Rosie-9

'Me and My Girl' is one of those rare sitcoms that manages to be quite ordinary, yet funny. While it doesn't have the wackiness of most of the best British sitcoms, it is incredibly charming in it's own humble way. Unlike most shows of its genre, which have bratty children and over-indulgent parents, 'Me and My Girl' depicts an average family and is all the better for it. Richard O'Sullivan (Simon) and Joanne Ridley (Sam) work so well together, you'd swear they were a real father and daughter. Tim Brooke-Taylor as the hen-pecked Derek is hilarious and rather poignant. You want him to escape from under the jackboot of the never-seen Muriel, but it never happens! And Joan Sanderson plays the wonderfully strong mother-in-law Nell beautifully. This show is an under-appreciated gem, so if you're lucky enough to be able to catch repeats, do.

Television mini-series are usually poor quality, and this is no exception. The acting is below average and therefore unconvincing. The domestic dramas are played out like 'Young and the Restless' without any understanding of the complexities of such events. Worst of all, the pacing is so frantic that it's difficult to feel involved in the potentially riveting story.

Perhaps part of the problem is in the very nature of the set-up - the Kennedy women simply aren't as interesting as their husbands as they were only bit players in the most interesting events in history. The Cuban missile crisis, for example, must have been a fascinating and horrifying event to live through. Yet seen through Jackie's eyes, it barely sustains interest and is over in five minutes because she barely had anything to do with it.

'The Women of Camelot' is only tolerable because the Kennedys were such an interesting family who played such a significant role in American history in the sixties. No doubt there is a better film to be made of their experiences, one that doesn't turn the story into a cheap and dull soap opera.

'Blake's 7' is a wonderful sci-fi classic that is rightfully compared to Doctor Who, Star Trek and Babylon 5. So why did the BBC feel the need to hack half the story out of four episodes and edit them together into this mess? Clearly, someone at the Beeb has seen the light, as all episodes of 'Blake's 7' have now been reissued uncut. Viewers should save their money for the videos 'The Way Back'/'Spacefall' and 'Cygnus Alpha'/'Time Squad' and enjoy the stories in full.