8th February 2026
John Wyver writes: In this week's choice of links that have interested and engaged me across the past week I have resolutely set my face against explicit engagements with the hideous politics of the world, although of course they have
more
6th February 2026
In a way, you're spoiling us - and we're grateful. 'Us' being the nerdy types fascinated by television's deep archive. For so long, because of rights restrictions and a general lack of interest, television's history, beyond select monetisable shows like
more
5th February 2026
John Wyver writes: With the 1956 BBC production of Arthur Benjamin's commissioned opera Mañana currently and pleasingly on BBCiPlayer, I have written blog posts about the backstory to the project and about the production as television. This
more
5th February 2026
John Wyver writes: In a previous post I sketched the backstory of the BBC-commissioned opera Mañana, composed by Arthur Benjamin and produced for television in February 1956. Thanks to the seventieth anniversary, a digitally restored version of this
more
4th February 2026
John Wyver writes: An inconsequential observation, and as such one that hardly warrants its own post. But I was at Tate Britain this morning, among crowds attracted by the final days of Lee Miller (until 15 February) and
more
3rd February 2026
John Wyver writes: Late on Sunday night, BBC Four brought to the screen the 1956 BBC production of Arthur Benjamin's 75-minute opera Mañana. The transmission was 70 years to the day after its television premiere, and the recording is now
more
2nd February 2026
John Wyver writes: Over the past five years, at the online Arts & Design pages of The New York Times, Jason Farago and colleagues have been reinventing visual arts criticism. Their latest offering in the series of interactive animated
more
1st February 2026
John Wyver writes: Slightly late posting this today, but offered now in the hope you'll find it interesting and useful. Asd ever, it's a miscellany of stuff that I found valuable and engaging over the past seven days. The appropriately
more
30th January 2026
John Wyver writes: The final screening in the BFI Southbank season linked to the publication of Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain is on Saturday afternoon at 15.00. The oddball programme pairs
more
29th January 2026
John Wyver writes: The earliest programme to be featured in BBC iPlayer's treasure trove of Henrik Ibsen plays and documentaries is the production of The Lady from the Sea, first shown in May 1953. Seen initially in the
more