This article was originally published in The Courier on 6th July 2019.
NEXT WEEK’S TV
DARK MONEY
Monday
and Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm
This
timely drama from award-winning playwright and screenwriter Levi David Addai (Damilola, Our Loved Boy) is inspired by
the ongoing scandal involving sexual abuse within the entertainment industry.
When Isaac, a British teenager, travels to Hollywood to star in a science
fiction blockbuster, it should’ve been a dream come true. However, upon returning
home he reveals that he was abused by the film’s producer. Isaac’s parents (the
excellent Babou Ceesay and Jill Halfpenny) are told that British police have no
legal jurisdiction over crimes which took place in America. Then the producer’s
legal team get in touch with a jaw-dropping offer. It’s an angering indictment
of an unjust system which protects the rich and powerful at all costs.
EXTREME TRIBE: THE
LAST PYGMIES
Monday,
Channel 4, 9pm
In
the Congolese rain forests lives a Pygmy tribe largely cut off from the outside
world. As any seasoned TV-watcher knows, remote African tribes are always being
politely bothered by western documentary crews. They presumably enjoy the
fleeting novelty of welcoming the likes of chirpy filmmaker Livia Simoka into
their fold. Simoka produced and directed the similarly warm C4 series The Tribe, which also sought to
dismantle foolish preconceptions by presenting jungle-dwelling communities as,
you know, ordinary people just like you and I. Her five-month visit is an
emotional log flume ride. Do bear in mind, however, that it includes scenes of
dead animals being dismembered. It doesn’t flinch, nor should it.
8 DAYS: TO THE MOON
AND BACK
Wednesday,
BBC Two, 9pm
The
Apollo 11 space mission, the most famous and important in history, lasted for a
total duration of eight days, three hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds. The world
and beyond would never be the same. In this fascinating feature-length
documentary, we’re granted declassified access to the extensive audio
recordings taped inside the capsule during that epochal journey into the unknown.
Dramatic reconstructions and archive footage also assist in creating an
immersive account of what it must’ve actually been like for Armstrong, Aldrin
and Collins, those great NASA pioneers, as they carried out a feat of
remarkable human endeavour. The sheer scale of their achievement is put into
fresh perspective by this beautiful film. “Houston? The eagle has landed.”
LAST WEEK’S TV
HOW THE MIDDLE CLASSES
RUINED BRITAIN
Saturday
29th, BBC Two
Right-wing
comedian Geoff Norcott – an anomaly if ever there was one – comes from a
working class background. He strongly believes that left-leaning middle class
people are Remain-voting hypocrites. The problem with his argument in this confused
polemical piece was that it relied on stereotypes to prove its point, thus
being entirely hypocritical in itself. Still, hats off to the Marxist BBC for
allowing a dissenting voice.
JOHN McENROE: STILL
ROCKING AT 60
Sunday
30th, BBC One
Sue
Barker travelled to the NYC home of the erstwhile Superbrat for this
entertaining profile of a legendary athlete who is almost as renowned for his
angry, youthful outbursts as he is for his prowess on the court. He’s mellowed,
of course. The McEnroe that Barker met was on typically droll, affable form as
he led her on a stroll through his colourful life and career.
ANNA: THE WOMAN WHO
WENT TO FIGHT ISIS
Wednesday
3rd, BBC Two
In
2017, 25-year-old activist Anna Campbell from Sussex arrived in Syria to join
an all-female Kurdish militia in their fight against ISIS. She had no previous
military experience. A year later she was killed. In this eloquent documentary,
Anna’s father attempted to make sense of her decision by meeting her comrades. A
sad, searching study of a grieving family struggling with severely conflicted
emotions.
