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…

Why a Saturday night to remember was served up by Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor

The long-awaited arrival of our third child (a boy, 3.6 kilos, 10 fingers, 10 toes and the sweetest disposition) prompted the usual flurry of phone calls between family and friends, though some of them, like us, have joined the 21st century and embraced the magnificence that is Skype. One couple, who we have known for donkey’s years, were thrilled at our new arrival, but while they oohed and aahed at our baby, I have to admit, my head was sneakily turned by the rather smart-looking new telly that I could see over their shoulders. What can I say? I’m a sucker for shiny.

Apparently, after years of loyal service, their old mahoosive one had breathed its last and they’d hit the high street to buy a replacement. Find one they did at Argos, and their sleek, sexy, shiny Smart TV couldn’t have been plugged in at a better time, considering the world and his wife was going to be sitting down to enjoy the entertainment event of the century: the 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who, the enigmatically titled Day of the Doctor, on such a lovely tellybox.

Our poky wee telly may not have as many whistles and bells as our friends’, but it more than did its duty as the evening of Saturday, November 23 finally rolled around, half a century to the day since the first-ever episode of the insanely popular sci-fi series hit the airwaves. It has seen its fair share of ups and downs, but showrunner Stephen Moffat pulled out all the stops for this very special edition – and scored a bloody great bullseye.

Matt Smith was on typically energetic form as the 11th incarnation, still unable to resist the pull of a fez, the lure of a good mystery, or a summons from UNIT – especially one which sees the Tardis dragged halfway across London swinging under a military helicopter. Cue a tense encounter with stiff upper-lipped Jemma Redgrave, who informed the Doctor and Clara that figures from some incredibly secret Gallifreyan artworks had um… vanished… and before you could say ‘weeping angels’, we were hip-deep in blood-red aliens covered in suckers )who were surprisingly good kissers) and out to conquer the planet.

Of course, their scheme was thwarted by no less than a trio of Doctors (Smith was joined by Tennant and Hurt) who, in between bickering like a bunch of big girls’ blouses, managed to halt the extraterrestrial menace, but also put right what was the blackest moment in the Doctor’s history – the day he deliberately burned Gallifrey to put an end to the Time Wars.

Day of the Doctor was every bit the spectacle Whovians around the globe had been hoping for, with a stonking storyline that had a little something for everyone, lashings of wry wit, a goodly dash of pathos thrown in and a few old friends (courtesy of some really rather clever CGI) while the sparkling script was packed with enough in-jokes and references to keep even the most ardent fan beaming. But the biggest surprise was the fact they managed to keep an in-the-flesh appearance from Tom Baker – the ONE and ONLY Tom Baker – under wraps, making his short but oh-so sweet cameo with Matt Smith an absolute joy to behold.

I can’t give enough praise to the team behind Doctor Who. Speaking as someone who, even now, in my early 40s, cannot bear to hear a single note of the theme tune (even the watered-down modern version)  without shrieking and bursting into tears like a wuss, and was never that much of a fan – James, of course, is and he LOVED it – Day of the Doctor was some of the best telly I’ve ever watched. I’m hoping against hope the BBC will repeat it again and again, but while the dust settles on this premiere, you’ll have to excuse me while I hop onto the web and do a little window shopping.

I’d like to upgrade our set to a swanky Smart TV before enjoying the experience a second and third time…

THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN OF IT

WHAT’S IT CALLED?

Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor

WHEN WAS IT ON?

Saturday, November 23

WHAT CHANNEL?

BBC1 – as well as on cinema screens and in 94 countries all over the world!

WHO WAS IN IT?

Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt, Billie Piper, Jenna Coleman, Jemma Redgrave, Tom Baker.

WHO SHOULD HAVE WATCHED IT?

Anyone who has ever had a passing fancy for the Doctor.

WHO SHOULDN’T HAVE WATCHED IT?

Peter Capaldi. Shouldn’t he be learning his lines..?

This is a feature article, produced in association with Argos

Bigger, longer, shinier: the latest trailer for Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor

Good heavens – if we’re not all excited enough at the return of Sherlock in the new year, we’ve got special, 50th-anniversary edition Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor to get through first – and the publicity machine at the BBC has gone into overdrive.

Fans went nuts for the 14-second teaser trailer a few days ago, but never let it be said Aunty Beeb doesn’t keep on giving. Here’s a link to the second, longer snippet, featuring a whole host of famous faces.

Here’s hoping the show itself – which is set to air on BBC1 on November 23rd – lives up to all this hype…

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

Three bits of TV news to put a smile on your face for the weekend

Just in case you missed this corker of a story, it seems Hollywood isn’t the only one trawling its own back catalogue for stuff to makeover.

Gentle crime drama Murder, She Wrote is going to get a 21st-century revamp, with none other than Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer – who dazzled all and sundry in The Help – in the leading role. According to this piece on The Radio Times site, the estimable Angela Lansbury gets a look-in too.

Another revamp could be on its way too, according to an article in our favourite paper, but whether David Tennant and writer Paula Milne get their way and a UK version of Danish political drama Borgen ever sees the light of day remains to be seen. Still, it’s a thumping good read – and a great idea.

Finally, I just HAD to wave a flag in the direction of this stonking article from Paul Whitelaw, discussing one of the scariest TV shows of all time: Ghostwatch. Even now, I’m too much of a wuss to click on the link in the body of the piece. Anyone out there braver than me..?

Tinker, Tennant, Soldier, Spy…

David Tennant finds life is much more difficult without a sonic screwdriver

We were big fans of David Tennant before he became a star in that time-travelling series with the scary-biscuits theme tune.

So when we saw his name – as well as those of writing legends Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais – attached to this juicy-looking two-part drama, well, there was no stopping us.

The opening instalment is set in the nervy days before Hitler’s invasion of Poland, and follows the exploits of a clandestine spy ring (led by Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier, played by Mr Tennant) trying every trick in the book to gather vital intelligence on Hitler and the Nazis’ plans.And, by the look of it, there is plenty to gather. A twitchy scientist passes Mercier secret blueprints in a cafe after having been seduced by a countess. Only she’s not a countess. Her name is Olga and she’s working for Mercier. While the powers that be are busy scrutinising the plans, our hero divides his time between scampering about the forest, almost getting caught by those nasty Nazi brown shirts, and putting in appearances at posh gatherings – where he falls for the charms of the beautiful Anna (Janet Montgomery). But as things between the pair heat up, so too does the political storm as the Nazis close in.Spies of Warsaw is a beautiful-looking thing, and the fact it’s actually shot in Poland is a big plus. But, disappointingly, there’s just no passion. In one crucial scene, when Mercier admits how he feels about Anna, he sounds like he’s ordering next week’s fish. Stiff upper lips are all very well and good, but where’s the oomph? Or, given that Mercier is French, the ooh-la-la?

The show’s credibility (and our patience) is stretched when it comes to accents, too. While some cast members do at least have a stab (kudos to the always-wonderful Linda Bassett), Tennant sticks to his tried-and-tested upper-crust English.

Other irritating distractions are provided by the off-kilter soundtrack, and – oddly enough – Tennant’s hair, which looks like a wig that’s been left on the radiator too long.It all added up to a slightly unsatisfactory mix, but we’ll still probably tune in for the concluding part, just to see if we will be rewarded with something a bit more full-blooded.
THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN OF IT

WHAT IS IT CALLED?
Spies of Warsaw

WHEN IS IT ON?
9pm, Wednesday, January 9

WHAT CHANNEL?
BBC4

WHO’S IN IT?
David Tennant (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hamlet, Doctor Who)
Burn Gorman (Layer Cake, Torchwood)
Janet Montgomery (Entourage, Merlin, Dancing on the Edge)
Linda Bassett (The Reader, Lark Rise to Candleford,)

WHO SHOULD WATCH IT?
Clement and La Frenais lovers, Tennant fans and anyone who loves a spy potboiler.

WHO SHOULDN’T WATCH IT?
Viewers with short attention spans or who have accents of any kind.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
There’s an interview with Mr T here