Author Archives: Fraser McAlpine

George Michael Falls Out Of A Car At 70mph

By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on May 21st, 2013

George Michael has still got it! (Photo via AP)

George Michael, singer of hit songs, and former leader of the ’80s pop duo Wham!, has been leading an interesting life in the past few years, and despite a series of events that looks fairly disastrous on paper, has managed to ...

12 British Actors Who Got Started In Soaps

By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on May 20th, 2013

Never mind the Billboards, the real trophy-doling fun of the weekend happened on Saturday night, at the British Soap Awards, in which the great, the good and the downright torrid rubbed fake-tanned shoulders and practised the most ...

Diet Facts: Benedict Cumberbatch Is A Chicken

By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on May 20th, 2013

OK OK, so we’ve lured you into reading this story under a false pretext, namely the truism that you are what you eat. Because, according to Benedict Cumberbatch, during the filming of Star Trek Into Darkness, he pretty much ate ...

‘Doctor Who’ Recap: ‘The Name of the Doctor’

By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on May 19th, 2013

NOTE: Doctor Who fans, here’s your last weekly chance to win a set of Eleventh Doctor novels containing Tommy Donbavand’s Shroud of Sorrow, Nicholas Briggs’ The Dalek Generation, and Justin Richards’ Plague of the ...

‘Merlin’ Recap: ‘The Drawing of the Dark’

By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on May 18th, 2013

We begin, as we often do, in a forest. Arthur and his men are returning from a trip, and Merlin has a cold. However, something is wrong. There’s smoke, evidence of fighting, and dead bodies.

It’s Official: Emeli Sande Has The Best Song In Britain

By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on May 17th, 2013

A short while ago, we put up the shortlist of songs that had been nominated for Ivor Novello awards, from the last year’s crop of quality pop and roll. And when I say ‘shortlist’ that’s what I mean, because the ...

David Beckham Retires From Professional Footba… Er… Soccer

By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on May 16th, 2013

David Beckham (Press Association via AP Images)

It’s a momentous day for fans of the sport Americans call That British Kickball, especially for the followers of legendary clubs like Manchestershire Rovers, Real Mildred and AC Casem: David Beckham, arguably the most famous ...

The Daleks Invade The Beano, Followed Closely By The Doctor

By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on May 16th, 2013

A curious thing happened at my house on Monday.

My son subscribes to the Beano, a long-standing institution of a comic (and definitely not a comic book) that I used to read when I was a kid, and my dad used to read before me. It’s a knockabout, vaguely anarchic affair, full of ...

What Makes An Icon Iconic? A Statue

By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on May 16th, 2013

It’s startling to think how quickly Amy Winehouse has shifted in public consciousness from aspiring singer to delightful hitmaker to tabloid chew-toy and on to a state of permanent deification, thanks to her untimely death.

10 British Actors Who’ve Appeared On ‘Star Trek’

By Fraser McAlpine | Posted on May 15th, 2013

The Enterprise, taking on a delivery of Marmite, Twiglets and jam butties.

The Star Trek universe is very big and very inclusive. People from all Earth nationalities and extra-terrestrial races mix freely within the crew of the Enterprise, and that means a huge variety of onboard accents.