A version of this article was first published in The Courier on 1st May 2021.
NEXT WEEK’S TV
Killing Escobar – Tuesday, BBC Scotland, 10pm
In 1989, Glasgow-born mercenary Peter McAleese was hired to assassinate all-powerful drugs kingpin Pablo Escobar. His mission didn’t go according to plan. This 90-minute documentary explains what happened while fleshing out the details of McAleese’s often troubled life.
A grizzled raconteur, he understands why many may regard him, a hired killer, as morally reprehensible. But, he argues, “This is the profession I chose.” Killing Escobar makes for uncomfortable viewing. On the one hand it’s a gung-ho celebration of repulsive machismo, but on the other it’s a fairly nuanced study of a philosophical and rather lonely man whose early years were steeped in anger and violence.
The film ultimately invites viewers to make their own judgement. It’s like an unusually wistful episode of The Professionals.
The Violence Paradox –
Tuesday, BBC Four, 9pm
“Has violence really declined?” asks esteemed psychologist Steven Pinker, who hosts this far-reaching study of the worst of human nature.
That does, of course, sound like the sort of deliberately glib and unanswerable question Chris Morris would pose at the start of Brass Eye every week, but Pinker is serious: he really does think that we could be living in the most peaceful time in history. And he’s got a vast dossier of facts and research to support his controversial hypothesis.
Whether he’s right or not –
and the programme allows room for dissenting voices – it’s an engaging essay. Hey,
maybe we’re not doomed after all. The vaguely hippie-ish Pinker, with his
lovely fluffy hair and relaxation tape mien, is someone you want to believe in.
The Money Maker – Tuesday, Channel 4, 9pm
The star of this new series is big-hearted venture capitalist Eric Collins, who each week throws a lifeline to ailing British businesses. Collins, a suave American gentleman, exudes a sort of benign intensity; Zen and the art of trouble-shooting.
His first port of call is a building repair and restoration company in Manchester. I zone out whenever business types start talking about equity stakes etc. – my brain isn’t wired to compute such information – but The Money Maker is more acceptable than the relentlessly sneering Dragons’ Den. At least Collins tempers his essentially self-serving impulses with a certain degree of empathy.
But this is such a standard-issue TV format. We’ve seen it all before.
Johnny Vegas: Carry On Glamping – Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm
In this amiable new series, the comedian and camper van enthusiast follows his dream of setting up a bespoke glamping site full of renovated buses from the 1950s and 1960s.
Among his friends and family, Vegas is affectionately known as someone who is always coming up with big ideas before getting bored and abandoning them. But he’s keen to stress how serious he is about this project. It’s not just a lark.
Accompanied by his best pal and personal assistant Bev, Vegas searches for a site and travels to Malta to examine their first bus (he bought it online at 2am without checking the location). He also visits his mum, who’s glad he’s doing this instead of “filthy stand-up”.
Bloods – Wednesday, Sky One, 10pm
This new sitcom about paramedics, while fairly amusing, veers uneasily between likeable workplace shenanigans and self-conscious gallows humour – patients in episode one include a crack addict and some people involved in a car crash.
Our odd couple protagonists are Maleek (Samson Kayo) and his new partner Wendy (Jane Horrocks). Maleek is a short-tempered fool with a high opinion of himself. Wendy is a kindly chatterbox who isn’t quite as naïve as she seems. Meanwhile, back at hospital HQ, the always watchable Julian Barratt plays a lonely widower who doesn’t seem to be aware that his boss is in love with him.
Bloods isn’t bad by any means. It’s fine. But I will never watch it again unless someone I trust tells me that it significantly improves. And no one will ever tell me that.
The Dog House – Thursday, Channel 4, 8pm
As the latest series of this wet-nosed comforter concludes, we meet Stanley the Staffie, Ellie the Chihuahua and Zoe the effervescent Beagle. As usual, the staff at Wood Green Animal Shelters must manage that careful negotiation between matching these abandoned dogs with the right humans.
The main storyline this week involves Dexter from Malaysia, who was shunned by his mother when he came out as gay. He’s now happily married to Aaron. If Ellie accepts him too, their lives could be complete.
We all know that these programmes tend to favour neatly satisfying narratives - ah, if only life were really so straightforward – but The Dog Pound is a quietly profound little show. It has a good heart.
Britain’s Favourite ‘80s Songs: 1989 – Friday, Channel 5, 10pm
And so, this cheap and cheerfully pointless list show comes to an end. As we knew it always must.
I suppose Channel 5 should be applauded for doggedly carrying on with the nostalgic pop culture rundown format, which even Channel 4 abandoned about ten years ago after trampling it into the ground.
You don’t need to have seen previous episodes in this series to know what it involves: 1980s pop videos interspersed with talking heads trotting out all the usual clichés. That’s talking heads as in whoever they could round up at the time; David Byrne and Tina Weymouth don’t barge in to declare their love for Jive Bunny.
A perfectly adequate way to while away your Friday evening.
LAST WEEK’S TV
Line of Duty – Sunday 25th April, BBC One
For all its blatant flaws, Line of Duty is hard to resist. Those blatant flaws are part of its maddening appeal.
To take it seriously is to miss the point; it’s entirely composed of red herrings, cliff-hangers, exposition and convoluted call-backs, but it’s all put together with a certain amount of flair. Case in point: introducing James Nesbitt as a surprise guest-star in episode five, then killing him off in episode six. He hadn’t even uttered a line of dialogue. That whole bait and switch routine was amusing.
Nevertheless, it’s definitely time to end it now. It’s been a fun ride, but this series has shown clear signs of fatigue and Greatest Hits repetition. There’s nowhere left to go.
This Time with Alan Partridge – Friday 30th April, BBC One
Since 2010, Steve Coogan and co-writers Neil and Rob Gibbons have produced some of the very best Alan Partridge material. Mid Morning Matters, those two outstanding audiobooks and last year’s podcast From the Oasthouse were all premium Partridge. This Time is broader and doesn’t quite scale those heights, but it’s still a very funny show.
Coogan as Partridge – one of the greatest comedy creations of all time - is an absolute joy to behold; an impeccable comic actor inhabiting a three-dimensional character he knows inside out.
Last week’s obvious set-piece highlight was his time spent in
a monastery, but I laughed more at the subtle cracking of his knees during a
ludicrous display of ‘entering a conference room’ etiquette. I do love Alan so.
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