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 Preview: WILD BILL + I CAN GO FOR THAT: THE SMOOTH WORLD OF YACHT ROCK

This column was originally published in The Courier on 8th June 2019.

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

WILD BILL

Wednesday, STV, 9pm

Just when you thought the world couldn’t get any stranger, here’s Hollywood actor Rob Lowe in an ITV cop show. He plays a high-flying American police chief who, together with his teenage daughter, relocates to Boston in Lincolnshire. Why? Boston, so we’re told, has a worryingly high crime rate, so he’s been shipped in to bring down the numbers. If episode one is anything to go by, it makes Midsomer look like Toytown. The tone is all over the place, it bounces messily between laconic humour, bog-standard police procedural shenanigans and gruesome violence, seemingly uncertain of what the hell it’s trying to be. Still, the incongruous spectacle of Lowe navigating the means streets of Brexit Britain is something to behold. For about five minutes.

THATCHER: A VERY BRITISH REVOLUTION

Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

The penultimate instalment of this rigorous examination of Margaret Thatcher’s epic reign of terror shows how her stubbornness, hubris and lack of empathy sowed the seeds of her undoing. It begins in the mid-‘80s, when rapidly escalating unemployment and wanton free market capitalism triggered rancorous public dissent. Did Thatcher care? She was certainly stung by the criticism, but couldn’t understand where it came from. Her lack of self-awareness was astonishing. Nevertheless, she won a third term in 1987. Packed with fascinating reams of rare archive footage, including her uncharacteristically emotional interview with Dr Miriam Stoppard, plus frank contributions from the likes of cadaverous lickspittle Norman Tebbit and avuncular mortal enemy Neil Kinnock, it’s another sturdy chapter in a highly impressive series.

DEATH ROW: COUNTDOWN TO EXECUTION

Thursday, STV, 9pm

Here’s a sobering fact: there are currently more American death row convicts being profiled by documentary crews than ever before. In this unsurprisingly grim series, Susanna Reid travels to Huntsville, Texas, the execution capital of America (it even boasts a death row-themed museum). She’s there to meet maximum security prison inmate Patrick Murphy, who was once part of a notorious crime gang responsible for the biggest prison breakout in Texas history. This is his final television interview. We also hear from his Buddhist priest advisor and the wife of the police officer he’s convicted of killing. However, Murphy didn’t actually pull the trigger. Even the pro-death penalty locals Reid meets agree that this broaches a murky grey area. It's a vaguely acceptable piece of tabloid television.

I CAN GO FOR THAT: THE SMOOTH WORLD OF YACHT ROCK

Friday, BBC Four, 9pm

Though never considered a genre at the time, the slick, soulful Californian pop recorded from the mid-‘70s to the mid-‘80s by artists such as Steely Dan, Hall & Oates and Michael McDonald has since been defined and re-evaluated as Yacht Rock. In this excellent new series, Katie Puckrik, a devout acolyte, is your witty, charming, erudite guide to a deep blue bay of tidy beards, aviator shades and satin bomber jackets. An array of journalists and academics help her to place this “millionaire’s make-out music” in acute historical and socio-political context. They begin by tracing its sensitive singer-songwriter and soft rock roots, when popular music mounted an introspective campaign against the tumult of the ‘60s.

TV Column: HATTON GARDEN + THATCHER: A VERY BRITISH REVOLUTON

This article was originally published in The Courier on 18th May 2019.

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

NEXT WEEK’S TV

HATTON GARDEN

Monday to Thursday, STV, 9pm

Despite taking place just four years ago, the notorious burglary of the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company has inspired three films. The most recent, King of Thieves starring Michael Caine and Ray Winstone, was released only last year. You would, therefore, be forgiven for presuming that this four-part dramatisation of the biggest burglary in English legal history is surplus to requirements. Fortunately, it isn’t. Co-written by esteemed factual dramatist Jeff Pope (Philomena; Cilla; Stan & Ollie), it’s a typically well-researched affair boasting more depth and detail than its predecessors. A strong cast including Timothy Spall, Kenneth Cranham and David Hayman flesh out Pope’s compelling account of how an unlikely gang of elderly crooks (almost) got away with it.

THATCHER: A VERY BRITISH REVOLUTION

Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

29 years after her turbulent reign was vanquished, Margaret Thatcher is still one of the most divisive figures in British politics. You don’t have to be a fan to enjoy this exhaustive five-part documentary charting her rise and fall, it’s fascinating. It begins, aptly enough, with her early 1970s emergence as a prominent political figure and milk snatcher. Only the second woman to hold a position in a Conservative cabinet, Thatcher was a tirelessly driven workaholic. She was also, in the words of Ken Clarke, “a bizarre character, one of the most unlikely human beings I ever met.” He’s joined by other notables such as Shirley Williams and Norman Tebbit. It also boasts a wealth of rare archive footage.

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL: DEPRESSION AND ME

Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Much like Thatcher, infamous Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell could hardly be described as a sympathetic political figure. However, to his credit, he’s had a long history of talking publically about his mental health issues: Campbell has struggled with depression for most of his life. In this candid documentary, part of a short series of programmes tied in with Mental Health Awareness Week, he explains and explores the various ways in which he’s learned how to live with his condition, in the hope of getting a better understanding of it. He talks to psychiatrists, doctors and members of his own family. The nuanced and sometimes drily funny results are the most valuable thing he’s ever contributed to public life.

VICTORIAN SENSATIONS

Wednesday, BBC Four, 9pm

The rapid change of Britain in the 1890s made Dylan’s decision to go electric in 1965 look like a big fuss about nothing. In this lively new series, mathematician Hannah Fry, psychotherapist Philippa Perry and – not to be outdone - actor Paul McGann traverse a decade in which the electrified modern world sparked into life. Our host in episode one is the engaging Fry, who provides a wry account of the dawn of this brave new electric age. She describes it as “an unregulated free-for-all where enthusiasm still exceeds understanding.” Britain was experiencing progress on an unprecedented scale, hence the sheer number of weird and wonderful developments it went through. You can’t beat a bit of eccentric Victoriana.

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: THE ALL NEW MONTY + 24 HOURS IN A&E + GHOSTS

This article was originally published in The Courier on 4th May 2019.

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

NEXT WEEK’S TV

THE ALL NEW MONTY

Monday and Tuesday, STV, 9pm

It’s time once again to raise awareness of the importance of health checks to prevent prostate, testicular and breast cancer, as another group of celebrities whip out their bits under the expert gaze of dance coach Ashley Banjo. The responsible fun begins on Monday with Who Bares Wins, in which the likes of Joe Pasquale and snooker legend Willie Thorne, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015, get to grips with a complex strip routine to be performed in front of a packed theatre. In Ladies’ Night, it’s time for Martina Navratilova and various soap and reality stars to do the same. Most of the participants have personal reasons for getting involved with the promotion of this vital cause.

24 HOURS IN A&E

Tuesday, Channel 4, 9pm

This impeccable series is an admirable celebration of the NHS. It’s also a guaranteed anxiety inducer. If we’ve learned anything from watching years of what essentially boils down to a relentless hokey cokey of terribly upsetting drama, it’s that accidents and sudden failures of health occur every day. You could be the next unwitting victim. Fortunately, dedicated medical professionals will be on hand to rescue you from the brink. If you’re lucky. The latest series begins with a moving meditation on elderly people trying to come to terms with the possibility of losing their partners. Meanwhile, the marriage of Harry and Meghan unfolds in the background. Humane and tacitly political, it towers above every other show in this genre.

THE SINGER STORY: MADE IN CLYDEBANK

Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

In the late 19^th century, a vast modern factory transformed a village on the Clyde into an industrial powerhouse. Its finely crafted product, the Singer sewing machine, went one giant step further: it changed the world. As the years roll by, the historical importance of Clydebank is in danger of being forgotten. This fascinating documentary should restore its reputation. There was a time when one in five households in the world had a Singer sewing machine, most of them made in Clydebank. Via vivid contributions from former employees, a portrait emerges of a town characterised by civic pride and humour. The site where the factory once stood is now a bland business park. Progress ain’t what it used to be.

WHEN I GROW UP

Thursday, Channel 4, 8pm

Spontaneously inspired by recent social mobility research, three generous businesses have invited some seven-year-olds from all walks of life to briefly join their ranks. Fortunately, a television crew was on hand to capture the results. Will giving them jobs they’ve never dreamed of change their ambitions? This week they don customised uniforms to manage an artisan chocolate business. I don’t doubt for a single whiff of a second that the producers had the very best of intentions – they’re not cruelly inviting us to sneer at a sadly precocious rich kid who fences and plays golf, of course they aren’t - but it comes across as an unnerving fusion of The Apprentice and Channel 4’s notorious ‘80s misfire, Minipops.

LAST WEEK’S TV

GHOSTS

Monday 29^th, BBC One

This supernatural sitcom from the Horrible Histories team continues to plough a fairly amusing yet inessential furrow. It’s a likeable show populated by excellent comic actors, but the characters and storyline aren’t exactly riveting. We’re three episodes in, and I don’t really care about any of these people, either undead or alive. It gets by on a thin cushion of happy-to-please charm.

PLANET CHILD

Wednesday 1^st, STV

What can protective British parents learn from examples set by foreign cultures? In episode one of this revealing new series, twin doctors Chris and Xan van Tulleken attempted to find out by conducting carefully controlled child development experiments. We met Japanese and African kids with far more independence than their cossetted UK counterparts, who gradually managed to navigate central London while unaccompanied by mum and dad.

EASYJET: INSIDE THE COCKPIT

Thursday 2^nd, STV

Whimsically narrated by undiscriminating workhorse Stephen Fry, this series provides fly on the fuel gauge access to pilots from Britain’s biggest airline. They were, of course, depicted as cheerful, unflappable professionals tirelessly serving the needs of their customers. I daresay that’s true, but it was like watching a high-end promotional video. Still, nice scenery, and when was the last time you saw Inverness Airport on television?

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 LOOMING TOWER + BACK TO LIFE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 20th April 2019.

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

NEXT WEEK’S TV

THE LOOMING TOWER

Friday, BBC Two, 9:30pm

Inspired by actual events, this taut US drama is set in the years just prior to the September 11^th attacks. The CIA and the FBI were supposed to be working together to combat the rising threat of Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda. The Looming Tower contends that an absurd rivalry between their counterterrorism divisions resulted in vital information being withheld, information which could’ve prevented the largest ever terrorist attack on American soil. It begins with them struggling to cooperate while predicting Bin Laden’s next move. In the background, the American media remains preoccupied with the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. A sense of impending doom pervades. The solid ensemble cast is led by Jeff Daniels as the FBI’s irascible counterterrorism chief.

MARK KERMODE’S SECRETS OF CINEMA

Monday, BBC Four, 9pm

It comes as no surprise to learn that the young Kermode watched The Towering Inferno three times in the same week in 1975. He’s been preparing for this typically persuasive essay, in which he examines the disaster movie genre, for most of his life. Although they reached their heyday in the 1970s, disaster movies have been around in various forms since the 1920s. Always at the cutting edge of effects technology, these spectaculars usually involve all-star casts facing off against fires, floods and earthquakes. Why do we love them? Kermode: “Disaster movies, like horror films, often work as modern morality tales, reminding us of the natural order of things by terrifying us with visions of chaos and apocalypse.”

YOUR HOME MADE PERFECT

Tuesday, BBC Two, 8pm

Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs would doubtless raise a wry eyebrow (a wrybrow) at this rather brash and flashy home improvement series in which moneyed young couples are given the luxury of choosing from computer-generated virtual interior designs. Call me old-fashioned, but I much prefer McCloud’s drily mocking, seen it all before approach over the smart-aleck hipster bravado of the YHMP team. The whole enterprise is far too pleased with itself. In this episode, James and Vicky enter the architect’s studio with a major problem on their hands: they can’t agree on how their spacious detached property should look. James fancies a modern open kitchen, but Vicky prefers a more traditional approach. My heart, it bleeds for them.

THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE: SAN FRANCISCO

Friday, STV, 9pm

As this pulpy period espionage drama continues, a bloodied and battered young man collapses on the doorstep of Jean (Julie Graham) and Millie (Rachael Stirling). He’s looking for one of their English government associates, but why? And off goes the plot, its arteries thickening with every fizzy twist and turn. It involves heroin smuggled inside one of those new-fangled reefer cigarettes, Nietzsche-quoting beatniks, violently oppressed homosexuals and ancient Greek cipher techniques. The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco will never be mistaken for a prestigious drama – its dialogue and plotting are so amusingly ham-fisted, it makes Murder She Wrote look like Edge of Darkness – but it’s quite good fun if you’re willing to disengage your taste buds. Glossy drivel.

LAST WEEK’S TV

NINJA WARRIOR UK

Saturday 13^th, STV

I can’t watch arena-based rumbles of Saturday night folderol such as this without thinking of Peter Cook as Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling. The only television show the crumbling patrician ever watched was Gladiators as it gave him an idea “of what was going on out there.” Its only selling point is co-host Chris Kamara, a man both bewildered and thrilled by the mere idea of existing.

BACK TO LIFE

Monday 15^th, BBC One

Over the last ten years, the excellent Daisy Haggard has become a familiar supporting fixture in several British TV comedies, but this droll black comedy, which she also created, is her first starring vehicle. She plays a middle-class woman struggling to rebuild her life after spending 18 years in prison on a murder charge. She seems normal, so what happened? It’s an intriguing show, low-key and quite unusual.

THE COMEDY YEARS

Friday 19^th, ITV3

We’ve witnessed countless versions of this superficial yet harmless series before, but any clip show featuring segments on Cannon and Ball, Yootha Joyce, Only When I Laugh and the obscure Rowan Atkinson showcase Canned Laughter is always going to sit well with me. It began in 1979, the year Thatcher seized power, and served as a reminder that alternative comedy didn’t demolish the old guard overnight.