This article was originally published in The Courier on 25th February 2023.
NEXT WEEK’S TV
Unforgotten – Monday, STV, 9pm
There is something oddly comforting about how every series of Unforgotten begins on exactly the same grisly note, with the chance discovery of some human remains.
We wouldn’t have it any other way, as creator Chris Lang knows only too well. A good, sly, intelligent writer, he cleaves to a proven formula while never repeating himself.
But will the latest series survive the loss of Nicola Walker, whose character was killed off last time around? Her warm, understated chemistry with co-star Sanjeev Bhaskar was key to Unforgotten’s appeal.
Well, she’s been replaced by that fine actor Sinead Keenan, and episode one suggests that fans have nothing to worry about. The central dynamic is different, but without being jarringly dissimilar.
A Special School – Monday, BBC Two, 7pm
Our latest visit to Britain’s biggest special education school, Ysgol Y Deri, begins on an atypically downbeat note.
Thousands of pounds worth of water sport equipment has been stolen. But the staff don’t dwell upon that setback. They can’t, there’s no point. Their pupils are of far more importance.
Also, Valentine’s Day is on the horizon. When the kids make their smitten feelings known, it’s touching yet never sentimental.
Produced in partnership with the Open University, this exceptional series is an honest snapshot of the everyday challenges faced by young people with diverse needs, and the dedicated professionals who support them.
We must never, ever take institutions such as Ysgol Y Deri for granted, they provide a vital service.
Sex Actually with Alice Levine – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm
As she begins series two of her commendably frank and non-judgemental odyssey, Levine visits the world’s first cyber-brothel as part of an investigation into the rise of sophisticated sex robots.
I probably don’t have to stress this point, but just in case: Sex Actually with Alice Levine contains scenes that viewers of a more prudish or sensitive bent may find offensive. Their discretion is advised, but please bear in mind that we’re not dealing here with some snickering gawp-fest a la Channel 4 stablemate Naked Attraction.
Executive produced by Louis Theroux, it’s a thoughtful show hosted by a witty, warm and inquisitive person with a genuine interest in the multifaceted subject at hand.
Saving Lives in Leeds – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm
Brought to you by the team behind that deservedly lauded BBC series Hospital, this is a similarly sympathetic frontline study of our beleaguered NHS doctors and nurses.
Leeds General Infirmary nestles at the heart of one of the UK’s largest NHS Hospital Trusts. In episode one, we meet a pioneering expert in hand transplantation surgery. His patient lost all his limbs after being electrocuted at work.
Meanwhile, in the neurosurgery department, doctors struggle with a moral dilemma. They only have one confirmed post-operative bed at their disposal, but they’re dealing with two patients in urgent need of treatment.
The same problem arises at Leeds Children’s Hospital, where two children with cerebral palsy require beds on the same day.
Django – Wednesday, Sky Atlantic, 9pm
Loosely based on Sergio Corbucci’s cult Spaghetti Western, this new series follows a tortured drifter who winds up in a makeshift city populated by social outcasts.
Django takes itself very seriously indeed. It neither immerses itself in subversive mayhem a la Tarantino (whose Django Unchained was also vaguely inspired by the source material), nor takes full heed from the artistry of Corbucci himself.
It’s a reverent tribute to the Spaghetti Western genre, and that’s the problem; it doesn’t quite understand why people dug those films, with their unique combination of weird black comedy and stylised revenge fantasy violence, in the first place.
Also, Django looks more like a bedraggled hipster ale brewer than a tough, grungy Western antihero.
Murder in the Pacific – Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm
In July of 1985, Greenpeace’s flagship vessel the Rainbow Warrior was bombed and sank by the French intelligence service off the coast of New Zealand.
They’d been ordered to prevent Greenpeace from protesting against France’s nuclear testing on South Pacific islands. A photographer by the name of Fernando Pereira was killed during the attack.
This three-part docudrama examines in authoritative detail an utterly appalling scandal.
All of those aboard Rainbow Warrior, a prominent symbol of peace, were attempting to draw the world’s attention towards environmental matters of the utmost urgency, they did not deserve to be targeted with violence.
The first episode focuses on the background and build-up. You will despair.
Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda – Defying the Nazis – Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm
During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, two heroic Dutch resistance members helped to rescue thousands of Jewish people. Their names were Willem Arondeus and Frieda Belinfante.
Willem was a struggling artist. Frieda was an accomplished cellist. They both lived openly gay lives.
In this fascinating documentary, Fry pays tribute to their extraordinary bravery while confronting an uncomfortable truth: Willem and Frieda are barely remembered today, because for decades their homosexuality precluded them from being officially recognised as national heroes.
That’s no longer the case, and Fry ends the programme on a hopeful note, but his timely message is clear. If we don’t stand up against bigotry in all its toxic guises, abject horror will ensue.
LAST WEEK’S TV
Secrets of the Jurassic Dinosaurs – Sunday 19th February, BBC Two
I’m not a qualified palaeontologist, believe you me, but I have watched quite a few dino-docs over the years. And this one, a two-parter presented by Liz Bonnin, failed to live up to its title.
At the risk of sounding jaded about such an interesting subject, we’ve heard these secrets before.
Bonnin joined an international team of palaeontologists as they carefully excavated a dinosaur graveyard in Wyoming. They’re doing good work, more power to their dusty elbows, but they must be irked by TV crews turning up every week to make the same programme about their necessarily slow and painstaking endeavours. Leave ‘em alone.
Also, the computer graphics looked like they were programmed on a Commodore 64.
Beyond Paradise – Friday 24th February, BBC One
Hapless Kris Marshall stars in this spin-off from the unstoppable Death in Paradise, which relocates from the sun-blessed Caribbean to a sleepy Devon town. But it’s very much business as usual.
This franchise has never taken itself seriously, it’s a knowingly Scooby Doo-esque spoof of murder mystery tropes. Everyone involved is in on the joke, so in that sense it’s virtually critic-proof. What can I say that the production team and fanbase aren’t already aware of themselves?
It’s polished nonsense, a clown
nose glazed in fake blood, a cosy knockabout whodunit with zero pretensions. On
and on it trundles, like Compo in his recalcitrant tin bath. It’s there if you
want it, ignorable if you don’t.
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