A version of this article was originally published in The Courier on 7th September 2019.
NEXT WEEK’S TV
SEAHORSE: THE DAD WHO
GAVE BIRTH
Tuesday,
BBC Two, 9pm
Freddy
is a gay transgender man who wants to have a baby. Filmed over three years, this
beautiful documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Jeanie Finlay follows him through
the entire complex process. While searching for a sperm donor, Freddy swaps
testosterone shots for folic acid tablets. He opens up about his anxieties and
admits that he wasn’t fully prepared for the myriad physical and psychological
effects of being able to conceive again. Freddy’s mother is fully supportive of
his brave decision, but his father can’t come to terms with it. Finlay’s
captivating, intimate film successfully challenges societal misunderstandings
and expectations surrounding gender and parenthood. “If all men got pregnant,”
says Freddy, “then my God, pregnancy would be taken much more seriously.”
HIGH SOCIETY: THE
CANNABIS CAFÉ
Tuesday,
Channel 4, 10:15pm
In
the final episode of this gossamer thin confection – think First Dates, but cheerfully stoned - our British guinea pigs reflect
upon what they’ve learned from spending time in Holland, where cannabis is
legal. Café guests include some post-menopausal choir ladies, a bland young
couple, a champion female boxer who’s considering gender reassignment – she
meets up with former Lennox Lewis manager Kellie Maloney - and a woman who
wants to convince her dad that medicinal cannabis use is beneficial. The point
of the series is this: don’t people open up more when they’re high? Well, maybe.
Possibly. They also spout a load of boring, meandering, self-involved blah, all
of which is captured here for your enjoyment.
THE BIG HOSPITAL
EXPERIMENT
Wednesday,
BBC Two, 9pm
The
NHS is understaffed and overburdened, but maybe – if the Tories don’t destroy
it first – it can draw strength from an influx of trained volunteers. This commendable
series tests the practicality of an idea which, if it succeeds, could
eventually become standard practice throughout the UK. During their second week
on the wards at the Royal Derby Hospital, the young team of volunteer nurses
are beginning to appreciate the existential magnitude of caring for patients on
a daily basis. Some cope better than others. While maintaining their outward
compassion, nurses have to suppress their instinctive emotional responses to
human suffering, which isn’t something that can be learned overnight. The Big Hospital Experiment reinforces
the incalculable value of our NHS. It's underlying message, of course, is that enlisting dedicated unpaid workers is an utterly shameful state of affairs, but I doff my invisible hat to these volunteers.
HAIRY BIKERS: ROUTE 66
Thursday,
BBC Two, 8pm
The
hirsute motorcyclists hit the world’s most mythical rock and roll highway in
this typically affable and pointless new series. Their culinary journey encompasses nine
American states and over 2,000 miles of tarmac, during which they devour
massive, sizzling portions of grub while, so they say, celebrating the cultural diversity and
eventful history of the star-spangled land of the free and battle-scarred home
of the brave. They don’t study this subject in any great depth, of course, as
that’s beyond the featherweight modus operandi of their scripted banter
personae. Instead they just bask in their surroundings while tenderising slabs
of beef. Still, the unpretentious restaurateurs they meet are friendly, which
is nice, and the easy riding scenery is quite something to behold.
LAST WEEK’S TV
THE DOG HOUSE
Thursday
September 5, Channel 4
Well,
this is just lovely. A series based in a home for abandoned dogs, it captures
the tail-wagging highs and whimpering lows (the latter outweigh the former,
thankfully) of picking up a pooch. The employees view themselves, quite
rightly, as adoption agents responsible for matching canines with appropriate
humans. Scruffy little Tiny meeting a young woman who struggles with depression
was a particularly touching moment.
SCARBOROUGH
Friday
September 5, BBC One
Derren
Litten, the architect of Benidorm, is
responsible for this sitcom set in the titular seaside town. It dutifully
echoes the cadences of Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood dialogue, but never comes
close to matching their immaculate turns of phrase. Litten is a harmless minor
talent – a reliable hack - whose work amounts to little more than an
inadvertent parody of lower middle-class comedy tropes.
MORTIMER AND
WHITEHOUSE: GONE FISHING
Friday
September 6, BBC Two
In
these harrowing times, we grasp for specks of comfort wherever we can find
them. Exhibits B and P: two middle-aged comedians standing in some rivers.
Every episode of this charming series was exactly the same, but it never wore
out its welcome. When they exchanged presents at the end – and that really did feel like the end – I had something in my eye. Thank you, fellas.
