Advent 12

There are only twelve episodes of Fawlty Towers but they amount to a near perfect televisual tour de force. Cleese and Booth's finest hour. Brilliant performances and several great comic creations, not least the raging Basil. Here we have the fabulous wildebeest scene. Priceless.

Advent 11

Education, education, education. Before the patronising inanities of modern yoof programming, we had Blue Peter. We were all the better for it. I am, of course, a Blue Peter badge holder though far too modest to tell you why. Here is an indisputably great television moment - the incident of the incontinent baby elephant.

Advent 10

There have been times when I thought Brideshead Revisited my favourite novel. Now I'm not so sure but unequivocally Waugh is the modern writer I most admire.

The 1981 television Brideshead soon acquired an almost legendary status. Again, I'm not so sure. It has its faults - Simon Raven would have done a better job than John Mortimer with the script which too readily falls back on a voice over of Waugh's brilliant words. But those reservations aside, this is still easily a piece of landmark television and Anthony Andrews as Sebastian never did anything remotely as good again.

Advent 9

Back in November 1982 we were all agog at the wonder of having a shiny new fourth television channel. Channel 4 was born and on its second night of existence it transmitted a glorious, affectionate and funny film, P'Tang Yang Kipperbang. Has it ever passed this high water mark?

Beyond A Joke

This has now gone past the point where we can laugh about it. The outrageous shitbag Donald Trump should be condemned for the bigot he is. I love America but people you're sleep-walking into moral oblivion and I'm damned if you're taking me with you. Trump Fascist

Advent 8

With today's choice we have to make a particular distinction between seasons 1 and 2. Season 1 was up there with the best television ever made. Season 2 was, all things considered, a very major disappointment - overwrought, poorly researched and under-written. A major fall from grace. But never mind because the first season of Broadchurch stands alone and is brilliant. 

Advent 7

1974 once again, clearly a year for great television. This time it is Shoulder to Shoulder the BBC's compelling dramatisation of the women's suffrage movement. Educational and entertaining.