TV COLUMN: Years and Years + The Virtues + Mum

This article was originally published in The Courier on 11th May 2019.

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

NEXT WEEK’S TV

YEARS AND YEARS

Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

TV titan Russell T. Davies is the brains behind this ambitious new drama following an extended Manchester family over the space of 15 years. It begins in the present day before scrolling forward to 2024. Trump has won a second term, the US and China are at loggerheads, Britain has finally left the EU and a growing influx of Ukrainian refugees are in desperate need of housing. Meanwhile, a ‘straight-talking’ politician (Emma Thompson) continues her terrifying rise to the top. RTD’s pessimistic message is encapsulated by Russell Tovey’s character: “The human race is getting more stupid right in front of our eyes.” That stupidity, he warns, is leading us towards catastrophe. Urgent and unsettling, this is not to be missed.

THE VIRTUES

Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

Fresh from having his throat slit in Line of Duty, Stephen Graham returns to our screens in the company of writer/director Shane Meadows, who gave him his big break in This is England. It’s a difficult show to preview as its tense, queasy intrigue derives from a gradual drip-feed of information about Graham’s character, Joseph. All I’ll say is this: it begins with Joseph saying goodbye to his son, who’s about to begin life anew in Australia with his mum and stepdad. Joseph then self-destructs before deciding to confront his tragic past. In typical Meadows style it’s a humane, unflinching piece of social-realism, and Graham’s portrayal of a broken man is incredible.

MUM

Wednesday, BBC Two, 10pm

The end, alas, is nigh for this rightfully beloved comedy drama. The third and final series takes the bold step of leaving Cathy’s suburban house for the first time. The new setting is a swanky holiday home rented by her brother and his tragically snobbish partner. Unlike before, this last hurrah takes place over the space of a week. Apart from that, it’s quietly desperate business as usual as lovely, patience of a saint Cathy (Lesley Manville) and the world’s nicest man, Michael (Peter Mullen), tentatively begin their romantic relationship. Unfortunately, Cathy can’t admit this to her son, who regards Michael as an unfit replacement for his late father. As the theme song says, we’ll miss it when it’s gone.

DAVID HAREWOOD: PSYCHOSIS AND ME

Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

30 years ago, actor David Harewood had a mental breakdown and ended up being sectioned. He now has an extracurricular career as a mental health spokesperson. In this candid documentary, he reflects upon that period of his life in an attempt to work out what happened. By talking openly about his ordeal, during which he experienced grandiose delusions, auditory hallucinations and blackouts, Harewood succeeds in challenging the stigma and lack of understanding which still surrounds this subject. He meets young people dealing with psychosis and talks to an expert who informs him that the condition doesn’t suddenly emerge from nowhere, it springs from a combination of stress, anxiety, trauma and vulnerability. It’s a fascinating and valuable document.

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 Column: THE VICTIM + LINE OF DUTY

This article was originally published in The Courier on 6th April 2019.

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

NEXT WEEK’S TV

THE VICTIM

Monday to Thursday, BBC One, 9pm

Port Glasgow and Edinburgh are the settings for this engrossing drama about Anna (Kelly Macdonald), a mother accused of plotting to kill a man by the name of Craig (James Harkness) who she believes is responsible for the murder of her son. After serving his time in prison, the young killer was given a new identity, a ‘luxury’ that Anna insists he doesn’t deserve. As for Craig, he appears to be an innocent family man. An intelligently written examination of victims’ rights and the rights of people accused of high-profile crimes, it boasts strong performances from Macdonald, Harkness and John Hannah as the policeman investigating Craig’s attack. Key line: “Public opinion doesn’t exist, it was invented by the media.”

A HOUSE THROUGH TIME

Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

Historian David Olusoga returns for another thorough excavation of the secrets buried within ordinary British houses. The subject in this series is a Georgian end-of-terrace property in Newcastle upon Tyne. Delving deep into the archives, our softly-spoken host – who was raised in the area where the house is located - studies the personal lives of its various residents “to uncover an epic story spanning 200 years”. What follows is a revealing alternative history of Britain told from within the same four walls. Its first resident was William Stoker, a privileged Victorian lawyer who eventually became Newcastle’s town coroner. Olusoga struggles to sympathise with Stoker as he charts a saga involving poverty, hypocrisy and appalling rough justice.

DON’T FORGET THE DRIVER

Tuesday, BBC Two, 10pm

Despite being billed as a black comedy, this new series is more of a drama peppered with mild attempts at downbeat humour. Toby Jones, who co-wrote it with experimental playwright Tim Crouch, plays a bored, lonely coach driver whose days consist of ferrying pensioners from the soporific seaside town of Bognor Regis to various destinations (Dunkirk in episode one). He’s also dealing with a disaffected teenage daughter, a mother with dementia and a twin brother (also Jones) living the high life in Australia. Meanwhile, an asylum seeker stows away on his coach and a body washes up on the beach. It certainly captures the bleak beauty of Bognor, but it’s neither funny nor dramatic enough to invite much enthusiasm.

ROCK ISLAND LINE: THE SONG THAT MADE BRITAIN ROCK

Friday, BBC Four, 9pm

Billy Bragg is such a devout socialist, he even looks like Jeremy Corbyn these days. It’s uncanny. In this sturdy documentary he explains how a 1930s railroad song originally written in Little Rock, Arkansas eventually became one of the most important recordings in the history of British pop music. Lonnie Donegan’s hit version from 1955 inspired a generation of post-war British teenagers. It’s no exaggeration to state that the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks et al wouldn’t have picked up their guitars were it not for Rock Island Line and the DIY skiffle craze it ignited. Bragg, a huge fan of the late skiffle king, traces the song’s fascinating history with assistance from various music historians and Donegan’s son, Peter.

  

LAST WEEK’S TV

LINE OF DUTY

Sunday 31^st, BBC One

When hit shows such as Line of Duty become known for incorporating certain signature elements, they risk a descent into self-parody. Based on the hard evidence of series five’s first episode, there’s life in this old feller yet. 

While scoring off your Line of Duty bingo card – compromised officers; initialism-heavy police jargon; itchy interrogation scenes; DCI Ted’s colourful exclamations; AC-12 gazing meaningfully at persons of interest as they enter or leave their headquarters – you presumably fell prey to a delightful piece of misdirection. 

We were introduced to a deep undercover agent embedded within a crime gang led by Stephen Graham, an actor known for playing villains. Nervous, secretive, she fitted the bill. However, it transpired that Graham is the undercover agent. What’s more, this time they didn’t kill off their famous guest star at the end of episode one. A wise move, as that once effective gimmick has worn out its welcome. 

Even after all these years, this addictively Byzantine and heroically bonkers thriller can still wrong-foot its audience. Here we go again.