Never let it be said that we don’t enjoy a Tom Daley moment or a Dan Osborne moment but when the pair posed for Tom Daley’s Splash! programme – we thought all our Christmases and Birthdays had come at once…
Which then reminded us that we had some lovely pictures of Dan – so here you go! Enjoy
★★★★ | Checkmate by A. L. Olson
Bored university student/cheesy diner waitress Ambrosia’s mundane and ordinary life takes a turn for the bizarre when her boss starts buying chess sets for customers to play, and two of the chess pieces appear to come to life and begin offering Ambrosia unsolicited life coaching.
When she begins taking the advice of the chess pieces, her life begins to get on the right track until she is thrust into a suddenly bizarre world of hallucinations, seemingly crazy psychologists, and A.I. robots, Ambrosia finds herself the unlikely heroine, almost alone in her quest to save the world.
This first novel by Olson is quirky yet relatable. Ambrosia is an interesting character, who you want to love, even while she complains a lot about the ‘current generation’ (hipsters with iPhones etc.). The plot moves quickly through familiar territory, interwoven with original ideas. The fact that a lot of the plot twists, and there are many, are inspired by, or borrowed from other sci-fi stories: there’s certainly elements of The Matrix, Philip K. Dick, and many zombie movies; makes the book instantly familiar, without being predictable and boring. Just when you have the idea that you know where you’re going, Olson throws in another twist and the story rockets off in a different direction. It is a great first novel, thought I think it could benefit from a few notes before being an excellent novel, it is a fun read, and well worth the time to get invested in the characters.
Written to help raise funds to cover the cost of much needed surgery, resulting from hormone treatments, Olson steers clear of and heavy-handed ‘Queering’ of the characters, and the potential same-sex attraction in the story is included naturally and doesn’t feel shoe-horned in. It also doesn’t deal with any societal issues faced by the characters because of their sexuality, real or perceived, and it thus avoids coming off as a ‘preachy’ story. Olson stays true to the story line, and the issues being dealt with there, and thankfully refrains from getting bogged down in queer social issues or politics. This is a refreshing story where the protagonist happens to have a same-sex attraction that is not central to the story, rather than being the only plot point.
Three of the most popular teen girls in particular believe that if Tanner would be their G (ay) B (est) F(riend), which their favorite fashion mags say is ‘the’ must-have accessory of the season, then this would seal their election to become the next Prom Queen. There is Fawcett a very pretty buxom blond, ‘Shley the slightly serious good-time Mormon girl, and Caprese the African/American drama queen.
Whilst Tanner glows in his new-found popularity as the girls fall over themselves to capture him for themselves, his best friend Brent who is still stuck in the closet, is so jealous of all the attention that so starts to plot Tanner’s downfall.
This rather charming ‘boy-lit’ high school comedy is peppered with some very good performances by a very professional young cast who have cut their teeth on TV :Michael Willet as Tanner (The United States of Tara), Paul Iacono as Brent (The Hard Times of RJ Berger),Xosha Roquemore as Caprese (The Mindy Project),Sasha Pieterse as Fawcett (Pretty Little Liars) andAndrea Bowen as ‘Shley (Desperate Housewives).
It is however the adults that inadvertently steal all their scenes particularly Jonathan Silverman and Rebecca Gayheart who play Tanner’s supportive parents. However even they are trumped by a wonderfully funny turn by the ever delightful Megan Mullally (‘Karen from Will & Grace’) who is hysterically funny trying to drag her son out of the closet. The two of them watching the ‘Brokeback Mountain’ movie on TV together is unquestionably the best scene in the entire film.
It’s all very cute, has a few really good one-liner’s like the one on Mormon’s ‘they smile to your face, then Prop 8 you in the back,’ but it is a squeaky clean teen-movie that is meant to be for the young… or at least the young at heart.
P.S. Don’t miss the ‘bloopers’ at the end!
As a Valentine’s present from Netflix, House Of Cards returns to our small screens from tonight (14th Feb 2014).
• Second Season Available for streaming from 14th Feb 2014
• Stars Kevin Spacey, Kate Mara and Robin Wright
• 3rd Series Has Been Confirmed
House Of Cards is a Netflix Original Series, which follows the inner circles of political powers. Based on the BBC series of the same name.
Kevin Spacey plays Frank Underwood a Democrat who after being passed over for the appointment of Secretary of State, decides to seek retribution.
The makers of the show have confirmed a third series.
One of our all time favourite boybands – mainly because we’ve got a naked pic of them – are to appear in The Big Reunion Tonight.
In Episode 2, which airs tonight, two major bands of pop history feature – Eternal and A1. Spats and arguments are put aside as these pop stars get their groups back together.
A1 Are Ben Adams, Christian Ingebrigtsen and Mark Read.
Some of the band began to compete for their fans’ attention as an intense battle of egos began. Ben explains: “Me and Christian always had a… it wasn’t rocky, it was competitive.”
Christian recalls: “Ben always loved being in the centre and the centre of attention. And sometimes I wanted to be there too.”
Ben remembers one particular confrontation: “He (Christian) turned around and he went to punch me, but instead opened his hand and slapped me.”
Although Ben admits: “Thinking back now, I would have hated myself. But at the time, I thought I was brilliant.”
The bands popularity reached new heights with their number one cover of Take On Me. Mark says: “Everything was going our way, to top it off we won a BRIT award for best new band. That year was the year Craig David was nominated, Coldplay was nominated – we were in good company there.”
A1’s success came at an unexpected cost when tragedy struck on the band’s tour of Asia. Ben recalls what happened when an extreme case of overcrowding at a shopping mall signing ended in four fatalities: “We could see girls at the front actually being squashed against the glass. I remember looking up and going to everybody ‘can you see this?’. I just think the sheer enormity of people that were there was just uncontrollable. Unfortunately, four young girls got squashed to death at the signing.”
Christian says: “We know we didn’t cause it. But we also know if we hadn’t been there, those people would still be alive maybe. I guess it’s something we can never fully come to terms with and accept”
Following the tragedy, A1 withdrew from the public eye. Ben says: “It was a time for us to re-evaluate what we were doing and why we were doing it.”
The band returned to the spotlight with a new look and feel, writing their own hit number one single Caught in the Middle.
As their music changed, so did their bond. Mark says: “There was a weird dynamic now in the band, because you had two musicians and two vocalists in the middle, but one (Paul) not really doing much.”
Christian says: “Looking back now, I think Paul stopped caring as much and withdrew a little bit more.” Ben recalls: “I think for an entire month on tour he refused to speak to me.”
Ben says: “Everything is going great and here’s this, whatever you want to call him, ruining it for everybody. Paul leaving was definitely the catalyst in the split up of the group.”
The band received a text from Paul asking them to read his letter of resignation. Shortly after, A1 were ditched from their record label with debts of £2m.
The Big Reunion Continues Tonight at 9:00PM on ITV2
★★★ | Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre and UK Tour
Set in the backwoods of Oregon in 1850, Adam Pontipee is a burly woodsman who lives on an isolated farm in the mountains. On a visit to town to trade goods, he decides to take himself a wife and meets the feisty Milly who agrees to marry him. But when they return to the farmhouse to start their married life together, Adam introduces her to his six ill-mannered, uncouth and rough and tumble brothers.
But the brothers are diamonds in the rough, and following a little smoothing around the edges, Adam takes his brothers to the town social, where they meet and fall in love with their prospective girlfriends. But when the lovesick boys return to the farm, they pine for their girls, so decide to head to town and bring them back. But with the girls distressed at being kidnapped and the farm cut off from the town for the winter by an avalanche, will true love win through?
This vibrant and colourful revival of one of the most popular musicals from the golden age of MGM Studio’s was great fun. The show itself is twee, old fashioned and, at times, very camp, but therein lies its utterly infectious charm. The songs include “Bless Your Beautiful Hyde”, “Going Courtin’” and “Wonderful, Wonderful Day” and were proficiently performed by the cast. The songs were interspersed with some exuberant and energetic dance numbers, with somersaults and acrobatics aplenty. Both the town social (the main set piece of the first act) and the finale were particular highlights. The stage was crammed full of talented singers, dancers and musicians, all of whom performed a number of well-choreographed and enjoyable pieces.
In terms of the cast, Sam Attwater, who plays Adam was unable to perform on the night, and his shoes were ably filled by Alex Hammond. Hammond’s deep voice and gruffness in his singing neatly mirrored the wooden roughness of the wilderness setting. Helena Blackman, who was runner up on “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” was in fine voice and provided a good turn as the go-getting Milly. The rest of the brothers were made up of an attractive and very buff set of young men who proved that they had been chosen for their talent as well as their looks by being more than capable of some great dancing and singing. The remaining ensemble made up the townsfolk and nicely rounded out the cast.
Director and choreographer Patti Colombo has added some nice touches, such as a variety of dance styles, ranging from some ballet inspired pieces to an abundance of lively barn dancing, and also including some musicians on the stage during some scenes or to act as bridging tool in scene changes. The music was typical of the country genre and in good keeping with the setting of the show, with violins, acoustic guitars and mouth organs aplenty.
The detailed and effective set looked great, with the stage being easily and smoothly transformed from the forest to the town to the interior of the farmhouse. The set was awash with wooden buildings, furniture and props which fitting in nicely with the feel of the show. The lighting was well thought out with a green tinge enhancing the forest, good use of silhouette at times and a warm glow in the outdoor scenes. All of the costumes were colourful, with flowing gowns and smart tunics and added nicely to the vibrancy of the whole thing.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers a whole had a really light feel to it and was undemanding, foot tapping, enjoyable entertainment. The story itself is a little thin and quaint, but the reality is that this is good old fashioned entertainment which harks back to a more innocent time and is more than capable of entertaining the audience without the use of special effects or elaborate mechanical props. It is a credit to the musical itself to think that 60 years after being written for the big screen, the stage show can still bring a smile to the face of theatre goers.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is currently playing at the Sheffield Lyceum until the 15th February 2014 before continuing on its national tour. For information and tickets visit
http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/event/seven-brides-for-seven-brothers-14/ and the official website at http://www.sevenbridesthemusical.com/sights-sounds.html
In Russia it is claimed that only 1% of gay people dare to live openly because of the homophobic attacks on the gay community.
Last year there are a number of attacks and even murders attributed to homophobia suffered by gay people.
The show is on at 10PM on Channel 4.
After a mountain of physically demanding winter sports, Joe McElderry has lifted the gold in Channel 4’s The Jump.
With the Russian winter Olympics upon us it seemed a fitting time for C4 to throw celebrities into the world of winter sports. Joe McElderry competed against other celebrities such as Sinitta and Steve Redgrave to come out on top.
It seems these ‘mock’ Olympians were having a lot more fun together with Sinnitta tweeting: ‘@DonalMacIntyre one of my happiest moments- you,me + @joemcelderry91. Flying down the mountain laughing + screaming like kids!’
Though like all competitive sports there are always some knocks as Joe McElderry tweeted: ‘Now its time to take my bruised legs up to the jump’, but despite the pain he still managed to win the show, ‘Wow wow wow what a night!!! Buzzzing!!!!!!!’
This deeply disturbing programme, directed by Ben Steele and reported by Liz MacKean, shows us a bleak picture of a Russia, where gay people are literally hunted down like animals, subjected to humiliating and painful abuse.
Though homosexuality has been legal in Russia for twenty years, it has never been accepted. The recent Russian law banning propaganda of non-traditional sexual attitudes to minors, has only served to make worse anti-gay feeling, which is so deeply entrenched in Russian society, it is hard to know how to challenge it. Strengthened by the views of the powerful Russian Orthodox Church and those in power, vigilante groups carry out their crimes in full view, knowing that the police will do nothing to intervene.
This brilliant film offers no easy solutions, but in talking to the leaders of these groups it exposes the problem at the very heart of Russia, “ the worst place to be gay in Europe”, where homophobia is normal and a contrary view, even if you are straight, is likely to get you in trouble.
Not to be missed, “Hunted” airs at 10pm on Channel 4.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/videos/all/hunted
A brutally honest book based on a real persons struggle to come to terms with his sexuality through his open and emotional journey.
Denial, Deceit, Discovery is a superb first novel by J.James. A truly amazing story of Jack, a young catholic man, and his struggle coming to terms with his sexuality and finding the strength and courage to be true to himself regardless of the consequences.
At first glance I found the first few chapters quite graphic as the author details his sexual explorations, in fact Amazon have it listed under ‘erotica’. Whilst there are some pretty explicit scenes of gay sex, after reading the whole book, I realised that apart from being erotic, it was instead a brutally truthful account of a lot of rather intense soul-searching.
The book is split into three sections of his journey, characterising the three chapters Denial, Deceit and Discovery. Based on true events, that are essentially autobiographical, this reads in the style of a personal memoir. The writing is so extremely honest that you often wonder which parts were from the author’s imagination and which were from his own life.
Anyone will be able to relate to parts of the story regardless of sexuality and even if the book in its entirety doesn’t completely resonate with you, it provides plenty of food for thought. Highly recommended, compelling and easy to read, the content will make you blush, laugh and cry. After completing the book I wanted to carry on reading what happened next of this brave man’s journey on his pursuit for happiness.