Blogs

I’ve been blogging for nearly a decade now. As you can see, most of my writing has been for CST online, though I’ve also contributed to The Conversation, plus a couple of other one-offs. I began writing for the former back in 2013 primarily as a way of getting my name seen by other television academics, and to be honest some of my early efforts make me wince a little due now to the overly earnest tone. I can see I was trying to ‘sound’ like an academic, which is fine for journal articles, but doesn’t really work for more immediate reflective pieces like these. However, there are traces of me developing my own, less formal voice by the end of 2013, beginning with the more anecdotal piece about how great TV was back in 1986 (and it really was). From this point on I adopted a more conversational tone (complete with contractions and second person address – neither of which I would use in my academic writing). Although conceived for an academic website, I think the blogs from 2014 onwards are accessible enough for anyone to appreciate (assuming they’re interested), and I get as much feedback on them from friends as I do colleagues. Anyone with the time and endurance to plough through the lot might note certain themes emerging, namely: a love of ‘old’ TV (I am a UK television historian, after all); a stubborn loyalty to the broadcast schedule that so many academics insist is dying on its feet (it isn’t); and a tendency towards self-promotion. I make no apologies for any of these. I do, however, apologise for the fact that images are missing from the older CST entries (due to some form of digital migration, I believe), that their server is currently somewhat erratic, and that certain blogs are less interesting than others. A few were quite hastily written, which sometimes shows, I’m afraid. Blogs are listed chronologically, in reverse order.

Spaced Out (CST online, 18 November 2022)

Annual Review: Departures and Returns (CST online, 24 June 2022)

Getting Some Practice In (CST online, 18 March 2022)

To Be (Dis)Continued?: Series versus Serial TV (CST online, 5 November 2021)

Balls (CST online, 25 June 2021)

I’m Sorry, I H aven’t a Cluedo (CST online, 19 March 2021)

At Home in the House of Games, (CST online, 23 October 2020)

Locked Down in Muswell Hill (CST online, 26 June 2020)

Doctor Who? I’m not a Fan (CST online, 20 March 2020)

In Conversation with Tony Garnett: Part 2 (CST online, 21 February 2020)

In Conversation with Tony Garnett: Part 1 (CST online, 14 February 2020)

Goodbye to All That (Again) (CST online, 28 June 2019)