Friday Five: More TV

Here is a sample of some more TV series I've been watching - some are better than others, but they have all kept my interest up to a point. I've been keeping a list over the past year or so, so not all of these are bang up-to-the minute, but they are all on free-to-air services.

The women of The Split

5 Recent TV Shows I've Watched

1. Cardinal (SBS On Demand) - There are four seasons of this Canadian series (each of six episodes) which are thoroughly enjoyable in a classic crime-drama fashion. The series adapts the novels of crime writer Giles Blunt, focusing on police detective John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) and his partner, Lise Delorme (Karine Vanassa). They investigate crimes in the fictional city of Algonquin Bay, involving corruption, drug dealers, serial killers, politics, suspicious deaths of family members and all the usual tropes. It is the pace and the setting that make this stand out; it is cold and so everyone is careful and needs to plan ahead, while the lead actors are thorough and understated rather than displaying any of the histrionics and hyperbole one would expect from a US equivalent.
2. Cobra (BBC First) - I'll watch almost anything starring Robert Carlyle (*cough* Once Upon a Time *cough*), and so I was automatically drawn to this political drama. It's tonally a bit odd at the beginning when the UK's power is wiped out by a solar storm causing planes to fall from the sky and we're not sure if it's a thriller or a disaster series. Carlyle is the relatively new Prime Minister, Robert Sutherland, who has to deal with this crisis, as criminals and rioters take advantage of the situation and his daughter becomes embroiled in a drug scandal. Instead of working together, there are factions in the cabinet (mainly between Victoria Hamilton as Downing Street Chief of Staff and David Haig as Home Secretary) that attempt to score points rather than save community. Sound familiar?



3. Last Tango in Halifax (ABC iview) - It is a joy to see great actors (Sarah Lancashire; Nicola Walker; Anne Reid; Derek Jacobi) playing great characters with well-written, humorous dialogue in credible and entertaining situations (series created and written by Sally Wainwright). Set in the beautiful but bleak Yorkshire and Lancashire country and towns, it could probably be described as following the fortunes or otherwise of a blended family. The central couple (both widowed and in their seventies) reunite and act upon their past youthful affection for each other, and the series was praised by critics and endorsed by the charity, Age UK as, 'a triumph against TV's ageism'.
4. The Split, Season 2 (ABC iview) - This was a welcome return after Season One a couple of years ago - I was happy to see Nicola Walker back in her family of divorce lawyers and misfits. Supporting cast members of Stephen Mangan, Deborah Findlay, Annabel Scholey, Fiona Button, Meera Syal, and Anthony Head,  bring kudos to the series. The writing is still excellent (as one would expect from Abi Morgan), and it's refreshing to see a female-led series, but the will-she-won't-she storyline started to drag a little, and I would have liked to see more of the client drama - as apparently the legal focus is to protect women and ensure they get what they deserve from their divorces.
5. Wild Bill (7 Plus) - Rob Lowe is similar to Robert Carlyle in the 'must watch' stakes to me, so I gave this series a chance, which is more than ITV did (they pulled it after one series). Lowe is an archetypal American who arrives as chief constable in Boston, Lincs, tasked with cleaning up crime, which he sets about doing through statistics and a whiteboard. No one really likes the arrogant Yank except salt-of-earth farming type, Muriel (played by Bronwyn James, last seen by me in Harlots). There is some understated British humour and sarcasm, which grates against the American schmaltzy daddy daughter relationship scenes, indicating the potential difficulty in pitching this to the right audience.

Friday Five: The First Time

Parents record their children’s achievements all the time. Their first smile; their first steps; their first words… it goes on and lovingly on. And then it stops. At some point they stop remarking on their offspring’s milestones, possibly because they don’t know what they are or when they happened.

No one’s suggesting that you sit down at the kitchen table and discuss the loss of your virginity with mum and dad, but there are some wonderful memorable experiences that deserve wider recognition. The first time you drink champagne deserves an honourable mention. I’m talking about the proper stuff. Bubbles are all very well, but champagne is bliss. There’s no comparison. But it doesn’t make the top five, which are...

5 First Time Experiences:

1. The first time you ‘get’ Shakespeare – chances are it won’t be at school. You’re just aware of him as some bloke that other people appreciate for whatever reason and suddenly it hits you – that poetry; that characterisation; that insight; that freedom with language and plot. For me it was the Triumph Theatre production of Richard II at the Phoenix Theatre in 1988 with Derek Jacobi in the title role. I thought, ‘I want to do that; I want to move people as I have been moved’.
2. The first time you go home after having been away for a long time. Flying back to Heathrow makes me blub like a baby. I haven’t lived in England now for over 16 years, but it’s home. There are so many people and places there that give me a sense of security and comfort while conversely filling me with excitement and anticipation. It just feels like home, and nothing makes you appreciate home more than leaving it.
3. The first time you drive your own car. Whether it’s second-hand or brand new (I assume, having never owned a brand-new vehicle), it gives you a sense of independence and liberty and responsibility all in one. You can go anywhere there is a road and enough petrol. That’s power.
4. The first time you vote. Going into the little booth and marking your voting paper and then posting it in the box – it’s all so civilised and you are part of a democracy that people have fought and died for. It makes me feel proud every time I do it.
5. The first time someone other than your family says ‘I love you.’ Don’t get me wrong, it’s wonderful to hear your family say it, and to say it to them, but if you’re lucky you’ve grown up with that unconditional affection and you probably can’t clearly remember the first time it was said or you said it back. When someone unrelated says it to you and you say it back and you know you both mean it, there may not be a better feeling in the whole world.