Drivetime - full series on TV again tonight

All six programmes in Michael Smith's Drivetime, the second TV series, are repeated back-to-back on BBC4 tonight, from 2345.

Which means that all 12 of Smith's programmes - six hours of TV - will have been rebroadcast by BBC in the last eight days.

The Drivetime programmes will also be on viewable online via BBC iPlayer for seven days.



Jezza

Citizen Smith - tonight on BBC4

Reminder: the full series of Citizen Smith (6 programmes @ 30 mins each) is repeated on BBC4 TV tonight, from 2345.

Why not pre-set your recorder now!


Jezza

Citizen Smith on BBC4 again next Tuesday

Having already repeated the Citizen Smith series, Michael's first, as a taster before Michael Smith's Drivetime, BBC4 are set to repeat it again.

They're showing all six programmes of Citizen Smith back-to-back from 2345 on Tuesday 21 April - until 0245 on Wednesday morning.

Telly for Insomniacs!

It'll also be on BBC iPlayer - so you can watch in online any time you want, for a week after transmission.


Patsy

Live in Middlesbrough - tonight

Michael's doing a reading from his two books, The Giro Playboy and Shorty Loves Wing Wong, at MIMA in Middlesbrough tonight.

The gig's organised by New Writing North to launch the new novel by Richard Milward, Michael's Teesside friend and Faber stablemate.

Starts at 1930 - it's free, but you have to book: 01642 726 722.

Apologies for short notice - I just got wind of the gig.



Jezza

The Giro Playboy - reviews

Following the excitement of the Drivetime TV series, lots of people have been asking us about Michael's book, The Giro Playboy (Faber, 2006 & 2007).

It seems to have sold out in many bookshops, but you can still buy it online - from Amazon, or Faber.

There are two editions - the first has a hand-drawn self-portrait on the red stripey dust jacket; the second, a jacket-less paperback, has a drawing of our hero taking a well-earned rest for a ciggie. The contents are the same, but we prefer the jacketed edition.

Here's a selection of reviews.


Best wishes from Patsy!



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Reviews of The Giro Playboy
by Michael Smith (Faber & Faber, 2006/2007)


* “… original and restless… one man laid bare… the very raw material from which cult status is often ignited… has already drawn comparisons with Jack Kerouac and Hunter S Thompson… what a beautiful writer… little epiphanies everywhere… ” The Times

* “Wonderful… one of the best books I’ve read in some time…” BBC Radio 3

* “a treat ... a masterpiece of gutter romanticism that stands up for those who, for whatever reason, refuse to sign the contract” Tatler magazine

* “… digs out plenty to lift the heart in the increasingly conformist landscape of Britain…celebrates those little epiphanies that peek out from the cracks of modern life…”
Dazed & Confused

* “… Smith’s London perpetually seems to melt and re-mould itself with an almost filmic fluidity… reminiscent of George Orwell… Henry Miller… the Beats… even Dickens…”
i-D magazine

* “… beautiful prose poetry … being heralded as the new Roger McGough – or indeed the new Rimbaud …” The Word

*… a British beat classic for the 21st century… debuts don't come much saucier or more sordid than this ... the Hunter S Thompson of Hartlepool…” Esquire

* “…a cult classic in the making… his languid and meandering journey through life is beautifully laconic and told with a loveable charm…” Attitude

* “…brilliant… “ The Idler

* “… by making its all so naively personal, Smith’s novel offers a different take… and its inconsistencies become just one more thing to love it for…” BBC Collective – the interactive culture magazine.

* “… a brilliant slacker assault on bourgeois myths… before you know it you are seduced… like William Blake’s poem London, Smith treats us to a classic piece of flanerie… highly readable and enjoyable…” Dogmatika

* “… like a drug-addled Catcher In The Rye… has the potential to reach a similar cult-like following… is set to put Hartlepool on the map…” Hartlepool Mail

* “… has already engendered comparisons with Hunter S Thompson, Plath, JD Salinger, and Rimbaud… poignant and witty… So often did I find myself saying ‘I know exactly how he feels’…” Transition Tradition magazine

* “…magnificent, triumphant first novel…a major new talent… I envy you the joy in store…” Amazon.co.uk

Why no new edition of The Giro Playboy?

Following the great reception for the two TV series, you'd think that Faber & Faber, Michael Smith's publisher, would be promoting his books, The Giro Playboy and Shorty Loves Wing Wong - maybe even re-publishing them with TV tie-in covers.

No chance.

Not only have they not been promoted, they're not even available in many of the bigger bookshops I frequent in London and Cambridge.

Time Faber woke up to one of its under-promoted star assets?

Luckily, you can still get both of Smith's books online via Amazon.



Jezza

Michael Smith’s Drivetime: summary of press coverage

I've finally managed to collate the pick of the press coverage of Michael Smith's Drivetime.

It's amazing!


Patsy

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Series:
* "hypnotic, lyrical odyssey..." - The Times

* "Excellent. Brilliant, laconic state-of-the-nation road trip... frequently hilarious, always charming, and occasionally informative... his off-the-cuff comments are as funny as most of telly's scripted ones." - Guardian

* "...another of his characteristically thoughtful meditations... a succession of insights into everyday culture... a major new TV talent..." - Time Out

* “Offbeat gem…”- The Independent

* "You can see why BBC Four has gone for Michael Smith in such a big way… nuggets of pure poetry" - The Times


Individual episodes:
* "Our poet of the road: BBC4's antithesis to Top Gear…" - The Independent

* "We've thoroughly enjoyed Michael Smith's ruminations on a life in motion... in tonight's closing episode, Smith reaches motoring nirvana... thoughtful and engaging." - Time Out (which selected all six programmes of the series in its TV Picks).

* "insights... incisive, get you thinking..." - Guardian

* "enjoyably tireless, accessibly lyrical recalcitrance... convincing tract about how satnav has gradually inhibited our freedom... a refreshingly upbeat instalment..."
- Time Out

"... erudite and engaging, Smith continues to be a unique and cherishable TV presence." - Time Out

* "eloquent burbling... delightfully lucid soundbites... He's like a UK Kerouac for the homogenised generation... Why doesn't Smith have a regular show yet?" - Alexi Duggins, Time Out

* "almost grunge... observing it all like Jonathan Meades, JG Ballard and Ray Gosling rolled into one" - The Observer

* "The novelist Michael Smith, once described as the Hunter S Thompson of Hartlepool, is a bit of a TV one-off..." - The Independent




31 March 2009

Fine end to a fine series

After the glories of programme 5, with Michael rhapsodising about the joys of the A82 in the Scottish Highlands, we were nervous that the final programme - a marathon hitch-hike to Bordeaux - might be a let-down.

No fear.

Programme 6 was another delight, a fine ending to a fine series.

What a a great closing scene, with the Poet of the Road walking through the vineyards, away from the camera ,carrying a hand-daubed sign which said, simply, "FIN".


Jezza and Patsy,
enthralled by a lovely series - available on BBC iPlayer - check it out!

"Our poet of the road: BBC4's antithesis to Top Gear"

"BBC4's anithesis to Top Gear"- that's how The Independent's TV critic sees Michael Smith's Drivetime.

Previewing tonight's programme, the last in the series, in his Critic's Choice column, Gerard Gilbert concludes that "our poet of the road discovers that hitch-hiking is the method of transport that suits him best..."

It airs tonight at 10pm on BBC4 - then on iPlayer.

Thursdays won't be the same after tonight. More telly, Mr Smith - please!



Patsy

"Thoughtful and engaging": the new Time Out on programme 6

Just seen this in the new edition of Time Out:

"We've thoroughly enjoyed Michael Smith's ruminations on a life in motion... in tonight's closing episode, Smith reaches motoring nirvana... fine job of encapsulating the essence of hitch-hiking...
thoughtful and engaging."

Time Out has selected all six programmes of the series in its TV Picks.

I can't wait!



Patsy

Final programme: "insights... incisive, get you thinking..." - Guardian

Thanks to Petra Simms for sending The Guardian's preview of the final programme of Michael Smith's Drivetime from its Saturday edition:

"Smith's insights may only be snippets - sometimes incisive, occasionally obvious, but they're enough to get you thinking".

Programme 6, rounding off the series, airs at 10pm (repeated at 0355!) on Thursday night. You can catch it and the other five programmes on BBC iPlayer, but you'll need to hurry.


Jezza

Lovely new STILLSOHO photography exhibition

There's a stunning night-time photograph of Michael (sitting on a Soho pavement with unknown woman friend - anyone know who she is?) in Carla Borel's fine new STILLSOHO exhibition currently running at the French House (pub), 49 Dean St., Soho, London W1 until 5 May.

When I called in to see the show at the boisterous boho boozer at the weekend, a sword swallower was giving an impromptu performance in the bar - no kidding.

Carla Borel took the portrait of Michael at top right of this web site.

STILLSOHO is a lovely exhibition by a talented artist with a big future: recommended.

More info: www.myspace.com/carlaborel


Cheers,

Jezza

"Accessibly lyrical recalcitrance... refreshingly upbeat": Time Out preview episode 5

Time Out's Gabriel Tate continues the magazine's praise for Drivetime in today's new edition of the mag. Episode 5, like all previous programmes, is one of the magazine's TV Picks Of The Day:

"enjoyably tireless, accessibly lyrical recalcitrance... convincing tract about how satnav has gradually inhibited our freedom... a refreshingly upbeat instalment..."

Time Out staffers really get Michael's message. It's been great to read their previews.

Episode 5, taking the high road to the Scottish Highlands, airs on BBC4 on Thursday at 10.00pm. I can't wait!



Patsy

Michael Smith - a short biography

We've been following Michael ever since he started distributing his first book, The Giro Playboy, in pamphlet form.

We've managed to piece together this biography - the story so far. Hope you find it interesting.


Jezza and Patsy


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Michael Smith (born 1976), the writer and broadcaster, is best known for Michael Smith's Drivetime, a six-part road movie exploring the cultural impact of the car on Britain, broadcast in 2009 by BBC Four.

Press reaction to the series was enthusiastic:

* "You can see why BBC Four has gone for Michael Smith in such a big way. His views on cityscapes and national character are delivered in nuggets of pure poetry"; "hypnotic, lyrical odyssey..." - The Times;

* "Excellent. Brilliant, laconic state-of-the-nation road trip... frequently hilarious, always charming, and occasionally informative... his off-the-cuff comments are as funny as most of telly's scripted ones." -The Guardian;

* "...another of his characteristically thoughtful meditations... a succession of insights into everyday culture... a major new TV talent..." - Time Out;

* "almost grunge... observing it all like Jonathan Meades, JG Ballard and Ray Gosling rolled into one" - The Observer;

* "The novelist Michael Smith, once described as the Hunter S Thompson of Hartlepool, is a bit of a TV one-off..." - The Independent.

Michael Smith's Drivetime followed Citizen Smith, a six-part series examining what it means to be English at the start of the 21st Century. First transmitted on BBC Four in 2008, and directed by Simon Egan, Citizen Smith was also critically acclaimed. Time Out selected it as Best Documentary of 2008: "charmingly eloquent... incisive... an intro to a TV personality brimming over with intelligence and smiley amiability... more of him please."

Each episode in the series was selected as TV Pick Of The Week/Day - by The Radio Times, The Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer, Time Out, and Metro (London), among others. Both The Guardian and The Independent On Sunday treated it to a full-page feature article.

GQ said: "it's one of the best documentaries (we've) had the pleasure of watching ... we would like to salute the admirable outerwear worn by Michael Smith throughout the series ..."

Time Out called Smith "a new voice in British broadcasting".

Smith's work has a number of distinctive leitmotifs, including a celebration of the beauty of the everyday and a gentle subversion of conventional wisdom. Critical appreciation of his writing focuses on attributes like intelligence, sensitivity and humanity.

He was born in London and grew up in Hartlepool, a coastal town in north east England. Both locations, plus Brighton, feature in his debut novel The Giro Playboy (Faber and Faber, 2006) - "a masterpiece of gutter romanticism", according to Tatler magazine. It was compared to the work of writers as diverse as Jack Kerouac and Morrissey.

Shorty Loves Wing Wong (Faber and Faber, 2007), a prequel to The Giro Playboy, incorporating art by Manchester-based Jim Medway, was the follow-up.

Borders bookshops had helped Smith start his writing career: his first "published" work appeared on a postcard in the window of the London Charing Cross Road branch, after he won a writing competition organised by the retailer.The Borders chain continued its early support by stocking a series of pamphlets which Smith would later work up into The Giro Playboy. (He also distributed the pamphlets - which became collectors' items - to coffee shops, clothing outlets, trendy boutiques and selected bookshops, in London and Brighton.)

Both Faber books were preceded by collectable limited editions, published by Simon Finch and To Hell, respectively. The Simon Finch edition collected together the pamphlets in which Smith had originally self-published The Giro Playboy, together with a CD of readings, set to the original music of collaborator Flora, packaged in a hand-stencilled pizza box.

To Hell's limited edition of Shorty Loves Wing Wong was published as a large format hardback. It was accompanied by an exhibition of Jim Medway's artwork at London's Paul Stolper Gallery.

A third book, The Birds, is due to be published in 2009. It will explore the dynamics of relationships between women and men, "or more accurately", as Smith quipped on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends programme, "women and me".

Smith also writes extensively for the press, and has contributed features to The Observer newspaper, The Idler and Zembla, among others, as well as regular columns for magazines like Dazed & Confused and Good For Nothing.

He frequently performs readings. With Flora, he had a long-running residency at London's Whitechapel Gallery. Recent festival gigs include: Port Eliot, Hay, Clerkenwell, Middlesbrough and Hackney. And he has played one-off gigs in London (Queen Elizabeth Hall, Book Slam, Filthy Macnasty's, Boogaloo, Luminaire, Great Eastern Hotel, Colony Room ... ); regional cities like Newcastle (The Cluny, Morden Tower ... ), Liverpool and Manchester; and in the rest of Europe, including the Crossing Border Festival in The Hague, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The writer has appeared several times alongside DBC Pierre, the Booker Prize winner and has regularly supported singer-songwriter John Power, former frontman of rock bands Cast and The La's.Smith has been heard on numerous BBC radio stations, notably BBC Radio 3, Radio 4, BBC London, and BBC Tees.

He exhibits his artwork: his drawings from The Giro Playboy were shown at London's Hackney Festival. Smith is a graduate of University College London - History Of Art/Slade School of Fine Art.

“Offbeat gem…”, “…fine series…”: programme five previewed in The Independent and The Times

Programme five of Michael Smith’s Drivetime (BBC4, Thursday at 10.00pm, midnight and 04.00 am, and then on BBC iPlayer) is a TV Pick in Saturday’s editions of The Independent and The Times.

The Independent: "...The A82 brings our poet of the road the freedom he’s been craving, as this offbeat gem continues."

The Times called it a “fine series”.


Jezza

Drivetime programme four: Time Out’s TV Pick (again)

Programme four of Michael Smith’s Drivetime (BBC4, Thursday at 10.00pm and 01.00 am, and then on BBC iPlayer) is a TV Pick in today’s new issue of Time Out.

Time Out’s Claire Winter said: "...He’s like a jaded Beat poet in a Volvo factory, lazily waxing poetically… a welcome change of pace to Clarkson on Top Gear."

The London listings weekly could hardly have been more supportive of the Drivetime series, and Smith must have been thrilled by the response of such a respected magazine.


Patsy

Drivetime programme 3: Time Out review

Phil Harrison's Time Out review of programme 3 of Michael Smith's Drivetime, on BBC4 this Thursday (5 March) at 10pm then repeated at 0330, concludes:

"... erudite and engaging, Smith continues to be a unique and cherishable TV presence."

Programme 3 spends time with people who actually live on the road. It documents Smith's gradual disillusionment with the romantic ideal of a road movie that he had when he started the journey...


Jezza

Another kind review from Time Out

Time Out has been very supportive of Michael Smith's two TV series.

Alexi Duggins in today's edition has another kind review - of Watling Street, the second programme in Michael Smith's Drivetime, due to be aired on BBC4 this Thursday (26 Feb) at 10pm, then repeated at 0100 and 0330.

Alexi says: "eloquent burbling... as with all Smith's televisual efforts, the subject matter proves unimportant as anything other than a foil for the novelist's delightfully lucid soundbites... He's like a UK Kerouac for the homogenised generation... Why doesn't Smith have a regular show yet?"


Patsy

Hello!

Hello and welcome to this new blog, by Jezza and Patsy, fans of Michael Smith, our favourite new writer and TV presenter.

Michael Smith's Drivetime, the new TV series, has been well received. If you miss an episode, remember you can see it on BBC iPlayer.


Jezza and Patsy