September 2010 Archives

The Young Ones BBC1, Tuesday-Thursday 9pm
A number of celebrities in their 70s, including actors Liz Smith, Sylvia Sims and Lionel Blair, attempt to “think themselves young” by wearing the clothes, cooking the food and generally living the lifestyle of 1975. So it’s basically a three-part version of The Supersizers Go… for people who think Sue Perkins and Giles Coren are far too young for that sort of thing…

First Light BBC2, Tuesday 9pm
An incredibly moving tribute to the armed forces who took part in the Battle of Britain. It’s billed as a drama-documentary, but the focus is on the dramatic portrayal of Geoffrey Wellum, nicknamed “Boy” by his fellow pilots as he joins 92 Squadron while just 18. Sam Heughan as Wellum captures Wellum’s path from delight at flying to the personal anguish of losing so many comrades. Gary Lewis and Ben Aldridge also excel, while the real life Wellum provides interlinking narrative.

• First Light: playing tribute to the Battle of Britain heroes
• The Stage podcast: Sam Heughan interview

Time Shift: 1960 - The Year of the North BBC4, Tuesday 9pm
The 1960s provied a fertile time for the North of England to assert itself in the culture of the whole country. In theatre, in television and on film, writers like Alain Sillitoe, Stan Barstow, Tony Warren and Shelagh Delaney really made an impact. Which leads us to…

The Road to Coronation Street BBC4, Thursday 9pm
Former Corrie archivist and screenwriter Daran Little (now on the EastEnders writing team) crafts a fine origin story for Tony Warren’s tale of everyday Weatherfield folk. Jessie Wallace (who herself returns to EastEnders next week) is in fine form as Pat Phoenix/Elsie Tanner, with Lynda Baron and Celia Imrie bring to life Violet Carson (Ena Sharples) and Doris Speed (Annie Walker) respectively. William Roache, who is the only remaining cast member still in the current Corrie cast, is played by his son James, recently seen in the soap itself playing Ken’s previously unknown grandson.

Over on our podcast blog, you can now hear my interview with actor Sam Heughan, the star of First Light, a drama based on the memoir of Spitfire pilot Geoffrey Wellum.

Like Radio 4’s Saturday Play Spitfire! last Saturday, First Light incorporates personal recollections from Wellum himself. It also uses archive footage, and a little bit of CGI, to show the full horror of the battle for the skies. Another battle plays out in the minds of the pilots who have to come to terms with losing colleagues in such circumstances.

It’s a superb drama, and I really do recommend everybody watches (it’s on BBC2 at 9pm, and on BBC HD at 10.30pm).

Over on the BBC’s television blog, co-writer, director and producer Matthew Whiteman writes about the technical challenges involved in bringing the flying sequences to life:

We had access to a real Spitfire - and the budget for maybe 45 minutes flying time - but the Spit is a single-seater and there was no question of anybody but a very experienced pilot taking the controls of several million pounds’ worth of vintage aeroplane.

We had access to a replica Spitfire, which could be shoved about on the ground but had no proper cockpit interior.

[…] Then we found a friendly pilot, prepared to have the back cockpit of his two-seater Russian YAK trainer converted to look like a Spitfire cockpit interior.

Sam leapt in, surrounded by high defintion (HD) mini-cams and took to the sky with his script taped to the instrument panel.

Meantime, our real Spit took off with the pilot delivering Boy Wellum’s point of view (by way of a specially designed camera mounting on his flying helmet).

The effect is impressive, and the overall drama is incredibly moving.

There’s so much good telly on this week, Square Eyes is going to have to have a Monday edition and a further one tomorrow to cover the rest of the week. Set your Sky+ boxes, there’s a lot to get through!

EastEnders: E20 BBC2, Monday 8.30pm
The first of a five-part broadcast version of the BBC1 soap’s web spin-off, which began its second series online last week. For my tastes it feels a little too different to its parent in pace and tone to work as well as it ought to and some of the new characters feel like they should have been left on the drawing board. But it’s not all bad, and at least feels more like a contemporary urban East End than we usually see in Albert Square.

Who Do You Think You Are? BBC1, Monday 9pm
For the final programme in the series, actor Alan Cumming finds how his family tree stretches into France and Malaysia.

Grandma’s House BBC2, Monday 10pm
It’s the day of Tanya’s wedding to Clive, but Grandpa has had a turn. And the bride is clearly having doubts. What started off a little unsurely has developed into a corker of series, and it will be a shame to see it go. Unfortunately, this episode (and indeed this whole series) has been a little overshadowed by the passing in July of actor Geoffrey Hutchings, who played Grandpa.

The Inbetweeners E4, Monday 10pm
A third series of the Bafta-winning sixth form-set series sees Will (Simon Bird) and his friends subjected to further humiliations. The catwalk of a school fashion show is the last place on earth you’d expect to see Will. So, of course, that’s where he ends up…

Him and Her BBC3, Monday 10.30pm
It’s Steve’s birthday, but he’s not feeling well, so his mum and friends have to visit him in his sickbed, even though that’s getting in the way of his Inspector Morse watching. Stefan Golaszewski’s script builds almost surreptitiously towards a filthy, but hilarious, final scene.

School of Comedy E4, Monday 10.35pm
The series where schoolkids act out comedy sketches as adults may not be to everyone’s tastes, but I enjoyed the first series and the second seems to build on what they achieved first time round. I saw the first couple of episodes at a screening last week, and Jack Harries as the world’s worst best man and Beth Ryalnce’s blind woman with a long-suffering husband (Will Poulter) were definite highlights. One thing that did irritate last series was the intrusively hysterical laughter track — there was so much genuine laughter in the screening room that I honestly can’t say if that has been toned down.

One of the great advantages with the BBC’s longevity is that every so often some real nuggets emerge from the enormous archive that spans back over the decades. In the past week, the BBC Archive has released two new collections of special interest to readers of The Stage and the TV Today blog.

The first collection covers the work of Dame Agatha Christie. As well as producing novels that have formed the basis of hours of television and radio drama, with adaptations of Poirot and Miss Marple enjoying frequent repeats and with the occasional new episode joining them, Christie of course wrote The Mousetrap, which has run continuously in the West End since 1952 (albeit with a transfer from the Ambassadors Theatre to the St Martin’s next door in 1974).

From 1960’s celebration of its 3,000th performance to a clip from a 1972 Omnibus documentary in its twentieth anniversary, there’s lots about the appeal of this particular thriller.

If that’s not your thing, then today sees the release of a collection to mark the 25th anniversary of the BBC’s on-screen presentation for children’s television. September 9, 1985 saw the introduction of Phillip Schofield’s “broom cupboard”, a control desk from which Schofield not only presented but did all the vision mixing. Things often went wrong, with one of the more embarrassing (and downright hilarious) efforts being commemorated in Noel Edmonds’ Saturday night vehicle, The Late Late Breakfast Show.

Following Schofield’s departure, Andy Crane, Andi Peters, Toby Anstis started their careers in the broom cupboard. These days, of course, presentation is done in a “proper” TV studio, and presenters are no longer required to handle technical aspects as well as talking to the audience. That’s probably all to the good, I’m sure, but there’s an old school charm to the broom cupboard that makes me feel quite nostalgic…

• BBC Archive: 25 years of the broom cupboard
• BBC Archive: Agatha Christie

Big Brother: The Ultimate Final Channel 4, Friday from 7.30pm
Yes, after the anti-climax of this year’s “proper” series final, which segued so seamlessly into Ultimate Big Brother that poor Josie’s win went almost unnoticed, tonight sees the final, last ever, ultimate, final of Big Brother. At least on Channel 4, as Richard Desmond’s Channel Five are rumoured to be interested in buying the format (a natural fit, as the Daily Star would have no news to report during the summer if it could not make mountains out of Borehamwood molehills every year).

Regardless of what one may think of the programme, I have to confess that this year’s instalment, which has taken extreme liberties with the format, has been one of the funniest, most entertaining in many years. So I’ll be, if not if floods of tears, at least dabbing my eyes on occasion. Nice to see Dermot O’Leary return to the Big Brother fold (for Dermot’s Last Supper at 9.30pm) too.

New Tricks BBC1, Friday 9pm
The old dogs of UCOS are back for more investigations and light whimsy. Hoorah.

Paul O’Grady ITV1, Friday 9pm
After leaving his Channel 4 daytime show, O’Grady returns to the channel he vowed never again to work for in 2006, after his contract was allowed to lapse. Freed of the constraints of daytime, don’t expect Graham Norton-style rudeness, but instead a more relaxed O’Grady. If you call joining Britain’s Got Talent winners, gymnastic troupe Spelbound, relaxing…

Strictly Come Dancing: The Reveal BBC1, Saturday 6.25pm
Celebrities. Professional dancers. Sequins. You know the drill, right? Well, after a couple of years of audience frustration at format tweaks and substandard competitors, the buzz for the 2010 series is proving promising. A return to basics in the format (Sunday results show, no dance-off) is set to be joined by some exciting changes (Claudia Winkleman co-hosting the results show, a professional troupe doing the show dances so competing professionals can concentrate on coaching their celebrity partners). The series proper starts on October 1 — this week we meet the 14 celebs, find out who their partners will be and meet some of the professionals who will be working on Strictly for the first time.

Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live BBC3, Saturday from 9.10pm
Two hours worth of the cream of stand-up performers who were performing at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Albert’s Memorial ITV1, Sunday 9pm
David Jason and David Warner are two old WW2 veterans, fulfilling their late comrade’s request to bury him in a field in Germany where the three faced an unspoken trauma that none of them have ever quite come to terms with. Gentle laughs and bucketfuls of pathos, as you’d expect from a drama with Jason’s name on the executive producer credits.

And so, the second series of BBC soap EastEnders’ web spin-off, E20, has started up, with the first episode available from last night. Written by Emer Kenny (who now also appears in the soap as Zsa Zsa, a character first introduced in E20’s first series), it introduces a bevy of new characters who will also, I understand, move into the Square on a permanent basis.

The first episode is below, and episode 2 will be available online from 8pm tonight. Future episodes will be online on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. An omnibus edition of both episodes each week will air on BBC3 every Monday.

First impressions? Apart from “You call that dialogue? That makes me feel old…”, my first thoughts are that, while it’s good to have more black and minority ethnic characters in the Square, by concentrating on a very narrow age range of characters it’ll make it all the harder for any new blood to effectively mesh into the full show.

We see that to an extent with the characters introduced in the first series of E20, where Zsa Zsa feels far more integrated than her fellow spin-off alumni thanks to her relationship with Shirley (Linda Henry). Here’s hoping that the production team, under the new leadership of Bryan Kirkwood, have a plan up their sleeves to help enrich Albert Square for the longer term.

This evening, entertainer and mentalist Derren Brown embarks on what could be his most bizarre stunt show yet. We say ‘could’, partly because — due to the nature of the stunt, and the fact it will be conducted live — actual, real life information is a little hard to pin down.

The show seems to revolve around one person, selected by Brown and filmed using hidden cameras as he is conditioned to become a hero. Then, in the live show, he will be placed in a situation where he is called upon to take control of an airliner that, he believes, is about to fall out of the sky. So glad it’s going out on September 8, and not three days later…

Some video (with the identity of the “ordinary Joe” obscured):

And, from YouTube, the more conventional trailer:

According to the information on Brown’s blog:

I hope it’s a show that people take something from. We easily let life pass us by, and ultimately this is about engaging with life and understanding that it is the choices we make right now that define us, not what we’ve done in the past.

One unwitting volunteer gets to have a deep understanding of this, and for him to experience real and lasting change, I have to push him to the extreme.

If it’s in any way as entertaining as his previous TV special, Derren Brown is no doubt onto a winner… Everything kicks off tonight, Wednesday, September 8, at 10pm on Channel 4.

Previously on TV Today, we featured acting tips from Being Human actress Sinead Keenan, who plays Nina.

The BH behind-the-scenes team have now followed that up with a similar interview with Lenora Critchlow, who plays Annie.

As well as urging people to Forget (but only in the sense of ‘what comes next’ — i.e., to act in the scene without the foreknowledge of anything which is in your character’s future), she lends some tips about playing comedy, as well as how to cope with those days when you feel a little bit ‘urrgh’.

Casualty BBC1, Saturday 8.45pm
The start of a new series. Yes, really, even though the last one ended only a couple of weeks ago. A feature-length episode which revolves around thes hooting of several people by a mystery sniper. To cope with the overflowing ED department, Donna Jackson (Holby City’s Jaye Jacobs) is drafted in to remind us that, despite appearances to the contrary, both series are actually set in the same hospital…

My Funniest Year Channel 4, Saturday 10pm
Comedian Rufus Hound builds a stand-up routine around events that all took place in the year 2000, from the start of Big Brother to a certain George W Bush taking residency of the White House.

Coronation Street ITV1, Sunday 7pm
I have to say that some of the writing and performance regarding Sophie Webster’s coming out to her father have been superb — the only let down is that there has been no information given at the end of the programme for any young people in a similar situation. Running away, as Sophie (Brooke Vincent) and her girlfriend have done, is not the answer.

That said, it does make good drama. And this Sunday, another family has its own familial drama, as Ken (William Roache) realises that former girlfriend Susan Cunningham may have borne him a son he never knew about. Said progeny is played by Linus Roache, William’s real-life son — while James Roache, another son from a later marriage, plays the grandson of the family.

U Be Dead ITV1, Sunday 9pm
Based on a real life tale of a couple who were sent abusive text messages (hence the odd spelling of the title) by a stalker, Gwyneth Hughes crafts a fine tale that is full of fine performances. David Morrissey and Tara Fitzgerald are the couple whose lives begin to fall apart due to the stresses of the harassment, while Monica Dolan plays stalker Maria Marchese in a way that ensures she never quite falls into melodramatic villain territory.

• Read Matthew Hemley’s interview with Tara Fitzgerald in this week’s print edition of The Stage.