This article was originally published in The Courier on 17th April 2021.
NEXT WEEK’S TV
Lucy, the Human Chimp – Monday, Channel 4, 9pm
In 1966, two psychology professors from the University of Oklahoma embarked upon a radical nature vs nurture experiment. They decided to raise Lucy, a female chimpanzee, as if she were human.
But by the time she was 11, Lucy had grown too large and unpredictable to continue living with her surrogate parents. So they were forced to make a difficult decision: ostensibly for her own good, Lucy was shipped off to an African nature reserve in the company of a young student called Janis Carter. This touching documentary recounts their extraordinary story.
Via archive material, dramatic reconstructions and a revealing interview with Carter herself, the film makes a resonant statement about the complex relationship between humans and animals.
Ackley Bridge – Monday to Friday, Channel 4, 6pm
Basically Grange Hill aimed at a slightly older audience - or Hollyoaks and Skins with a soul – Ackley Bridge returns in a new early evening slot stripped throughout the week.
The newest protagonists are two Asian pupils and a member of the travelling community. Connor McIntyre, who played Coronation Street’s greatest ever villain, Pat Phelan, also turns up in a recurring role. Ackley Bridge handles Big Issues and the everlasting teenage themes as a matter of course, but never in an earnest way.
It’s sharp, sensitive and self-aware. Peppered with characters delivering snappy Russell T. Davies-inspired monologues to camera, I find the whole thing quite sweet and fairly amusing. It’s worth delving into.
Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World – Monday, BBC One, 9pm
During the second leg of her global fact-finding mission, the inspiring climate activist conducts a brief yet moving interview with David Attenborough. “People are listening,” he says. “Self-interest is for the past, common interest is for the future.”
When he compliments her campaign, she has to hold back tears. But the centrepiece of this episode is her appearance at the 50th World Economic Forum in Davos, where she tried to persuade world leaders to abandon fossil fuels. Thunberg is dismayed by the press coverage, which ignored her message in favour of a pantomime narrative pitting the Swedish teenager against Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, various leading scientists and experts provide a battery of facts.
There are solutions. There is hope.
Makeup: A Glamorous History – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm
“Makeup can be seen as a frivolous subject,” says professional makeup artist Lisa Eldridge, “but I think it’s hugely important… a window on the world we’re living in.” She proves her point in this new series, which functions as a novel piece of social history shot through the prism of lipstick, powder and paint.
Her essay begins with the high society Georgians, whose shameless ostentation and towering ice cream wigs were viewed as a symbol of wealth and status. Eldridge, who has been collecting vintage makeup products for over 30 years, applies her research to a model using authentic period techniques. She’s an engaging expert; her enthusiasm for the non-frivolous subject at hand is palpable.
Scotland’s Home of the Year – Wednesday, BBC Scotland, 8pm
In the latest episode of this rather calming series, we nose around some stunning homes in rural Aberdeenshire, the actual Aberdeen and St Andrews.
As always, your expert judges are interior designer Anna Campbell-Jones, blogger Kate Spiers and architect/lecturer Michael Angus, who, with his large yet softly-spoken Man in Black image, wouldn’t look out of place in an episode of Deadwood (he’d be a goodie, obviously).
It’s all presented in such a friendly way, it never invites viewers to feel envious of these dream homes.
Another point in the programme’s favour is Anne Lundon’s gentle Hebridean narration, which makes a pleasant change from that incessantly wry lifestyle television tone I’m sure you’re also thoroughly sick of.
Bent Coppers: Crossing the Line of Duty – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm
In the early 1970s, Soho was a sordid hotbed of vice ruled by enterprising porn barons and an underground network of corrupt police officers. That murky world of fake raids and suspicious brown envelopes is the setting for episode two of this series, which once again wallows in amazing archive footage steeped in grime and sleaze.
It also features contemporary contributions from investigative journalists and former cops. Narrated by – who else? – Philip Glenister, it’s a solidly-researched history lesson. My only criticism of this series is the way it suggests that police corruption and harassment are a dark and dusty relic of the Sweeney-fingered past. If only. We’ve all seen the news and that hit documentary Line of Duty.
Second Hand for 50 Grand – Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm
According to this glitzy celebration of rampant consumerism, so-called second-hand chic is the latest must-have. In recent years, an entire industry has grown around the acquisition of luxury vintage goods and “modern-day bling”.
The programme follows the staff at Xupes, a Millennial-run business that hopes to corner the market. Their clients include a young millionaire with a walk-in wardrobe full of absurdly expensive handbags, a retired insurance broker who collects watches, sunglasses and old toys, and an elderly man who wants to buy a Cartier watch for his window cleaner son, as a thank you for looking after him.
Believe it or not, at least two of these stories contain a bit of depth.
LAST WEEK’S TV
I Can See Your Voice – Saturday 10th April, BBC One
Well this is certainly something. It’s a Saturday night singing talent show in which a panel of celebrity judges and Some Contestants have to guess who might be a gifted vocalist either by merely looking at them or assessing their miming skills.
The joke, such as it is, involves laughing at bad singers while assuaging your conscience with the knowledge that these pitch-starved funsters are in on it. When a singer is revealed to be quite good, that’s supposed to be a jaw-dropping moment – oh wow, that mousy little bespectacled fella can hold a tune! – but this thin format is stretched out over an endless hour. And “let’s hear your voice!” will never gain traction as a popular catchphrase.
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