ANOTHER ROYAL WEDDING ON TV
People fascinated by the British royal family won’t need to mark their calendars, writes
Idare say we’ll have some coverage on this elsewhere in the paper this month, but since my spiel now includes the entire upcoming month rather than just the immediate week, I’m probably obligated to mention the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which you can watch live on Saturday May 19, itv Choice (channel 123), from 10.25am through to 4pm. The coverage will be hosted by Julie Etchingham and Phillip Schofield in a specially constructed studio on the Long Walk in Windsor Great Park. Over the course of the day, the hosts will talk to a procession of guests such as friends of the royal family.
This is not quite my thing since I’ve never understood the appeal of celebrity weddings — but I’m sure my mother will be glued to the TV. She's always been fascinated by the British royal family. If you have a similar fascination, well, this is such a big event I doubt you’d need to mark it on your calendar.
Philip petting the Queen
Oh, and here’s a little item that was probably created to leech off the Royal wedding fever that’s going around: Tonight, on itv Choice (channel 123) at 22.20, you can watch the rerun of A Right Royal Quiz. It’s a simple affair, hosted by British TV personality Fern Britton as she quizzes two celebrity teams on their knowledge of royal trivia, such as Prince Philip’s pet names for the queen.
Let’s see if I can find something in a totally different vein — preferably one not carrying blue blood. OK, how about this? Did you know they made a cartoon series out of the Disney feature film Big Hero 6? I didn’t. But I’ve mentioned several times that I'm a fan of animation — I’ve dabbled in animation and cartooning, so I have an appreciation of the art form. I don’t know if I’ll go out of my way to watch the series, but I might catch an episode or two to see what it’s like.
Baymax Returns will return
Anyway, at the end of last month, the feature length pilot of the series, Baymax Returns, aired on Disney XD (channel 304) and since the first of May, the series has been on, weekdays at 4:30pm and will continue until Friday May 11. Don’t worry if you’ve missed any though, because on the weekend of May 26 and 27 you can binge the entire series from 2pm to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. So if you have kids who enjoyed the movie, tell them about the series. The animation looks pretty slick from the trailers I’ve seen, a similar flatgraphic style to that of the Kim Possible series, which makes sense, coming as it does from the same producers. Let’s hope it has the same level of wit.
How low can you go, Discovery?
In lieu of anything spectacular on the entertainment channels this month, I turned to the documentary-focused ones to try and find something interesting, to no avail, but I did find something to bitch about. I used to respect you, Discovery Channel (121), but I turn my back for a few years and this is what you start airing? Conspiracy theory pseudo journalism and History Channel-level reality show shovelware — shovelware being an old software term meaning quantity over quality which I’m bending to a new purpose here to describe the filler shows like Street Outlaws, Naked and Afraid, Gold Rush and Salvage Hunters. Discovery used to have real documentaries too.
Now their lineup is typified by my two examples, What on Earth? (Friday, 8pm) and Mysteries of the Abandoned: Special (Friday 9pm). Both are vacuous shows at the best of times, but this week What on Earth? deals with a “possible” unknown human species and “possible” government experiments causing the rise of a new island; and Mysteries of the Abandoned asks the question “was Chernobyl an accident — or sabotage?” Dundun-DUUUUN! You know, this is almost on the level of those click-bait videos on
YouTube proclaiming: Real Ghost Cought on Tape!!! [sic]. How much lower can you sink, Discovery Channel?
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LLittle Dragon — Best Friends
This isn’t new new (it was released over a month ago), but it’s only just crossed my radar. One of the coolest bands on Earth, above, returns with a catchy tune in the vein of some of their earlier electro-pop, upbeat songs like Sunshine and Blinking Pigs. Not sure if the Swedes have a new album on the horizon, but this song will keep fans going (along with another newish, delicious tune Sway Daisy). Here’s hoping they return to our shores for a third time when they tour again.
Seinabo Sey — Breathe
The Swedish soul-electro-pop chanteuse with the stunning and rich voice is back with a new song anchored by some gorgeous strings. “When the going gets rough and life gets tough — don’t forget to breathe,” she sings on this inspirational pop song (we need those once in a while, no?). If you like Emeli Sande, Sey will be just your vibe.
Davido — Assurance
Nigerian pop superstar Davido, who has had major hits across the continent over the past year, gives us another gloriously catchy song. He sticks to his signature Afrobeat-inspired pop pop sound, but this won’t be a dancefloor filler like his mega hits Fall, Like Dat and FIA (that’s “fire”). That’s because it’s more laid back, but it’s a great song regardless. Also, Davido really likes making love songs. How is this dude always so in love?
ALBUMS