I seem to have been to the theatre a lot the past couple of weeks, as well as getting through several books, movies and TV shows. I'm just going to bundle them together so that I can start afresh in April. Too busy/lazy to give each the review it deserves!
Roger and Val Have Just Got In: Series 2 (2012) built on the touching, funny first series of two-handers between Dawn French and Alfred Molina by introducing new conflicts (Roger's living, estranged son from an adolescent fling) and resolving old issues, such as Roger's tribunal and Val's desire to be Deputy Head. Rarely predictably, always heart-felt and honest, this little series goes to show that you don't need exciting locations, massive casts or manufactured incidents to create laughs and warmth, you just need the talented French and Molina cooking tea or hiding in a wendy house. And that last moment was simply wonderful.
A million miles away from the subtly of Roger and Val was the fourth series of Let's Dance for Sport Relief (2012), a gloriously silly spectacle of 'celebrities' and sports people creating dances for charity. Rowland Rivron was quite rightly crowned winner after a knackering version of Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice - a relief after the boring winners last year. Other favourites this year included a couple of women from Eastenders doing a creditable Telephone; Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards' gloriously daffy, and exceptionally competent, Austin Powers dancing to Soul Bossa Nova; and Arabella Weir's sultry Can't Get You Out of My Head, unfairly beaten by Omid Djalili to the final. Not quite as instantly classic as previous years, but still good Saturday night entertainment.
While on the subject of daft Saturday night TV, I must make mention of Harry Hill's TV Burp, which came to an end (bar the best ofs) with the conclusion of series 11. It may not have been as consistently funny as it used to be, but it was still practically the only regular show worth watching on ITV. Childish and daffy it may have been, but Harry was also knowing and aware of the ridiculousness of much of the telly he poked fun at. There were regular laugh-out-loud moments, as well as joyfully sublime/ridiculous scenes of Harry dancing around his desk with busts of Queen Victoria, a horse and various old characters. Where the final series was lacking in the dearth of celebrities getting involved, there were far to many random people plucked from documentaries to perform odd musical pieces at the end of episodes. Where was the star-packed 'cataracts?' piece of previous series? At least in the final show, the real Heather from Eastenders turned up, alongside Amanda Lamb (never 'eard of her!) to give some kind of weird closure.
More serious yet at the same time still full of light moments of delicious British humour was Being Human: Series 4 (2012). After dispensing with Mitchell in the last episode of series 3, the first show of the new series wasted little time in preparing the new dynamic that would find George and Nina (the latter offscreen) killed off, leaving Annie to look after their baby alongside Damien Molony's new vampire, Hal, and Michael Socha's werewolf, Tom. In no time at all I had invested in the new characters and their foibles - Hal's OCD and curious mannerisms, combined with Tom's sweetly naive youth and Annie's kick ass new role as mother/protector of baby Eve made for compelling viewing (Annie was much less wet as a mother than Scully was in season 9 of The X-Files). By the end of the final, heart-breaking episode I'd almost completely forgotten about George and Mitchell (but not Nina, who deserved an on-screen ending). The new ghost character is spunky, and although some great villains were hatched and then quickly despatched this series, the seeds of series 5 have already been sown and have left me hungry for more.
While on the subject of daft Saturday night TV, I must make mention of Harry Hill's TV Burp, which came to an end (bar the best ofs) with the conclusion of series 11. It may not have been as consistently funny as it used to be, but it was still practically the only regular show worth watching on ITV. Childish and daffy it may have been, but Harry was also knowing and aware of the ridiculousness of much of the telly he poked fun at. There were regular laugh-out-loud moments, as well as joyfully sublime/ridiculous scenes of Harry dancing around his desk with busts of Queen Victoria, a horse and various old characters. Where the final series was lacking in the dearth of celebrities getting involved, there were far to many random people plucked from documentaries to perform odd musical pieces at the end of episodes. Where was the star-packed 'cataracts?' piece of previous series? At least in the final show, the real Heather from Eastenders turned up, alongside Amanda Lamb (never 'eard of her!) to give some kind of weird closure. 
No comments:
Post a Comment