THE OUTLAWS + BLAIR & BROWN: THE NEW LABOUR REVOLUTION + CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM

This article was originally published in The Courier on 23rd October 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

The Outlaws – Monday, BBC One, 9pm

An agreeable comedy thriller co-devised by writer/director Stephen Merchant, The Outlaws follows a group of strangers doing community service in Bristol. 

Our mismatched antiheroes are: an obnoxious Daily Mail-reading businessman; a militant left-wing black woman; a studious Asian teenager who shoplifts as a cry for help; a damaged reality TV star; a black teen from a high-rise estate who’s in trouble with a local gang (Merchant’s co-writer Elgin James is a former gang member); Merchant himself playing a variation on his usual blundering character; and a roguish ex-con played by Christopher Walken (yes, really). 

It’s knowingly presented as a microcosm of modern Britain, albeit one inhabited by Christopher Walken. The entire premise is fraught with potential embarrassment, but Merchant and James are clearly coming from a good place. The results are rather sweet, sharp and addictive.

Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

The penultimate episode of this riveting series confronts Blair’s defining legacy: the war in Iraq. It gradually becomes a psychological study of this haunted man, as he struggles to present his case for the defence. 

Blair trots out his familiar spiel, presumably honed over several sleepless nights. “I think about the decision and its consequences virtually every day,” he says. But still he can’t fully admit that he made a catastrophic mistake. 

Clare Short, who resigned in opposition to the war, reveals that there was no serious plan in place to take care of the Iraqi people once Saddam was dethroned. “Which is disgraceful,” she sighs. Brown, meanwhile, more or less admits that the government’s actions “were not proportionate.”  

Curb Your Enthusiasm – Monday, Sky Showcase, 10:40pm

It’s (somewhat) remarkable to consider that this impeccable sitcom has been running, off and on, for over 20 years. It’s always a pleasure when another season rolls around, as Larry David and co rarely disappoint. 

The latest run begins with an episode titled The Five Foot Fence. I wish I could tell you what this entails, but unfortunately preview copies weren’t available. However, I'm fairly certain it will involve comical misunderstandings, ludicrous petty grievances and various characters losing patience with our hero. Guest stars this year include Jon Hamm, Woody Harrelson and Tracey Ullman. 

Curb Your Enthusiasm is an A-grade farce orchestrated by a true comic maestro; how blessed are we to live in its epoch.

Who Do You Think You Are? – Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

TV’s ever-popular celebrity gene-fest continues with a particularly poignant episode in which TV presenter and former England footballer Alex Scott finds out more about her Jewish and Jamaican ancestry. 

She’s proud to discover that her great grandfather fought against Mosley’s fascists during the Battle of Cable Street. The other side of her family were part of the Windrush generation, but up until now she’s never known anything about their lives in Jamaica. 

The story she uncovers during her visit there is terribly sad on a number of levels. It involves slavery, poverty and mental illness. This is Who Do You Think You Are? at its best: a sensitive and perceptive piece of far-reaching history.

Impeachment: American Crime Story – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9:15pm

In episode two of this darkly comic drama about the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, the protagonists finally meet. It charts the early stages of their clandestine affair, during which the unworldly Lewinsky fell for a powerful and utterly disingenuous man who made her feel special. We’re essentially watching a predator grooming his victim. 

Meanwhile, the press start to dig into allegations of sexual harassment. Clive Owen is very good as sleazebag Clinton, he captures his husky snake oil charm to a tee. 

But the star turn once again is Sarah Paulson as the Machiavellian Linda Tripp, who looks and operates in ways not dissimilar to Pauline from The League of Gentlemen. She’s sad yet formidable. It’s an outstanding performance.

My Kind of Town – Wednesday, BBC Scotland, 8pm

Cumnock in Ayrshire is famed for coalmining and being the home of Labour Party founder Keir Hardie. But there’s more to it than that. 

As Glasgow prepares to host COP26, the latest UN conference on climate change, Cumnock is in the process of becoming Scotland’s first green town; hopefully a blueprint for communities in the rest of the country. 

In episode one of this new series, genial host Ian Hamilton and his guide dog Major find out how Cumnock has changed in the 40 years since Thatcher closed the pits. Thankfully, it seems to be thriving. 

Now the UK’s largest manufacturer of fire engines, the factory in question is pioneering the use of zero emission electric vehicles. 

Peckham’s Finest – Wednesday, ITV2, 10pm

This buoyant reality show focuses on various young black people living in the London district of Peckham. They’re a likeable bunch; spending time with them just shooting the breeze and going about their daily business is a thoroughly pleasant experience. 

This week, pole dancer Kelechi teaches a class for two plus-sized women who want to feel better about themselves. It’s a success. Meanwhile, DJ and local radio presenter Gilly hopes to give something back to his community by creating a new creative hub for local kids; a place that will inspire them. 

Peckham’s Finest is a refreshingly positive endeavour. There is no manufactured drama or conflict, it seeks only to spread good cheer. Imagine that!

LAST WEEK’S TV

The Trick – Monday 18th October, BBC One

In 2009, shortly before the UN summit on climate change, hackers stole thousands of emails from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. The perpetrators were climate change deniers who falsely claimed that the emails contained proof that global warming is a lie. 

This standalone drama revisited ‘Climategate’ from the perspectives of those directly caught up in it, chief among them Professor Philip Jones (the brilliant Jason Watkins), a respected scientist who suffered a nervous breakdown as a result of the attack. 

A hugely important subject, but unfortunately it was handled in a frustratingly unfocused and stiffly expositional way. Jones was the emotional core, but too often it strayed away from him. A well-intentioned disappointment.

The Love Trap – Wednesday 20th October, Channel 4

One handsome eligible bachelor. A mansion full of beautiful women. Yes, this new series is just never-ending American reality series The Bachelor in thinly disguised UK trousers. But it’s worse. Much worse. 

Half of the women, we're told, are there for a legitimate chance of romance, but the other 50% are only interested in the prize money. It’s up to our personality-deficient hunk to decide who’s on the level and who should literally be dropped through a trapdoor. I wish I was making this up. Begone, gold-digging woman! Truly a misogynist’s dream. 

What an idiotic, offensive and profoundly depressing misfire. It’s 2021. We’re supposed to be better than this.

ASHLEY BANJO: BRITAIN IN BLACK & WHITE + IMPEACHMENT: AMERICAN CRIME STORY + FOUR HOURS AT THE CAPITOL

 A version of this article was originally published in The Courier on 16th October 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Ashley Banjo: Britain in Black & White ‐ Tuesday, STV, 9pm

Last year, on Britain’s Got Talent, Ashley Banjo and Diversity performed a powerful interpretive dance piece in response to the murder of George Floyd. 

Banjo knew it would spark a debate, that was the point, but he wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming torrent of criticism he received. In this probing programme, Banjo examines how racism manifests itself in Britain today.

One of his interviewees is the always astute historian David Olusoga, who makes the key observation that, although institutional racism is no longer overt in our society, it still exists in more insidious forms. 

Banjo also meets notoriously bigoted comedian Jim Davidson, who storms off when his logical fallacies are challenged ‐ thus proving Banjo’s point that all forms of prejudice are irrational.

Michael X: Hustler, Revolutionary, Outlaw ‐ Monday, Sky Showcase, 10pm

Michael X was a radical civil rights activist who, in the 1960s and early 1970s, positioned himself as the face of Black Power in Britain. 

Born Michael de Freitas in Trinidad and Tobago, he was eventually found guilty of murder and sentenced to death in his homeland. This documentary attempts to make sense of his complex, murky legacy. 

De Freitas once worked as an enforcer for a notorious slum landlord, until a chance encounter with Malcolm X changed the course of his life. He was a charismatic, articulate and often controversial (self‐appointed) spokesman for Britain’s black community. He was also violent, messianic and ruthless. 

The film features contributions from some of those who knew him, as well as the brother of one of his victims.

Impeachment: American Crime Story ‐ Tuesday, BBC Two, 9:15pm

From the team that brought you vivid dramas about the trial of O.J. Simpson and the assassination of Gianni Versace, comes this fairly promising miniseries about the infamous Clinton‐Lewinsky scandal. 

The tone is slightly camp and knowing, but it’s sympathetic towards Lewinsky. She’s depicted as a harmless ingénue who was betrayed and unfairly vilified. The scene‐stealing villain of the piece is Linda Tripp, the disgruntled civil servant who manipulated Lewinsky into doing her bidding. Clinton is played by, of all people, Clive Owen, although he only turns up at the end of episode one. 

Despite the bleakly amusing tone, this is a fundamentally serious drama about sexism and abuse of power.

Shetland ‐ Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

Series six of this atmospheric, windswept detective yarn begins with DI Jimmy Perez (the always watchable Douglas Henshall) mourning the recent death of his mother. Shetland is rarely cheerful, but that’s why people tune in: it is, at its core, a rather sad and occasionally quite soulful piece of Celtic noir. Plus the stories are generally solid. 

This week, Perez investigates the murder of a controversial local businessman. As if the poor guy doesn’t have enough on his plate (his widowed dad is struggling with dementia). 

Yes, the sheer amount of crime that occurs in this fictionalised Shetland is fundamentally absurd, but if that can’t be overlooked then other shows of a similar ilk are available.

Four Hours at the Capitol ‐ Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

On 6th January 2021, a violent mob of alt-right yahoos ‐ who couldn’t accept that their spiritual king Donald Trump had been dethroned ‐ invaded the Capitol in Washington. Trump, stung and embittered by his humiliating defeat, encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell”. He instigated a riot. 

This blow‐by‐blow documentary, most of it filmed by the protestors themselves, hurls us directly into the chaos. It’s a tense, disturbing study of mob mentality; of how people with axes to grind can be fired up by inflammatory rhetoric and safety in numbers. 

It also reminds us that four protesters and a police officer died during the riot. Four officers subsequently took their own lives. Trump escaped scot‐free.

Extraordinary Extensions ‐ Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

The musician and rapper Tinie Tempah is a property developer/designer on the side. That’s why he’s hosting this barely disguised version of Grand Designs, in which he follows various people as they add ambitious extensions to their homes. 

In episode one he meets a pleasant pair of ageing hippies ‐ the husband makes lysergic graphic novelist Alan Moore look like William Rees‐Mogg ‐ who are renovating their 17^th century yeoman’s cottage. He also witnesses a suburban Edwardian home being given a stylish experimental makeover. 

The only real difference between this and Grand Designs is that Tempah is sympathetic towards the participants. He’s a natural presenter too; a relaxed and likeable presence.

Charlene White: Empire’s Child ‐ Thursday, STV, 9pm

Black History Month continues with this poignant programme in which genial journalist and Loose Women host Charlene White examines how the painful legacy of Britain’s empire has shaped the lives of black people in Britain; her own family included. 

It’s basically an episode of BBC One’s Who Do You Think You Are?, but the stolen format works well in this particular context. The more White digs into her tangled family tree, the more saddened she becomes. This, inevitably, is a story of slavery and exploitation. 

“Is it a nice history?” she asks. “No. But I still feel it was something I needed to know.” And she’s also, quite rightly, proud of what her ancestors achieved.

LAST WEEK’S TV

The Larkins ‐ Sunday October 10, STV

A big hit for ITV in the early 1990s, The Darling Buds of May was always due a comeback. Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan are perfectly cast as Pop and Ma Larkin, a bumptious married couple presiding over their large happy family in an early 1960s English village. 

The central premise of these stories has always been appealing: the Larkins are benign bohemian rebels who thumb their noses at snobbery and hypocrisy. From a certain angle they could be mistaken for working‐class socialist heroes. 

But the problem, as before, is that the show is whimsical to a fault. Its relentless bonhomie comes across as smug and ingratiating, rather than charming. Still, a harmless bit of fluff.

Angela Black ‐ Sunday October 10, STV

Joanne Froggatt stars in this stark drama as a victim of domestic violence. Every day, Angela has to pretend that everything is fine. She and her physically abusive and coercively controlling husband are the only people who know the truth. 

Or so it initially seemed: in episode one, Angela was approached by a seemingly sympathetic private investigator who’d been hired by her husband to manufacture evidence that would make her look like an unfit mother. He eventually revealed that his employer was planning to murder her. 

Written by Harry and Jack Williams (The Missing; Baptiste), Angela Black is quite delicately handled for the most part, and its message is important. Victims of abuse can’t just leave, they’re trapped.