by Paul Bradley The BBC publicity department might need a little retraining on tone and mood: the posed still they use for the new drama Waiting For The Out looks like a reject from a sitcom about a quirky young man. Honestly it made me assume that the series would be routine, predictable, and easy […]
Channel Hopper: Ten years on, The Night Manager returns
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One of the biggest problems with big TV shows these days is that they take so long to make: you wait for two years between seasons, and by the time the new one starts you can’t remember what was happening anyway. But even two years is nothing compared to the nearly-ten-years BBC have left between […]
CHANNEL HOPPER: Christmas telly – the good, the bad and the cringeworthy
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So that was Christmas, and what have we done? Well, hopefully we went for a frosty wander or two, because that was a fine crisp spell of seasonal weather. It was, let’s face it, more tempting to be out and about than to be inside trying to keep up to date with everything happening on […]
Channel Hopper: Obituary returns somewhat unexpectedly for a second season
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By Paul Bradley Monster: The Ed Gein Story Netflix Woody Allen used to talk about an old joke: two elderly women are at a holiday resort, and one of them says, “Boy, the food at this place is really terrible”, and the other one replies “Oh, I know; and such small portions.” As if the […]
No child should dread returning to school because of unkindness from their classmates
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One of the hardest aspects of parenting is trying to protect our children from external sources that cause them upset – namely, their friendship group if things turn sour. It’s our instinct to wrap them up in bubble wrap in an attempt to shield them from any and all sadness. The reality is though, that […]
To those facing unimaginable grief, the hearts of all parents are broken for you
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Every week, when it’s time to pen this article, I try to base it on something that has been on my mind. Mostly, I aim to keep it light-hearted, but it would be tone-deaf of me to write a parenting column about anything light-hearted in a time when several Donegal parents have been shattered by […]
Channel Hopper: Untamed could have been better
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By Paul Bradley Untamed is Netflix’s new crime drama, and although it’s another murdered-girl mystery, there are a few things that set it apart: firstly, it has two impressive leads in Sam Neill and Eric Bana, and secondly, it’s set in the truly epic and underused Yosemite National Park. I have a sneaking suspicion Netflix […]
Fresh Take Column: Everyone has a part to play to ensure our dunes don’t become dumping grounds
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By Sabrina Sweeney Social media posts can really get people going. There’s something about the format that invites frustration, sarcasm and plenty of overreaction. But the flurry of posts over the past few weeks about tourists behaving badly at some of Donegal’s most treasured beaches and beauty spots isn’t just a case of keyboard warriors […]
Channel Hopper: The Veil proves dull and shallow
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By Paul Bradley Ballard Amazon Prime It’s not long since the last season of Bosch: Legacy ended, but Amazon are still interested in the character and his milieu (all of which come from author Michael Connelly): we’re back in it again with a new spinoff following Los Angeles detective Renee Ballard, who was briefly introduced […]
Parenting: Labubus – the latest toy craze that’s taking the world by storm
Most of us will remember a coveted, collectible toy that whipped us into a frenzy when we were young. It might have been Cabbage Patch Kids, Polly Pockets, Beanie Babies, Furbys or more recently LOL dolls and Squishmallows. Toy crazes are nothing new. For me, it was Trolls. I was far from deprived as a […]