Television
Netflix’s Caliphate is all too frighteningly plausible
Sweden is now properly celebrated as the Land that Called Coronavirus Correctly. But in the distant past, those with long…
Not merely funny but somehow also joyous: Sky One's Brassic reviewed
Danny Brocklehurst, the scriptwriter for Sky One’s Brassic, used to work for Shameless in its glory days — although if…
Superbly convincing: Unorthodox reviewed
When I lived briefly in Stamford Hill I was mesmerised by the huge fur hats (shtreimel) worn by the local…
Classic tangled thriller: Sky's Gangs of London reviewed
There were plenty of TV shows around this week designed to cheer us up. Sky Atlantic’s Gangs of London, however,…
The Amazon Prime doc that will convert anyone to cricket
Imagine rooting for the Australian cricket team. If you’re Scottish, Welsh or Irish — or Australian obviously — it might…
An extraordinary tale: BBC2’s The Countess and the Russian Billionaire reviewed
There can’t be many programmes that bring to mind quotations from both Henry Kissinger and Boney M., but BBC2’s The…
A Formula 1 doc for people who hate Formula 1
Some years ago I was invited to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone courtesy of a watch manufacturer. As freebies…
Perfectly serviceable – at points even charming: Four Kids and It reviewed
This film contains flying children, time travel and a sand monster that lives under a beach — yet the most…
Riveting documentary about a remarkable man: Harry Birrell Presents Films of Love and War reviewed
First shown on BBC Scotland, Harry Birrell Presents Films of Love and War (BBC4, Wednesday) was the documentary equivalent of…
Old-school Sunday-night family viewing: ITV's Belgravia reviewed
The world may be going to hell in a handcart but some things remain reassuringly unchanged: Julian Fellowes period dramas…
The creators of Breeders are locked into a game of How Far Can You Go
Sky One’s Breeders (Thursday) bills itself as an ‘honest and uncompromising comedy’ about parenting. To this end, the opening scene…
Too edgy and clever to be wasted on kids: Netflix’s Locke & Key reviewed
One of my perpetual gnawing terrors is that I’ll recommend a series that looks initially promising but turns out to…
Sharp family saga with a thriller uneasily attached: ITV’s Flesh and Blood reviewed
As in many thrillers, the characters on display in Flesh and Blood (ITV, Monday to Thursday) often seemed locked in…
The appeal of psychopaths
Ever since the end of Gomorrah season four (Sky Atlantic) I have been bereft. I eked it out for as…
Odd but gripping: BBC1’s The Pale Horse reviewed
Not much was clear in the opening scenes of The Pale Horse (BBC1, Sunday), which even by current TV standards…
SAS: Who Dares Wins is harsh, gruelling and transgressively countercultural
SAS: Who Dares Wins (Channel 4, Sundays) is literally the only programme left on terrestrial TV that I can bear…
Understated, unashamedly patriotic and heartbreaking: The Windermere Children reviewed
One of the many astonishing things about the BBC2 drama The Windermere Children (Monday) was that the real-life story it…
Netflix's Messiah is a great concept undermined by implausible politics
Sky’s latest bingewatch potboiler Cobra can’t quite make up its mind whether it wants to be an arch, knowing House……
Undeniably eye-popping: BBC2’s Louis Theroux – Selling Sex reviewed
Victoria, a single mother in her early thirties, is getting her children ready for school — ensuring an equitable distribution…
Did everyone in punk sell out?
For many people of a certain age (full disclosure: mine), punk has been a weirdly persistent presence. These days, we…
The only way to survive Christmas TV is to avoid anything seasonal and watch Giri/Haji
The key to surviving the next couple of weeks of TV is to avoid like the plague anything that smacks…
Why on earth did Glenda Jackson give up acting? BBC1’s Elizabeth is Missing reviewed
Watching BBC1’s Elizabeth Is Missing made one of the more puzzling decisions of recent decades seem more puzzling still. Entirely…
The only bearable TV series these days are the ones with subtitles, like Der Pass
True to the Andrew Roberts rule that the only bearable series on TV these days are ones with subtitles, I’ve…
Is the patriarchy as all-powerful as it’s cracked up to be? The Baby Has Landed reviewed
Anybody who watched the opening episode of The Baby Has Landed (BBC2, Wednesday) might have found themselves wondering if the…
War of the Worlds is as bad as Doctor Who
Edwardian England deserved everything it got from those killer Martian invaders. Or so I learned from the BBC’s latest adaptation…
