The good news: Telewest will be providing the new channel E4 from mid January.

The bad news: (from their Smile leaflet of Dec 2000) they will be broadcasting the first UK TV showings of the brand new series' of Friends, ER and Ally McBeal[sic].

What have they done? They have attempted to make the plural of series by using an apostrophe.

What did they get? The possessive form of the word series, meaning that one or more series owned something.

What should they have put? The plural of series is series, as 5 seconds of dictionary usage taught me. Indeed, they managed to get the word correct on other leaflets.

Apostrophell final thought: page 2 of their leaflet has the immortal phrase All information correct at time of going to print (12/00). This is not quite true is it? However, I'll not be referring this matter to their attention. I think that they've probably worked out how it should be written already. Someone has probably bought a desk-lamp for their proof reader by now.

10 January 2001
Ashley Frieze