Broadchurch V3.0 – Will ITV Kill Its Golden Goose?

ITV have commissioned a THIRD series of Broadchurch. Hmm.

Season one was some of the most brilliant telly I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. EVERYTHING about it was perfect, from David Tennant’s dodgy copper to anything Olivia Colman did or said. The pacing and plotting was sublime.

Season two, however, was way, WAY too slow, relied far too much on supposed big hitters like Charlotte Rampling (who – dare I say it, might have reached her sell-by date?) and James D’Arcy as the least probable possible villain of all time, as well as Gwen from Torchwood and her ample bosom.

The prospect of a third outing for this fine drama is worrying. ITV has a long history of sucking the life out of successful shows, keeping them on air long, long after they should have been kicked into touch.

IF Broadchurch’s writers can come up with something as edgy and compelling as the first series and IF they can develop the characters even further (without making them into cartoon cut-outs), then a third round might just be worth a go.

If they can’t, well… that’s another moneymaker in the cross-hairs…

Renew your love of TV drama with David Tennant’s The Escape Artist

Since the first series of Broadchurch ended earlier this year, fans of high-end, twist-in-the-tail psychological crime dramas have been desperately seeking something to rave about.

We were satisfied for a while as the BBC brought us the stunning What Remains, the strangely huh?-ending The Fall – which, like Broadchurch, has been recommissioned for a second series but, unlike Broadchurch, probably won’t have an American rehash – and Jane Campion-import Top of the Lake… not to mention more Scandi-noir than we could shake a Viking at, while Sky delivered slick Bridge remake The Tunnel.

But, with Homeland’s star seemingly on the wane as the turgid third series limps on (though, reports from across the Atlantic suggest an upcoming episode will restore viewers’ faith in Carrie and Brody), it was beginning to look like we’d have to start rooting round the VoD sites to satisfy our need for some stimulating TV.

Well, not any more. Up steps David Tennant once again with another slice of really, really – sickeningly, really – good drama.

He plays Will Burton, a disgustingly intelligent up-and-coming has-it-all defence barrister, a married father with hot and cold running houses and a dog, who can spot a flaw in the prosecution’s case faster than you can say ‘technicality’.

Hiding behind his ‘everyone deserves a defence’ mantra, he defends the almost indefensible – and he wins. Every time. Though it costs him, as he finds it nearly impossible to shake the hands of some of the more unsavoury people he represents. And so it is that he is persuaded to accept the case of an thoroughly unlikeable and totally arrogant man, who stands accused of the particularly horrific sexual murder of a young woman.

As you’d expect from Spooks’ writer David Wolstencroft, this three-part thriller sets a breathless pace from the opening credits of the first episode. Burton successfully defends two clients – including the accused murderer – in the opening half hour, but after this second successful case, the brilliant lawyer’s near-perfect world is shattered in the cruellest fashion.

This could easily have turned into a worldly Devil’s Advocate, but Tennant’s performance is pitch perfect. A lock of the jaw here, a sniff there, a refusal to shake a hand – all small touches that create a character so much greater than the sum of those tiny parts. Burton could, probably should, be impossible to like, but we’re with him all the way and his horror and pain at the end of a truly astonishing opening episode is tangible.

He’s aided and abetted by the wonderful Ashley Jensen, who plays his perfect wife, the mesmerising Sophie Okonedo as a rival lawyer, and Toby Kebbell – who channels Kevin Spacey in Se7en to play the genuinely creepy and unhinged Liam Foyle. Fans of the Inspector Dalgleish mysteries will probably also be pleased to see veteran Roy Marsden back on the screen in a small but telling role.

With Legacy, Lucan, The Great Train Robbery, Hostages, a second series of The Bridge and Stephen Moffatt’s small-screen leviathan Sherlock all set to grace our screens in the months to come, The Escape Artist could be the beginning of a beautiful new friendship with gripping TV drama.

THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN OF IT

WHAT’S IT CALLED?

The Escape Artist

WHEN IS IT ON?

9pm, Tuesday, October 29

WHAT CHANNEL?

BBC1

WHO’S IN IT?

David Tennant, Ashley Jensen, Sophie Okonedo, Toby Kebbell, Roy Marsden

WHO SHOULD WATCH IT?

Fans of brilliant, breathless, tense, psychological drama

WHO SHOULDN’T WATCH IT?

Fools and eejits

Downton has nothing to fear from new crime drama By Any Means

“Oooh goody – another crime drama on the telly. We haven’t had many of those in a while, have we? Pffft.” These, among others, were my thoughts as I settled down to watch the BBC’s latest addition to its schedules, By Any Means. Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m no fan of the genre (seen one, seen ‘em all is my philosophy), but I’m always willing to give even the dullest-looking show a whirl.

It opens smartly enough, with a smug-looking shady ‘businessman’ Nicholas Mason (played by the excellent Keith Allen) wriggling out of a prison sentence. While he puffs on a big cigar, the officers of the law are left to look like eejits – and not for the first time. No wonder Gina McKee, in full enigmatic I-could-play-M-in-James-Bond-I-could mode, calls on Jack Quinn (Warren Brown) to bring Mason to book “by any means”. Ahhh, so that’s what the title means.

Off Quinn pops to some random warehouse where his team – a smart young woman who is, apparently, a ‘lock expert’ and the baby-faced computer geek from Primeval, who is here playing a kind of baby-faced tech-head (not straying too far then) – are tasked with monitoring Mason 24/7, gathering every scrap of information on him that has ever existed (it would appear the police and DPP did bugger all while getting him to trial), and finding a way to make a conviction stick.

By Any Means is, from what I can see, going to be Marmite telly. Some will love the wit and banter between Quinn and his crew, while some might like the flashback-style denouement at the end of the episode – which we’re not allowed to talk about here. Personally, I’ll watch anything with Gina McKee in it, while Keith Allen does a decent job of chewing scenery when his big moment comes. I like Warren Brown, too, but I’m always faintly disappointed that he seems to play the same character in everything, and I’m not entirely sure he’s true leading man material.

I’m of the opinion that writer Tony Holland has been watching a few too many US procedurals and come to the conclusion that he can do better. Sure, there are some nice touches, but we’re expected to swallow an awful lot of silliness (not to mention the odd gaping plot hole) in between the high points…

By Any Means is flawed stuff, then, but it’s not awful. Is it, however, strong enough to give the new run of Downton Abbey (airing at the same time on ITV) a run for its money? Now THAT I doubt very much…

THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN OF IT

WHAT IS IT CALLED?

By Any Means

WHEN IS IT ON?

9pm, Sunday, September 22

WHAT CHANNEL?

BBC1

WHO’S IN IT?

Gina McKee, Warren Brown, Keith Allen

WHO SHOULD WATCH IT?

Anyone not tuning in to Downton Abbey.

WHO SHOULD AVOID IT?

Fans of edgier, grittier and more cleverly worked-out shows than this is trying to be.

All’s far from well in Whitechapel as the creepy crime drama returns

Phil Davis, Steve Pemberton and Rupert Penry-Jones are back on the streets of London

“Someone’s killing witches in Whitechapel!” Leave it to Rupert Penry-Jones to deliver the killer line in the first of a new series of the crime drama. But before you roll your eyes and reach for the remote control, hold your horses.

Remember way back in 2009 when this uber-creepy drama debuted, as a serial murderer stalked the London streets, emulating the bloody crimes of Jack the Ripper? Well, we’re pleased to say Whitechapel has rediscovered its uber-creepiness for this run – and how.

It begins as Edward Buchan (Steve Pemberton) squirms at a book signing event, attended by world-weary copper Ray Miles (Phil Davis) and betuxed detective Chandler (Penry-Jones – who demonstrates early on that his character is carrying his full complement of tics and foibles). At the same time, an apparently homeless man is attacked, before finding himself at the sharp end of a method of torture commonly used in the 16th-century.

Before Chandler and co know what’s hit them, an alluring but enigmatic agent from MI6 is thrilling them with tales of Cold War spy rings, Miles ends up chasing his own tail following ghostly footsteps and Chandler battles a never-ending dripping tap in the gents’.

And that’s without adding into the mix a shadowy, behatted villain who has the ability to disguise his voice, a nervous former spy who believes in the Devil and a wide-eyed Steve Pemberton dealing with a sinister damp patch in the basement.

Yup, Whitechapel is back with a vengeance. Although the nods to David Fincher are everywhere, it’s no bad thing. The sombre mood is barely lifted from start to finish, thanks to lighting that barely gets above gloomy and a cunningly placed soundtrack. The clues come thick and fast – presumably along with a goodly number of red herrings – while the story is strung out just enough to keep us interested without being predictable.

Bring on episode two, we say.

THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN OF IT

WHAT’S IT CALLED?

Whitechapel

WHEN IS IT ON?

9pm, Wednesday, September 4

WHAT CHANNEL (UK and IRELAND)?

ITV

WHO’S IN IT?

Rupert Penry-Jones, Phil Davis, Steve Pemberton.

WHO SHOULD WATCH IT?

Those who love their crime dramas with lashings of creepiness.

WHO SHOULDN’T WATCH IT?

Scaredy cats…

Vera brings criminal comfort to Sunday nights on ITV

It’s just possible that, in the past, we may have been a little critical of ITV’s insistence on flogging a good crime drama idea to death – but we reckon we have had some justification. Just take a moment to recall those loooooonnnnggggg-running series A Touch of Frost, Morse and its spin-offs Lewis and Endeavour, Taggart (in all its manifestations), Foyle’s neverending War, Heartbeat and its spin-off The Royal.

See what we mean? It’s a roll-call of stuff-that-has-been-done-before.

Vera may only be about to start on its third run, so we may be guilty of being a little premature, yer honour, but we fear it’s going to follow the well-travelled ITV route to Jadedtown.

All the signs are there. A popular and likeable main character, played by a popular and likeable star; a script that’s slicker than an F1 dry-weather tyre; production values higher than a room full of monkeys playing with a helium canister; a long list of stories to go at; and a strong yet gentle chemistry between the leading characters that – in the right circumstances – could create life.

That’s now. In series to come, the characters will be just as likeable, the scripts just as clever and the production values just as high, but the whole thing will become as comfortable and predictable as an old cat on an overstuffed armchair.

We hope Vera won’t fall into the same ITV cash cow trap, as this third series opens with a terrific little mystery: who shot young physiotherapist Lizzie Faulkner?

She was supposed to be enjoying a girly weekend away with her two BFFs when she is killed in what appears to be a motiveless crime.

Vera and her team quickly focus on a prime suspect in the form of a local lamper who just happens to have spent time behind bars for a violent offence.

Unfortunately, they just can’t make their case stick. And, when one of the young victim’s patients is also killed, it soon turns out there are a whole host of people with at least two of the three TV whodunit cliches – means, motive and opportunity.

There’s the bitter husband of a car crash victim. There’s his son. There’s her secret  lover. There’s her secret lover’s wife. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that there’s a random bloke in a pub, too, who is put under investigation at some point.

That’s the thing with Vera. It does predictably unpredictable crime drama very well. There are plot twists, surprises and red herrings aplenty – and it’s all held together by the astonishingly talented Brenda Blethyn.

Yes, it’s very, very good, and we’re absolutely sure it will continue to be a hit with viewers, advertisers and critics alike. What remains to be seen, however, is just how long it takes for the series to wear out its welcome…

THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN OF IT

WHAT’S IT CALLED?

Vera

WHEN IS IT ON?

8pm, Sunday, August 25

WHAT CHANNEL (UK and IRELAND)?

ITV

WHO’S IN IT?

Brenda Blethyn, David Leon, Jon Morrison, Paul Ritter, Richard Riddell, Nicholas Gleaves, Vinette Robinson

WHO SHOULD WATCH IT?

People looking for an easy night of clever crime drama viewing.

WHO SHOULDN’T WATCH IT?

Anyone who’s looking for something with a little bit of an edge.

Why White Collar will have you swearing at the telly

Show-off film buffs will look smug as they tell you Alfred Hitchcock used the term ‘McGuffin’ to describe those plot devices necessary to keep a story moving.

Here at IOTTS, we use the term a similar term, ‘MacGyver’ – lovingly named after the bemulleted Eighties action hero – to describe incredibly preposterous plot devices that are becoming increasingly common to many a US crime drama.

CSI: Miami plots average about 3.2 minutes before the first MacGyver, CSI: NY about 2.

In more unkind moments, when our kids aren’t around, we call them ‘Fuck-off moments’, as that’s generally what we howl at the screen as David ‘the Hunchback of Miami’ Caruso spots a microscopic clue in a pile of refuse from 100 paces, or Gary ‘Plastic Mac’ Sinise processes a crime scene in an upmarket Manhattan apartment by mobile phone… while aboard a boat in the Hudson.

The first of the new, third series of US import White Collar did much, much better – we were almost three-quarters of the way though before the first MacGyver.

Not that the time before then had been particularly well spent. The catch-up bit informed us of the discovery of a massive cache of art, snatched by the Nazis, found by leading man Matt Bomer and his overacting pal, which was then promptly destroyed in a massive explosion. Or was it..?

Er, no. Overacting pal had swapped the lot for Bomer’s own cack-handed forgeries, leaving them rubbing their hands with glee and Bomer’s boss chewing the carpet.

Over the next 40 minutes, we were expected to believe our con-man hero could weasel his way out of potential trouble, while at the same time helping another crook flee the country with what amounted to a big bag of cash, and yet stay on the right side of the law.

There was even a poncy bit of fencing thrown in for good measure. But it was when our hero was mocking up a fragment of burned painting, using colours mixed from genuine masterpieces in just a few minutes, that the swear words started flying.

White Collar isn’t supposed to be anything other than entertainment and we get that, honest.

 But even we couldn’t swallow the hefty amount of cheese being served up from our American cousins in this pile of nonsense.

THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN OF IT

WHAT’S IT CALLED?
White Collar

WHEN IS IT ON?
Tuesday, February 19, 10pm

WHAT CHANNEL?
Alibi

WILL I KNOW ANYONE IN IT?
Matt Bomer (Flightplan, Chuck)
Marsha Thomason (Vegas, Lost, Playing the Field)
Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Beverly Hills, 90210, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place)

WHO SHOULD WATCH IT?
Anyone who can’t get enough of Matt Bomer’s creepy, 1,000-yard stare.

WHO SHOULDN’T WATCH IT?
Horatio Caine and gritty crime drama fans. Oh, and anyone with an expensive new telly… You’ll only have to fork out for a new one after throwing something heavy at the screen.

Life’s still a beach for Ben Miller in Paradise

Ben Miller discovers paradise isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be

One of us at IOTTS loves crime dramas, from Morse to Rebus and pretty much everything in between.

The other, however, works to the theory that they’re all a much of a muchness, and you only really need to watch the first and last 10 minutes to find out everything you need to know – who dies and whodunnit.

But which one of us settled down with the first of a new series of Death in Paradise? We’ll let you figure it out, while we get to the plot.

Ben Miller is back as the slightly prickly, oh-so British detective Richard Poole, and while in this second series he’s a bit more used to the heat and flies (he only mopped his fevered brow the once), there’s still plenty of work for him and his team to be getting on with.

This time, it is the rich owner of a former sugar plantation (played by the criminally underused James Cosmo) who bites the dust, when someone plants (ahem) a machete in his back.

A couple of baffling clues and a room full of suspects leave Poole and his squad racking up the overtime as they tried to figure out which of the victim’s friends and family (among whom are guest stars Tom Ward and Stephanie Beacham) could be responsible.

You definitely get your money’s worth with this delightful drama – from Miller’s pithy, throwaway one-liners to the old-fashioned feel – and we mean that in a nice way.

It’s very old-school Agatha Christie as, in the denouement of this opening episode, all the suspects are gathered together in one place, before Poole reveals the culprit.

There may be dark deeds afoot in paradise, but we’re more than happy to be in the thick of them.

THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN OF IT
WHAT’S IT CALLED?
Death in Paradise

WHEN IS IT ON?
9pm, Tuesday, January 8

WHAT CHANNEL?
BBC1

WHO’S IN IT?
Ben Miller (Armstrong and Miller, Johnny English, Primeval)
Stephanie Beacham (Dynasty, Bad Girls, Coronation Street)
Tom Ward (Silent Witness, Vanity Fair, Doctor Who)
Danny John-Jules (Red Dwarf)

WHO SHOULD WATCH IT?
Anyone who loves watching Ben Miller and his effortlessness on screen – and whodunnit fans.

WHO SHOULDN’T WATCH IT?
Well, we would have said people who don’t like crime dramas, but we may have just proved ourselves wrong…

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Ben Miller talks about filming in the Caribbean