2. As soon as I gave up on it Torchwood started to improve. I've liked all of the last three episodes. The most recent- about the plane-load of people who fly in from 1953- was really quite affecting. I still don't like the characters though. The only one who isn't dull is Owen- and he's reptilian.
3. Alan Yentob was celebrating the early years of television last night and making the point that we Brits invented it- well done us! Most of the footage was familiar; I suppose because there's not much of it left to choose from. The Coronation- yawn. Muffin the Mule- good grief, we found that entertaining? He interviewed Maureen Lipman- on the specious grounds that she once played an early BBC announcer/monster from outer space in Dr Who- and she had a theory about where that clipped early BBC accent came from. it was all down to 18th century courtiers imitating the speech patterns of their Hanoverian king. Why yes, but of course!