TV Column: CATCH-22 + STILL GAME + KILLING EVE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 15th June 2019.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/category/lifestyle/entertainment/tv-film/

NEXT WEEK’S TV

CATCH-22

Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm

Joseph Heller’s classic satire of military bureaucracy, injustice and the madness of war was adapted for the screen with mixed results in 1970. This six-episode miniseries is clearly intended as a more faithful and possibly definitive adaptation. Set during World War Two, it follows a sharp young US Army Air Force bombardier as he struggles to rebel against a system that’s stacked against him. When he tries to get out of flying his remaining missions – suicide missions, essentially - he discovers a horrifying logical loophole: Catch-22. Boasting a large ensemble cast including Hugh Laurie and George Clooney (who also co-produces and directs), it succeeds in capturing the acerbic, absurdist, darkly comic tone of Heller’s antiauthoritarian masterpiece. Impressive.

THE FAMILY BRAIN GAMES

Monday to Thursday, BBC Two, 8pm

Dara O’Briain plays host to “eight of Britain’s cleverest families” as they cross their wits in “the ultimate test of cross-generational brain power.” In a laboratory overseen by academic experts, they take part in various problem-solving games designed to test different facets of their intelligence. The basic idea is that, by performing as a team, these competitive high achievers will provide an interesting study of family dynamics. And to an extent, they do. What’s more, you can play along at home. While I wholeheartedly welcome unabashed celebrations of intelligence, there’s no getting around the fact that The Family Brain Games is the most middle class TV gameshow since the Robert Robertson-fronted iteration of Ask the Family.

THE RESTAURANT THAT MAKES MISTAKES

Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

This commendable series revolves around an experimental restaurant staffed by volunteers living with some form of early onset dementia. Like the recent BBC series Our Dementia Choir with Vicky McClure, it aims to raise awareness of this condition while illustrating that it doesn’t preclude people from achieving new goals. In episode two, they welcome an influx of food critics who politely yet firmly refuse to give the restaurant special treatment. That would be patronising and counterproductive. For the participants, the project seems to renew their self-confidence. Waiter Peter, a former business owner, sums up the frank yet poignant tone: “Dementia takes away many things… our memories and ability to do things. But what it doesn’t take away is feeling.”

STILL GAME

Friday, BBC One, 9pm

If you missed the final series when it premiered earlier this year on the BBC Scotland channel, now’s your chance to say farewell to Jack and Victor. Even the most devout Still Game fan would admit that it’s long since passed its prime, but this valedictory run marks a slight return to form. It’s certainly nowhere near as bad as the other post-return outings: it actually contains some decent jokes and glimmers of the warmth which made us love it in the first place. Make no mistake, Still Game in its heyday was a modern sitcom classic. Admittedly, this opening episode is average at best, but at least it isn’t embarrassing. The series improves as it goes on. RIP.

LAST WEEK’S TV

KILLING EVE

Saturday 8^th, BBC One

Series two of this multi-award-winning black comedy thriller picked up directly from the violent climax of series one. Sympathetic MI5 agent Eve (Sandra Oh) was suffering from PTSD after stabbing – fatally, she assumed – psychopathic assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). The oddly likeable villain was alive and fairly well, of course: she’s an unstoppable force of dark nature. Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) has stepped down as head writer to focus on other projects, but new boss Emerald Fennell (hitherto best known for playing Nurse Patsy in Call the Midwife) slipped into her shoes with ease. Killing Eve is still a fast, funny parody of spy thriller tropes which also functions as an actual captivating spy thriller. It has its cake and eats it on the fly. Also, Comer is utterly outstanding

YEAR OF THE RABBIT

Monday 10^th, Channel 4

The ubiquitous Matt Berry stars in this dreary sitcom about a tough, maverick Victorian cop patrolling the mean streets of London’s East End. It’s a charmless affair in which unfunny swearing and strained silliness offer no substitute for wit. The one-note Berry, who can’t even affect a passable cockney accent, is acted off the screen by a supporting cast which includes Paul Kaye and Alun Armstrong.

TV Column: OUR DEMENTIA CHOIR WITH VICKY McCLURE + LINE OF DUTY

This article was originally published in The Courier on 27th April 2019.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/category/lifestyle/entertainment/tv-film/

NEXT WEEK’S TV

OUR DEMENTIA CHOIR WITH VICKY McCLURE

Thursday, BBC One, 8pm

People with dementia often recall the melodies and lyrics of their favourite songs, which can be a calming influence leading to significant moments of clarity. In this moving series, the Line of Duty star teams up with leading experts to test our emotional and physical responses to music. They assemble a 20-strong choir comprised of people living with dementia, following them over three months as they rehearse for a live performance. Why McClure? Well, as we know, television law decrees that programmes of this nature must be fronted by a famous face, but she does have first-hand family experience of the illness. It’s a valuable experiment aimed at proving that life doesn’t end with a dementia diagnosis.

BANGED UP: TEENS BEHIND BARS

Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

In this new series, eight wayward British teenagers are sent to one of America’s toughest jails for seven days as part of a radical intervention programme. The basic goal is to put the fear of God into them to ensure that they never end up in prison for real. They find themselves rubbing shoulders with hardened criminals and tough guards, including the star of the show, Lieutenant Robbie Stokes, an army veteran and barking disciplinarian straight out of a sweaty US chain gang drama. If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably laugh when he yells “What in tarnation are you crying about?!” at some poor kid. Naturally, he’s more subdued during his interview segments. It’s all part of the game.

BAKE OFF: THE PROFESSIONALS

Tuesday, Channel 4, 8pm

Twelve new teams of professional patisserie chefs pick up their spatulas and hope for the best as this popular series returns. You know the score: over the first two days, the first six teams face a series of challenges, after which they’ll be ranked. Whoever is in last place will be asked to leave the competition. It really is as simple as that. During the opening heat they’re tasked with reinventing Linzer tortes, the Bakewell tart and the red velvet cake, a dessert classic, in under five hours. As usual, co-hosts Liam Charles and Tom Allen are joined by exuberant judges Cherish Finden and Benoit Blin. “Wow me, excite me and blow my mind away!” exclaims Finden. No pressure.

FORENSICS: THE REAL CSI

Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

By my reckoning, ‘real CSI’ documentaries probably outnumber the fictional CSI shows they set out to debunk. We all know these crimes aren’t solved by genius maverick cops, hence why we presumably find some comfort in programmes such as this in which diligent, unglamorous experts go about their duties with the utmost seriousness. The actor David Caruso isn’t going to help you in your direst hour of need, but these people might. In Newcastle, a single shot is fired through a window in the dead of night. Neither the injured woman nor her boyfriend who made the 999 call saw anything, so it’s up to the forensics team to piece the incident together. Please, don’t have nightmares.

LAST WEEK’S TV

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING OSCAR

Saturday 20^th, BBC Two

Spread over 90 generous minutes, this revealing tribute to the genius of Oscar Wilde featured presentations of key scenes from immortally witty and profound works such as The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray, plus learned contributions from the likes of Wilde’s grandson, Merlin Holland, and – inevitably - Stephen Fry, who examined the myriad ways in which Wilde’s life influenced his work. 

LINE OF DUTY

Sunday 21^st, BBC One

Jesus, Mary and Joseph! I still can’t decide what shocked me more: Ted’s incorrect spelling of ‘definitely’ seemingly confirming that he’s the powerful bent copper who’s been pulling the strings, or undercover cop Corbett (very special guest star Stephen Graham) getting offed by the OCG for being a rat. And we still have two episodes to go. What a show. What a grin-inducing fairground-ride.

JOHN LEE HOOKER: THE BOOGIE MAN

Friday 26^th, BBC Four

One of the greatest bluesmen of the 20^th century, Hooker was an idiosyncratic innovator with a raw, sensual, funky, hypnotic sound all of his own. He only needed one chord to create his volcanic boogie. This solid doc traced his journey from extreme poverty to living deity status, via warm contributions from family members and disciples such as Keith Richards and the lesser-spotted Van Morrison.

TV Review: THE INTERROGATION OF TONY MARTIN + DAVID CASSIDY: THE LAST SESSION

This article was originally published in The Courier on 24 November 2018.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/category/lifestyle/entertainment/tv-film/

THE INTERROGATION OF TONY MARTIN: Sunday, Channel 4

DAVID CASSIDY: THE LAST SESSION: Friday, BBC Four

On the night of 20 August 1999, farmer Tony Martin shot and killed teenage burglar Fred Barras. Martin always claimed he acted in self-defence, despite the intruder being unarmed. Martin shot Barras in the back. He eventually served three years of a life sentence, after the original murder charge was reduced to manslaughter.

This case became a political cause celebre. Right-wingers were generally supportive of Martin’s right to protect his property. People capable of more nuanced thought patterns were dismayed by the notion of a binary society in which violent vigilante justice is considered acceptable.

Was Tony Martin a victim? Of crime, certainly. Were his actions justified? Absolutely not. However, what do we really know about him? The claustrophobic factual drama, THE INTERROGATION OF TONY MARTIN, sought to reveal more about this infamous figure via verbatim transcripts of his police interviews.

Largely set within the confines of an interrogation room, it began on the day after the crime took place. Martin (a mesmerising performance from Steve Pemberton) initially came across as a lonely, frightened, confused and vulnerable man experiencing a waking nightmare. He seemed quite sympathetic.

One of Pemberton’s greatest gifts is his unerring ability to imbue ostensibly off-putting characters with traces of ambiguity and pathos.

Martin tried to explain his fearful personality – in the words of his mother, “My son is very highly strung and has a tendency to worry about things.” – by tentatively discussing the sexual abuse he’d suffered as a child. Since then he’d shut himself off from the world in a remote farmhouse shrouded in darkness.

He claimed he’d been burgled several times, but eventually stopped going to the police as he felt he wasn’t being taken seriously. He slept every night, fully clothed, with an illegally-owned shotgun under his bed.

As the drama progressed, my initial impression of Martin changed. His account of that night was vague and contradictory. He came across as arrogant and blasé. When the police eventually picked his slippery story apart, he seemed genuinely astonished that he’d been charged with murder.

To this day, he maintains that he did nothing wrong. How do we know this? The man himself appeared in a chilling coda, during which he returned to the farm for the first time in 19 years. Unrepentant, he said he’d do the same thing again without hesitation. Does he regret killing Barras? Not in the slightest. Tony Martin isn’t a well man. He needs help.

This discomfiting drama won’t have changed anyone’s mind about Martin’s crime, but it did deliver some insight into his damaged psyche.

A raw profile of a man nearing the end of his life, DAVID CASSIDY: THE LAST SESSION followed the reluctant teeny-bop idol as he struggled with dementia and other serious health issues.

With admirable candour, the frail Cassidy invited a documentary crew to record his struggles. He reflected on a life during which he battled with alcoholism for many years, while recording what would prove to be his final tracks - poignant pre-rock tributes to a troubled showbiz father with whom he had a strained relationship.

The programme also featured rare extracts from an in-depth audio interview he taped at the height of his fame in 1976. Even at that age, he came across as an intelligent and introspective man.

This was the tragic saga of a manufactured idol, a typecast fantasy construct, battling with the cruel vicissitudes of real life. It was terribly sad, but never voyeuristic or exploitative. A sensitive tribute.