| Best Animated Comedy South Park, internet Hello all, and sorry for the delay this year. We've had to lay off all our staff what with the recession and all, so it's taken a little longer for us to put this together than it usually would. Ok; without further delay, the first award goes to the usual winner because there is no meaningful competition in this category. 2009: South Park, internet 2008: South Park, internet 2007: South Park, internet 2006: Family Guy, B3 2005 American Dad!, B2 2004: The Simpsons, C4 2003: South Park, C4 |
Best Art Exhibit - Sheffield Abram Games, Institute of Arts Susannah Gent - Bank Street Arts Lovebytes 2010 - Millenium/Wintergarten Gent's tasteful taxidermy, including a glass-bellied badger and two playfully dismembering foxes, certainly possessed enough of an aw-factor to make it sufficiently worthwhile for us to dig this category out of storage. Congratulations to Bank Street Arts: a worthy new venue on the Sheffield map. 2009: (no award given) 2008: Exit08 2007: Yasonao Tone / Lovebytes 2006: Joe Colombo (Manchester) 2005: Michael Samuels 2004: Janet Cardiff and Geroge Bures Miller 2003: Chloe Brown 2002: David Shrigley |
Best
Brewer Acorn Brewery, Barnsley Brew Company, Sheffield Thornbridge, Ashford-in-the-Water Acorn achieve a hat-trick with their tasty array of pale and hoppy beverages. 2009: Mighty Oak 2008: Abbeydale 2007: Dark Star 2006: Rudgate 2005: Acorn 2004: Acorn 2003: Ossett 2002: Roosters |
Best
Comedy Sketch Show Horrible Histories, B1 Not much competition here. Literally. 2009: Horrible Histories, B1 2008: Bremner, Bird & Fortune, C4 2007: Bremner, Bird & Fortune, C4 2006: Time Trumpet, B2 2005: Bremner, Bird & Fortune, C4 2004: Bremner, Bird & Fortune, C4 2003: (no award given) 2002: Noble & Silver, C4 |
| Best
Fact-Based Radio Show Archive on 4, R4 Five Live Drive, R5 In Our Time, R4 Kermode & Mayo's Film Review, R5 Start the Week, R4 Our fears that the new format might be too much proved unfounded. True greatness appears to have resulted. 2009: wechoosethemoon.org 2008: Simon Mayo, R5 2007: In Our Time, R4 2006: Five Live Drive, R5 2005: Simon Mayo, R5 2004: Jon Ronson on..., R4 2003: Simon Mayo, R5 2002: Five Live Drive, R5 |
Best Factual TV Programme All Our Working Lives Revisited, B4 Newswipe, B4 The Normans, B2 Renaissance Revolution, B2 Wonders of the Solar System, B2 Meades was disturbingly absent from our screens this year, but our other old favourite, Matt Collings, was here in abundance. This programme may have lacked his usual playfulness, but made up for it in dedicated analysis. 2009: Jonathan Meades: Off-Kilter, B4 2008: Jonathan Meades: Magnetic North, B4 2007: Tim Marlow on..., C5 2006: Planet Earth, B1 2005: Life in the Undergrowth, B1 2004: Light Fantastic, B4 2003: Top Gear, B2 2002: Jonathan Meades' Surreal Film, B2 |
Best Music Album Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra: Kollaps Tradixionales We don't have a Best Film category because we don't feel confident enough to judge so soon on so little exposure (though on what exposure we've had, Inception is a clear winner). We probably shouldn't have this category either, but there you go. We do... and we struggle with it a bit. This is almost certainly not the best album of the year, but it's the best one we've heard. 2009: Decemberists - The Hazards of Love 2008: Deerhoof - Offend Maggie 2007: Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity 2006: Josephine Foster - A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing 2005: Deerhoof - The Runners Four 2004: Arcade Fire - Funeral 2003: Pflaphpschoen - Easy Unlistening 2002: Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow |
Best New Comedy Series Alan Partridge's Mid-Morning Matters, YT Glee, E4 Grandma's House, B2 Television is looking increasingly dead as a medium. 2009: Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, B2 2008: Thank God You're Here, I1 2007: The Dame Edna Treatment, I1 2006: Time Trumpet, B2 2005: American Dad!, B2 2004: Arrested Development, B2 |
| Best News and Current Affairs Programme Channel 4 News, C4 Five Live Drive, R5 PM, R4 And the winner is... Well there's a surprise. 2009: Five Live Drive, R5 2008: Five Live Drive, R5 2007: Five Live Drive, R5 2006: Channel 4 News, C4 2005: Five Live Drive, R5 2004: Five Live Drive, R5 2003: Five Live Drive, R5 |
Best Pub in Sheffield The Bath Hotel The Kelham Island Tavern The Sheffield Tap The University Arms The Wellington The pleasant Bath takes the award for the second year running. 2009: The Bath Hotel 2008: Kelham Island Tavern 2007: Kelham Island Tavern 2006: Kelham Island Tavern 2005: Kelham Island Tavern 2004: Fat Cat 2003: Kelham Island Tavern 2002: Kelham Island Tavern 2001: Cask & Cutler |
Best Quiz / Game Show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, R4 Shooting Stars, B2 University Challenge, B2 Even without an insider connection for this series, University Challenge would still win. 2009: University Challenge, B2 2008: Hole in the Wall, B1 2007: University Challenge, B2 2006: University Challenge, B2 2005: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, I1 2004: University Challenge, B2 2003: (no award given) 2002: Treasure Hunt, B2 |
Best Radio Comedy Chain Reaction, R4 I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, R4 Mark Steel's In Town, R4 The Mark Thomas Manifesto, R4 The Unbelievable Truth, R4 This simple, slightly naff parlour game is beginning to find its feet; to nudge it on its way, here's a prize. 2009: ISIHAC, R4 2008: The News Quiz, R4 2007: ISIHAC, R4 2006: ISIHAC, R4 2005: ISIHAC, R4 2004: Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation, R4 2003: Just a Minute, R4 2002: The News Quiz, R4 |
| Best Radio Drama Beckett Double Bill, R3 Looking back, we find there wasn't an awful lot that captured our imagination on the radio drama front this year. Which is a shame. Here, then, is a welcome but predictable dusting off of a couple of Becketts (Krapp and Embers). 2009: The Lady From The Sea, R3 2008: Landscape, R4 2007: Doctor Faustus, R3 2006: Gilgamesh, R3 2005: No Background Music, R4 2004: Under Milk Wood, R4 |
Best Radio Music Program Spotify We repeat our conceit from last year, engraving it on the tombstone of music radio. 2009: Spotify 2008: Hear & Now, R3 2007: Mixing It, R3 2006: Andy Kershaw, R3 2005: Do or DIY, WFMU 2004: Do or DIY, WFMU 2003: Do or DIY, WFMU 2002: John Peel, R1 |
Best Radio Presenter Peter Allen, for "Five Live Drive" Really there is no contest to be had. 2009: Simon Mayo 2008: Peter Allen 2007: Jane Garvey 2006: Henry Blofeld 2005: Andy Kershaw 2004: John Peel 2003: Jane Garvey 2002: John Peel |
Best Radio Station BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 4 LW BBC Radio 5 Live We definitely should retire this award. 2009: R5 2008: R5 2007: R5 2006: R5 2005: R5 2004: R5 2003: R5 2002: R5 |
| Best Repeat on Radio In Our Time Full Archive Give thanks to the BBC Archive: IOT becomes the first BBC programme of any reasonable age to have its entire broadcast history available on-line. 2009: Best of Simon Mayo, R5 2008: Doctor Faustus, R3 2007: The Mark Steel Revolution, B7 2006: The Mark Steel Solution, B7 2005: On the Hour, B7 2004: Armando Iannucci, B7 |
Best Repeat by a Terrestrial TV Broadcaster All Our Working Lives Revisited, B4 Boys From the Blackstuff, B4 Classic Grand Prix, Bi Herb Alpert and His Tijuana Brass, B4 Morning in the Streets, B4 We've chosen to avoid the increasingly wonderful BBC Archive output for this year's prize, and so the award goes to this particularly timely repeat. 2009: Apollo 11: A Night to Remember, BA 2008: Washes Whiter, B4 2007: Channel 4 Season, M4 2006: Our Friends in the North, B4 2005: Dennis Potter Season, B4 2004: Dennis Potter Season, B4 2003: Threads, B4 2002: The Day Today, B2 |
Best Spin-Off Show Alan Partridge's Mid-Morning Matters, YT Kermode & Mayo's Film Review, R5 The Sarah Jane Adventures, B1 Spun off from the now defunct Simon Mayo show on R5. 2009: Angel, internet 2008: The Sarah Jane Adventures, B1 2007: The Sarah Jane Adventures, B1 2006: Strictly... It Takes Two, B2 2005: (no award given) 2004: Angel, C5 2003: (no award given) 2002: Angel, C4 |
Best Sporting Event The Ashes, R4LW Formula One World Championship, B1 Winter Olympics, Bi F1 takes the prize for a fourth year, thanks to another rather special season. The Ashes might've managed it were it not for us being in bed when most of it was on (and the shipping forecast intervening at all the crucial moments). 2009: Formula 1 World Championship 2008: Formula 1 World Championship 2007: Formula 1 World Championship 2006: Football World Cup 2005: The Ashes 2004: Poker 2003: Brazillian Grand Prix 2002: Winter Olympic Curling |
| Best TV Channel BBC One BBC Two BBC Four Another case of fourth year running. There was some improvement at BBC4 this year, and B2 lacked some of the form it's shown in recent years, but it still did enough to win out. 2009: B2 2008: B2 2007: B2 2006: B4 2005: B4 2004: B4 2003: B4 2002: B4 |
Best TV Drama Series Being Human, B3 Doctor Who, B1 Dollhouse, I4 Firefly, internet Glee, E4 A clear winner here: the fabulous Dollhouse; though no part of the second series ever quite reached the dizzying heights promised by the last episode of the first. Firefly disappoints in comparison. 2009: Angel, internet 2008: Ten Days to War, B2 2007: Doctor Who, B1 2006: House, C5 2005: Doctor Who, B1 2004: Angel, C5 2003: State of Play, B1 2002: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, B2 |
Best TV Music Show The Eurovision Song Contest, B1 By no means the greatest Eurovision ever (not a patch on last year) but clearly the best music programme we've had all year. That we've been over-dosing on classic Eurovisions over the last couple of years adds the desire to recognize the contest's achievements in the form of a 'Chip'. 2009: (no award given) 2008: Gergiev Conducts, B4 2007: Glastonbury, Bi 2006: Popworld, C4 2005: Popworld, C4 2004: The Early Music Show, B4 |
Best TV Play Macbeth, B4 Rigoetto, B2 Royle Family Christmas Special, B1 Shakespeare takes the honours for the third year running and we grow wet in parts for the forthcoming BBC Shakespeare-fest. 2009: Hamlet, B2 2008 King Lear, M4 2007, Krapp's Last Tape, B4 2006: Stan, B4 2005: Blue/Orange, B4 2004: Happy Days, C4 |
| Best TV Presenter Robert Bartlett for "The Normans" Matthew Collings for "Renaissance Revolution" Brian Cox for "Wonders of the Solar System" Meadesless, this should be Collings's moment. But without ad breaks to link to, much of Collings's charm is neutered. Brian Cox exudes huge wads of charm from his puppy-dog eye-sockets as he shuffles tomato sauce about the place on one of his holidays to New Mexico. Of course, one day he'll get old and have to be put down... 2009: Jonathan Meades 2008: Jonathan Meades 2007: Barry Humphries 2006: Simon Amstell 2005: Simon Amstell 2004: Mark Steel 2003: Matthew Collings 2002: Jeremy Clarkson |
Best TV Sitcom Grandma's House, B2 South Park, internet The Trip, B2 For the super-hero stuff alone, this series was a decent one, but it wasn't like it faced a lot of competition. 2009: The Thick of It, B2 2008: Family Guy, B3 2007: Family Guy, B3 2006: Arrested Development, B2 2005: Arrested Development, B2/4 2004: Peep Show, C4 2003: Peep Show, C4 2002: Coupling, B2 |
Best Weblog Caustic Cover Critic A Journey Round My Skull Information Is Beautiful Lawrence Miles' Doctor Who Thing Unhappy Hipsters A new category to foreshadow the future of journalism. We've not put an awful lot of thought into this, but we've tried to represent a selection of our favourites from the past few years by way of a first award. Our winner is less prolific than once he was. He's currently writing the Illiad on Twitter. |
Best Website This is rolling news for lazy journalists. Tune in and watch things happen for yourself. Though most of the things will be teenage popstars. Twitter is a preposterous notion and shouldn't work. But as a badly compiled mess of news-feeds with a lousy search facility it is unparalleled and curiously effective. 2009: YouTube 2008: BBC iPlayer 2007: South Park Zone 2006: UbuWeb 2005: Seabrook Crisps 2004: Wikipedia 2003: Wikipedia 2002: Wikipedia |
| Biggest News Smokescreen Royal Wedding Announcement This year wasn't so bad for news smokescreens. Perhaps we should've gone with the volcanic ash cloud but that would've been a little over-literal of us. The election kept us busy for a lot of the year, and the silly season was silly in bite-sized chunks rather than a mammoth headline-gobbling piece of tat. A couple of gun-men got a bit too much of the lime-light (one in particular) and it snowed a bit at both ends of the year. But simply because it paralyzes the cheaper parts of the press at moments when it might be best that it didn't, one can always rely on a royal story to take over the front pages of everything bar the Indy. 2009: Jade Goody 2008: Sachsgate 2007: The McCanns homecoming 2006: Veils 2005: Bird Flu 2004: US Election build-up 2003: Soham Trial |
Most Disappointing Return Series The News Quiz, R4 Strictly... / It Takes Two, B1/2 Winter Olympics Coverage, Bi The biggest problem was the loss of channel 302. The second biggest problem was far too much of Claire Balding talking and not enough sport being played. The third biggest problem was (in lieu of any decent live coverage) trying to find said sport on the iPlayer. The demise of the red button is a sad sad thing and another foot dug into the grave of television. 2009: Shooting Stars, B2 2008: Crimewatch, B1 2007: Never Mind the Buzzcocks, B2 2006: The Simpsons, C4 2005: Peep Show, C4 2004: Coupling, B3 2003: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, B2 2002: League of Gentlemen, B2 |
Most Improved Series Shooting Stars, B2 South Park, internet The Unbelievable Truth, R4 Here's another case of a Most Disappointing Return Series rebounding and reclaiming our love. Praise be. 2009: The Thick of It, B2 2008: Bremner, Bird & Fortune, C4 2007: Never Mind the Buzzcocks, B2 2006: The News Quiz, R4 2005: Formula 1, I1 2004: QI, B2/4 2003: The Simpsons, B2 2002: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, B2 |
Vorderman Award for Mass Exposure Across
Concurrent Programming James May: My Sisters' Top Toys 31st December, 6pm, B2 & UD The same programme, skewed by thirty minutes, aired on BBC2 at 1730 and UK Dave at 1800 (and again an hour later on Dave Ja Vu). A choice of viewing on New Year's Eve. Ivan will be back next week, we hope, with his 2010 summary, followed soon after by a new project currently bearing the working title: RACING NEWS. It'll be like Newswipe only without the comp-gen quiff and hopefully with a bit more of an idea of what it's on about. Until then, thanks for sticking with us through what's been a bit of an erratic year at AView. 2009: Rob McElwy 2008: (no award given) 2007: David Mitchell 2006: Anne Robinson 2005: Alan Davies 2004: Mark Steel |