some of the world best exponents of the real art of turntablism.’

‘2012 is also the perfect summer for this television event. Not only does it mark 20 years since the ultimate free rave at Castlemorton, the weather has been rubbish and money is tight. There’s never been a better time for us to throw the ultimate house-party bring an awesome line up of talent directly into your living room for free. All you have to worry about is making sure you have enough friends and big speakers.’

‘Perhaps the most radically innovative element of the night is that, in direct contrast to the new on-demand TV landscape, House Party is a genuine one off. It will not be repeated and it will not be available on 4oD. Like all the best club nights and parties if you want to be there you do have to actually turn up. Don’t miss the House Party…’

The DJs – many of whom are stadium fillers and festival favourites in their own right – will leave their meticulously prepared ‘main-stage’ sets at home to go back to their DJ roots. The line-up will include a founding father of New York rap, the legendary Grandmaster Flash and internationally renowned club and radio DJ and new talent champion Annie Mac with further names to be announced in due course.

In addition to the top DJ talent on offer, a selection of the nation’s most exciting cutting edge VJs, computer animators and graphic artists will provide a constant video and graphics, playing visual sets every bit as live and unrehearsed as the DJs’ musical selections.

Alongside the DJs and VJs, the booth will also include a brand new third element of the clubbing experience: Social Media Controllers, who will provide a live and super-reactive link between the audience and the booth. Just like at any other nightclub or house party, people on the dance floor in their homes around the UK will be able to shout out their requests, chat to each other, salute a genius selection (or boo a dud) through the many social media sites hooked up to the booth online and via the House Party website.

House Party (1 x 6 hours) is made by ACME Films (Life of Rhyme and The Antics Roadshow and Banksy All Nighter, from Channel 4’s Street Summer 2011). The executive producer is Jaimie D’Cruz (Exit Through The Gift Shop, Grierson Award 2010, Bafta and Oscar nominated 2011) and Paul Dugdale is the director (director of live shows and music videos for The Prodigy, Florence and The Machine, Metronomy, Jessie J and Faithless).

How Clubbing Changed The World

Before the live takeover begins in House Party, and following the success of 2011’s How Hip Hop Changed The World and featuring some of the biggest names in dance music, actor and international DJ Idris Elba returns to count down the defining moments of the greatest cultural phenomenon of our generation in a two-hour film, How Clubbing Changed the World.

Twenty-five years since the birth of Rave, a new generation of British DJs and producers are at the forefront of a global musical revolution. With personal insights and club-raising anecdotes from David Guetta, Armand van Helden, Paul Oakenfold, Will I Am, Nile Rodgers, Goldie, Pete Tong, Katy B, Skream and former Home Secretary Michael Howard plus many more this entertaining and thought-provoking two-hour film celebrates the British success story that has conquered the world.

How Clubbing Changed the World explores how clubbing went from a counter cultural movement that defined a generation to a multi-billion pound business whilst revealing how 25 years on Great Britain is still king of the underground.

This 1 x 120m film is produced by Fresh One Productions, executive produced by Jeremy Lee and Idris Elba, and directed by Sam Bridger.

How Clubbing Changed the World will be broadcast Friday 24th August at 10pm, and House Party will go out live from midnight to 6am.

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‘Once Upon A Time’ is the brand new drama by Channel 5 and it is the complete opposite of a traditional fairytale because in the programme there is no happily ever after.

The drama was created by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, the team behind Lost and Tron: Legacy; and it features a feisty woman called Emma Swan who knows how to take care of herself. The 28-year-old has been fending for herself ever since she was abandoned as a baby at the side of a road but everything changes when her own son, whom she too gave up for adoption, appears on her doorstep 10-years-later.

The young lad, called Henry, is in desperate need of his birth mother’s help because he believes that she derives from an alternate world in which she is the missing daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Still following?

According to the book of fairytales, Emma was sent away to be protected from the Evil Queen’s curse which trapped all of the characters in the real life world. However, they are not even aware that they are lost fairytale characters and are simply living in a town in America called Storybrooke. Here in this strange town, magic has been forgotten and the Evil Queen is known as Regina, who is now Henry’s adoptive mother.

The epic series aired at 8pm on 1st April and the second episode airs on 8th April. If you want to delve deeper into the cast and learn more about these iconic fairytale characters, you can catch up on the episodes with our Demand 5.

Check out the trailer here; it is one the hottest new shows for 2012 and great for all the family!