June 2010 Archives

Every so often, a number of seemingly unrelated programmes on different networks throw up unintentional seasons with a common theme. Only a couple of weeks ago, I noted how programmes celebrating involvement in theatre came along on BBC2 and Five recently.

This time, the common theme seems to be puppets. On top of Mongrels (video below), which continues with its second episode tonight on BBC3, last night’s Big Brother saw all the housemates given the task of talking through their lookalike puppets. It was one of those classic tasks that make the most mundane of behaviour look so ridiculously hilarious that even John-James seemed less annoying.

And ITV got in on the act yesterday too, with a visit from Sesame Street’s Elmo. If the interview wasn’t entertaining enough, there’s also some behind the scenes footage. A three-and-a-half year old who refers to himself in the third person shouldn’t be funny, but there’s something about Elmo that just makes me smile.

Incidentally, for grown ups who haven’t really grown up, West End show Avenue Q celebrated its fourth anniversary yesterday as well. If you haven’t seen it before, or it’s been a while, pop down the Avenue — current leads Paul Spicer and Cassidy Janson are well worth catching.

It’s labyrinthine, hard to understand, out of date, eccentric, expensive, difficult to like — and yet impossible not to love, part of our cultural heritage and recognised all over the world. No, not the BBC itself, much as the cap fits, but one of its most recognisable buildings. BBC Television Centre in White City celebrates 50 years in active service today, even as its future remains uncertain.

Back in January 2007, TV Today reported on the suggestions that the iconic building would be sold off as part of the BBC’s restructuring of its property assets. Since then, parts of the historic building have been listed, which makes the sale more difficult as it would severely restrict what could be done by any future owner.

In 1960, when Studio 3’s opening marked the start of production at the complex, The Stage and Television Today’s Lawrence Masidlover wrote:

Artists using the Centre will find facilities previously undreamt of. No longer will there be grumbles… about the dressing rooms… about reherasal space — or the washing facilities or rest rooms.

Read the rest of the article here (PDF), and marvel at how anybody thought that artists would never grumble. Its closing paragraphs strike a further optimistic note:

The Television Centre is a symbol of the industry’s maturity. It’s the wonder and envy of television operators from every country in the world.

To Great Britain it is an asset of incalculable value, asserts [Gerald Beadle, Director of BBC-tv], so long as we as a nation retain the will to play a leading role culturally, politically and commercially in world affairs.

“We who have made this industry from scratch are aware of opportunities — immense opportunities for this country, if British television is allowed a period of unhampered development,” he says.

But to the BBC the Television Centre is a monument to confidence, confidence not only to ability but to future development.

Rev. BBC2, Monday 10pm
Tom Hollander stars in a new comedy about a parish vicar who has recently taken over an inner city parish. Together with Olivia Colman as his patient but occasionally expasperated wife, it’s a sitcom that has many subtleties in its humour, but has the occasionally belly laugh too. In the first episode, On Your Knees Forget the Fees, attendance takes a sudden upswing as ambitious parents pose as ardent churchgoers in order to get their children enrolled at the local CofE-controlled secondary school. Alexander Armstrong guest stars this week.

• Olivia Colman will be the guest on this week’s episode of The Stage Podcast, and is interviewed in this week’s print edition of The Stage.

The Bill ITV1, Tuesday 9pm
The body of a Venezuelan woman is discovered on a Sun Hill rubbish dump. The murder suspect is her boyfriend, who cannot be located. Has he absconded with their son? The sort of tale that The Bill could not have told in its old pre-watershed slot.

Mongrels BBC3, Tuesday 10.30pm
More shenanigans from the animal kingdom in the second of this adult puppet comedy. This week, pigeon Kali questions the nature of God in song form, which prompts a guest appearance from a familiar face…

Playhouse: Live Sky Arts 2, Wednesday 9pm
Frank McGuinness is the author of Sky Arts’ latest newly commissioned play, Crocodile. Directed by Toby Frow, Sinead Cusack and Pippa Bennett-Warner star in a two-hander about a girl who has committed a horrific crime, and the lawyer who tries to help her despite harbouring her own secrets.

Southland More4, Thusrday 10pm
Executive produced by John Wells, one of the driving forces behind the much-missed ER, this new American police drama centres around the Los Angeles Police Department, as viewed through the eyes of rookie cop Ben Sherman (Benjamin McKenzie from The OC). As the first cop precinct drama to air after The Wire, the cable show’s influence can be seen in a much tougher representation of inner city crime than we’d usually get from a mainstream US TV show.

Jonathan Ross Radio 2, Saturday 10am
JR’s studio guest this week is Tom Hollander, co-creator and star of new BBC1 comedy Rev., in which he plays the new vicar of an inner city parish. See TV Today on Monday for my preview of Rev., and in next week’s Stage podcast (and our print edition, out next Thursday) I’ll be interviewing Hollander’s costar, Olivia Colman.

Why do Women Die in Opera? Radio 3, Saturday 12.15pm
So many of the big opera roles for women end in death, whether by consumption (Mimi), throwing oneself off a tower (Tosca), stabbed by a spurned lover (Carmen) or herself (Butterfly)… So why is it always the women who get bumped off? Martin Kettle explores whether it’s just because we want the diva to go through the gamut of emotions, or whether male composers’ relationships with women in real life have any bearing.

Weekend Wogan Radio 2, Sunday 11am
Live performances from the Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House from Jodie Prenger (currently touring with Spamalot as well as sitting in for Paul O’Grady, Sunday 5pm) and Rick Astley. Yes, Rick Astley.

Drama on 3: Antony and Cleopatra Radio 3, Sunday 8pm
David Harewood and Frances Barber star in Mary Peate’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s great tragedy. Roger Allam, Amanda Root, Claire Rushbrook and so many other great names make the dramatis personae read like a who’s who of great talent.

Woman’s Hour Drama: Amazing Grace Radio 4, Monday-Friday 10.45am
Based on a true story, Michelle Lipton scripts the tale of Grace (Wummi Mosaku), who flees her Sudanese village when it is attacked, but in the chaos loses her twin boys. The efforts of the family to reunite takes the story to Kenya and Britain.

Afternoon Play: Black and White Riot Radio 4, Monday 2.15pm
In 1980, riots broke out in the St Paul’s district of Bristol. Edson Burton’s drama looks at events of the time through the eyes of a girl (Tyra Allen) whose café owner father (Jude Akuwideke) is king of the hustlers.

A Strange, Enchanted Boy Radio 4, Tuesday 1.30pm
Eccentric hippy eden ahbez, who requested that his name always be spelled in lower case, wrote just one song: Nature Boy. Originally performed by Nat King Cole, Baz Luhrmann featured it in his film Moulin Rouge! (in a version by David Bowie) and it has been covered by hundreds of artists, including former Any Dream Will Do finalist Daniel Boys on his recent album So Close.

Afternoon Play: The Art of Balance Radio 4, Tuesday 2.15pm
Deborah Findlay, Niamh Cusack and Joseph Kloska star in a magical fable by Rachel Joyce. Two women seeking balance in their lives find themselves in a field with two wooden towers and a tightrope.

The Glory of Glam Rock Radio 2, Tuesday & Wednesday 10pm
Thursday is the 40th anniversary of the recording of T. Rex’s first hit single, Ride a White Swan, which is regarded as the birth of glam rock. From the Bowie & Bolan rivalries to the glam explosion that showered the charts with glitter, Gary Kemp narrates the story of one of British pop’s silliest looking, but most creative, eras.

Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation Radio 4, Wednesday 6.30pm
It’s been two years since the last series of comic lectures in which the News Quiz regular berates Britain (although they’re repeated often enough on Radio 7 for the gap not to have been that noticeable).

Methuselah’s Children Radio 7, Friday 6pm
Robert A Heinlein’s first book to feature the enigmatic Lazarus Long is also the best. A group of families have used secretive techniques to extend their own lives far in excess of the human average. Is it just selective breeding, as they claim, or have they turned to other means? The quest for longevity pervades this six-part drama.

Amazing Grace Radio 4, Friday 9pm
An omnibus edition of the Woman’s Hour Drama (see above). It’s a shame that original drama is no longer being commissioned for this slot, but at least people who want to listen to thought-provoking drama on a Friday evening have something. Small crumbs of comfort, I know…

Are You Having a Laugh? TV and Disability BBC2, Friday 9pm
Television has not treated disability particularly well over the last fifty years. Some of the archive footage seen here is just downright horrific. More recently, while we think of televisual life in 2010 as being more accepting and representative, this documentary uses humour and contributions from a number of actors with disabilities (including Mat Fraser, Laurence Clark, Kiruna Stamell and Julie Fernandez) to illustrate that there’s still a way to go.

The IT Crowd Channel 4, Friday 10pm
The fourth series of Graham Linehan’s office-based sitcom is as strong as ever. Jen (Katherine Parkinson) wants to apply for the role of entertainment manager, a position which, Roy explains, would make her ‘Fredo’ from The Godfather. And not, as Moss insists, a hobbit from The Lord of the Rings…

Doctor Who: The Big Bang BBC1, Saturday 6.05pm
No sign of ending this series with a whimper, then. River Song is trapped in an exploding TARDIS, Amy is dead, Rory is actually an Auton who has just killed his fiancée and the Doctor has been trapped in the Pandorica by an alliance of every alien race he has ever ticked off. And there are LOTS of those. What happens next? I can’t wait to find out, and can only specualte on how a Dalek made of stone and the reappearance of Young Amelia (Caitlin Blackwood) ties in.

Top Gear BBC2, Sunday 8pm
A new series of the three old codgers doing silly things with makeshift vehicles. Who needs Last of the Summer Wine, eh?

Football/Tennis/Glastonbury Various channels, all the time
You can’t escape sport and music this weekend. Apparently there’s some match or other on Sunday, but beyond that I lose interest…

Dispatches: How to Save £100 billion - Live Channel 4, Monday 8pm
You can tell how sparse good telly is during a combined World Cup/Big Brother season when Square Eyes previews a current affairs show about the economy. This, however, does promise to be the sort of show that uses light entertainment techniques to illustrate complex and difficult subjects. Krishnan Guru-Murthy hosts a debate in which various experts propose methods of reducing the UK’s budget deficit, and a studio audience votes for or against the proposed schemes. If it’s anything like Channel 4’s Chop or Not website it’ll help illustrate the hard choices facing parliamentarians.

The Bill ITV1, Tuesday 9pm
As we head down the home stretch before waving goodbye to Sun Hill, now would be a good time to jump back on board and follow the series. There’s nothing more exciting than watching a long running programme go hell for leather towards a predetermined finishing line. Other than reading a TV previewer mixing the athletic metaphors.

Mongrels BBC3, Tuesday 10pm
The BBC’s “first urban, multi-species, adult puppet comedy”, apparently. Who’d have thought that’s what we needed. From all the clips I’ve seen, though, it’ll be right up my ever-so-slightly-puerile street. Nelson (Rufus Jones), an ‘urbane’ fox and Marion, a Persian cat (Dan Tetsell), lead a cast of characters that should, if there’s any justice, be the next breakout BBC3 hit.

Lennon Naked BBC4, Wednesday 9.30pm
Christopher Eccleston and Naoko Mori star as John and Yoko in BBC4’s latest biographical drama (do they commission any other sort?). As befitting one of the key elements of the channel’s Fatherhood season, it’s paternal relationships that are the central focus of this play, as John reunites with his father, Freddie (Christopher Fairbank) while also walking away from his son from his first marriage, Julian.

Gareth Malone Goes to Glyndebourne BBC2, Thursday 9pm
With the 50-strong teenage chorus chosen, Gareth continues preparations for Knight Crew. But, just as in previous series, one or two of his young proteges are not responding well, with some not turning up for rehearsals and others messing about when they do. Will a trip to the Royal Opera House to see La Boh&eagrave;eme sort them out? Oh come on, it’s a Gareth Malone show, so chances are it will — but it’ll be joyous and life-affirming for all its predictability.

Glee: Journey E4, Monday 9pm
It’s the season finale and, for the glee club, it’s Regionals time. Mr Schu’s arrangement with Principal Figgis was that the choir could only continue if they placed at regionals, so it’s make-or-break time. But with Sue Sylvester wheedling her way onto the judging panel and Vocal Adrenaline at the top of their game, it’s easier said than done… After a rough few weeks directly after the mid-season break, Glee has hit its stride in recent weeks, and my contacts across the pond (who saw this episode last week) tell me that, apart from one or two disappointments in the plot department, this is one of the series’ best episodes yet.

• Watch our video preview

Rude Britannia BBC4, Monday-Wednesday 9.00pm
Bawdy comedy has always been a part of British cultural life, from saucy jokes in Shakespeare plays, to music hall routines, Eric Gill’s seaside postcards through to modern TV and radio shows and the comic art of Gerald Scarfe and Steve Bell. This three part documentary traces the history of bad taste humour through the ages.

Gareth Malone Goes to Glyndebourne BBC2, Thursday 9pm
The BAFTA-winning choirmaster turns his attention from schools and housing estates and starts a three-part series determined to stage a new opera on the world famous Glyndebourne stage. Knight Crew, by composer Julian Philips, is a modern day retelling of the legend of King Arthur, and requires a cast of 50 teenagers. In this first programme, he starts the audition process, deciding on which of the 450-strong hopefuls will sing in front of a Glyndebourne panel. Once the auditions are over, the business of rehearsing begins.

• Read our education & training editor Susan Elkin’s experience of the finished performance on her blog

Frost on Satire BBC4, Thursday 9pm
Political satire is put under the spotlight in this one-off special hosted by Sir David Frost — who, of course, with That Was the Week That Was and The Frost Report helped define the genre on British television. Talking to satirists on both sides of the Atlantic, this promises to be an intriguing look at how this particular branch of comedy has changed in reaction to the revolving doors of political office.

Mock the Week BBC2, Thursday 10pm
A ninth series of the topical comedy show. With Frankie Boyle now a distant memory, there are now three guest slots available each week, and in the first show they go to Chris Addison, Milton Jones and Diane Morgan.

Monday sees the final episode of the first season of Glee. Gleeks rejoice — not only will the show be back for a second season, but a third has also been ordered!

Before then, though, we have the matter of regionals to get through. And without wanting to give too much away, a couple of familiar faces pop up, as both Josh Groban and Olivia Newton-John get to reprise their scene-stealing cameo roles.

For this week’s video clip preview, we present one of New Directions’ regionals performances, a reprise of the signature song Don’t Stop Believin’. Of course, this is the first time we’ve seen all twelve members perform it…

Will New Directions triumph over Vocal Adrenaline? What will happen to Quinn and her baby? Will we ever get to meet Rachel’s gay dads? Will Sue Sylvester have all the best lines again? That last one’s pretty much a given: as for the rest, all may well be revealed on Monday…

• Glee, E4, Monday 9pm, repeated Fridays, 8pm Channel 4. For more information go to e4.com/glee

When Romeo Met Juliet BBC2, Friday 9pm & Saturday 8.45pm
After rehearsing separately, the Montagues and Capulets are brought together for the first time in the concluding two episodes of the docuemntary series following Paul Roseby’s production of a 1980s-set Romeo & Juliet. See my post from earlier today.

Doctor Who BBC1, Saturday 6.45pm
Blimey, this series has gone quickly. The final episode before the concluding two-parter is, as has become traditional, something of a diversion. The Doctor must, for reasons that I’m sure will become clear, pose as a human being, lodging with a very ordinary couple. Written by Gareth Roberts, it’s based upon a comic strip he wrote for Doctor Who Magazine in 2008. Warning: includes football. And James Corden. As if you aren’t sick enough of either already…

Stephen Hawking’s Universe Discovery, Saturday from 12pm
Six episodes of Discovery’s CGI spectactular exploration of the universe through the eyes of Professor Stephen Hawking. The narration by Benedict Cumberbatch (who, of course, played Sir Stephen in BBC biopic Hawking) plays over fun, if sometimes fanciful, imaginings of what life outside our solar system might look like, and more. Well, at least it’s not football.

Mark Lawson Talk to… Sir David Frost BBC4, Sunday 9pm
The latest in Lawson’s occasional series of conversations is with the veteran broadcaster and satirist. The late Ned Sherrin claimed that he gave Frost his big break, on That Was the Week That Was, after reading a review of Frost’s cabaret performance in a certain publication by the name of The Stage, so is it okay if we adopt him as one of our own?

Who Do You Think You Are? BBC1, Sunday 9.15pm
An American series of the genealogy show kicks off with Sex and the City actress Sarah Jessica Parker. Enough to make you yearn for more football, really…

I don’t know, you wait years for a TV programme to treat acting and the stage with reverence and passion, and then two come along at once.

Last Friday saw the first of a three-part series, When Romeo Met Juliet, on BBC2. Paul Roseby, artistic director of the National Youth Theatre, is working with two Coventry schools to present a new production of Romeo and Juliet. One school, an inner-city comprehensive, will play all the Montagues, while Cardinal Newman Catholic School, which has specialist arts status, will form the cast of Capulets. Roseby has help from husband and wife actors Adrian Lester and Lolita Chakrabarti, who each act as mentor for one of the schools.

Seeing groups of children warm to the sensation of creating onstage characters is fascinating stuff. It’s over half a lifetime ago since I was their age, but I feel sure that the work that Roseby, Lester and Chakrabarti are seen doing in this series ought to be an inspiration to a new generation of aspiring actors.

Writing on the BBC’s TV blog on Monday, Roseby said:

Some of these young people have never done theatre before, let alone Shakespeare. Some had never even been to the theatre. Not so uncommon, perhaps, with a generation high-wired up to instant communication, but the complete lack of understanding of the challenges of staging a live show in a professional theatre was, at times, to test my control freak-like nature!

[…] Would the children be able to take the pressure and the discipline of the next few weeks or would the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet be mirrored by some tragic behaviour in the rehearsal room?

It is brilliant that the BBC has committed to such a challenging, collaborative, and life-changing programme using Shakespeare and theatre as the hook.

And he’s quite right. While the column inches devoted to Saturday night light entertainment vehicles such as Over the Rainbow often give the impression that the Corporation is only interested in subverting the musical theatre genre for its own ends, projects such as this underline how the BBC’s public service remit is helpful to the arts sector — so much so that the Kevin Spaceys of this world should be reminded of projects such as this the next time they complain about the Staurday night shows. The BBC is a broad church, and there’s room for lots of different theatre-based programming.

It’s not just the BBC that have been looking at the world of theatre, of course. Monday’s one-off documentary on Five, David Jason: The Show Must Go On, was a great look at the world of amateur theatre. Never seeking to humiliate or manipulate the subjects of the documentary, Ruislip’s Argosy Players were shown to be, like amateur troupes all around the UK, a group for whom the social aspect is as important as the performance.

Both these projects should hopefully inspire more people to tread the boards. If you’re interested in amateur theatre, you should check the website of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association or AmDram.co.uk to help find a group near you.

If, on the other hand, you’re a parent and want to find a school where your child can best express their performance side, you can check out our Stage Guide to Schools for Young Performers, which lists state and independent secondary schools with an arts focus, from maintained sector schools with specialist arts status to junior conservatoires and dedicated stage schools.

• The first part of When Romeo Met Juliet is still available on iPlayer and will be available for one more week. The series continues tonight and concludes tomorrow.
• David Jason: The Show Must Go On is available on Five’s YouTube channel

David Jason: The Show Must Go On! Five, Monday 9pm
Ruislip-based amateur theatre troupe the Argosy Players know that they are being filmed for a documentary series following the cast, rehearsal and performance of a new production. What they don’t know is that the performance is only three weeks away, that it will be in a West End theatre and that veteran actor (and former amateur performer) David Jason will be acting a s a mentor. What follows is a gentle exploration of the social etiquette around amateur theatre, where the social environment is just as important as finding the best actor for the role. As the rehearsal progresses, it’s clear that Jason has a very different approach to the subject matter — The Ass and the Philosophers, by Gwyneth Jones — than the director, who is demanding panto-like performances from his cast.

There isn’t the sense of self-imposed peril that programmes in this sort of genre often have these days. And while that can leave it with a sense of being a little underwhelming, it does allow us to see more of the camaraderie within the group.

Father and Son ITV1, Monday-Thursday 9pm
ITV1’s latest drama thriller stars Dougray Scott as a reformed gangster who finds himself drawn back into the world of crime when his son (Reece Noi) gets involved in the shooting of a teenage boy. Stripped over four nights, Frank Deasy’s script is ably served not only by the two leads but also costars Sophie Okonedo and Ian Hart.

Glee E4, Monday 9pm
The theme for the week is “funk” — both as in a bad mood, and the musical style. That said, this episode’s description and attitude to “funk” is about as spot-on as Over the Rainbow’s attitude to the “mash-up”. After a quiet couple of weeks, Sue Sylvester is back on form with some truly mean one-liners. But - gasp? - could she be revealing a soft spot for a certain other member of the school faculty? There’s a scrappy sense to this week’s stories, as this penultimate episode seems to want to wrap up most of the ongoing plotlines in advance of next week’s regionals. Glee fans should stay tuned to E4 after this episode…

Gleeful E4, Monday 10pm
While some of Glee’s antics are exaggerated for comedic, musical and/or dramatic effect, the real world of high school show choirs in the US has its own characters that wouldn’t be out of place in the larger than life world of McKinley High.

Big Brother: the Launch Channel 4, Wednesday 9pm
Thankfully the last series of the show that monopolises Channel 4’s airwaves every summer.

Stanley Park/Dappers BBC3, Thursday 9.30pm
After last week’s heart-stoppingly thrilling Pulse, BBC3 airs two very different pilots. In Stanley Park, Morwenna Banks and Nick Blood are some of the characters living in a South London street. It’s Dappers, though, that looks the more promising, if only in terms of its heritage. Catherine Johnson, who wrote the book and screenplay for Mamma Mia! and has other stage credits under her belt, has created a comedy about two Bristol-based single mothers who are always on the look out for a quick buck. Ty Glaser and Lenora Critchlow (Being Human/Material Girl) star.

When Romeo Met Juliet BBC2, Friday 9pm
In a series hoping to do for school theatre what The Choir did for, um, choirs, BBC2 hosts an ambitious project which sees two groups of 14 to 17-year-olds tackle William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. With the National Youth Theatre’s Paul Roseby heading the production (staged within a 1980s setting and with copious use of music), two schools are mentored by the husband and wife team of Adrian Lester and Lolita Chakrabarti. Lester works with an inner-city comprehensive to play the Montagues, while Chakrabarti faces different challenges at a suburban Catholic school.

Doctor Who: Vincent and the Doctor BBC1, Saturday 6.40pm
Tony Curran stars as Vincent Van Gogh in an episode penned by Richard Curtis. From the previews, it looks like the references to some of Van Gogh’s greatest works is more structured than the (admittedly fun) “spot the book title” elements of Agatha Christie tale The Unicorn and the Wasp. Bill Nighy also pops up in a brief cameo.

• See the BBC’s Archive collection of Van Gogh-related material

Britain’s Got Talent: The Final ITV1, Saturday 7.30pm
Events this week overtook me somewhat, meaning I’ve missed most of the daily semi-finals in this year’s competition. However, it’s all about the final, and there’s a good mix of acts in there. Can street dance win for the third year running?

British Academy Television Awards BBC1, Sunday 8pm
The awards event of the year in telly terms, as Graham Norton hosts the TV BAFTAs from the London Palladium. Julie Walters is a favourite for the Best Actress gong, as she has two nominations (for both Mo and A Short Stay in Swizterland). Actors are doubly rewarded this year, as the Academy includes awards for supporting actor and actress for the first time. I’ll be on the red carpet and in the press conference afterwards, so look out for some exclusive content on TV Today next week!

So Germany won Eurovision, and the United Kingdom are marooned at the bottom of the table. How can we recover from last place?

The record books will show that Germany won the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, and that Lena Meyer-Landrut’s Satellite had the second highest winning margin after Alexander Rybak’s runaway victory with Fairytale last year.

But the true winner was the contest itself.