Friday Five: TV Viewing

I've not done a recap of the TV I've been watching for a while, so there's a fair bit of catching up to do. Here are five recent viewing choices.

5 TV Shows I've Watched Recently:

1. Jekyll (BBC One) - Proving that he would have made a great Dr. Who, James Nesbitt stars in the Steven Moffatt-written 2007 TV series, Jekyll. It has all the hallmarks we have grown to expect from the man who went on to write Sherlock and Dracula also for the BBC. Described by its creators as a sequel to the 1886 novella, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, rather than as an adaptation of it, it positions Nesbitt as Tom Jackman, a modern-day descendant of Dr. Jekyll, who has recently begun transforming into a version of Mr. Hyde (also played by Nesbitt, having fun exploring the dark side of a character). Michelle Ryan plays the psychiatric nurse who assists him in his experiments, recording evidence for further interpretation of the deeper workings of the inner mind. It's slick and stylish sci-fi with lashings of horror and a splash of humour, and because it's British it consists of six episodes and then it stops leaving the viewer wanting more rather than dribbling on for several seasons and outstaying its welcome. 



2. Mr. Mercedes, Season One (SBS On Demand) - Based on the Steven King novel, this TV series is part supernatural horror and part detective fiction. Brendan Gleeson is Bill Hodges, the recently-retired detective who drinks too much, hates everyone and everything except his pet tortoise, and can't seem to let go of an unsolved case from two years previously, when a driver in a clown mask ploughed through a crowd of people waiting outside a job fair. Hodges may not know who the killer was, but the audience does, as Harry Treadway is introduced as Brady, calling himself Mr. Mercedes and taunting the detective with his criminal past. The show begins with a seedy ambience (Brady's family situation is a far-cry from the wholesome American Brady Bunch set up, and his place of work isn't much better) but it is highly polished with snappy dialogue and credible characters - all provided with backstories and sympathetic motivations (created by David E. Kelley). There are another two seasons after this; I'll probably watch them. 

3. The North Water (BBC First) - A bunch of men go whaling in the mid-nineteenth century. None of them are particularly pleasant, but some even less than others. They drink and fight and kill. Testosterone abounds in the ports and the ship as it travels to the Arctic with a secret agenda and a lot of laudanum. It feels nightmarish and disturbing, as writer/director Andrew Haigh intended: "I always wanted the audience to feel at sea. So they were never quite sure what this was going to become or what it was." The chiaroscuro effects are dazzling - if we are not in the dark belly of the ship we are on the blinding white landscape of ice and snow, splatted with blood and seal carcasses. The acting is excellent (Colin Farrell; Stephen Graham; Jack O'Connell; Sam Spruell; Roland Møller; Tom Courtenay), the motives are shady, the concept is brutal, and the scenery is spectacular. 



Emma Mackey, Asa Butterfield and Ncuti Gatwa in Sex Education

4. Sex Education, Season Three (Netflix) - After having binged the first two seasons in a weekend a couple of years back, I admit I watched this mainly after the announcement that Ncuti Gatwa was going to be the new Dr. Who - I didn't want to confuse him with Eric in my  mind, so watched this to get it out of my head(and he is the best thing in it). The first few episodes started slowly but then it picked up momentum, diving deeper into the stories of the talented ensemble than previously. Connor Swindells (Adam), Aimee-Lee Wood (Aimee), Tanya Reynolds (Lily), Chinenye Ezeudu (Viv) are among those who get to flex their acting muscles and create showreels for future auditions. It still tackles tough issues of adolescence and identity, but each one is neatly wrapped up as it begins to feel more American than British. The diversity and inclusion is a bit unicorns and rainbows, the humour is glib and obvious rather than sarcastic and subtle, and I keep expecting the cast to break into harmonised song and choreographed dance.
 
5. Vigil (BBC First) - Imagine you're in a confined space with a group of people you don't really like. There's a murder and you have to solve it. Did I mention the confined space is a submarine? Did I mention you're claustrophobic and need to take medication to remain calm, but that medication is prohibited on the vessel? And that the submarine is a nuclear stealth submarine? And that it's just been hit? By a suspected ally? And you can't communicate with the outside world because it would give your position away? And no one knows you're there? Right- that's the premise, created by Jed Mercurrio and the team that brought us Line of Duty and Bodyguard. Suranne Jones is both tough and vulnerable as DCI Amy Silva in this preposterous position, and her partner above the waves, DS Kirsten Longacre is Rose Leslie in a performance that is almost good enough to atone for her irritating turn in The Good Fight. Martin Compston (Steve Arnott in Line of Duty), Gary Lewis (My Name is Joe, Billy Elliot), Shaun Evans (Morse in Endeavour), Connor Swindells (Adam in Sex Education), Paterson Joseph (Benjamin in Jekyll and Lyndon in Teachers amongst other things), Adam James (John Bellasis in Belgravia and multiple stage appearances), all give committed and credible performances, and the tension is palpable, although the plot is a bit leaky and the conclusion is all too neat - with an eye on the US market perhaps?

COVID 19 Friday Five: Even More ISO TV

I would watch Keeley Hawes in anything; so would Richard Madden in Bodyguard

As we have continued our strange year, I have been watching TV series in groups; trying to mix up the comedy, tragedy, period drama and police procedural. This is a snapshot of some of that.

5 TV Shows Recently Watched:

1. Bodyguard (7plus) - I think Keeley Hawes is excellent and will happily watch her in anything from Life on Mars or Line of Duty to The Missing or The Durrells, so when I saw she had a starring role in a British police political thriller, I wasn't going to miss it. The Jed Mercurio-written drama has garnered rave reviews and high ratings from critics and viewers alike. Hawes is Julia Montague, the Home Secretary battling corrupt politicians, international terrorism and secret schemes to overthrow the government. Richard Madden is David Budd, the special protection officer who is charged with keeping her safe, but he has issues of his own, including PTSD from Afghanistan, burning resentment and a tendency towards anger. Nothing is as apparent as it seems, and story arcs are not always concluded in conventional ways - sometimes irritatingly so - but it is both bright and dark, and ultimately binge-worthy.
2. Dracula (BBC One and Netflix) - sexy and hysterical; the three-part series is as if three different script-writers and directors had a go at bringing together a story. In truth, the drama-horror series was developed and written by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, but there is indeed a different director for each installment (Jonny Campbell; Damon Thomas; Paul McGuigan). We follow Dracula (Claes Bang) from his origins in Eastern Europe to his battles with Van Helsing (Dolly Wells) and her descendants. It's all slick and sensual, but the middle episode, confined to a boat with a claustrophobic sense of impending doom and psychological terror, is my clear favourite.
3. Sex Education (Netflix) - We binged two whole seasons of this show one wet weekend, and I'm still trying to work out why I was so invested in watching a series about teenagers and their hormones. Forays into adulthood are fraught with angst and we all remember our own with less than fondness, so to watch others deal with feelings, emotions and sexual expectations is probably better than having to relive our own experiences. Asa Butterfield stars as an insecure young lad at a highly progressive high school doling out advice he has gleaned from his sex therapist mother, Gillian Anderson, who has her own unresolved relationship conflicts. Although it is a British series (created by Laurie Nunn; a variety of British accents; filmed in Wales), the aesthetic is highly mixed with an American-style high school and education system, but beautiful British scenery and sensitivity. The time period in which it is set is also deliberately disorientating with many modern references, but fashion, decor and bicycles from the 80s. It's an intriguing and generous mash-up; sort of like The Breakfast Club meets Gregory's Girl. Strangely recommended.



Michael Sheen and David Tennant in the lockdown drama for our times



4. Staged (ABC iview) - And now, for our times, this is a lock-down comedy about actors who desperately want to act, but the theatres are closed, so they take out their frustrations and their theatrical rivalries over Zoom meetings. David Tennant and Michael Sheen play hyper-real versions of themselves which are equally irritating and fabulous. The six episodes are only fifteen minutes long (the perfect length for a Zoom call) and prove that you can pack a lot in if you know what you are doing. The pair were due to star in a production of Six Characters in Search of an Author on the West End but the pandemic has put paid to that. Not wanting to let this opportunity slip through his fingers, their director Simon Evans (who also wrote the script) attempts to get them to rehearse over the internet, if only they can overcome their distractions, boredom and egos to read the first scene. There are some brilliant cameo appearances from Samuel L. Jackson, Nina Sosanya, Adrian Lester and Dame Judi Dench, and evidence-based research (Him Outdoors and me) proves this is entertaining fare for theatre and non-theatre types alike.
5.  Vanity Fair (BBC First) - I love the novel; I love the character of Becky Sharp; and I love this adaptation by writer Gwyneth Hughes. Olivia Cooke is bold and beguiling (unlike many insipid heroines of period drama) and all her relationships, with Amelia (Claudia Jessie), Jos (David Fynn), George (Charlie Rowe), Rawdon (Tom Bateman), Martha (Sian Clifford), Sir Pitt (Martin Clunes), and Aunt Matilda (Frances de la Tour) are honest and brilliantly played. It's colourful and gaudy and breathtakingly bedazzling. The fact that each episode is opened by a top-hatted Michael Palin orchestrating the carousel at the titular carnival can't do any harm either.

Olivia Cooke is brilliant as Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair