LITVINENKO | THERE SHE GOES | THE CHANGE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 17th June 2023.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Litvinenko – Monday, STV, 9pm

In 2006, former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko was fatally poisoned while living in British exile. He’d spent the last few years of his life trying to expose links between Putin’s government and the Russian mafia. 

This four-part drama starring David Tennant is a riveting evocation of the whole murky, tragic affair. 

We follow two British police officers as they spend time with Litvinenko during his final days in hospital. His truth is revealed. 

Tennant is such a great actor, he never draws attention to himself with tics or affectations. You always believe fully in whatever role he’s playing. 

A follow-up ITVX documentary, Litvinenko: The Mayfair Poisonings ‘drops’ on Thursday. 

The Wonders of the World I Can’t See – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

The comedian Chris McCausland is blind. In this novel new travelogue, he visits some of the world’s most notable historic landmarks. 

An affable dry-witted gent, he’s joined each week by a celebrity travelling companion. They’re tasked with bringing these various places to life descriptively, while doing what they can to convince McCausland that it was worth him bothering to go there in the first place. 

The series begins with a trip to Athens in the company of Harry Hill. Our guides enjoy some sea fishing, pottery making, olive oil tasting, Greek drama lessons and even a few Olympic sports, before arriving at their ultimate destination: the Acropolis. 

Will McCausland enjoy the experience as much as Hill hopes? 

Dr Death – Tuesday, Channel 4, 10pm

Christopher Duntsch is a former American neurosurgeon who killed two of his patients and maimed over 30 others. In 2017 he was sentenced to life imprisonment. 

This solemn eight-part drama boasts a suitably unsettling performance from Joshua Jackson as Duntsch. 

In the opening episode, two concerned doctors (Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater, no less) start to investigate a series of severely botched operations carried out by Duntsch. 

Make no mistake, this case is utterly horrific, but Dr Death dramatizes it with due respect for Duntsch’s many victims. It’s the story of how a deeply disturbed narcissist wilfully destroyed lives, and how he was eventually brought to justice.

There She Goes – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Jessica Hynes and the hardest working man in show business David Tennant star in this standalone addendum to a poignant series based on the personal experiences of writers Shaun Pyle and Sarah Crawford. 

Their daughter was born with an extremely rare chromosomal disorder. Rosie is now 13. Her already difficult and challenging mood swings are becoming more acute.

As you would expect, There She Goes is an authentic day-to-day depiction of living with a beloved family member who has a severe learning disability. It’s touching, but never sentimental. 

It’s sometimes quite funny too. Humour can arise from unlikely situations, that’s one of the ways we all muddle through life. You carry on.

The Change – Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm

Comedian Bridget Christie writes and stars in this striking new comedy-drama about Linda, a 50-year-old woman who is going through the menopause. 

As she explains to her GP, she’s worried about having “early onset dementia, osteoporosis, ringing in my ears when I’m stressed, anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease and a strange mental disorder involving loss of nouns.” 

Hoping to rediscover the person she used to be, Linda leaves her utterly foolish husband (Omid Djalili) behind and embarks upon a soul-searching motorcycle odyssey. 

The Change is funny, frank and distinctive, it lingers. Christie and Djalili, both great, are supported by an exceptional cast including Monica Dolan, Susan Lynch, Liza Tarbuck and Paul Whitehouse.

Ruby Speaking – Thursday, ITVX

Set in a busy Bristol call centre, this fairly amusing sitcom stars co-creator Jayde Adams as a jaded factotum. 

Ruby is teetering on the brink of being sacked, she’s not bringing in the numbers. Anyone who’s ever worked in a call centre (I have) will empathise with her plight. 

Ruby quite likes some of her colleagues, but she’s just so bored with her strictly prepared workaday script. What’s the point? A metaphor for life, if you will. 

Former Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly steals the show as a thoroughly awful ‘inspirational’ boss who clearly couldn’t care less about her staff. Ruby Speaking is quite a sharp little character study. Hilarious? No. But its heart is in the right place. 

Icons of Football – Friday, BBC Scotland, 10:30pm

Former Dundee United striker and football manager Paul ‘Luggy’ Sturrock relates his estimable story in the latest episode of this series about Scottish football legends.

Sturrock, who has Parkinson’s disease, spent his entire career at Dundee United under the tutelage of his much-loved mentor Jim McLean. In the words of sports reporter Hazel Irvine, who contributes to the programme alongside fellow famous fans such as Lorraine Kelly, Sturrock was: “In my memory, one of the most joyous footballers I’ve ever watched.” 

I know nothing about football, it’s just not on my radar, but this KT Tunstall-narrated profile lifted my spirits. Sturrock is quite clearly an exceptional athlete and a thoroughly decent man.

THE LOVE BOX IN YOUR LIVING ROOM | JIMMY CARR DESTROYS ART | KIDS' TV: THE SURPRISING STORY

This article was originally published in The Courier on 22nd October 2022. 

NEXT WEEK’S TV

The Love Box in Your Living Room – Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse’s contribution to the BBC’s centenary is this very funny spoof documentary about the corporation’s history. 

All entirely fabricated, yet partially grounded in reality, it’s presented in the signature style of documentarian Adam Curtis; as we’ve come to expect, the duo's attention to detail is almost entirely flawless. 

Fans of Smashie & Nicey: End of an Era and their fiftieth anniversary ‘tribute’ to BBC Two, Story of the 2s, will know that spoof documentaries are an ideal format for Enfield and Whitehouse. They can pack loads of silly gags into an hour, while also delivering some pointed satire. 

Love Box gleefully mocks the BBC while attacking those who seek to destroy it. There are a couple of gags towards the end that cause some mild tension, but for the most part it's delightful.

Made in the ‘80s: The Decade That Shaped Our World – Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

Deeley Boppers! The Rubik’s Cube! Black Lace! Weren’t the ‘80s great? Such a laugh. Good times. 

That heavy-handed sarcasm will give you an idea of where this new series is coming from. Preview copies weren’t available, but it sounds like a sombre documentary antidote to lazy, trite nostalgia. 

It begins with Britain anxiously awaiting the very real threat of nuclear Armageddon. We’re reminded of the various ad men and artists who reflected that terrifying epoch in their confrontational work. 

It also recounts the story of several brave women who stood up against the American military industrial complex, and an unsung spy who apparently saved us all from oblivion. Fingers crossed, it could be fascinating. 

Jimmy Carr Destroys Art – Tuesday, Channel 4, 9:15pm

Seeing as its only reason for existing is to generate headlines, you’ve probably read about this programme in which Carr, following a no doubt nuanced studio debate about censorship, will literally destroy an artwork created by an awful person. 

The artists under review include Hitler, Picasso and Rolf Harris. 

Yes, I know. Pure Brass Eye. 

I understand why Channel 4, which turned 40 this year, are doing this. It’s a desperate attempt to remind viewers of its provocative origins. One in the eye for the right-wing politicians who argue that it provides no alternative to its competitors, hence why it should be sold off. 

I don’t want that to happen, obviously, but I daresay this isn’t the ideal form of protest. 

Kids’ TV: The Surprising Story – Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

The BBC’s centenary celebrations continue with this insightful essay from former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq. 

Children’s programmes have always been one of the most important facets of the BBC’s output. They’ve shaped our lives and attitudes. They’ve encouraged diversity and understanding. 

Huq interviews luminaries such as Johnny Ball, Floella Benjamin, Cerrie Burnell, Sarah Greene and Phil Redmond. This is no mere exercise in cosy nostalgia, it’s a considered study of how certain pioneering programme-makers and gifted presenters have made a hugely positive impact on British culture. 

As Redmond, the architect of Grange Hill, says: “Kids’ TV can be pure entertainment, or actually help people navigate society. You’re not alone… everything you’ve been through, somebody else has been through.”

Grand Designs – Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

This week, hard-hatted Kevin McCloud revisits Vicky and Ed, who – full disclosure, I’m quoting from the press release here – “in 2015 broke free from the shackles of their hectic London lives to try to build a new life in the Somerset countryside.” 

Pretty much yer standard Grand Designs set-up, and you can absolutely guarantee that McCloud has no memories of Vicky and Ed. These people are just a blur to him. 

Vicky and Ed, like most foolhardy Grand Designs contributors, have invested all their money in a massively ambitious building project. Why bother? Just, if you possibly can, find a decent dwelling and enjoy life. Get a cat. Order some cushions online. No one needs this ridiculous hassle.

Inside Russia: Putin’s War At Home – Thursday, STV, 10.45pm

Another edition of ITV’s award-winning Exposure strand – they broke the Jimmy Savile scandal back in 2012 – this documentary, which was filmed in secrecy, gives voice to defiant Russians who have refused to remain silent in the wake of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. 

By standing up against their authoritarian ruler, these brave people are risking their lives so that we can gain a greater understanding of the situation. 

One of the key contributors is Vasiliy, a Russian journalist and filmmaker. “All the laws are really vague in Russia,” he says. “To me operating in this kind of environment is very difficult. You start getting a little bit paranoid. It's uncomfortable in an emotional way.” 

Young, Black and Right-Wing – Thursday, Channel 4, 11:05pm

Broadcaster Zeze Millz, who hosts this documentary, is a somewhat controversial figure. A woman of colour, her views are often categorised as right-wing: antithetical to the innate needs and values of her community. 

She regards herself as someone who cannot be easily placed on the political spectrum. Her argument, broadly speaking, is that Black people who have a socially conservative outlook shouldn’t be blithely disregarded as a homogenous sector of society incapable of nuanced debate. That's immensely patronising and reductive.

Millz’s report wasn’t available for preview, so I’m not qualified to comment on what it specifically entails, but it does sound interesting. As always, I bring these programmes to your attention for that very reason.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel – Sunday 16th October, BBC Two

This was rather fascinating. Hans Zimmer is one of the most prolific and respected composers of music for Hollywood films and ‘high-end’ television. His work has burrowed its way into our heads over the years. 

Throughout this documentary, Zimmer – an affable, intelligent, sensitive and slightly eccentric character – didn’t seem particularly bothered by the notion of being a fairly anonymous contributor to works of art beloved by millions. He’s secure in the knowledge that his music is an integral part of various significant films and TV shows. His legacy is assured. 

The programme also reminded us that Oscar-winning Zimmer wrote the theme tune for ‘80s daytime quiz show Going for Gold. One helluva career.

Our Jubilee – Sunday 16th October, STV

Screened by ITV as part of Black History Month, this ruminative documentary recounted the stories of various Black British citizens who lived through the late Queen’s reign. 

It was, of course, filmed before she passed away, but that worked in the programme’s poignant favour. The interviewees spoke of her – and what she meant to them - in the present tense, while reflecting upon the last seven decades. Several nuanced thoughts and feelings ensued. 

ITV is often, quite rightly, pilloried for its questionable output, but worthwhile programmes such as this tend to go unnoticed. And that’s probably because ITV stick ‘em out late at night on Sundays. This should’ve been shown at 9pm after Corrie.

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.

TV Review: POLDARK and NURSE

This article was originally published in The Dundee Courier on 14th March 2015.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/lifestyle

Poldark: Sunday, BBC One

Nurse: Tuesday, BBC Two

Paul Whitelaw

It's oddly satisfying, humbling even, that one of Britain's biggest ever TV exports concerns a man in a tricorn-hat struggling to revive his tin mine. A massive hit in its 1970s heyday, the BBC's first adaptation of Winston Graham's Poldark novels cemented forever our worldwide reputation as stalwart purveyors of high-end period drama.

It's therefore fitting that this grand tradition continues with the latest version, which – mark my soothsaying words – will be an enormous hit. Why? Because it ticks all the right boxes in brazenly confident style.

Self-evidently, no expense has been spared in bringing this savagely romantic world to life. Set in Cornwall in the late 18^th century, it mercilessly exploits the area's rugged coastlines and vast, God-fearing skies. While it doesn't quite match the almost docudrama feel of Wolf Hall, it does boast a fairly authentic sense of candle-lit time and place. Visually, it's a resplendently photographed treat.

But pretty pictures are all for naught without a sturdy mainframe to support them. Fortunately, this epic saga is told in rip-roaring style. Though played deadly straight by a fine ensemble cast, it benefits in execution from a kind of sly knowingness.

Scenes of Poldark on horseback galloping dramatically along the coastline, or removing his shirt for no earthly reason, flirt outrageously with barnstorming camp. Casting Aidan Turner from Being Human as Poldark is a master-stroke. A charismatic, handsome actor, he broods and twinkles most effectively. Artfully stubbled and tousled of barnet, this saturnine hunk spends much of his screen-time glowering intensely as clouds gather ominously, yet somehow sexily, overhead. It's a star-making performance.

A charming scoundrel with a sturdy moral core, he's ably supported by a rich cast of characters including Phil Davis in unabashed scowling mode as a ruddy-faced manservant, and the late Warren Clarke in his final screen role as Poldark's scheming uncle. Though she doesn't come into her own until later episodes, newcomer Eleanor Tomlinson is suitably feral yet delicate as Poldark's vulnerable peasant ward.

Normally I'd criticise a drama for leaning on blunt exposition - I lost count of the number of times a variation on “Cornwall is changing, these are difficult times” was uttered in episode one – but here it forms part of a slightly heightened, charming sense of melodrama. Subtlety is grabbed by the seat of its britches and hurled into the crashing briny. In the rampant world of Poldark, understatement is as welcome as a bout of scurvy.

The bold antithesis of a staid Sunday night period drama, it's tremendous fun.

A tender new vehicle for Paul Whitehouse, Nurse is as low-key as Poldark is bombastic. Essentially a series of bittersweet character sketches linked by a loose yet effective through-line, it follows a community psychiatric nurse as she visits her patients, most of whom are played by the heroically versatile Whitehouse. 

Stand-out characters include a depressed ex-con struggling with agoraphobia, and a delightfully ingratiating Jewish OAP. Whitehouse is an extraordinary actor, yet his multiple turns never feel like egocentric grand-standing. He's fully invested in these three-dimensional characters.

Though often very funny, ultimately Nurse is a sensitive and humane study of issues surrounding mental health and community care. I can't recommend it enough.

TV Review: HARRY & PAUL'S HISTORY OF THE 2's/50 YEARS OF BBC2 COMEDY

This article was originally published in The Courier on 31st May 2014.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/lifestyle

Harry & Paul's History of the 2's: Sunday, BBC Two

50 Years of BBC2 Comedy: Saturday, BBC Two

Paul Whitelaw

Ever since it first popped into being, BBC Two has enjoyed a deserved reputation as a champion of edgy, innovative, subversive comedy. So it was only fitting that last weekend, in honour of its 50^th anniversary, it aired a standalone comedy which, quite without mercy, directly undermined the channel itself.

It probably wasn’t deliberate, but Harry & Paul’s History of the 2’s felt like a scathing lampoon of the celebratory clip show which aired just the night before. Not only that, it openly criticised Two’s decline from “highbrow” bastion of the arts to the confused, identity-free mess that it is today. It was alternative comedy in the truest sense.

Devised by Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson – who themselves owe Two an enormous debt – it was an irreverent spoof of every predictably compiled arts documentary you’ve ever rolled your eyes at. Linked by a gloriously unhinged performance from Enfield as Simon Schama – the deserted TV Centre backdrop added an unexpected note of poignancy – it attacked practically every sacred cow in Two’s illustrious history.

While some of the sketches felt undercooked and obvious, the unflinching highlights made up for the duds. As they grow older and grumpier, Enfield and Whitehouse have developed an admirable tendency to criticise their comedy peers. Targets included the sainted Pythons’ shameless milking of their own legacy, and the tired, formulaic ubiquity of comedy panel shows. This last sketch was a master-class in savage satire, as it laid waste to the phoned-in shtick of Paul Merton, Alan Davies, Russell Howard et al.

Lest they be accused of high-minded bitterness, they also included digs at their own shortcomings. A Boys from the Blackstuff spoof morphed into a self-deprecating critique of the duo’s reliance on crowd-pleasing catchphrases, while they openly acknowledged that – far from being the work of ground-breaking alternative comedians – Enfield’s sketch shows were essentially as traditional as Dick Emery.

Enfield and Whitehouse have form in this genre. Smashie & Nicey: End of an Era is one of the greatest, yet curiously underrated, spoof documentaries ever made. And sure enough, their careful attention to detail was in abundant evidence throughout. Parodies of everything from The Ascent of Man to The Young Ones used the correct film and video stock: the very best parodies always take time to accurately mimic their source material.

Indeed, this was a programme aimed at an audience steeped in TV history, and as such it was heroically refreshing. Even when the jokes fell flat, I never lost the sense that this was something created by people with huge respect for the medium, and a healthy disrespect for its failings. That deft combination of wry affection and outright mockery is a hallmark of Enfield, Whitehouse and Higson’s work.

This may not rank among their finest work, but it was still a bold, delightful, gag-packed assault on the very art of TV itself.

The real, straight-faced deal, 50 Years of BBC2 Comedy was the usual confection of over-familiar clips and platitudinous talking heads. But it did serve as a reminder that, despite Harry and Paul’s irreverence, Two has produced some of the best comedy ever made.

A welcoming playpen for uncompromising oddballs such as Spike Milligan, The League of Gentlemen and Chris Morris, it’s made an invaluable contribution to popular culture. These days it broadcasts The Great British Bake-Off. What price progress?