Doctor Who fans, or at least fans of old money Doctor Who, tend to have a greater understanding of the history of television than most people.?
Editor's Note: Paywall. But I'm posting it anyway as a way of imploring you to sign up to James Cooray's Smith Psychic Paper newsletter, which at £3.50 per month offers regular, thoughtful articles about Doctor Who which always offer a fresh perspective. This one's about The Power of Kroll ratings anomaly.
"From Robert Bresson to Antoine Fuqua, from the 1950s to the 2020s, Dan Mecca takes us on a tour through many cinematic interpretations of the King Arthur legend."
"Tony and Becs Wadley say they can't spend Christmas at home after insulation installed under a government scheme has caused black mould in several rooms, and their asthmatic son can't be inside the property."
"Ahead of the latest in the BBC’s Ghost Stories for Christmas strand airing on Christmas Eve, we revisit the atmospheric locations for the original series to see how time has changed them."
"Donald Macleod visits the home of Jane Austen with historian Amanda Vickery to discover some of the seasonal customs and Christmas music of late-Georgian Britain."
"Christmas is a time when many of us head back to the family home - the marae - and in the case of many Pacific Islanders - the village. People like Kayla Tuara are taking their family back to the Cook Islands for Christmas. Kayla joins Bryan from Rarotonga."
"I was working at another magazine about a decade ago when I told a colleague about plans to go to my hometown for the holidays and make lasagna with my family for Christmas Day. It's an all-day affair: stirring and seasoning the sauce, cooking the noodles, layering the dish, then finally baking (and baking) until the dish is bubbly and melty."
I'm not a big fan of Christmas music, so I was happy to learn about and then listen to "enigmatic frontman and eclectic curator" David Byrne's recently posted playlist, "Christmas Music for People Who Hate Christmas Music."
Christmas Movies for the Family After You’ve Watched the Ones You Always Watch: "I love the Christmas classic movies and watch as many as I can every year, including at least a couple of versions of “A Christmas Carol” and Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in “White Christmas.” But there are many great Christmas films that don’t get mentioned as often and I like to remind families that these are worth making time for as well."
"The first edition of The Making of Doctor Who, published by Piccolo in 1972, was credited — on the front cover — to Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks. The title page then reversed the names, suggesting an equity of credit. Yet, as we saw last time, I think Hulke did most if not all of the writing and took 75% of the royalties."
When 25 Women & a Civil Engineer Decide To Build an 18-Foot Christmas Crochet Tree Together: "In Goa, 25 women and a civil engineer came together to build an 18-foot Christmas tree made entirely of crocheted yarn. Created by The Crochet Collective, the installation revives a fading craft, centres women’s labour, and offers a sustainable alternative to plastic-heavy festive décor."
"We often imagine medieval life as dull, dirty and short, with little in the way of material comfort or decoration. However, medieval Londoners were importing toys, treats and trinkets by the boatload centuries before the modern festive rush."
"Welcome to tv.garden, your gateway to free live TV streaming from anywhere. Our goal is to make discovering and watching global channels as easy and enjoyable as possible."
"We asked 121 contributors – British and international – to pick the top ten movies they'd seen in 2025. You can browse all 433 choices they nominated here."
"It’s been another busy year for Ofcom’s broadcasting standards team. We’ve received almost 50,000 complaints about more than 8,000 TV, radio, and on-demand programmes, a clear sign that audiences care deeply about what they watch and listen to."
"After coming together and pooling resources to save Christmas for the town’s most impoverished family, a tight-knit Nebraska community reportedly did jack shit this week to make the holiday better for its second-poorest family."
"Dave Willat was just 11 years old, wearing cutoffs and a T-shirt on a warm September evening in 1965, when he showed up for what he thought would be a routine choir practice at his church in San Rafael, Calif., a small city about 20 miles north of San Francisco. His voice was on the cusp of changing, and he expected to rehearse the usual Sunday hymns."
"In their first-ever feature-length festive spectacular, Samira Ahmed and Graham Kibble-White are joined by special guest Mark Gatiss, as all three nominate their favourite and least-favourite Christmas specials."
"...adapted by Eddie Robson and Jonathan Morris respectively, are full-cast adaptations of two little known Christmas tales by Charles Dickens, now available to purchase as a download."
"2026 is set to be a phenomenal year for cinema and TV. In our Modern Visionaries portfolio, we met 34 of the names currently moulding the face of Hollywood."
"It’s a time for sharing, so in a spirit of goodwill to all cinephiles, a dozen directors, including Guillermo del Toro, Wes Anderson, Alice Rohrwacher, Luna Carmoon and Steven Soderbergh, choose their favourite Christmas films."
"Forecasts of print’s demise have been around for as long as press barons have been buying ink by the barrel. We asked a panel of print icons how the medium has fared in the first quarter-century of this millennium."
"Ever wonder how ghosts can reveal more about the living? In ‘How the Ghosts Stole Christmas,’ Mulder and Scully face not just supernatural tricks but a haunting reflection of their own fears and partnership."
"Early last year, Lauren Laverne was standing on stage with Sir Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen – as you do – while the latter gave an acceptance speech at the Ivor Novello Awards."
"“Minute for minute, I think Morecambe & Wise is costing [ITV] more than The Sound of Music is costing us”, surmised Bill Cotton, controller of BBC-1, as he announced details of the channel’s Christmas line-up for 1978."
"British academic and his Nigerian wife repeatedly stopped from hosting family members, including at their own wedding, due to visa restrictions brought in by Keir Starmer’s Government."
Editor's Note: I'm experimenting with Sill (not not that one) which filters your BlueSky timeline down to just the links and it's turned this up, the modern equivalent of the old BBC tapes.
"Following such a lovely positive response to last year’s 1974 edition, I’ve created another special time travel listings magazine. Once again, you can travel back 50 years into Christmas TV’s past. The Christmas Radio TV Times gathers together numerous TV programmes from Christmas week 1975, across both the BBC channels and ITV."
"After watching The Avengers’ Too Many Christmas Trees for Telefantasy Time Jump‘s Christmas Special (out…sometime this month!! I should really check these things), I felt compelled to return to a few Christmas telly favs to try and life my mood during this week of Eternal Rain and Wind and Grey Omg When Will It End."
"Gather round the fire, everyone, and let me tell you a story. It has everything you could want in a Christmas blockbuster: superheroes and villains, a car crash, children singing, a mystery to solve and even a cameo appearance by Bart Simpson."
"The risk of having a heart attack or stroke rises during the holiday season, with a spike in cardiac deaths between Christmas and New Year's. "We definitely see it in the ER over the holidays," says Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, a cardiologist who leads the Framingham Heart Study at Boston University School of Medicine."
"We are about to get a "post-American internet," because we are entering a post-American era and a post-American world. Some of that is Trump's doing, and some of that is down to his predecessors."
"It's the most wonderful time of the year, and we all look forward to the same thing, and that is watching the same Christmas films we've seen countless times. But is that a bad thing?"
"This is the way I make my mince pies, and there is no changing me or them: they are small, to be popped straight into the mouth in one go; the pastry is plain, the better to contrast with the rich, fruited filling; and they have not full casings but little stars as lids, which makes them look beautiful and taste flutteringly light."
"There are 20 off screen images from the missing Doctor Who episode The Feast of Steven. Using the camera script, I've endeavoured to work out exactly where in the episode each image comes from!"
"A game of solitaire accompanied by a nasty note, dog food for someone who just lost a puppy … Secret Santa is supposed to be fun, but when it’s not, it can lead to all kinds of trouble."
"In this seasonal special, judges Anna Campbell-Jones, Banjo Beale and Danny Campbell travel across Scotland in search of a festive delight of a home. Scoring our Christmas contenders on distinctive festive design, seasonal style and yuletide spirit, which one will dazzle our three wise judges?"
"Authorities in Gdańsk have warned the public not to mount the city’s festive decorations after two women fell through the base of a huge Christmas tree."
"“Christmas at Pemberley Manor” and “Romance at Reindeer Lodge” may never make it to Oscar night, but legions of fans still love these sweet-yet-predictable holiday movies — and this season, many are making pilgrimages to where their favorite scenes were filmed."
"International medical students from sunnier climes will find the cold, damp and lingering darkness of a British winter quite a shock. Here are a few tips on how to survive it."
"Festive feasts and flavours to inspire and delight this Christmas. Explore Christmas cooking with Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater, Mary Berry, The Hairy Bikers and more... "
"To mark a decade of festive puzzles, our in-house puzzlers have masterminded seven fiendish brainteasers and teamed up with schoolchildren on three festive designs."
"19 boats braved cold and breezy conditions at the annual Dovestone Sailing Club Christmas Plate open meeting. The day consists of three races with one discard. Boats of many classes competed using PY time adjusting handicaps."
"From jolly rom-coms to chaotic family romps and religious gems, Robert Daniels celebrates sixteen Black Christmas films to add to your holiday rotation."
"An annual festive swim has been cancelled after organisers said there was not enough time to pull it together after getting the all clear on water quality."
"I’ve been with my wife, Brittany (32F) for four years. (We’re actually civil partners, I won’t marry her until she pays off her credit card debt). I work part time as a manager at Zaxby’s, and also have a podcast. Brittany is a teacher."
"It was not exactly often that the journey to and from school got more exciting than it did on those alternate Wednesdays when you had to make sure to leave the house with enough additional time to incorporate a quick trip to the newsagents’ to pick up the latest issue of Smash Hits, but if it ever actually did, then it was on the Wednesday that fell roughly – give or take – a week and a half before Christmas."
"From The Pogues to Paul McCartney, Wham! to the Spice Girls, Mariah Carey to East 17 and beyond, this documentary reveals the magic and mayhem behind the making of the nation’s favourite Christmas music videos."
"As you approach Salzburg's Max Aicher Stadium on the eve of the feast of St. Nicholas, you'd be forgiven if you thought that, from a distance, there appeared to be a Chewbacca convention underway."
"For most of her adult life, Niro Feliciano's checklist for the holidays looked like this: Host the family gathering, write greeting cards, shop for gifts, decorate and peel carrots for Santa's reindeer — all while raising four kids and going to work every day."
"As Wham! top singles chart, Minogue draws level with David Bowie, Eminem, U2 and Rod Stewart in the album league table, thanks to a reissue of her 2015 Christmas LP."
"One baby Jesus lies in a manger in the snow, wrapped in a silver emergency blanket with his wrists zip-tied. Mary stands nearby outside the Lake Street Church in Evanston, Illinois, wearing a plastic gas mask and flanked by Roman soldiers in tactical vests labeled “ICE.”"
"As the festive season approaches, Christmas trees have been lit in towns and cities across Lithuania – each brighter, more striking and more inventive than the last."
"Annie Gray always rejects turkey and the trimmings at Christmas. She believes they are a construct of a bygone era and will often eat pizza on the big day instead."
Editor's Note: Nothing much new to see here other than a recommendation - I swapped to Deezer from the now ridiculously unusable Spotify a couple of weeks ago and wholly recommend it. The interface is clean, easy to navigate and feels a lot like a streaming version of the CD racks in a record shop with logical genres and a sense of wanting you to be able access all music and not just whatever is being pushed that week.
"Before its fall from grace, the Chinese-American dish chop suey was a holiday tradition for families who don't celebrate Christmas, even being immortalized in songs and film."
"In Catalonia, Christmas involves a hollowed-out log with a painted face, stick legs, and a little red hat. Children feed it nuts and dried fruit for weeks, keep it warm under a blanket, and then on Christmas Eve, they beat it with sticks while singing songs commanding it to defecate nougat."
Editor's Note: As an alternative to the usual reporting on Christmas being ruined because a council in the Midlands forgot to put the lights on the city centre tree or which supermarket makes the best Leach of Almonds, I thought I'd aggregate the international cinema on UK terrestrial TV as featured in this year's Christmas Radio Times (£6.50? How much?).
Various research projects I've undertaken across the year have led me to look enviously through the old Christmas schedules and the rich pickings available. The results for this year are disappointing with some incredibly safe programming across the linear channels and only the following which could be described meaningfully as "world cinema".
"The Marquis d’Urfé finds refuge in the home of a strange family after becoming lost in a hostile forest while working as an emissary for the King of France."
"As a patriarchal family yearns for the birth of a son to continue their family line, their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for its transgender starlet."
"The chronicles of four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is."
"Fatima-Zahra and her teenage son Selim move from place to place, forever trying to outrun the latest scandal she’s caught up in. When Selim discovers the truth about their past, Fatima-Zahra vows to make a fresh start. In Tangier, new opportunities promise the legitimacy they each crave but not without pushing the volatile mother-son relationship to the breaking point."
Of course times have changed and streaming offers access to a near infinite amount of content from across the globe via the likes of MUBI, the BFI Player and Criterion. All of the UK channels would argue that they do show films made outside of the UK and US during the rest of the year and have some available via their own streaming services.
But it still feels very insular that during the festive period English language films should predominate with the vast majority originating from Hollywood and it poorly serves those of us who can't afford all of those services or to rent films on a rental basis and want an alternative Love Fucking Actually.
At the very least there could be presentations of festive favourites from elsewhere at a reasonable time of the day. If we were still a proper country, BBC Four would be showing My Night at Maud's (1969) at Christmas with Malmkrog (2020) seeing us into the New Year.
"The winter holiday period is meant to be joyful, yet for many of us it comes with a heavy mix of responsibilities and social pressure to go to parties and events we don't want to."
"The holiday season means holiday movies, films that can be counted upon warmth and holiday cheer, also probably some snow, a little bit of magic, and grumpy/greedy/workaholic protagonists who need be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas."
Editor's Note: Worth it for the Love Actually discourse: "It's Ed Sheeran before Ed Sheeran existed."
"Preparations for Christmas are underway across the globe with landmarks lit, markets open, shop windows decorated, a jet skiing Santa in Rio and even the T-Rex at London’s Natural History Museum wearing his Christmas jumper."
Editor's Note: Trigger Warning for shots of the current White House.
"Aside from the two old chestnuts of Hamlet criticism—Hamlet’s character and Hamlet’s delay—probably no other topic has engaged Shakespeare fans more than the thorny problem of his age: is Hamlet sixteen or thirty? Whether you’re wandering through classes discussing Hamlet, lurking the boards at rehearsal, eavesdropping in the bar after a performance, or perusing the online discussions, you find people of all stripes tangling with this key contradiction."
"Cerys' weekly round up of the blues you need to hear, from all around the world and in all shapes and sizes! This week Cerys unwraps a festive gift from the BBC Archive: BB King's Christmas Blues! Recorded in 1997 with the late Johnnie Walker, B.B. King shares some of his favourite records! Featuring tracks from Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Bonnie Raitt."
"The festive season is a rich time for tradition, storytelling and folklore. A time when different belief systems and traditions clash and combine into symbolic acts, we take part in without a second thought. At a time of year when the days are shortest and the outdoors is a less inviting place to be, many of these Yule traditions involve our wildlife."
"The multiples and chain stores have been growing since the beginning of the century, and in the past 15 years they have grown very fast."
Editor's Note: Another brilliant upload to the BBC Archive YouTube Channel, this looks at where Tesco and WH Smith were in 1970. Smoky boardrooms filled with men shouting over women, brutalist concrete shopping centres, retail floors where hygiene is anathema and sales meetings in which the livelihoods of producers and authors are shot down on a whim. Watch out for the very TV Creamy cameo at a store opening.
"Knowsley food aid organisations have been badly hit by the demise of the Knowsley Foodbank distributer. We are raising ££ to help the Stockbridge Village pantry give people a nicer Christmas."
"Kylie is the biggest challenger for Christmas number one 2025. Her new song XMAS, was recorded for the 10th anniversary edition of her Kylie Christmas album."
"Mariah Carey has lodged a record-tying 19th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as “All I Want for Christmas Is You” rides the holiday wave back to the top of the charts."
"For many Swiss, the Christmas tree is part of the Christmas tradition. According to the Forest Owners Association, around 1.7 million Christmas trees are sold every year. The Nordmann fir is by far the most popular."
Editor's Note: Since it's Doctor Who night on the BBCs this evening, here is a collection of free festive tales from across the official websites and other places too.
"As he strolled through the foggy streets of London’s East End he became aware of the footsteps following him and immediately wondered if it was them. He began walking faster. The footsteps – a soft pad pad pad pad – remained close behind. Now, straining to hear them, the old man caught something else. A low, velvety snarl."
"The Doctor, Peri and Joe land on the planet Naxios, where they discover the body of Father Christmas. Who killed him? The strange individuals dressed in Shakespearian costume or the talking animals wearing waistcoats digging in the tunnels?"
"The engines roared, and time roared back, washing over the hull of the TARDIS in waves of icy blue and burning gold. Reality unfolded for the spinning wooden box, funnelling it through a storm of seconds, then folding back into place as neat as wrapping paper."
"'I haven't been ice-skating since my seven hundred and twenty-first birthday,' muttered the Doctor to himself, as he raced to the other side of the console to pump the vortex loop."
"The boy's name was Tom Wake, and he was nine years old. And perhaps because the year was 1920, or perhaps because he was the sort of boy who liked to believe in things until there was a reason not to, he believed in Father Christmas."
"'What do you think?' Beth Summers turned round and burst out laughing as her grandma brandished a bright red feather boa around her shoulders. 'This used to belong to my mother,' continued Beth's gran as she jiggled her hips, causing her 12-year-old grand-daughter to laugh even more."
"It had been nearly four hours since Mason Valentin managed to convince his mother to let him stay home from school. Every moment since then seemed to tick away with the weight of eternity. He wasn't sick exactly. His fifteen year old heart though was very sick. Love sick, that is. Staring out the bay window, his thoughts wandered to Ana Comparetto, the American girl who'd only just transferred that year."
"Something was wrong. David Kershaw looked down the station platform and was left open-mouthed by what he saw. Not just a little bit wrong, but a big fat what on earth is going on? wrong."
"‘Lost satellite reception…’ Geoff Bluth glared at the GPS device on the dashboard of his car. It was late, he had been driving for hours and all he wanted was to find his hotel, have a nice hot shower and collapse into bed. And now it was snowing. Terrific. He pulled over to the side of the road and called the hotel. "
"Deep under the sea, Nessa, Freng and Strong are trying very hard to be nice. Because if they are naughty, then Santa won’t come and give them presents. And they do want presents very much. But what does Santa really want from them? And what does being nice *really* involve..?"
"Lucky you! You're on Mr Colchester's Christmas Card list. He brings tidings of comfort and joy and a terrible warning. Whatever you do, open this card first. Season's Greetings."
"Three Christmas editions were released: Christmas Story Teller 1 (1983), Christmas Story Teller 2 (1984) and Christmas Story Teller 3 (1985). Each had a “bumper 64 pages”, roughly the equivalent of two normal Story Teller issues. These three special editions had a fantastic mix of festive stories and popular carols."
Editor's note: Beautifully designed website which allows you to listen to the cassette audio whilst reading the book, as nature intended.
"In 1843, a festive tradition was born in Shere. Simon Furber visits the Surrey village to discover who was responsible for the humble Christmas card."
Simon Guerrier: "First published in hardback and paperback on 21 October 1976, this novelisation opens with an attention-grabbing first paragraph: “The tall white-haired man lay still as death. The girl leaning over him could find no pulse, no beat from either of his hearts. His skin was icy cold to the touch.”
"The autumn has delivered an exceptional display of colour, and the trees have been laden with generous gluts of fruit. We have been truly fortunate this season, with traditional store cupboards now struggling under the weight of chutney and jam made from the abundant harvest."
"These events are meant to make Christmas magical, and while many do, a few fall spectacularly short. Here, in no particular order, are some of the worst offenders."
"Michelle Pfeiffer’s familiarly overworked, taken for granted mom stands out from the typical holiday fare."
Editor's Note: I loved it. It's a bunch of actors who usually spend their time in costumes and indie dramas or both having a marvellous time making a Hallmark movie with high production values. Come for Felicity Jones's American accent, stay for Chloe Grace finally playing her truth.
"A festive exhibition at the Museum of Cambridge is taking a look back at Christmas 100 years ago. Tom Jackson spoke to engagement officer Alex Horn about the most wanted gifts of the 1920's."
"The Mari Lwyd is a Welsh tradition in which a group of people carry a horse skull mounted on a pole — draped in a white sheet with the operator hidden underneath — to your door at Christmas and demand entry through song."
"Every year for Christmas since my husband and I started dating we’ve done Christmas Day at his mom’s house. My family is very chill, whereas my husband’s mom is a little uptight so it was never worth the argument."
"For more than 30 years, residents on Auckland's Franklin Road have decked out their properties with Christmas decorations for the rest of the city to enjoy."
"The bronze monument depicting the eponymous star of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 sci-fi satire was installed Wednesday, nearly 15 years after a viral tweet."
