This article was originally published in The Courier on 21st August 2021.
NEXT WEEK’S TV
Sixteen: Class of 2021
‒ Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm
During phase one of the pandemic, Channel 4 asked a group of Midlands school friends on the verge of turning sixteen to document their lives. This warm new series is the result.
It begins in September 2020, as they return to school after six months of lockdown. A smart bunch of ordinary, likeable working‐class kids at a crossroads in their lives, they talk openly about their hopes for the future. The programme doesn’t patronise or judge them. Instead it celebrates their individuality and togetherness.
Naturally, there are a few moments of minor drama (at one point a jacket potato is thrown in anger), but on the whole it’s a positive endeavour in the vein of Channel 4’s exceptional Educating… strand.
Born to Be Wild ‒ Monday, BBC Scotland, 8pm
Meet Miss Honey. A beautiful little badger cub, she’s the star of this week’s visit to the Scottish SPCA National Wildlife Rescue Centre.
Honey was found abandoned on a promenade in Edinburgh, and requires round‐the‐clock care. One of the staff members has to become Honey’s surrogate mum, hence why they have to find her a young badger buddy; if she becomes too attached to her human carers, she may never acclimatise to life in the wild.
The supporting cast includes an injured fox cub, a richness (that’s apparently the collective noun) of house martins and a sandpiper in need of intricate eye surgery. As for the staff, they have quite possibly the world’s most spiritually nourishing job.
Tsunami ‒ Monday to Wednesday, Channel 5, 9pm
Stripped over three consecutive nights, this dramatic series provides a detailed examination of one of the world’s worst natural disasters.
On Boxing Day 2004, an undersea earthquake off the coast of northern Indonesia caused a series of devastating tsunamis. It is estimated that around 230,000 people were killed. To make sense of what happened and why, Dr Xand van Tulleken and archaeologist Raksha Dave speak to some of the people who witnessed this appalling tragedy first hand, as well as various experts who have studied it.
Each episode is devoted to a specific time frame, which allows for a forensic examination of events as they unfolded. It begins 12 hours before the disaster and ends with the immediate aftermath.
Our Lives: The City of Horses ‒ Tuesday, BBC One, 7pm
On three neighbouring housing estates in Swansea, the residents have for decades reared horses on every available large patch of grass. They’re just an everyday part of life in these communities. But the council are cracking down on this tradition, which means that the current generation of equine lovers may be the last. Nevertheless, hope springs eternal.
This charming documentary illustrates that the horses are beloved and well looked after by their owners, although you may find yourself agreeing with the sympathetic vet who states that their overall quality of life will be improved by the new legislation. What can’t be denied is that the horses provide their human pals with an added sense of therapeutic purpose.
H20: The Molecule That Made Us ‒ Wednesday, BBC Four, 9pm
Kelly Ann McEvers is an esteemed journalist. But she’s also an American podcaster, which means it’s impossible to take this new series about the importance of water seriously.
McEvers suffers from that inadvertently comical American podcast delivery style: casually earnest and awestruck, she starts sentences with “So” and phrases every statement as if it were a question. A pox upon the upward inflection. She also describes this project as “a podcast‐style documentary”. That’ll be a documentary with visuals then. You may require a moment to wrap your head around this novel concept.
It’s unfortunate, as the subject matter is interesting. I blame comedian Adam Buxton for his spot‐on parody of that style of delivery. It cannot be unheard.
Unbelievable Moments Caught on Camera ‒ Wednesday, STV, 9pm
This enjoyably daft programme ‐ which may as well be titled ‘Woah! Check This Out!’ ‐ excavates the stories behind viral videos of dramatic events.
Highlights include the split‐second rescue of an unconscious skydiver plummeting towards the ground; two kayakers falling into the mouth of a whale (they’re remarkably sanguine about the whole affair); a lorry driver rescuing a woman from a burning car; and a pair of lucky fools who were almost crushed by an iceberg.
But, hey, it’s not all utterly nightmarish; we also witness a classical musician playing violin while undergoing life‐saving surgery. Your narrator is Alexander ‘crash bang wallop, what a video’ Armstrong, who’s on hand to reassure viewers that no one died.
In Tandem: The Neil Fachie Story ‒ Friday, BBC Scotland, 9pm
A record‐breaking Paralympic and Commonwealth gold medallist, cyclist Neil Fachie is one of the UK’s most decorated athletes. He also has retinitis pigmentosa, a rare congenital condition which severely restricts his vision. Fachie has accepted the possibility that he might eventually go completely blind.
In this revealing documentary, the Aberdeen‐born champ ‐ who is an unassuming model of humble determination ‐ discusses his various professional setbacks and triumphs, as well as the overall experience of competing on the world stage on behalf of yourself and your country.
The programme also features insight from
fellow cycling ace Chris Hoy, and touches upon Fachie’s relationship with his
wife, the visually‐impaired racing cyclist and double world champion Lora
Fachie.
LAST WEEK’S TV
David Wilson’s Crime Files ‒ Sunday 15th August, BBC Scotland
The criminologist began his latest series with a look at two of Scotland’s most notorious fraudsters.
I’d vaguely heard about the Gorbals woman who claimed to be an heir of the Duchess of Argyle, but I was staggered by the story of Gregor MacGregor, a 19th century general who callously conned Scottish migrants into believing he could grant them a new life in a Central American paradise. Once relieved of their life savings, they were shipped off to an uninhabited island.
Two thirds of MacGregor’s victims died while marooned there. He was never punished for his crime. Reporter Fiona Walker argued that this was because most of the survivors were too ashamed to admit they’d been conned. A sobering tale.
The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family ‒ Friday 20th August, BBC Two
TV just can’t get enough of that wacky Boleyn clan. This series comes hot on the heels of a drama that recently aired on Channel 5. 2021: the year we finally reached Boleyn saturation point.
This isn’t a bad series, at least not on a technical level. It’s a well‐made, straight‐ahead history lesson. Handsomely‐mounted, you could say. But this saga is so familiar, one wonders what the point is. Perhaps fans of Tudor history are like Beatles obsessives: they know they probably won’t learn anything new from the latest book, article or documentary, but they devour them anyway just on the off chance.
The latest episode focused
on the ill‐fated Anne. It fulfilled its brief.
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