This article was originally published in The Courier on 11th January 2020.
NEXT WEEK’S TV
COLD FEET
Monday,
STV, 9pm
As
the latest series of this likeable comedy-drama begins, Adam, the cheeky
chappie’s cheeky chappie, is suspended from work for inappropriate behaviour.
He’s utterly baffled until his partner, Karen, wisely points out that offence
can be caused even when your jokey intentions were innocent. Context and potential
impact are paramount. Series creator Mike Bullen handles the episode’s Me Too
theme with typical sensitivity. Meanwhile, Jenny struggles to readjust to life
following her cancer treatment. She and husband Pete also have to deal with
their difficult teenage daughter, plus the awkward problem of dividing their
loyalties between Adam and Kate and Kate’s disgruntled ex, David. “I’m sick of
this,” sighs Jenny, “it’s like a messy divorce and we’re the kids.”
CATCHING A KILLER: A
DIARY FROM THE GRAVE
Monday,
Channel 4, 9pm
Caveat:
previews weren’t available at the time of writing, so I haven’t actually seen
this true-crime documentary. Please don’t send angry emails to me, The Courier or my cat if it turns out to
be awful. It does, however, sound interesting. An elderly man dies at home.
Nothing odd about that. But eighteen months later, his neighbour also dies in
similar circumstances. That’s when the police start looking into what might be a
sinister case. A young would-be vicar knew them both. It sounds like the sort
of programme designed to make you sigh in despair before going to bed feeling worse
than you did when you woke up. Again, please don’t harass my cat.
GOOD OMENS
Wednesday,
BBC Two, 9pm
Eight
months after debuting on Amazon Prime, this irreverent all-star fantasia –
based on a cult novel by Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett - finally
lands on terrestrial firma. Perfectly content with their lives on Earth, a
demon and an angel (David Tennant and Michael Sheen) form an alliance to stop
the coming of the Antichrist and eventual Armageddon. Although it’s well-acted,
well-directed and generally quite funny in a sub Python/Douglas Adams way, episode
one is slightly too hectic for its own good. It feels like Gaiman couldn’t bear
to leave out any detail from his and Pratchett’s novel; the arch narration from
Frances McDormand – she plays God – is particularly convoluted. One helluva
cast, though.
STEWART COPELAND’S
ADVENTURES IN MUSIC
Friday,
BBC Four, 9:30pm
Ace
drummer Steward Copeland is best known for being a member of The Police, but
they’re just one of the 25 bands he’s been in since he first picked up sticks
as a teenager. Now aged 67, his life has been utterly devoted to the music of the spheres (and songs written by Sting). In this
probing new series - textbook Friday night pop fare on BBC Four, but with an
anthropological, neuroscientific twist – the garrulously charismatic
tub-thumper embarks upon a noble mission to define why music, that most
transcendental of arts, moves, shakes and obsesses us so. It begins with an
enjoyable, wide-ranging essay on music’s ability to bring human beings
together. I’m with Stew: it’s been fundamental to our evolution as a species.
LAST WEEK’S TV
THE GREATEST DANCER
Saturday 4th January, BBC One
This
Cowell-created mash-up of Strictly, X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent serves as a sobering reminder that ol' Mardi Gras head is a yawning multimillionaire who fattens his bank balance by scribbling
formulaic formats on the back of Ivy napkins. Why doesn't he retire? He's done enough damage, earned enough money and no one cares anymore.
FIRST & LAST
Saturday 4th January, BBC One
In
which Jason Manford - an affable, competent comedian – secured his ideal role:
hosting a game show where contestants are rewarded for being neither particularly
good nor bad, just somewhere in the middle. Manford makes it just about work by
mocking the format and joshing with the contestants a la Generation Game Brucie and Danny Baker’s Pets Win Prizes. It doesn’t approach those heights, of course. It's just a laughing policeman in search of a missing vehicle.
THE MASKED SINGER
Saturday 4th January, STV
This
is more like it. Sort of. Almost. A deliberately absurd music game show devised
in South Korea, TMS has spread its
costumed wings around the globe. Now it’s our turn to guess who the famous folk
are beneath those ostentatious outfits. It’s the right kind of trash, a bonkers
parody of the Cowell formula, but it’s stretched out to painfully
interest-sapping lengths. With a little bit of finessing, they've got themselves a decent family-friendly show.
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