Mrs Biggs

5th September 2012

After growing up near the site of the Great Train Robbery and completing a school project on the incident at the age of 5 (though the fact that I referred throughout to “Rony Biggs” somewhat ruined the integrity of said project), I was pretty confident I knew all there was to know about the infamous crime. Mrs Biggs, ITV’s new five part drama, offered a welcome fresh perspective on the robbery, both for the general public and experts on “Rony” and his gang like myself.

By focusing on Ronnie and Charmian’s relationship, the opening episode of the series felt less like a retelling of a historic crime and more like an original and interesting drama. It is a testament to the quality of the programme that it never felt like we were impatiently waiting for the Robbery to happen, rather it was enjoyable simply watching the couple’s relationship develop.

This was down in no small part to a stellar cast, headed by superb performances from a charismatic Daniel Mays and an outstanding Sheridan Smith, practically unrecognisable as the straitlaced Charmian who is tempted over to the criminal life by the man she loves. Their contrasting worlds were swiftly and deftly established, and their romance felt believable. Though the shadow of the future crime hung heavily over the audience this was not at the expense of a well told love story – the moment when Biggs decides to turn himself in to the police sniffer dogs rather than risk Charmian freezing as they hid in a stream was wonderfully played.

Having the attention span of a goldfish, I was worried that at one and a half hours the episode would feel rather over long, in fact it was anything but. The robbery hadn’t even taken place by the end of the episode, and yet the pace never felt slow. I completely invested in Ronnie and Charmian’s marriage, so that by the time Biggs’s conspirator Bruce turns up, tempting him like a devil (albeit with large spectacles) on his shoulder, I appreciated the painful inevitability of what was going to happen to the domestic life of the Biggs all the more.

The cinematography throughout the episode was beautiful and atmospheric, building to a crescendo with the robbery at the end, moving swiftly through the details of the run up to the crime as it is a path that has been trodden many times before. This, after all, is the story of Mrs Biggs.

The drama brilliantly told the story of the people behind the Great Train Robbery. If nothing else it is arguably worth watching for Sheridan Smith’s effortless performance alone, but all round Mrs Biggs is a top quality drama of the sort that is usually all too rare on ITV.

Turn Back Time - The Family: End of Series Review

26th July 2012

Turn Back Time: The Family was one of those very rare beasts – a programme that managed to be both entertaining and informative as well as something the whole family could watch together. Three generations of my family enjoyed the programme, including my gran, who is not usually impressed by anything without Emmerdale, Coronation or Come Dancing in the title.

 The concept of the show was to transform a street to replicate a different era of the 20^th century each week, with families “living the lives of their ancestors”, meaning that the quality of life and type of home they lived in depended on what earlier generations of their family had experienced.

 For this final episode the families were sent back to the seventies, enduring not only the atrocious fashion and the furry wallpaper (yes, apparently that actually happened), but also the effects of the 3 day week and strike action, power cuts and water shortages. To reflect the change in divorce laws during the era, a new family led by a single mum joined the street, whose two boys quickly evaluated the seventies in all its frozen food glory as “disgusting”. They clearly hadn’t seen the hilarious ‘Action Cook Book’ being used by the Taylor household – never had an attempt to get men into the kitchen been more transparent: just put a gun on the cover, they’ll love it!

 By tackling 20^th century history through the focal point of the family, the BBC produced a lovely, engrossing and quietly brilliant series. The winning formula of the show can be attributed to the fantastic choice of participants, all game for whatever history threw at them, and the seamless production, which utterly immersed the families in the past. Trying to recreate the terror of World War Two air raids in 2012 is no mean feat, but the show went the whole hog and imitated the effects of a bomb by trashing one of the houses. If success is measured by expressions of genuine fear on the children’s faces, then it definitely worked.

 There is a temptation nowadays to blame computers and TV dinners for the break-up of the family. What Turn Back Time managed to do superbly was examine the past without rose tinted spectacles, and to allow the families to make their own judgements on whether life really was better in the old days. The series hasn’t shied away from controversial and shameful aspects of British history, introducing a black family onto the street in the 60s and replicating the prejudice and squalid conditions their grandparents would have faced when they immigrated to Britain. In the end, many of the families felt that 2012 was a pretty good time to live, all things considered.

The show succeeded in reminding us in a non-preachy way just how good we have it in the 21^st century, and though we may have tough times to deal with, in the past things could be a lot worse. After all, nothing quite spells hardship like the delicate discussion of how to adapt toilet use during a water shortage.

True Love - End of Series Review

22nd June 2012

When I saw that True Love, the much hyped five part semi-improvised drama, had been scheduled so late at night, it seemed like a bizarre move – with such big names involved, it seemed like primetime viewing. Unfortunately after seeing the series in its entirety, I can understand why it was shunted so late in the schedules.

For a show that promised so much, most of True Love was decidedly underwhelming. I was propelled past a disappointing opening episode by my admiration for David Tennant, but things didn’t improve. Despite a strong performance by Lacey Turner as a shattered mother, the second episode ‘Paul’ felt too similar to the opener, with a husband being tempted away from his boring home life – for Tennant it was by an old love, for Ashley Walters it was, bizarrely, a random woman at a bus stop (it didn’t end well, don’t try this on the number 4).

Billie Piper’s episode, ‘Holly’, was possibly the weakest of the lot; in trying to explore a controversial storyline that was sure to grab headlines – a teacher embarking on a relationship with a female student – the episode took on a plot with implications it didn’t have time to explore, resulting in something feeling flat and implausible. Even the director seemed to be losing interest in the series, with the episodes comprised mainly of characters brooding dramatically on the Margate seafront, with a blaring soundtrack that sounded like someone in the editing suite had pressed play on their Cheesiest Love Songs compilation album. In such short episodes, this frustratingly overshadowed the actual drama.

By the mid-point of the series I was beginning to despair; for a Doctor Who fan, it feels morally wrong to criticise something David Tennant and Billie Piper are in, but True Love was feeling like a let-down. Thank goodness for Jane Horrocks’s episode, ‘Sandra’, which encapsulated everything the series could and should have been all along. Horrocks was outstanding as a woman awakening to her weak marriage and distant husband. Finally the overlapping nature of the series came into fruition, with the knowledge that her husband had an affair in the previous episode changing the dynamic of this one. Believable and perfectly paced, it was a great piece of drama regardless of the improvisation aspect. It was so good I could almost ignore the deafening soundtrack.

Sadly the final episode ‘Adrian’ suffered from its short run time, and despite a convincing David Morrissey as a man internet dating and a stand-out performance from young actress Jo Woodcock, the engrossing drama ended prematurely.

Ultimately True Love didn’t achieve the dizzying heights it should have done with the talent involved. The improvisation itself wasn’t to blame, as the actors mostly excelled with the challenge; rather it was the focus on this, instead of on decent drama, that let the series down. Too often the episodes felt disjointed and rushed, which was a real shame, as Jane Horrocks’s episode showed what the series was capable of. It’s certainly worth catching a couple of the episodes whilst they’re still on iPlayer, if only for the fact that by this showing, it doesn’t look like the BBC will be quick to venture into improvised drama again.

True Love

18th June 2012

The heavily promoted, star-studded improvised drama series True Love arrived on BBC One last night, prompting many questions. Would the improvisation prove to be a brave dramatic choice or merely a gimmick? Would the high profile cast be able to cope with the challenge of writing their own lines? And most importantly, would there be enough lingering close-ups of David Tennant’s face?

The answer to the final question, mercifully, was yes. The opening episode of the series revolved around David Tennant’s character Nick struggling to cope with the arrival of an old flame, tempting him to abandon his wife and family (I should probably warn you right now that I’m something of a Tennant fan – although I’m pretty confident it won’t be noticeable). The majestic Tennant starred opposite Vicky McClure and Joanne Froggatt, with Lacey Turner briefly popping up to provide a neat overlap into the next episode. The high calibre cast certainly can’t be faulted in True Love, and they coped well with the challenge of working without a script.

Director Dominic Savage’s choice to let the actors improvise their lines is obviously the main talking point of the drama. For the majority of the episode it really seemed to work, creating a fascinating realism that is rarely captured by a writer’s pen, and was particularly well suited for creating a realistic portrait of Nick’s family life. However sometimes I felt myself wishing for a writer to hone the more dramatic moments, and the occasional scene came to an unnatural end, as though the actors (though never the glorious Tennant, of course) hadn’t been sure when the scene should stop.

But what let this otherwise strong drama down was the fact that the episode was quite simply too short for what it attempted. At half an hour in length, the episode gave us very little time to engage with the characters (and even less time if you read the TV guide wrong and tuned in 5 minutes late – not that I did this of course). It felt like we were breezing through the plot, and as such it all felt a bit fleeting. The glimpses we got of the marvellous Tennant’s angst over the choice between his wife and ex-lover were moving, but the episode didn’t linger long enough to make it feel like there was ever a struggle. After seemingly deciding to ditch his wife, Tennant barely had time to pose for a dramatic silhouette on the sea front before changing his mind and sending Vicky McClure packing.  The ending of the episode was similarly disappointingly abrupt, with no time for the ramifications of Nick’s actions to be explored.

Overall the brief glimpse we got of the drama of True Love and the impact of improvisation was tantalising, but over all too quickly, leaving the whole thing feeling a bit flimsy. Perhaps as the drama continues exploring other characters over the course of the week it will form into something more substantial, but the first episode felt like it promised so much but never got the chance to stretch its legs, creating a rather sedate experimental drama.

Oh, and David Tennant was superb.

What Makes a Good Documentary Presenter?

April 21st 2012

On Tuesday night Mary Beard meandered onto our screens, peddling the eccentric Cambridge professor stereotype as she pedalled round Rome in the opening of her engaging Meet the Romans series. It struck me that this was the latest in a long line of outstanding factual series from the BBC, and so I decided to take a closer look at the different ways that they have hit upon a magic combination of fact and finesse in their documentary presenters.

My family and I were instantly entertained by Mary Beard. Not only was she a Trevi fountain of knowledge (I do apologise, it’s not often you can make a Rome pun), but she presented it with the unbridled joy of a slightly bonkers lady that the film crew had stumbled across and proceeded to follow round Rome, recording her excited and informed ramblings. At one point she told us that as she read tombstone inscriptions she could hear the voices of the dead Romans. Something tells me she didn’t just mean that as a figure of speech. Roaming round museums manhandling objects, chuckling gleefully at ancient wordplay, acting out a gladiator battle with miniature figurines a propos of nothing; Mary provided a glorious way into the fascinating world of Ancient Rome.

Another factual presenter who trades in a similar manner of enthusiasm is physicist Brian Cox, who rocketed to fame with his love of outer space. Whilst it goes without saying that documentary presenters are going to be passionate about their chosen subject, a special few find a way to infuse that passion in the audience, and Brian’s animated gesticulating and eager grin offered many a window into the wonders of the universe. Of course, in trying to attribute Brian Cox’s popularity merely to his infectious enthusiasm and knack for explaining confusing concepts, I am skirting round the elephant in the room. Brian is also famous for his ‘boyband good looks’, emphasised by many a lingering camera shot. It seems many viewers will become fascinated with any subject if the presenter has nice hair.

I apologise if my praise of Mr Cox sounds slightly disparaging. I don’t mean to discredit him: he’s very intelligent, a talented presenter and, for many, a heartthrob. But I cannot count myself among his legions of fans, because my heart belongs to Louis Theroux. He could make a documentary about soil (he may already have, such is the wide range of subjects he has covered), and I would still watch. His slight awkwardness, his innocent interviewing technique that can coerce all sorts of characters into suddenly blurting out something incriminating, and yes, his lovely face, all combine for me into the perfect documentary presenter. His polite probing into sensitive subjects leads people to reveal more to him than they would to others, and his open-mindedness and genuine interest in the people he meets has led to fascinating documentaries giving an insight into everything from the roughest of American jails to the home of Sir Jimmy Saville. A respectful tolerance for the weird and an ability to appear non-judgemental makes for superb factual television.

When I admitted my obsession with Louis to my sister several years ago she too praised his “doddery yet intelligent manner”, and I felt as if I had stumbled upon an underground religion. I now proudly number amongst his 172 thousand fans on Facebook, a veritable army of those with the good taste to recognise his humour, his consistently thought-provoking documentaries, and yes, his good looks (I won’t hear a word said against them).

Louis, Brian and Mary take on wildly different subject matters in their programmes, but all of them find a way to make their passions accessible and captivating for the audience. So it seems that the secret to being a great documentary presenter is having bundles of knowledge, passion and a lovely, lovely face. And if you haven’t got the latter, a bike and a bonkers demeanour will do just fine.

Homeland - End of Series

May 8th 2012

Homeland, Channel 4’s award winning US drama import, finished its first series on Sunday night, with its brilliance and popularity marked not by viewing figures, and not by the rave reviews, but by the fact that my housemate and I celebrated watching the last episode with a fry-up, a privilege previously only awarded to The Apprentice final. Nothing spells excitement like a celebratory fry-up.

The finale was as tense and rewarding as could be hoped, with Brody’s plan finally coming to light – kitted out in a bomb vest, he attended an event held by the Vice President, planning to exact revenge for a covered up drone attack the politician authorised that killed 82 children, including Abu Nazir’s son whom Brody befriended whilst held captive. Carrie, meanwhile, was depressed after her manic episode, pining for Brody, and jobless, with only Virgil and his van still willing to go along with her theories.

As rogue Marine Tom Walker unleashed his sniper attack on the event, only Carrie, roaming the area unofficially, understood this as a ploy to get Brody and his unorthodox undergarment into a secure bunker with his targets. Unable to get the CIA to listen, she had to rely on Brody’s suspicious daughter Dana to talk her dad down, in a thrilling race against time as Brody desperately rewired his bomb in the bunker.

Though Dana succeeded in getting the attack aborted, this left Brody still loyal to Nazir whilst appearing completely innocent, which drove Carrie to check herself into hospital to undergo ECT, worn out by her disorder and believing her theory incorrect. The series ended on a harrowing note as Carrie recalled Brody’s dream about Nazir’s son, a crucial indication of his links with Abu Nazir, but succumbed to anaesthetic before she could tell anyone. As she convulsed on the operating table, we were left to wonder whether this memory would survive the procedure.

The episode was a suitably exciting and nail-biting finish to a series that has been consistently superb, maintaining intrigue and intensity throughout. Possibly the best aspect of the series, however, has been Claire Danes’s outstanding portrayal of Carrie, especially in her accurate and powerful  depiction of her breakdown, leaving me genuinely upset to see her heartbroken and having lost the job she lived for at the end.

The character of Brody, meanwhile, was excellently handled, and given believable motives that made him more complex and interesting than a simple war hero gone bad, and was a perfect example of Homeland’s skill in blurring views of good and evil, and complicating the ‘them and us’ rhetoric of the war on terror.

The show is returning for a second series, and although the finale set up further avenues for the show to explore, with unanswered questions about a government mole and Brody’s missing confessional tape, I can’t see them topping the intrigue and originality of the first series now that we have a clearer idea of who Brody is. But while the second series will certainly have a different tone, if it can replicate the quality of the first series and its mature if bleak view on the war on terror, it will continue to be one of the best dramas on television.

Very Important People

May 1st 2012

When I first saw the advert for Channel 4’s new impressions show Very Important People, I had low expectations. Yes, the sample of impressions in the ad were spot on, but accurate impressions does not a side-splitting comedy make.

However after watching the show I was pleasantly surprised: Very Important People is not simply an impressions show, but a comedy in its own right. Undoubtedly Morgana Robinson and Terry Mynott are superb in their impersonations, but the show is not reliant on them for laughs. I remember being in stitches at Alastair McGowan’s impressions when I was young, but now I’m older and grumpier the mere ability of someone to pinpoint a celebrities’ quirks and exaggerate them feels somewhat tired and tame.

Where Very Important People sets itself apart, then, is in building its humour round the often bizarre ways celebrities make their fame, leading to hilarious sketches of Natalie Cassidy ambling around reading takeaway menus in her latest documentary “Natalie Cassidy is just doing this now”, and Danny Dyer taking on the hardest commutes, eventually becoming overwhelmed and having to bail at Didcot Parkway (although it bears more than a passing resemblance to Jon Culshaw’s Ross Kemp parodies, it’s funny enough to get away with it).

The show also works hard to feel cutting and current. Not only does it send up celebrities who are not often fodder for impressionists, giving us fresh laughs, the show doesn’t just rely on uncanny impersonations; it also takes a scathing look at the darker side of our obsession with a variety of unseemly celebrities. The ‘Fame Skillz’ sketch, whilst admittedly not the funniest part of the show, took a pop at throwaway celebrity culture and the absurd circus of the fame-hungry treading the well-worn route through perfume release, drug abuse, rehab and tabloid scandal, all hosted by an aggressively excited Fearne Cotton (a scarily accurate impersonation).

Amongst the send-ups of paint by numbers Jennifer Aniston movies (“Aniston and Owen Wilson in – Some Sort of Disagreement”) and Gordon Ramsey angrily demanding people get behind an anti-bullying campaign, the show also keeps itself right up to date, with a news segment that comments on the very latest celebrity scandals, allowing a take on the Cowell/Minogue revelations and a perfectly judged send up of The Voice mentors (it was dope, as Will.i.am has led me to believe the cool kids would call it). Even here we get a glimpse at the bite the comedy has: Amy Childs, hosting the news, finishes off with a passing comment on how lots of people are dying in Syria or something.

If you’ve written off Very Important People as just another impressions show, it really does deserve another look. Bolstered by the brilliant performances of Robinson and Mynott, if it can maintain its freshness and its satire, and avoid repetitiveness by taking on a big enough cast of characters, it could be the cleverest take on the genre that we’ve seen in a while.