COMEDIANS: HOME ALONE + CITIZENS OF BOOMTOWN: THE STORY OF THE BOOMTOWN RATS

A version of this article was originally published in The Courier on 30th May 2020.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

COMEDIANS: HOME ALONE

Monday, BBC Two, 10pm

I wouldn’t blame you for being utterly sick of the sight of well-meaning celebrities broadcasting from their homes during lockdown, but this new series of fifteen-minute programmes is a cheerful distraction. A compendium of self-isolated sketches from various comedians, episode one features Kerry Godliman (who deserves a ticker tape parade for managing to escape from Ricky Gervais’ dire Derek and After Life with her dignity intact) playing a bored mum who’s getting through this by drinking white wine to excess, and Bob Mortimer as ‘Train Guy’, a beautifully observed parody of an obnoxious businessman conducting Facetime conversations with his colleagues: “We need a Zoom womb to incubate initiatives with potential going-forwardness.” Bob also provides some daft names for cats. Nice.

CARDINAL

Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Series four of this frostbitten Canadian crime drama begins with detectives John Cardinal (not, alas, played by a man called John Actor) and Lise Delorme investigating the sudden disappearance of a local politician’s husband. I don’t have much time for sombre police procedurals; it’s a genre sculpted almost entirely from clichés. Cardinal is typical in that it’s well-shot and atmospheric - a show so thickly mired in snow, it makes Fargo look like the Club Tropicana video – and benefits from nicely understated central performances, but we’ve seen it all before. The sonorous score, the sad detectives with boringly complicated private lives, the never-ending trudge from plot point A to plot point Z. You know the snore.

THE OTHER ONE

Friday, BBC One, 9pm

The great Rebecca Front stars in this promising new sitcom about a middle-class widow who gains a bitter lease of life when she discovers that her late husband was a philanderer with a secret working-class family. Co-written by Holly Walsh (check out Dead Boss, an unjustly forgotten sitcom she wrote with Sharon Horgan), The Other One is populated by mildly dysfunctional characters who are gently ribbed but never sneered at. It’s warm, benign, well-observed and contains actual proper jokes. Walsh stirs echoes of Victoria Wood with lines such as this one from Front’s character: “Can you ask Marcus to Sky + Masterchef: The Professionals for me, please?” The banal specificity of that really tickled me. It’s very good, folks. You should watch it.

LAST WEEK’S TV

CITIZENS OF BOOMTOWN: THE STORY OF THE BOOMTOWN RATS

Saturday 23rd May, BBC Two

A mediocre bunch of absolute chancers fronted by an insufferable shabby narcissist, The Boomtown Rats were unique in that they somehow managed to convince The Youth that naff sub-Springsteen pomp had anything whatsoever to do with punk and new wave. This laughably self-regarding documentary was founded on the false premise of Geldof and co being somehow important; a hollow piece of brand management packed with enabling buffoons such as Bono and Sting making absurdly extravagant claims on the band’s behalf. It was undeniably interesting, but only because all pop stories are interesting. Geldof, contrary to his posturing self-image, came across as a charmless opportunist who conveniently organised Live Aid when his moment in the sun was beginning to fade. Still, the piano arrangement on I Don’t Like Mondays is nice, isn’t it? Geldof didn’t write that.

BAKE OFF: THE PROFESSIONALS

Tuesday 26th May, Channel 4

The latest series of this pointless spin-off may as well have launched with a repeat. No one would’ve noticed. The mildly amusing contributions from camp co-host Tom Allen fail to rescue a format which fundamentally misunderstands the Bake Off mothership’s appeal: viewers enjoy watching ordinary people messing about with pastry and cream, it’s no fun at all when everyone involved is tediously skilled.

HORIZON: WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH TONY SLATTERY? + PETER SELLERS: A STATE OF COMIC ECSTASY

This article was originally published in The Courier on 16th May 2020.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

HORIZON: WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH TONY SLATTERY?

Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

The comedian Tony Slattery was once one of the biggest stars on British television. A handsome sprite with a rare gift for inspired improvisation, he was ubiquitous. And then, suddenly, he disappeared. Last year, an interview with The Guardian in which he talked openly about his mental health and substance abuse issues, returned him to the spotlight. In this raw, candid, moving documentary, Slattery and his wonderful partner Mark go in search of an official diagnosis as well as the harrowing root cause of some of his issues. A terribly sweet, vulnerable man, Slattery is in a bad way. But he hopes that, by choosing to expose the ravages of his illness, he might encourage others to seek help too.

THE CHANGIN’ TIMES OF IKE WHITE

Monday, BBC Four, 10pm

Ike White is a gifted soul musician whose only album, Changin’ Times, was recorded in 1976 under highly unusual circumstances: White was serving a life sentence for murder at the time. This absorbing Arena documentary follows a classic mystery formula: introduce the viewer to a forgotten cult artist, then gradually reveal what happened to them. White has always maintained that, while guilty of robbing a grocery store, he shot and killed the owner by accident. The Changin’ Times project was a chance to turn his life around, yet despite the patronage of Stevie Wonder and a release from prison in 1978, he more or less chose to fade into obscurity. Following a diligent search, Arena tracked him down to find out why.

OUR LIVES: SOUL BOY

Wednesday, BBC One, 7:30pm

Meet Anthony Flavin, a Nottingham teenager who has been in care since he was six. This uplifting half hour documentary follows him as he prepares to branch out on his own for the first time. Anthony has discovered a passionate sense of purpose within the local Northern Soul community. It has boosted his confidence and changed his life completely. The programme is a sweet celebration of the transcendent succour of music and companionship. The Northern Soul scene is quite rightly presented as an utterly positive working class subculture, an egalitarian escape route from the pressures of everyday life. We could all do with a little hope at the moment; you’ll find some here. Come on feet, start movin’.

CLIMBING BLIND

Wednesday, BBC Four, 9pm

This remarkable documentary follows lifelong climber Jesse Dufton, who is almost completely blind, as he attempts to conquer the Old Man of Hoy. No one has ever made a ‘non-sight’ lead of the famous Scottish sea stack before, but Dufton is confident that he can do it. Accompanied by his sight guide and fiancée, Molly, and rock-climbing filmmaker Alastair Lee, he first of all explains his technique: “I’m not really using my eyes, to be honest. They don’t really give me any useful information. All the information will be what I feel through my hands and through my feet as well.” The Old Man of Hoy is a sheer rock face, 449-foot high. In a word: yikes.

LAST WEEK’S TV

PETER SELLERS: A STATE OF COMIC ECSTASY

Saturday 9th May, BBC Two

This occasionally interesting yet rather peculiar and frustrating profile of the late comic genius was, more by accident than design, perfectly in keeping with the man’s inconsistent personality. It struck me as a programme with honest intentions, albeit one that lost its thread in the editing room. 

It borrowed heavily from The Peter Sellers Story, a stellar Arena documentary from 1995. That’s forgivable to an extent, as some of the key contributors have passed away since then, but it still felt like a piecemeal compromise. 

Sellers was, to say the least, a tremendously difficult man with undiagnosed mental health issues. He treated his many wives and children appallingly (Britt Ekland spoke about their relationship for the first time on camera, and came across with dignity). He wasn’t very good at being human. But this programme implied that, as an artist, he peaked with Dr Strangelove and never recovered his mojo until Being There, fifteen years later. Utterly misleading nonsense. 

It was an honest profile insomuch as it didn’t shy away from how utterly awful he could be, but it didn’t have much to say about the state of comic ecstasy he was best known for. The Arena documentary is much better; you can watch it all on YouTube.   

ISOLATION STORIES + VAN DER VALK

A version of this article was originally published in The Courier on 2nd May 2020.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

ISOLATION STORIES

Monday to Thursday, STV, 9pm

These short standalone dramas were still in post-production when I wrote this, but given the talent involved they’ll probably be worth watching. Produced by the estimable Jeff Pope (Philomena; Stan & Ollie), they’re vignettes featuring characters in lockdown. Mel (Sheridan Smith) is heavily pregnant and at home all alone; the father of her child has elected to stay elsewhere with his wife and children. Ron (Robert Glenister) is ill with the virus, which has put added strain on his relationship with one of his sons (played by Glenister’s son, Tom). Anxious Mike (Darren Boyd) insists on an online therapy session with Rochelle (Angela Griffin), and a grandad (David Threlfall) attempts to entertain his family (Eddie Marsan and his actual sons) from afar.

THE A WORD

Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

Peter Bowker’s sensitive drama about a family coping with a child who has autism is marred by the continuing presence of an embarrassingly miscast Christopher Eccleston. A fine dramatic actor, Eccleston simply cannot handle the demands of playing light comedy. It’s beyond his stern capabilities. That’s a shame, as the rest of the cast, including the entirely natural Max Vento as nine-year-old Joe, is excellent. As series three begins, the family’s situation has become even more complicated. Alison (Morven Christie) and Paul (Lee Ingleby) are divorced, which means that Joe has to cope with living in two places at once. When he angrily discards his beloved headphones, usually a permanent fixture around his neck, you know he’s struggling.

I’LL GET THIS

Tuesday, BBC Two, 10pm

Here’s a bit of harmless fun to while away those hours in lockdown. Now in its second series, each episode involves five celebrities attending a swanky restaurant, placing their credit cards in a bowl in the centre of the table and proceeding to play a series of simple yet revealing games. If they win a game, they get to retrieve their card. If not, they have to pay for the meal at the end of the night (hardly a tragic sacrifice for such well-heeled people, but let's keep it light). The celebs in this week’s episode are the old smoothie’s old smoothie Nigel Havers, Made in Chelsea star and pro-fox hunting young Conservative Georgia Toffolo, Alex Brooker from The Last Leg, comedian Desiree Burch and former Coronation Street star Sally Lindsay.

LAST WEEK’S TV

VAN DER VALK

Sunday 26th April, STV

Let’s get the most important thing out of the way first: the minimalist rearrangement of that once triumphant theme tune is simply unacceptable. Even the John Lewis Christmas publicity team would reject it for being too weak and twee. A travesty. Otherwise, this handsomely produced contemporary take on the adventures of Amsterdam’s most famous detective is serviceably generic cop show fare. The role will forever by associated with the late Barry Foster, but Marc Warren does a pretty good job of slipping into his caustic brogues. It's nothing, though, a Sunday night time-passer. Still, nice canals.

STACEY DOOLEY: COSTA DEL NARCOS

Sunday 26th April, BBC Two

Dooley’s latest investigation revealed how southern Spain has, in recent years, become the main turf-warring gateway for drugs into Europe. She met some heavily disguised dealers and smugglers, as well as some of the police officers tasked with seizing back control of the region. Dooley may not be the world’s greatest investigative journalist, but her reports are always clear-eyed and informative. This was no exception.

ABSOLUTELY INDIA: MANCS IN MUMBAI

Wednesday 29th April, STV

The Thomas brothers, Ryan, Scott and Adam, are familiar to millions for their respective roles in Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Love Island. But did you know they’re of Indian descent? Accompanied by their dad, the singer Dougie James of Soul Train minor fame, they explore their heritage in this lively travelogue which also doubles as a family therapy session. They’re amiable tour guides.