I did much of my growing up in the 70s and even though this show is set in America and I was brought up in rural Cheshire, I love to watch it for many reasons but one being all the retro stuff that brings back some great childhood memories…

The big collars, the bizarre hair, the TV shows, the gaudy furniture and wall coverings but best of all – apart from the fact that it’s exceptionally funny – is the music. The seventies were without question the best musical decade in my opinion and lots of classic rock crops up on That ‘70s Show.

In case you’ve never seen it, here’s what it’s all about… Read more & comment »

Last night saw the first episode of the BBC’s new sitcom Life of Riley in which Caroline Quentin starred as Maddy alongside Neil Dudgeon as her husband Jim. The programme’s blurb said, “Maddy’s just got married again. And she’s about to find out what happens when two families collide.

“Suddenly she finds herself presiding over a modern-day extended family: children, step-children, step-siblings and half-siblings, with a few ex-partners and in-laws thrown in.

“Maddy is like Roseanne but thinner, like Seinfeld but with dirtier trainers, like Victor Meldrew – but she does believe it.”

With regard to the last sentence of that blurb, I beg to differ on all counts because the comparable characters were all funny and Maddy simply wasn’t… Read more & comment »