EXTRAORDINARY ESCAPES WITH SANDI TOKSVIG | SIGNIFICANT OTHER | DAVINA McCALL'S PILL REVOLUTION

This article was originally published in The Courier on 3rd June 2023.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig – Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

The latest series of Toksvig’s staycation travelogue, in which she enjoys tranquil rural breaks with various comedy chums, kicks off (gently) with the brilliant Suzy Eddie Izzard. 

Their getaway destination is the Republic of Ireland - Counties Clare, Kerry and Cork to be exact. 

Toksvig tries to encourage Izzard, a famously driven person, to relax via apple crumbles, fried eggs, healing herbs, a treehouse and fly fishing. 

Izzard talks movingly about losing her mother at an early age, as well as her recent decision to come out as trans. “I don’t mind [being called] Eddie Izzard, I don’t mind he, him, she, her. I’m keeping it very loose, baby, so that the entire world can just have a warm bath.”

Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

In episode three of this exceptional five-part oral history of The Troubles, we enter the horrifyingly bleak era of dirty protests and fatal hunger strikes. 

A key contributor is the wife of a former IRA member, a man you’ll be familiar with from the first two episodes. 

She talks openly about how difficult it was being married to someone who, despite promising to leave the IRA behind, spent time in prison due to his staunch beliefs. While clearly not used to expressing outward displays of emotion, his regret is palpable. 

We also meet the widow of a rural Northern Ireland policeman. 

I can’t recommend this series enough (hence why I keep recommending it). It’s terribly sad, powerful and revealing.

Vicky McClure: My Grandad’s War – Monday, STV, 9pm

97-year-old Ralph McClure, a working-class man from Nottingham, played a significant role on D-Day. In this poignant programme, Ralph and his adoring granddaughter, Vicky McClure, return to the beaches of Normandy. 

Ralph was eighteen when he joined the Royal Navy. His powers of recall are undimmed by age. A delightful man, he provides a fascinating eyewitness account of an absolutely pivotal moment in 20^th century history. 

Celebrity-fronted docs are often rather superficial affairs, but this is nothing of the sort. Ralph and Vicky are united in their mission to pay heartfelt tribute to every brave soul who fought, and who continue to fight, against fascism.

Britain’s Forgotten Pensioners: Dispatches – Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm

I urge you to watch this devastating documentary about older British people desperately struggling to make ends meet during the current cost of living crisis. As the old saying goes, if you’re not angry, then you’re not paying attention. 

They can barely afford to eat. They’re literally sitting in darkness. These pensioners have worked hard all their lives, and for what? This is how the government and energy companies repay them. 13 years of enforced austerity and mounting bills. 

“I’m sad all the time,” says John, who’s completely on his own. “I’m just here, and that’s it. Existing.” 

No one should have to live like this. No one’s mental health should be impaired by the constantly overwhelming pressure to just survive.

Significant Other – Thursday, ITVX

This black comedy-drama stars Katherine Parkinson and Youssef Kerkour as lonely neighbours, Anna and Sam. 

It begins with Anna knocking on Sam’s door after she’s suffered a heart attack. Sam has just attempted to take his own life. When the medics arrive, they’re both rushed to hospital. A bond gradually forms. 

Significant Other doesn’t, of course, make light of loneliness and depression. Any subject, no matter how dark, can be mined for humour, just as long as it’s coming from a good, honest, intelligent place. 

If episode one is anything to go by, that’s what’s happening here. It appears to be a humane and oddly life-affirming exploration of terrain that so many of us struggle to traverse.

Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef – Thursday, Channel 4, 8pm

Another week, another ho-hum culinary competition. Your all-powerful overlord on this occasion is five-star hotel chef Michel Roux Jr. 

“There is so much on the line here for me, my reputation as a chef,” he declares. Mate, unless this show is somehow hijacked by actual ghosts and aliens, no one will ever remember it. Your career will continue to thrive. 

Anyway. The series follows 13 budding chefs as they compete for a potentially life-changing grand prize – running the Palm Court restaurant in London’s exclusive Langham hotel. 

As you would expect, the contestants are faced with a series of challenges to prove they have what it takes to succeed in this high-pressure world.

Davina McCall’s Pill Revolution – Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm

Now here’s a genuinely responsible and informative piece of public service broadcasting. 

A recent Channel 4 survey asked over 4,000 women and people assigned female at birth about their experiences with contraception. 77 % of them experienced debilitating side effects. 33 % stopped using contraception because of those side effects. 

Following on from her excellent documentary about the menopause, Davina McCall challenges some of the myths and misconceptions surrounding contraception. 

She’s shocked to discover that so many women just aren’t being made aware of the range of contraception treatments available to them. 

This programme, which covers a myriad of solutions for anyone who’s struggling, will hopefully make a difference. Television really can be a force for good sometimes.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Close to Vermeer – Tuesday 30th May, BBC Four

Johannes Vermeer is one of art’s great enigmas. His small body of work includes classic paintings such as The Milkmaid and The Girl with the Pearl Earring. They’re familiar to millions, but little is known about the man himself. 

In this elegant documentary/mystery yarn, renowned art expert Gregor J.M. Weber followed his dream of curating the largest Vermeer exhibition the world has ever seen. 

While on the verge of retirement, Weber – a quietly engaging guide – was determined to refute controversial claims that one of Vermeer’s masterworks, Girl with a Flute, wasn’t actually painted by him at all. 

I won’t spoil the ending in case you haven’t seen it, but no wonder Weber was moved to tears.

Who Do You Think You Are? – Thursday 1st June, BBC One

Series nineteen of this unstoppable genealogical warhorse began with Andrew Lloyd Webber discovering that his four times great uncle Peregrine fought at the battle of Waterloo, and that a sixteenth century ancestor, Katherine Duchess of Suffolk, married a 49-year-old man when she was only 14. 

Never has the euphemistic phrase “different times” been more shockingly apt, so much so that the programme swiftly glossed over this uncomfortable finding. 

Lloyd Webber’s ancestors weren’t all frightfully posh. His paternal great, great grandfather was a compassionate working-class missionary. And he did, of course, discover that musicianship runs in the family. 

I’m no fan of Lloyd Webber’s work or politics, but he came across throughout as a genial old satchel.

 

STEELTOWN MURDERS | THE STONES AND BRIAN JONES | WITHOUT SIN

This article was originally published in The Courier on 13th May 2023.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Steeltown Murders – Monday, BBC One, 9pm

In 1973, three girls from the Port Talbot area were raped and murdered. This horrific case remained unsolved for 30 years, when the killer was finally identified through the use of pioneering DNA evidence. 

An absorbing factual drama, Steeltown Murders stars Philip Glenister as DCI Paul Bethell, the veteran copper who reopened the case. The narrative flits between the early 2000s and 1973, when Bethell was an idealistic young CID officer intent on capturing the girls’ killer. 

The overall tone is suitably solemn and subdued. Although we follow two of the girls on their final night out together, thankfully their ordeal isn’t shown. 

And on a purely aesthetic level, the 1970s period details are never overdone. It feels authentic.

The Stones and Brian Jones – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

At the age of 14, while traveling by train, Nick Broomfield bumped into ill-fated Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones. 

Broomfield, now one of our most celebrated documentarians, has never forgotten that brief encounter with a young man who, despite his wild rebel image, came across as quiet and polite. 

This Arena documentary recounts the sad, messy tale of a talented musician beset by chronic insecurity. Jones was charming, intelligent, selfish, spiteful and fragile. He craved love from his disapproving posh parents and respect from eventual Rolling Stone leaders Jagger and Richards. 

Insight into the psyche of this complicated cat is provided by various friends and lovers, but Bill Wyman is the only Stone who sits down with Broomfield.

Without Sin – Monday to Thursday, STV, 9pm

An addictive psychological thriller, Without Sin reunites This is England actors Johnny Harris and Vicky McClure, who also serve as executive producers. 

McClure plays Stella, whose teenage daughter Maisy was murdered three years ago. When a restorative justice officer informs Stella that Maisy’s killer (Harris) is prepared to atone for his sins, she hesitantly agrees to meet with him in prison. 

For reasons I obviously can’t go into, an already fraught situation becomes even more complicated. 

Not only does Without Sin succeed as a twist-strewn thriller, it also works as a nuanced meditation on guilt, grief and trauma. As you’d expect, Harris and McClure are both excellent. Some of their scenes together are electrifying.

Matt Willis Fighting Addiction – Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

Matt Willis of Busted fame appeared to be living the dream during his bubblegum punk heyday. However, as he admits during this frank documentary, he was addicted to drugs and alcohol. “It was not rock and roll… it was really sad.” 

These days Willis is in recovery, but like so many addicts he lives in fear of a relapse. It’s a thoughtful essay during which Willis goes in search of the various recovery methods available to anyone who struggles with addiction. 

We also hear from his wife, TV presenter Emma Willis, who describes what it’s like to be in love with someone in the throes of self-destruction. Hats off to all concerned, this is a valuable piece of television.

11 Minutes: America’s Deadliest Mass Shooting – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

In 2017, at a country music festival in Las Vegas attended by over 20,000 fans, a gunman began firing at random. 60 people were killed and 867 others were injured. 

Told from the perspective of concertgoers, musicians and police officers, this intense four-part documentary offers a detailed account of the tragedy. It captures the terror, confusion and chaos. We don’t see anyone being killed, thank God, but the camera phone footage is horrifying. 

I’ve only seen episode one, but it feels to me like a ruminative comment on the complex nature of American society. Country music fans are, broadly speaking, right-leaning patriots who believe in the right to bear arms. It’s all such a mess, so terribly sad.

Anton Danyluk on Body Shame – Thursday, BBC Scotland, 10:30pm

Showing as part of Mental Health Awareness Week, this sensitive documentary follows Love Island star and fitness influencer Anton Danyluk as he confronts the pressing issue of male body confidence. 

According to reports from the Mental Health Foundation, more than a quarter of teenage boys and young men in Scotland are anxious about their body image. 

Danyluk relates to them, as he was once an insecure overweight kid. He’s also received online abuse for his current gym-buffed appearance, and worries that he’s inadvertently contributed to unrealistic expectations of what men’s bodies should look like. 

Danyluk comes across as a bright, thoughtful, self-aware fella. He delivers his report with commendable concern and honesty.

Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight – Thursday, ITVX

With his career and reputation now in tatters, it’s perhaps easy to forget that Rolf Harris was once a fondly regarded entertainer. Cuddly Uncle Rolf radiated bonhomie, he seemed utterly harmless. 

In 2014 he was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault. His victims were underage girls.

This carefully crafted two-part documentary illustrates how predatory celebrities can exploit their status to abuse and traumatise vulnerable people. Harris was a cruel, selfish, arrogant and manipulative man who knew how to present himself as the exact opposite. 

The programme contains testimonies from some of his accusers. It also investigates the decades-long grooming of a childhood friend of Harris’ daughter, which began when she was 13.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Mad Women – Tuesday 9th May, Channel 4

This enjoyable documentary showcased some of the great British female advertising executives who revolutionised the way women are represented in ads. 

It was a gradual process, and not without its hiccups, but that pioneering generation of feminists did eventually banish all those condescending sexist depictions of women as blandly idealised housewives. 

The execs all came across as likeable and self-aware. They happily admitted to some of their well-meaning mistakes. That infamous Shake n’ Vac advert, for instance, was a light-hearted bit of nonsense, but it could hardly be regarded as progressive. 

Still, they more than made up for it with their many subsequent campaigns characterised by an empowering combination of sly irony and total sincerity.

Kids – Wednesday 10th May, Channel 4

Filmed in close conjunction with Coventry Children’s Services, Kids gives voice to some of the young people who rely upon our care system. It also spends time with their troubled parents.

Last week we met Xorin, who’d been moved to a residential children’s home in rural Wales for his own safety. In Cov, he’d become involved with a violent drugs gang. The programme followed Xorin as he returned to live with his mum after three years away. 

Meanwhile, Annabelle – an abundantly wise and likeable young woman - struggled to reconnect with her parents. 

Kids is an entirely sympathetic endeavour, it approaches its participants with admirable sensitivity. The world’s worst people will miss the point, but you can’t legislate for that.

What to Watch in 2023: NOLLY | SUCCESSION | DOCTOR WHO and more...

This article was originally published in The Courier on 7th January 2023. 

Nolly – ITVX, February

Written by the redoubtable Russell T. Davies, this factual drama covers a particularly tumultuous period in the life of soap doyen Noele Gordon (Helena Bonham Carter). 

Nolly, as she was affectionately known to her friends, became a TV superstar thanks to her show-stealing turn as Meg Richardson in Crossroads. In 1981, while still riding high after 17 years at the top, Gordon was unceremoniously sacked without any warning or explanation. She was utterly devastated. 

Gordon was a fabulous showbiz trouper of the old school, they really don’t make ‘em like that anymore. Her story encapsulates the fickle, cutthroat vagaries of fame. 

The cast also includes Mark Gatiss as Gordon’s dear showbiz chum, Larry Grayson. What’s not to love?

Without Sin – ITVX, available now

ITV’s rebranded streaming service, ITVX, hasn’t scrimped on Major New Drama output since it launched last month. 

The obvious highlights so far are David Tennant in Litvinenko, plus Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce in A Spy Among Friends, both of which can be watched for free in their entirety. The same goes for Without Sin, which ‘dropped’ just after Christmas. 

A stark psychological thriller, it stars Vicky McClure as the grieving mother of a murdered teenager. In an attempt to rebuild her shattered life, she decides to visit her daughter’s killer in prison. 

The killer is played by Johnny Harris, an actor with whom McClure shared several harrowing scenes in the TV spin-off from This Is England.

Welcome to Chippendales – Disney+, January

A canny entrepreneur, Somen "Steve" Banerjee dreamed up that male striptease phenomenon the Chippendales in 1979. He was later found guilty of being an accessory to murder. 

This drama, which received mostly positive reviews when it premiered in America recently, delves into his murky saga. If you’re not familiar with the details, then I suggest you go in blind. Do not Google Banerjee, as Welcome to Chippendales thrives upon its multitudinous truth-is-stranger-than-fiction twists. 

I can’t vouch for the whole series as I’ve only seen two episodes, but if you’re anything like me – a sucker for weird stories about extreme showbiz hubris, crime and corruption - then I daresay you’ll be intrigued from the get-go. 

Masters of the Air – Apple TV+, early 2023

The final part of a trilogy that began with Band of Brothers followed by The Pacific, this Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg-produced miniseries focuses on the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army during World War II. 

The hallmarks of its esteemed predecessors were historical accuracy, sympathetic portrayals of the key characters, and an unflinching approach to the horrors of war. There’s no reason to suspect that Masters of the Air won’t continue in that tradition. 

As always, it boasts a large ensemble cast. Watch out for Austin Butler, who recently shone with his performance as Elvis in Baz Luhrmann’s magisterial biopic, and our next TARDIS coordinator, Ncuti Gatwa (more of whom below).

The Idol – Sky Atlantic, early 2023

A drama devised by the musician and actor Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, this sounds – in theory at least – like a frank deconstruction of the modern pop biz. 

Lily-Rose Depp stars as an aspiring pop idol. The sudden pressures placed upon her trigger a nervous breakdown. Enter a self-help guru/cult leader played by Tesfaye, who promises to put her career back on track. What could possibly go wrong? 

That synopsis suggests a scathing showbiz satire on the way vulnerable young people are exploited by opportunistic charlatans, so let’s hope it makes its point with acute anger and sensitivity. 

The Idol, sadly, marks the final screen appearance of Anne Heche, who left us long before her time was due.

Succession – Sky Atlantic, Spring

Glory be, it’s back. One of the most outstanding TV dramas of recent years, HBO’s Succession joins the likes of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and Mad Men in that rarefied category of ‘American Dramas That Really Are As Good As Everyone Says They Are’. 

If you haven’t seen this scabrous show before, the basic gist is this: Brian Cox plays the monstrous multimillionaire patriarch of a deeply dysfunctional family. They’re all awful yet utterly compelling and pathetically comical. 

Created by Jesse Armstrong of Peep Show and The Thick of It renown, it’s an aghast meditation on the terrifyingly all-powerful likes of Murdoch, Trump and Musk. 

Newcomers are advised to gorge on every episode before season four begins.

Doctor Who – BBC One, Autumn

We’ll have to wait a while until we get to see new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa in action, but the anticipation is palpable. 

The next series heralds the return of writer/producer Russell T. Davies – that man again - who revived Doctor Who so successfully back in 2005. 

It’s been a lean few years for the show, its popularity declined under the hapless stewardship of previous head writer Chris Chibnall, but if anyone can reverse this beleaguered institution’s fortunes, it’s RTD. 

The comeback kicks off with three specials starring the beloved pairing of former Doctor David Tennant and his companion Catherine Tate. 

Gatwa – a striking actor who oozes charisma – will take over at Christmas, although a recent teaser trailer suggests we’ll see him before then. Optimism reigns supreme.

THE HUNT FOR THE WORLD'S END KILLERS | ROB BURROW: LIVING WITH MND | FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 15th October 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

The Hunt for the World’s End Killers – Monday and Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

45 years ago, the bodies of two young women, Christine Eadie and Helen Scott, were discovered six miles apart in East Lothian. They’d been brutally murdered. Close friends since childhood, they were last seen alive in the World’s End pub on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. A major investigation ensued. 

Sensitively handled and impressively researched, this absorbing two-part documentary recounts an utterly tragic saga with far more depth and context than one usually finds in programmes of this nature. 

Bolstered by insightful contributions from various journalists, authors and retired police officers, it’s a rigorous piece of social history which, among many other things, covers some landmark developments in the support for female victims of sexual violence. An exemplary essay.

Rob Burrow: Living with MND – Tuesday, BBC Two, 7pm

Rugby League legend Rob Burrow was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2019. This intimate documentary follows Rob, wife Lindsey and their kids as they deal with the everyday reality of living with a degenerative condition. 

It’s a frank, tender portrait of a loving family doing everything within their power to get by.

The Burrows are abundantly nice, kind and decent people. Their love for each other is quietly inspiring. 

Life is awfully cruel, but if you’re lucky enough to have a devoted support network, well, that must never be taken for granted. It helps us to cope with all the other difficult things we’re sometimes forced to deal with. We endure. We have to.

Unapologetic – Wednesday, Channel 4, 11:05pm

I haven’t seen this topical talk show, but it sounds quite interesting. Hence why I’m flagging it up. 

Your hosts are Yinka Bokinni and Zeze Millz. Their M.O. is this: discussing nuanced subjects – in a light-hearted way - that public figures tend to avoid for fear of being ‘cancelled’. 

That’s an absolute minefield, obviously. I’m no fan of culture war mendacity, but bear in mind that Bokinni and Millz are people of colour. This isn’t yet another forum for middle-aged white celebrities to drone tediously on about how “you can’t say anything anymore.” 

Does that mean it’s any good? I’ve no idea. But you may be intrigued by some of the socio-political issues under discussion.

Aldi’s Next Big Thing – Thursday, Channel 4, 8pm

Anita Rani and award-winning grocer Chris Bavin host this new series in which small-scale British food and drink producers get the rare opportunity to pitch their products to Britain's fourth biggest supermarket chain, Aldi. The ultimate prize is a life-changing contract with those towering Gods of retail. 

So yes, it’s very much your standard competitive TV hootenanny. Dragon’s Den on a manageable budget. But that’s fine, it means no actual harm. 

Episode one throws a glaring spotlight upon two budding entrepreneurs who reckon that our tiny insect friends are the future of nutrition, plus some obsessive pie and sauce makers. 

This will never be mistaken for essential television, but it serves as a distraction.

Unreported World – Friday, Channel 4, 7:30pm

This week, investigative journalist Sahar Zand delves behind the scenes of Japan’s increasingly controversial Sumo wrestling industry. 

Sumo is a centuries-old tradition, an important and respected facet of Japanese culture, but in recent years it’s been criticised for failing to take care of the wrestlers who partake in it. 

Zand spends time with a 12-year-old boy, Kyuta, who hopes to become a grand champion. To achieve that goal, he’ll have to earn a place in the ‘Sumo stable’, an institution that’s shrouded in secrecy. 

Zand meets former wrestlers who describe life in the ‘stable’ as nothing more than servitude. Concerns are mounting for the physical and psychological health of these men.

Friday Night Live – Friday, Channel 4, 9pm

The Channel 4 alternative comedy showcase Saturday/Friday Night Live was a formative experience for myself and millions of other ‘80s comedy-crazed kids. 

We already loved The Young Ones and The Comic Strip Presents, Rik Mayall et al were our heroes, but this anarchic variety extravaganza also introduced us to the brilliant likes of Jo Brand, Julian Clary, Ben Elton, Harry Enfield, Fry & Laurie and Paul Merton. 

This one-off revival, hosted by Elton of course, won’t pack such a punch, it’s an exercise in nostalgia, but I suppose it’ll be quite nice to revisit the format. 

The bill includes the aforementioned Brand, Clary and Enfield, plus some young, current circuit comics.

Am I Being Unreasonable? – Friday, BBC One, 9:30pm

We’ve reached the penultimate episode of this delightfully dry and eccentric comedy thriller about a village-dwelling wife and mother (co-writer Daisy May Cooper) whose already complicated life becomes even stranger when she befriends a woman (co-writer Selin Hizli) with a mysterious past. 

Am I Being Unreasonable? is one of those addictive shows that takes you completely by surprise. A gut-punching sleeper hit. Thanks to the excellent This Country, we already knew that Cooper was a talented writer/performer, but this is a more striking piece of work as far as I’m concerned. 

And I hope it’s a one-series deal, as next week’s finale is perfect. A sequel might dilute its impact.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Our Dementia Choir Sings Again with Vicky McClure – Monday 10th October, BBC One

Four years ago, the actor Vicky McClure formed a choir of people living with dementia. Like so many of us, she’s lost a loved one to that illness. The therapeutic power of music proved to be very effective. 

In this poignant sequel to her original programme, McClure reconvened with various members of the choir. Inevitably, some of them aren’t in great shape. 

Hats off to McClure, her choir and their family members/carers for refusing to hold back on the fundamental point of this endeavour: people with dementia require so much more support from a system that’s skewed against them. 

An uplifting show tempered with deep-seated despair, this is public service broadcasting at somewhere near its best. The series concludes on Monday 17th October.

Rise of the Nazis: The Downfall – Monday 10th October, BBC Two

The final series of this estimable documentary project began in December 1944. Hitler’s regime is in freefall, they’ve clearly lost the war. Hitler, of course, refuses to accept reality. 

As always, the purpose of this series is to examine the psychology, not only of Hitler and his chief enablers, but also that of the German footsoldiers and everyday citizens. It’s a grimly fascinating study of what happens when fascism prevails over a nation. 

As strange as this may sound, it offers some hope: fascist dictatorships will always fail because they are, by their very nature, chaotic cults founded on the monomaniacal obsessions of ‘charismatic’ yet utterly insane bigots. 

This episode, and the previous six, are available on iPlayer. Highly recommended.  

TV Review: LINE OF DUTY + MRS BROWN + DECLINE AND FALL

This article was originally published in The Courier on 1 April 2017.

LINE OF DUTY: Sunday, BBC One

ALL ROUND TO MRS BROWN’S: Saturday, BBC One

DECLINE AND FALL: Friday, BBC One

The greatest British crime drama of the last ten years, LINE OF DUTY showed no signs of fatigue as its fourth series began. On the contrary, this former BBC Two blockbuster celebrated its promotion to BBC One with breakneck brio and commendable confidence.

The basic formula may be familiar by now – an ambiguous senior police officer is investigated by the dogged anti-corruption unit that links each semi-standalone series – but writer/director Jed Mercurio still takes evident delight in grabbing our attention with tantalising mysteries and shocking twists.

It’s essentially a propulsive thrill ride anchored by a solid base of research-driven authenticity: a practically seamless fusion of sombre reality and borderline deranged melodrama.

So, while this year’s intriguingly topical theme appears to be the inherent dangers of “post-fact” duplicity – Line of Duty has always fed off our gnawing fears about establishment corruption and cover-ups - episode one kicked off with a literally explosive hunt for an alleged serial killer, and climaxed with a shady forensic co-ordinator (the great Jason Watkins) attempting to chop his apparently dead boss (Thandie Newton) into pieces, before she suddenly awoke as his electric saw whirred inches from her skull.

Mercurio is notorious for misdirecting viewers with such audacious cliffhangers, but they still work beautifully (even if they don’t quite stand up to logical scrutiny).

The episode wasn’t perfect – some of the exposition was needlessly heavy-handed, the physical encounter between Watkins and Newton was awkwardly directed, and Scottish actor Paul Higgins continues to struggle with a stiff, unconvincing English accent – but these are mere quibbles in the face of its tightly controlled tension and sheer entertainment value.

A nail-bitten nation will doubtless become hooked all over again for the next six weeks.

Brendan O’Carroll is clearly some kind of genius. Not when it comes to comedy – he’s a dreadful, lazy chancer - but for the way he’s managed to vigorously milk the Mrs Brown cash cow far beyond its natural shelf-life as a tawdry touring theatre production.

Despite being reviled by most critics and discerning comedy fans, he’s one of the BBC’s most popular entertainers. Despairing of his success is as futile as moaning about wretched weather. It’s an immovable fact of life, you may as well accept it.

But that doesn’t mean you have to accept his latest vehicle, ALL ROUND TO MRS BROWN’S, as anything other than a post-Brexit vision of Hell.

With minimal effort he’s tweaked his knicker-dropping, feck-spewing, single entendre sitcom by adding sketches, games, a cookery segment, easily pleased audience interaction and dynamite celebrity guests of the Pamela Anderson, James Blunt, Louis Walsh, Judy Murray and Judy Murray’s mum variety.

As usual, it’s staggeringly charmless, depressing and unfunny, but his target audience will lap it up. The rest of us are merely baffled bystanders in O’Carroll’s all-conquering world.

As if to prove that comedy of wit and distinction still has a home on BBC One, a new adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s darkly satirical novel DECLINE AND FALL introduced itself with reassuring aplomb. Despite being written in 1928, Waugh’s astringently comic assault on elitism and prejudice feels fresher than O’Carroll’s grimly old-fashioned revue.

A perfectly-chosen cast of peerless character actors is led by Jack Whitehall as a hapless young schoolmaster drowning in a quagmire of corrupt, dissolute British eccentricity.

Deftly performed, written and directed – you can practically taste the stench of whisky, lunacy and crumbling despair - it’s a genuinely funny farce of the type they supposedly don’t make any more.

Granted, it’s based on an 89-year-old novel, but any primetime BBC comedy involving an alcoholic schoolmaster shooting a pupil in the foot with a starting pistol is all right by me.  

TV Review: THE REPLACEMENT + BROADCHURCH + PRIME SUSPECT 1973

A version of this article was originally published in The Courier on 4 March 2017.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/category/lifestyle/entertainment/tv-film/

THE REPLACEMENT: Tuesday, BBC One

BROADCHURCH: Monday, STV

PRIME SUSPECT 1973: Thursday, STV

Never trust overbearingly friendly, helpful people. That’s the important public service message behind THE REPLACEMENT, an uncomfortably gripping psychological thriller about a successful Glasgow architect gradually being usurped by the mentally unstable woman hired to cover her maternity leave.

When Ellen (Morven Christie) becomes pregnant, she initially welcomes the ultra-capable and seemingly empathetic Paula (Vicky McClure) to the fold. Paula is a doting mother, or so she claims, but her interest in Ellen’s pregnancy is acutely inappropriate. She tries to not-so-subtly undermine her colleague with physically invasive behaviour and passive-aggressive advice.

Ellen gradually develops a dislike for her. She becomes suspicious of her motives. But is she merely in the grip of hormone-addled paranoia? Of course not. We’ve all seen Rosemary’s Baby.

Aside from a climactic death scene – which naturally sends Ellen into labour - writer/director Joe Ahearne avoids overt thriller flourishes in favour of a more insidious approach. It’s very effective.

Christie and McClure are both excellent, the latter in particular. She succeeds in portraying Paula’s manipulative clamour while appearing outwardly pleasant and self-effacing. A plausible monster.

The end, at last, is in sight for BROADCHURCH, the Cluedo-like whodunit that squandered the buzz of its first impressive, attention-grabbing series. Can this third and final outing atone for the redundant mess of series two?

Well, this new case involving a traumatised victim of sexual assault is sensitively handled and more or less divorced from the original storyline. So far at least, it’s a respectable piece of drama, seemingly based on careful research into rape crisis management. Well I never.

Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess, but I hope it proves that writer Chris Chibnall – the journeyman tasked with ruling Doctor Who after the great Steven Moffat retires at Christmas – isn’t merely a hack who once caught lightning in a bottle.

Flushed with the success of Endeavour, ITV have taken the cynical – sorry, natural – step of producing a prequel to another one of their much-loved crime dramas.

Awash with rain and wistful recordings by Joe Cocker and Cat Stevens, PRIME SUSPECT 1973 charts the nascent career of Jane Tennison, originally played by Helen Mirren, as a young police constable entering a world mired in violence and murder.

Blandly earnest, she's nowhere near as interesting as the older Tennison, which is possibly why her creator Lynda La Plante left the project during pre-production. Even allowing for her youth, there's nothing to suggest that she's the same character. Why, it's almost as if ITV didn't have the nerve to launch a '70s-set cop show without tying it to the safety net of an established "brand".

However, it does a decent job of capturing the brown-upholstered fog of early 1970s Britain, without too much reliance on the self-conscious period signifiers common to other dramas of its type. There’s not a single spacehopper to be found.

While the twin discomforts of institutionalised sexism and police brutality are both present and politically incorrect, they don’t feel overcooked. Writer Glen Laker has a fairly convincing feel for the period.

Indeed, the sombre approach of the original Prime Suspect is successfully carried over into this surprisingly diverting piece of anti-nostalgia. 

TV Review: THE SECRET AGENT + ONE NIGHT IN 2012: AN IMAGINE SPECIAL

This article was originally published in The Dundee Courier on 23rd July 2016.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/category/lifestyle/entertainment/tv-film/

The Secret Agent: Sunday, BBC One

One Night in 2012: An Imagine Special: Sunday, BBC One

Terrorist cells. Suicide bombers. Russia flexing its muscles. Late 19^th century Britain was a dangerous place. Thank God we’ve come so far since then.

Adapted from the novel by Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent is an alarmingly prophetic period thriller starring Toby Jones as Verloc, a Soho sex shop owner who moonlights as an informer for the Russian embassy.

Driven by profit rather than any great ideological impulse, he earns an extra crust by sharing fairly banal information about the anarchist gang whose trust he’s earned. But his life becomes a waking nightmare when the embassy orders him to commit an act of terrorism on the gang’s behalf, thus provoking the British government into hard-line action.

As explained by the Russian secretary, played with reptilian zeal by David Dawson, “England is in need of a jolly good scare, an outrage that will summon this country from its slumber. Then we unleash a law that will clamp down on the anarchist threat.”

This compelling three-part drama is full of such moments, when the prescience of its storyline and themes smacks us full in the face. Granted, there are times when writer Tony Marchant gets slightly carried away with this aspect, and practically turns to the audience to scream, “Do you see?! Do you see what I’m getting at?!” But given the overall strength of the piece, that’s forgivable.

The bold antithesis of most Sunday night period dramas, The Secret Agent is mired in a clammy fog of impending catastrophe. Jones is typically arresting as an essentially amoral, cowardly man who nevertheless invites a kernel of sympathy. After all, he’s in the grip of an appalling moral dilemma. If Verloc refuses his orders, the Russians will sign his death warrant by exposing his true colours to every terrorist group in Europe.

Ian Hart also shines as a truly unsettling nihilist with a home-made bomb strapped under his coat at all times. The crazed embodiment of a terror which can’t be reasoned with, he’s driven solely by a desire to cause pain and chaos for its own sake.

Given the relentlessly horrendous state of the world, this impressive adaptation of Conrad’s prophecy couldn’t be more relevant. Everything changes, everything stays the same.

Still, it was nice of One Night in 2012: An Imagine Special to remind us of that fleeting moment of national pride and optimism engendered by Danny Boyle’s justly lauded Olympics opening ceremony.

An in-depth documentary about the making of this triumphant event, it reinforced the fact that no one expected it to succeed. We expected the worst, because we always do in this country. It’s part of our national character. Disaster beckoned. The knives were out. Britain was about to humiliate itself in the eyes of the world.

Of course, what actually transpired was a heartening, powerful and subversive celebration of immigration, industrialisation, free healthcare and Britain’s vast contribution to world-changing innovations and popular culture. But it was ultimately a tribute to the everyday folk who shape British life.

Alongside revealing contributions from Boyle and his team, the programme devoted just as much time to the dedicated volunteers. They were the real stars of the ceremony.

It also revealed – quelle surprise – that Cameron’s coalition government were opposed to the glorious NHS sequence. To his eternal credit, Boyle threatened to walk if this tribute to one of our greatest institutions was cut. Thankfully, he won. We all did.