KAREN DUNBAR'S SCHOOL OF RAP | PHOENIX RISE | BRITPOP: THE MUSIC THAT CHANGED BRITAIN

This article was originally published in The Courier on 18th March 2023.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Karen Dunbar’s School of Rap – Thursday, BBC Scotland, 10:30pm

Dunbar playfully admits in her intro that this sounds, on paper, like a terrible idea for a documentary: a comedian running a rap workshop for elderly grannies? The potential for embarrassment is immense. 

You know where this is going, folks, but of course it’s not embarrassing. On the contrary, it’s a touching exercise in which Dunbar and a friend from empowering community outreach initiative the Glasgow Girls Club encourage older working-class Scottish women to express themselves. The abiding lyrical themes are friendship, faith and family. 

Self-evidently lovely people, they reflect upon their losses while celebrating life’s treasures. In their modest way, these unlikely rappers are representing a generation whose voices are so often ignored. A delightful programme. 

The Gold: The Inside Story – Monday, BBC One, 9pm

A companion piece to Neil Forsyth’s excellent dramatisation of the notorious Brink’s-Mat robbery, this documentary revolves around a fascinating interview with Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Boyce. He led the convoluted investigation, and this is the first time he’s spoken about it on camera. 

The programme exposes glaring loopholes in 1980s banking machinations. A lack of strict regulations with regards to money laundering coupled with fervent Thatcherite desires to rebuild London’s docklands laid the groundwork for the biggest gold bullion haul in history. Corrupt opportunism writ large; white and blue collar crimes working in tandem. A disastrous domino effect. 

If you haven’t caught up with The Gold, all six episodes are available on iPlayer. Watch this afterwards.

24 Hours in Police Custody: The Honeytrap Murder – Monday and Tuesday, Channel 4, 9pm

A Luton man has been brutally murdered. He bled to death in the hallway of a block of flats. The police are baffled. What happened and why was he totally naked? A terribly bleak story unfolds. 

As usual, I recommend this sort of thing with a sensitive note of caution. 24 Hours in Police Custody is very well-made, it’s objectively better and more thoughtful than all of those rubbernecking ‘Woo! Bang! What a Grisly Crime!’ atrocities you sometimes stumble across in the nether regions of our TV schedules. 

But what are we left with when the closing credits roll? A gnawing sense of hopelessness. That’s my default setting, I’d rather it wasn’t compounded. Tastes may vary.

Imagine… Stephen Frears: Director for Hire – Monday, BBC One, 10:40pm

Stephen Frears is a talented British filmmaker who doesn’t reside in one particular genre. Highlights from his eclectic body of work include High Fidelity, My Beautiful Laundrette and The Queen. 

This profile follows Frears as he wanders ruminatively around Vienna while filming an ambitious drama for HBO. He’s dryly amusing and affable. Glowing tributes are gushed by associates such as Steve Coogan, Judi Dench, Hugh Grant, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren. 

As always with Imagine, you’ll have to grit your teeth and tolerate the buffoonish presence of host Alan Yentob. But after years of dogged practice I can assure you that it’s almost possible to blank him out. Imagine there’s no Yentob, it’s easy if you try…

Anton & Giovanni’s Adventures in Sicily – Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice, for it is they, are the stars of this standard-issue sunny travelogue. Pernice was born and raised in Sicily, so he does at least possess some local knowledge and emotional attachments. His Panama hat-sporting Strictly pal is just along for the expenses-free ride. 

Both men merrily embrace their designated roles: Du Beke is the hapless Englishman abroad, while Pernice is the laidback expert. Scenic odd couple jollity ensues. 

These shows are contrived by their very nature, we’re essentially watching semi-scripted holiday videos, but I must admit that our guides do come across as actual friends. Their chemistry feels fundamentally warm and genuine.

Phoenix Rise – Friday, BBC Three, 7pm

Based around a fictional school in Coventry, this promising coming-of-age drama follows six teenage students as they re-enter the mainstream education system after being excluded. 

A likeable bunch played by an entirely natural cast of talented young actors, at first they don’t appear to have much in common beyond their shared situation. But gradually, close friendships start to form. Their fresh start is a significant experience, something they’ll never forget. 

Phoenix Rise is – if you’ll excuse the pun – textbook BBC Three, and I mean that in a positive way. A drama about, and primarily aimed at, young people, it’s empathetic and authentic. The target audience isn’t patronised. Grange Hill creator Phil Redmond would doubtless approve.

Locked Away: Our Autism Scandal – Friday, Channel 4, 7:30pm

The award-winning filmmaker Richard Butchins presents this Dispatches report about parents on the autism spectrum who are struggling within mental health units. 

Preview copies weren’t available, but it sounds stark. Butchins, who is autistic, allows his interviewees to tell their stories via secretly recorded videos. Many of them have been incarcerated for years in unsuitable wards and hospitals. 

The press release contains this quote from a young inpatient: “People need to speak out and so many voices are silenced. I feel like that's my duty to do, not just for myself, but for others because it's not going to change if... it's not going to change if it's not spoken about and we need to be heard."

LAST WEEK’S TV

Wild Isles – Sunday 12th March, BBC One

Attenborough’s latest stellar report from the wildlife frontline has been overshadowed by a bogus controversy surrounding its ‘missing’ sixth episode. The great man must despair, as this is a typically absorbing and beautifully filmed essay in which he celebrates Britain’s wide variety of wildlife while explaining why our island environment is so crucial to its survival. 

As always, he doesn’t shy away from stark empirical facts. And that’s what certain mendacious parties don’t want to hear. Why can’t this kindly old man just show us some entertaining footage of cute little animals? That’s not Attenborough’s job, he’s a learned environmentalist who cares passionately about our damaged ecosystem. 

We’ll miss him, this estimable educator, when he’s gone.

Britpop: The Music That Changed Britain – Sunday 12th March, Channel 5

Britpop, as you know, was a cultural phenomenon in the mid-1990s. Indie bands such as Blur, Oasis, Pulp and Suede scored actual top ten hits, they were bona fide stars. But what did it all mean (man)? 

This enjoyable series reminds us that Britpop was a movement in which none of the major players sounded anything like each other. What they did have in common was a certain concerted ‘Britishness’. 

The likes of Alex James, Alan McGee, Louise Wener and various prominent music journos delivered eyewitness reports. I’m not convinced that it’ll add up to much more than a bittersweet bolt of nostalgia for ageing pop kids such as myself, but I can’t deny that Proustian rush.

GHOSTS | RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE UK | AM I BEING UNREASONABLE?

This article was originally published in The Courier on 17th September 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Ghosts ‐ Friday, BBC One, 8:30pm

All hats off to the original Horrible Histories team for creating such a rare treat: a family‐friendly sitcom that’s neither bland nor compromised or condescending. It’s funny, daft, clever and sweet, an obvious labour of love. 

The latest series begins with Alison and Mike anxiously welcoming their first guests to the manor house B&B they’ve been working on for all this time. Hopefully the well‐meaning spectral inhabitants won’t get in the way. 

As always, the writers seamlessly blend their driving narrative with nicely‐rounded subplots and some great fleeting gags. My favourite line this week: snooty Lady Button reveals that she once met The Elephant Man. What was he like? “Rather boring, couldn’t see the fuss.”

Mastermind ‐ Monday, BBC Two, 7:30pm

In 1972, Mastermind introduced a hitherto unthinkable solemnity to the TV quiz arena. 

The darkened set, the black leather chair, Magnus Magnusson rattling out questions on a wide variety of subjects, none of which would ever be touched upon by populist contemporaries such as Monkhouse and Forsyth: the intense no‐frills quiz to end ‘em all. 

So no wonder it celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. A world without Mastermind is no world at all. 

In round one, smooth incumbent host Clive Myrie welcomes contestants whose specialist subjects include hardboiled detective novelist Raymond Chandler, influential Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, Team GB’s performance at the 2020 Olympics, and Peaky Blinders (the latter contestant comes dressed for the occasion).

Cunk On Earth ‐ Monday, BBC Two, 10pm

The bewildered cultural commentator Philomena Cunk started out as a recurring character in Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe. Since then, she’s been spun off into various solo vehicles. 

This one, a parody of self‐consciously epic BBC documentaries, invites that age old question: how do you mock something we automatically roll our eyes at anyway? An awestruck presenter standing atop a mountain while synthetic orchestral music swells is one of the most hackneyed pieces of TV grammar. Making fun of it has become a cliché in itself. 

Diane Morgan, who plays Cunk, is brilliant. She’s a naturally funny performer with a deadpan gift for subtle improvisation, but the scripted material she’s working with only raises an occasional smile. 

Sensationalists: The Bad Girls and Boys of British Art ‐ Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of Sensation, the controversial contemporary art exhibition which put that entire generation of provocative Young British Artists ‐ Damien Hirst, Tracy Emin et al ‐ on the map. This vivid three‐part series places it all in context. 

Those punk‐inspired provocateurs, who went out of their way to overturn the elitist art establishment, were the disenfranchised children of Thatcher’s Britain. 

Episode one unfolds across a canvas of art schools, squats and job centres. It was a political movement, initially at least. Later episodes will presumably examine the ways in which it eventually bolstered the dubious Cool Britannia myth, but episode one captures the anger and desperation of a creative generation with nothing to lose.

Doc Martin ‐ Wednesday, STV, 9pm

The Doc’s valedictory tour of duty continues with an episode in which Ben Miller returns to the show for the first time since series one way back in 2004. 

He plays Stewart, a local park ranger in a state of some distress. Stewart is beside himself with worry about an upcoming survival course he’s agreed to commandeer. If it doesn’t go well, he might lose his job. In an effort to help him out, surgery receptionist Morwenna encourages two series regulars to take part ‐ with, of course, amusing consequences. 

Meanwhile, Louisa, Doc Martin’s eminently sensible and sympathetic wife, agrees to speak at a local school assembly. Alas, complications ensue when several pupils are stricken with a rash.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK ‐ Thursday, BBC Three, 9pm

As the latest series of this fabulous celebration of fabulousness kicks off, extra‐special guest judge Joanna Lumley joins the panel alongside Graham Norton and Michelle Visage. 

But the real stars of the show are, as always, our latest cavalcade of contestants, most of whom would appear to be potential winners. After all, no one competing in Drag Race ever turns up looking like they’ve made a fatal error of judgement. 

It’s a landmark series in that one of the contestants, Dakota, is the first trans woman to participate in this particular version of RuPaul’s global phenomenon. She represents her community with humility, pride and a considerable amount of pizazz. 

As usual, everyone involved is utterly lovely. An uplifting endeavour.

John & Joe Bishop: Life After Deaf ‐ Thursday, STV, 9pm

Joe Bishop, the son of comedian and actor John Bishop, has an autoimmune condition causing progressive deafness. 

In this intimate documentary, Joe and John find out more about what it means to be part of the deaf community. John sets himself a challenge: he will perform an entirely signed stand‐up set for a deaf audience. The bill also includes established deaf comedians. 

John, a self‐evidently nice and empathetic man, doesn’t make it all about him. Far from it, he and Joe are united in their desire to educate people while throwing a spotlight on talented performers who might not otherwise receive mainstream exposure. 

Life After Deaf is followed at 10:45pm by a recording of the concert itself.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Frozen Planet II ‐ Sunday 11th September, BBC One

I’m sure I wasn’t alone last Sunday in considering the legacy of David Attenborough. He’s been an integral part of our lives for seven decades. A universally beloved figure. At the risk of sounding morbid, one can’t help thinking that every public appearance he makes these days might turn out to be his last. 

I mention that only because this exceptional Frozen Planet sequel encapsulated the tone of most of Attenborough’s autumnal works. A paean to Earth inspired by a more or less equal amount of sadness and hope. 

Has any major British broadcaster ever informed and educated with such compassionate insight? Answers on a rhetorical postcard.

Am I Being Unreasonable? ‐ Friday 16th September, BBC One

Now this is great. It’s a new comedy thriller written by and starring Daisy May Cooper (This Country) and Selin Hizli, in which the former plays Nic, a lonely woman married to a boring man she doesn’t love. 

Nic was once in love with her husband’s brother, and the feeling was mutual. They carried out a secret affair, which ended in tragedy. Grief‐stricken Nic witnessed his death, but she can’t share her trauma with anyone. 

And then she makes friends with another local mum (Hizli, Cooper’s real life best bud), who appears to be a kindred spirit. That’s when things take a most peculiar turn. 

Grounded in messy reality, this sharp, funny, honest confection is something to savour.

MARTIN CLUNES: ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC + ANDY WARHOL'S AMERICA + THE GREEN PLANET

This article was originally published in The Courier on 15th January 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Martin Clunes: Islands of the Pacific – Thursday, STV, 9pm

TV’s Martin Clunes is one of the reigning travelogue supremos. And for good reason: he’s very good at his job. Naturally witty, charming, respectful and empathetic, he’s like a sort of idealised foreign ambassador. I’d vote for him. 

This week he natters with some tribesmen who live in the shadow of an active volcano and breaks bread with a tribe who believe that Prince Philip is their God. Some of the elders briefly met him once and they exchanged banal pleasantries. So that’s a relief. 

Clunes also travels to Tonga, an ostensibly conservative Christian nation with a surprisingly tolerant and admirable attitude towards gender fluidity. It’s not an entirely progressive utopia of course, but hats off to Tonga anyway.

Geordie Hospital – Monday, Channel 4, 8pm

Newcastle is home to one of the UK’s biggest NHS hospital trusts. Its personable and dedicated staff are the stars of this new series, which rarely dwells upon the pressures and frustrations of their job. The mood is upbeat, it’s a big ol’ cuddle of a programme. 

Any celebration of Britain’s most essential institution is tacitly political, of course it is, but Geordie Hospital elects to focus exclusively on positive stories. That’s a statement in itself.

Tears and anxieties rear up at times, but even a potentially upsetting segment involving a little boy with a heart defect turns out fine. I for one welcome this warm gust of positivity.

Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure – Monday, BBC One, 8:30pm

The former Emmerdale actor and Strictly Come Dancing winner Kelvin Fletcher recently bought a farm in the Peak District. A lifelong urbanite, he has no farming experience whatsoever. But if we know one thing about Fletcher, it’s that he enjoys a challenge. 

His agent must’ve been delighted when they heard the news, as a television series following this life-changing development was absolutely guaranteed. And if that sounds cynical, well that’s showbiz. 

We’re all familiar with this formula by now: a celebrity and their family get to grips with renovating barns and stockpiling eggs. Mild setbacks ensue. There is nothing remotely objectionable about this series. It merely exists. I recommend it to fans of tractors, fencing and sheep.

The Secret Life of Our Pets – Tuesday, STV, 8pm

This diverting litle series spotlights the cute side of cognitive animal behaviour research. This week’s theme is emotional intelligence and the powerful bond of trust that exists between domesticated animals and their humans. 

The slightly alarming highlight involves a visit to Switzerland, where we encounter a BASE jumper who enjoys nothing more than parachuting from the edge of massive cliffs with his border collie harnessed to him. 

And while you could question the ethics of placing an animal in that position, the dog doesn’t appear to be remotely distressed. He trusts his thrill-seeking comrade. 

We also learn that goldfish can ‘recognise’ human faces, rats really enjoy playing Hide and Seek, and parrots have an innate sense of rhythm.

Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and the Paedophile – Tuesday, STV, 9pm

The convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is currently facing a custodial sentence of up to 65 years. A key confidante and enabler of the paedophile sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison under mysterious circumstances in 2019, Maxwell’s entitled circle of friends included the thoroughly disgraced Prince Andrew. 

This report, which for obvious reasons was still being edited as I write these words, features contributions from some of Epstein and Maxwell’s victims. It also promises to examine damning evidence from Maxwell’s trial, as well as Prince Andrew’s alleged involvement in this hideous scandal. It seems increasingly likely that he will face a civil court case. 

Your host is Good Morning Britain’s Political Editor Ranvir Singh.

Toast of Tinseltown – Tuesday, BBC Two, 10pm

Are things looking up for the belligerent, oafish and perpetually thwarted ham actor Steven Toast? During the latest stage of his Hollywood odyssey he’s invited to audition for the role of a butler in an unnecessarily ambitious and expensive movie. He only has one line, but if he impresses the tyrannical director then he could secure a first-class ticket on the gravy train.

Meanwhile, he hurls himself into a strange relationship with a clinical sexologist, and records a voiceover on the hottest day there has ever been in L.A. 

It’s not the funniest Toast episode, but spending time in the deeply silly world of series creators Matt Berry and Arthur Mathews is always a peculiar source of comfort.

Andy Warhol’s America – Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

The final chapter of this absorbing gaze into Warhol’s reflection of American culture begins in the 1970s and ends with his death in 1987. His preoccupation with death and disaster is a recurring theme throughout. 

After surviving an assassination attempt in 1968, he essentially had a second chance at life; a fact that haunted him thereafter. He became even more avaricious, while simultaneously providing support for marginalised groups such as African Americans, Native Americans, homeless people and the LGBTQ community. 

But, the programme asks, was that support tainted by self-interest and exploitation? He was, to say the least, a complicated cat. 

As with previous instalments of this excellent series, Warhol’s Zelig-like story encompasses several fascinating historical detours.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

The Green Planet – Sunday 9th January, BBC One

In the latest series from David Attenborough, his estimable team use an advanced time lapse camera system to unearth the secret life of plants. It observes the world from their perspective while examining their relationship with animals and humans, and the vital role they play in our ecosystem. Naturally, it’s fascinating. 

That remarkable footage of plants in action occasionally resembled lost outtakes from Frank Oz’s Little Shop of Horrors; an alien landscape thriving on Earth. 

It’s a stellar example of Attenborough’s unerring ability to sculpt absorbing narratives from unlikely sources. Who knew there was so much drama in the global plant community? 

And it was lovely seeing the great man delivering some unflaggingly enthused pieces to camera.

Life on the Bay – Sunday 9th January, BBC Scotland

Pettycur Bay Holiday Park on Fife’s coast is one of Scotland’s biggest caravan enclaves. This breezy new series – a summery balm for these dark winter days - observes the daily demands of running what is effectively an idyllic miniature town built and run by three generations of a hands-on local family. 

In episode one we met a genial maintenance man who’s worked there for so long, he remembers when his boss was a little boy: “He was just a wee bloody pest! But a good pest…” 

Guests included a new arrival who joked about the possibility of getting cabin fever and going berserk like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. As far as I’m aware, that hasn’t happened.

LUCY, THE HUMAN CHIMP + GRETA THUNBERG: A YEAR TO CHANGE THE WORLD + MAKEUP: A GLAMOROUS HISTORY

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 50^th 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.

IT'S A SIN + A PERFECT PLANET + 54 DAYS: AMERICA AND THE PANDEMIC

This article was originally published in The Courier on 6th February 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

It’s a Sin – Friday, Channel 4, 9pm

Once again, Russell T. Davies flits with ease between comedy and tragedy in this impeccable drama about the AIDS crisis. It’s 1988, and Ritchie decides that it’s time to come out to his parents. His visit to their home on the Isle of Wight is heartbreaking: I guarantee that you will struggle to hold back tears. 

Meanwhile, Ash and Jill join a peaceful protest against Clause 28, and Roscoe hopes that his secret affair with a Tory MP (Stephen Fry) will whisk him into the high life. Fans of a certain sci-fi show (it’s RTD, so you can probably guess) will be delighted by one particular scene, but in typical Davies style it ends with a gut-punch.

Undercover Police: Hunting Paedophiles – Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

The National Crime Agency estimates that there are now 300,000 people in the UK who pose a sexual threat to children. This new series gains exclusive access to a covert unit of police officers tasked with bringing child sex offenders to justice. Preview copies weren’t available, but I think it’s fair to assume that this will be a tough, disturbing watch. 

In episode one we follow an undercover officer as he poses online as someone looking for other men to commit more heinous crimes with him. The series promises to explore the difficult questions surrounding the causes of paedophilia, as well as the psychological repercussions experienced by professionals who submerge themselves in this horrifying world on the public’s behalf. 

South Africa with Gregg Wallace – Tuesday, STV, 7:30pm

As the egg man’s journey comes to an end, he takes a helicopter ride to the remote and verdant heart of South Africa’s Zulu Kingdom. With assistance from a storyteller dressed in traditional Zulu garb, he delivers a mini history lesson about the Battle of Rorke’s Drift, when a small group of British soldiers (who had no business being there in the first place) fought around 4,000 Zulu warriors. 

Wallace is an amateur history buff and a big fan of the - as he acknowledges - divisive film Zulu, so he’s in his element. After that, it’s time for a spot of hearty home-cooked lunch in a traditional Zulu village. 

Wallace is known for being alarmingly ebullient, but he’s fairly restrained here. Respectful and engaged, he does a decent job.

First Dates: Valentine’s Day Special – Tuesday, Channel 4, 10pm

A special? It’s no different than any other episode of this cheerfully contrived dating show, but I have no beef with that. This week we meet Alexandra, the self-described “Bridget Jones of Northampton”, who works as a wedding planner. Her blind date is Tom, who’s in the high-end marquee hire business. What are the chances of that? 

On another table, retired Labour MP Roger admits that he’d “struggle if I went on a date with a Tory.” Fortunately, Jean, a retired French teacher, doesn’t disappoint. And then there’s the discomfiting pathos of Adam, a heavily tattooed extrovert who doesn’t understand why women can’t take him seriously. 

From a certain angle, this heart-warming show doubles up as a sensitive study of loneliness.

Imagine… We’ll Be Back? – Tuesday, BBC One, 10:45pm

The UK’s performing arts industry has been severely waylaid by the pandemic. In this well-meaning programme, Alan Yentob meets some of the people who are struggling to keep it alive while we wait to return to some semblance of normality. 

The contributors are sympathetic, of course they are, but Yentob is such a risible figure he fatally undermines the entire endeavour. His elitist pomposity and lack of self-awareness is a constant source of dismal mirth. Despite what he clearly thinks, he’s the last person who should be presenting a programme like this. Art is for the masses, but Yentob is a snob. 

It’s such a shame, as we really do need to support our local theatres and arts venues.

Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig – Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

If you’ve ever fancied going on a luxury mini-break with Sandi Toksvig, then now’s your vicarious chance. In this new series, she visits some of Britain’s most tranquil spots while staying in various striking properties. Her first destination is the Deben Peninsula on the coast of Suffolk. 

Each week she’s accompanied by a famous female pal: her guest in episode one is the great Alison Steadman. Toksvig informally interviews Steadman about her life and likes (she’s a big fan of fungi and clouds), as they luxuriate in a converted 19^th century defence tower, a 17^th century thatched cottage, and the gatehouse of an 11^th century priory. 

It’s just two nice women shooting the sea breeze: passive comfort viewing.

Stonehenge: The Lost Circle Revealed – Friday, BBC Two, 9pm

The provenance and purpose of Stonehenge is one of history’s great mysteries. As Spinal Tap once mused of the prehistoric Britons who built it: “No one knew who they were, or what they were doing.” In recent years, however, a team of experts have plugged a 400-year gap in our knowledge of where the monument’s original stones came from. 

In this engrossing documentary, Professor Alice Roberts gains exclusive access to a series of extraordinary archaeological digs in Pembrokeshire. She explains how this dedicated squad of archaeologists, geologists and student volunteers have managed to unearth the remains of another vast stone circle, which was dismantled just before Stonehenge was created. Their painstaking detective work has rewritten history.

LAST WEEK’S TV

A Perfect Planet – Sunday 31st January, BBC One

In the final episode of Attenborough’s latest natural history lesson, the great narrator delivered a gloomy prognosis alongside three prominent scientists. Humans are destabilising the planet’s life support systems at a rapid and calamitous rate. We now release 100 times more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than all of Earth’s volcanos combined. 

To illustrate the dire effects of this human-made crisis, Attenborough presented upsetting scenes of hypothermic turtles and orphaned baby elephants suffering from dehydration. The programme’s key point was this: only by looking at the global cataclysms of the past can we prevent another one happening in future. 

Attenborough and co did provide some glimmers of hope, but it’s hard to avoid feeling helpless sometimes. Nice job, humans.

54 Days: America and the Pandemic – Tuesday 2nd February, BBC Two

This sobering documentary focused on some of the high-ranking American medical experts who did everything within their power during the early stages of the pandemic. It began on 31st January 2020, when there were only seven confirmed cases in the USA, and ended on 24th March, when there were 54,453 confirmed cases and 780 fatalities. 

The experts shared their intense frustrations and almost darkly comic sense of disbelief at pig-headed Trump’s politically motivated refusal to accept reality. Thousands of people have died as a direct result of his blatant misinformation. A rampant, dangerous egomaniac.

New York’s former Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot broke down in tears as she described her overwhelming sense of responsibility. These people are not to blame, their hands were tied by a despotic regime.

 

SOUL AMERICA + PLANET EARTH: A CELEBRATION + COUNCIL HOUSE BRITAIN

This article was originally published in The Courier on 29th August 2020.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

SOUL AMERICA

Friday, BBC Four, 9:30pm

The revolution began on stage in 1959, when Ray Charles improvised a call-and-response jam that eventually evolved into What’d I Say. A transcendent fusion of rhythm and blues and gospel, it was the template for soul music: secular testifying. This beautiful series articulates how soul became an expression of what it meant to be black in America from the 1960s to the 1980s. It was the soundtrack to the Civil Rights era. It fuelled Black Power. It paved the way for hip hop. A distinguished volley of talking heads provide persuasive definitions of what soul music actually is. My favourite: it’s gospel with the word ‘God’ replaced by ‘baby’. The stars of chapter one are Brother Ray, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and the first wave of Motown deities. The key themes: integration, emancipation, crossover.   

PLANET EARTH: A CELEBRATION

Monday, BBC One, 8pm

“We are living in extraordinary times,” intones David Attenborough at the start of this compilation of some of the most memorable sequences from Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II. He frames it as an emergency respite from the crisis currently surrounding us. A rather lofty pretext for a clip show, perhaps, but there’s no arguing with its content. Highlights include the bittersweet saga of a snow leopard and her cub, some flamingos performing a comical courtship dance, and that quite frankly distressing yet magnificently directed sequence in which baby iguanas are chased by snakes. It’s not all old content; Hans Zimmer and Jacob Shea have composed a new symphonic score featuring piano contributions from acclaimed rapper and singer-songwriter Dave.

COUNCIL HOUSE BRITAIN

Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm

Don’t be put off by the title, this isn’t another poor-bashing series from the channel that once brought you Benefits Street. On the contrary, it’s a humane appraisal of life in the London borough of Southwark, where over 100 thousand people live in council housing. A prominent figure in episode one is Charmain, a sympathetic local housing officer who was raised on a council estate. “These people are proud,” she says, “They want a good life for themselves and their families.” The programme doesn’t paint a naively positive portrait of the housing system, it’s openly critical of Universal Credit, local government underfunding and private rent increases, but it celebrates good people and challenges ignorant, patronising assumptions. Brought to you by the team behind the equally laudable 24 Hours in A&E, it cares.

LAST WEEK’S TV

MORTIMER & WHITEHOUSE: GONE FISHING

Sunday 23rd August, BBC Two

Two genial old friends shooting the breeze against a backdrop of beautiful scenery. That’s all there is to this gentle ripple of comfort viewing. It doesn’t need to be anything else. Series three began with Bob and Paul salmon fishing in the River Tweed. As always, there was a wistful undercurrent. Bob, in his wholly unpretentious way, is a rather philosophical soul. If Gone Fishing is about anything, it’s about savouring the precious time we have here on Earth. Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think. Bob being Bob, he somehow managed to inject humour into the story of how his dad died in a car accident. That must sound awful written down, but it was actually rather sweet. Welcome back, gents.

HARRY HILL’S WORLD OF TV

Sunday 23rd August, BBC Two

Hill’s latest venture is an ersatz guide to various TV genres. He began with soaps, which have served him so well over the years. You know the score: incongruous narration, music and silly voices added to decontextualized archive clips. Rhys Thomas is now the king of this format; Hill sounds quite tired. The show is, at best, mildly amusing. Harmless. Quite dull for the most part. Hats off, however, to the writers and researchers for poring through acres of footage with no higher purpose than to score some silly and often downright obvious gags. They should also be applauded for deviating from the predictable Corrie/Eastenders/Emmerdale axis  – when was the last time you saw clips of early British soaps The Grove Family and The Newcomers on TV?  Full marks for effort.