 |
| Not quite, but nearly |
September heralds the start of NEW TV PROGRAMMES. I gave that capital letters because it's all part of the tingles of the season. September scheduling is exciting. It's fresh, it's engaging, it draws you in and gives you a glittering roadmap to festive December. It's the best. But will it be the best this year? The TV has done some heavy lifting over the past months. With no leisure activities of any description, (apart from bloody walks. I'm yawning at bloody walks as I type this) all our jollies have been found in TV.
 |
| You said it, Ted. |
This has brought its own problems. Many programmes that were supposed to have aired, had their productions shut down. The new Line of Duty should have been on by now. As should the third series of Succession, the new Stranger Things, and The Great British Bake Off. Instead we've been given the nostalgic repeats of Italia 90 and Euro 96. We've been given classic tennis matches and a rerun of The Durrells from the beginning. Alan Bennet's Talking Heads, has been refreshed and refilmed - a thirty minute monologue to camera is ideal lockdown filming - whilst David Tennent and Michael Sheen gave us Staged. The two actors played David Tennent and Michael Sheen. Two actors whose play had locked down and were using their time to rehearse from home. It was funny, and sweet, and as meta as all get out, showing just how creative some people were being in March and April. (It was announced at the end of May, so writer and director Simon Evans must have got his writing skates on as soon as lockdown kicked in.) This was the same time I was solely focused on getting dressed and being (more or less) clean. I can only be impressed. And it isn't just the actors and directors that had to be creative in all the madness. Creativity has been as required from the TV planners and schedulers as it has from the artists. So far, I haven't noticed a blank screen from 10pm onwards. I've not seen the testcard for the two weeks that Wimbledon would have dominated. The people that have been in charge of that sort of stuff, have done pretty well under the circumstances.
But that still doesn't explain if there'll be the usual September viewing launch in a few weeks. I don't see how it's possible. My lack of cinema trips and conversations with humans, in recent months, have meant my small-screen viewing hours are through the roof. I've filled the space that Line of Duty et al would have filled by being more openminded with what was already available. I've watched all kinds of excellent things that I wouldn't have usually associated with summer frivolity. With everything thrown up in the air since March, we can't rely on the usual TV routines. It's time to source our own quality, September-standard series, where we can. The schedulers and planners have given it their all, since Spring. They'll now be empty husks, sobbing in a corner, just when they usually kick into action.*
Here are my suggestions. On a spectrum that ranges from the truly escapist to highbrow art, there's lots of space in-between. I have done my best, in these very trying times, to give you some options to consider. So what's been on my telly? What am I recommending to the world? An eclectic mix of fabulous, that's what.
 |
| You said, it Ruby. |
Good Girls (Netflix)
This one would never have crossed my radar, had my brother not alerted me to its existence. Clearly, my Netflix viewing preferences don't cover suburban moms entangled in gangland crime for the benefit of their families. (I don't know what I'm doing wrong.) I decided to humour my brother, and give Episode One a look. It was fine but I wasn't gripped. I carried on and let the second one start. Again, it was entertaining but I could take it or leave it. I let the next one start, and then the next, and then the next. Somewhere along the way, something changed. I went from being mildly interested, to bingeing it every spare moment. I've just started Series Three, and not a day has passed in the last week where I haven't had it playing as I've done my makeup, made my lunch, or fallen asleep. I think this means I love it.
Canada Drag Race (BBC3)
Drag Race All Starts 5 (Netflix)
There's nothing to add here. Eleven years on, we all know what we're getting. If you're up for it, it's comforting and familiar. If you're not, give it a miss. Nothing I say can convince you now. The fact that All Stars 5 has recently finished, and Canada's first season is currently being broadcast, shows how much of a machine the whole Drag Race system is. In related news, my seven year old niece explained to her dad (in some detail) about baking the other day. That would not have happened without this show.**
 |
| The Shtisel family (with Elisheva from the bank, in the background.) |
Shtisel (Netflix)
This is something I had scrolled past repeatedly without being tempted. Filling the gaps in my social life, however, meant I opened my mind a fraction, and I'm really glad I did. It's the story of the Shtisel family - a recently widowed father, and his three grown-up children - dealing with their relationships, work problems, and family commitments. The fact that they are Haredi Jews and live in an orthodox community in Israel makes the story all the more compelling. The writing is subtle; there are sub-titles, although the non-verbal expression and naturalistic acting from the cast breakthrough the language barrier with ease. The phrase 'we are more alike than we are different' springs to mind. Akiva fancies a woman who works in the bank. Giti has a husband who has left her and she's ashamed. Their father doesn't want to retire. Older brother, Zvie Arye, thinks he knows best. It's a varied set of human stories, and I am on board for them all.
Mrs America (BBC iPlayer)
I mentioned this a few weeks ago, in relation to the current sexism of the lockdown easing priorities. But it bears repeating. This series was spectacular. I have no idea about the money behind it but it looked like a glossy, big-budget, pull-out-all-the-stops kind of shebang. Names like Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, John Slattery and Elizabeth Banks tell the story of the clash between the Women's Liberation Movement of the 1970s and the activism of Phyllis Schlafly, who was convinced a woman's place was in the home. Whereas this sounds like a clear case of right and wrong, the story is told well enough for the audience to sympathise with Schlafly, even when she's being illogical. We see each character in enough detail to get a real sense of the tensions of both battles - the Conservative v Progressive women on one hand, then the fight within the feminist movement for recognition of intersectionality, on the other. In any other year, this would be exactly the kind of thing that would be announced for Autumn.
 |
| Technically not from Virgin River, but it's that sort of vibe. |
Virgin River (Netflix)
Speaking of algorithms, this was suggested to me the second I watched Falling Inn Love - a Netflix movie about a woman that wins an inn in New Zealand and moves there to restore it. She also falls for the hunky builder who helps her. Look, I'm not fussy. I'll take vicarious trip abroad any way I can. Falling Inn Love is the only way I'll get to New Zealand right now, but I digress. After that, Netflix wouldn't let up. If I liked Falling Inn Love, I would also like Virgin River. They told me this every time I logged on for weeks. In the end, I succumbed to their pressure and gave it a go. Now, let's agree that when I mentioned the spectrum earlier, this falls at the polar opposite of highbrow art. This really is a member of the Truly Escapist Club. By far. Yet it still ticks my boxes. A stranger with a secretive backstory. TICK. A small country town. TICK. Beautiful scenery. TICK. A local man that is hot. TICK. It's all there. Look, I explained it wasn't high art, stop judging me. Virgin River is a ten-part series that passed the time for me recently. It's filmed in Canada I think, so if you're not turned on by a rugged Martin Henderson in a jumper, you'll be charmed by the rugged outdoors in a jumper. (Not really.)
There are more shows I could shout about, but I feel like I'm exhausting everyone's attention span now. Let me just scream I May Destroy You for a bit, and then I'll be done. And FTLOG will you cadge someone's Disney Plus deets and watch Hamilton? Please. Besides that, we can only wait with held breath and crossed fingers to see how our Autumn screen time will shape up. It's anyone's guess how the rest of this year pans out. Let's hope, in all the uncertainty, there's still something good on the telly.
Have a lovely week, folks.
*Clearly I have no idea how TV is scheduled, nor how the people who do that are feeling. Don't @ me.
**For anyone concerned, I am pretty sure she has not seen Drag Race. But the language of drag has filtered through to the world of makeup tutorials on You Tube.
No comments:
Post a Comment