TELEVISION LISTINGS
TUESDAY 20 l
I Outside Time (Channel 4) 8.3(l—9pm.
: The second in the series on Celtic mythsin
Britain tells the unhappy story ofthe marriage of Branwen. sister ofthe giant King Bendigeidran. to Matholwcb. King ()f Ireland.
I Rear Window: Reflections On A New World Order(('hannel 4) 9—9.45pm. The
acclaimed international arts and culture
series returns. with a report on world
f events over the last year. The difference is
‘ thatit's presentedintbe form ofadiverse.
culturaleveningofcabaret.bringing together Linton Kwesi Jobnson.Jean
Binta Bree/.e. Jeremy Hardy. Skint
; Video. and Tony Harrison. amongst
i others.See panel.
I A Death In California(BB(‘l)
‘ 9.3tl—l 1pm. First in a two-part (second
part tomorrow) mini-series thriller
j starring Cheryl Ladd and Sam Elliott. She
plays socialite Hope Masters who
, becomes hopeless involved with a rapist
and murderer. I Down Under: Prejudice (Channel 4) ltlpm— 12am. For a supposedly chauvinist
{ country . Australia has contributed more . than it's fair share ofpowerful feminist
dramas (or maybe. that‘s the reason. ..)
This is another. following the struggles of
l l l l
two woman workers. Grace Parrand Patsy Stephen. seeking justice from the Anti-Discrimination Board.
I Legacy (Scottish) 1040—1 1.40pm. Continuing the series on ancient
civ ilisations. Michael Wood visits India. travelling from the Taj Mahal to the holy city of Benares. looking at the continuing importance of religion and religious festivals.
WEDNESDAY 21
I sixlhirtysomething (Channel 4)
h.3(L 7pm. Ann Bryson and Maria McErlane introduce the irreverant arts and entertainment strand.
I Rough Guide to CareerS(BBC2) h.4S---.7.25pm. Crime prevention is the chosen career path this week. with the presenters looking at opportunities in law. security. and traffic control.
st l?! “Sill
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I Out (Channel 4) 9—lllpm. Featuringa brief history of lesbians in and at the movies. tracing the cause ofdoomed sapphics from Pandora's [301' through the hlls to Hie/mu and Louise. Surely some mistake with the latter. as Ridley Scott’s anti-heroines were heteros. were they not‘.’ Meanw bile wrinklies will be up in arms about Names Of Passion. a gay reworking of BriefEncounter.
I Screenplay: Amongst Barbarians ( BBCZ) ‘)—v lfl.15pm. David Jason isinterestingly cast as the father of a 2” year-old who has been cons reted of drug smuggling while on holiday in Malaysia. and sentenced to death. 'I he families arrive in Penang. to confusion and cmbitterrnent.
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IThe Golden Girls (Channel4) Ill—10.30pm. The start of a brand new series for the award-winning American sitcom. Blanche faces imminent grandmotherhood with trepidations. especially as the child has been conceived by artificial insemination.
I Edinburgh Nights ( BBCI)
11.15—1 1 .55pm. An investigation into the Royal Scottish Academy’s sculpture exhibition. ls it exhilarating art. ora collection of boring busts'.’
I Nightlngales (Channel4) , 11.05-1 1.35pm. The repeated black comedy series with the night watchmen trying to win a competition for a TV and video.
THURSDAY 22 ?
IThe Wheel or Fortune (Scottish) l 8.3(1-9pm. The quiz show. hosted by i Nicky Campbell and the woman with the teeth. Carol Smillie. I Rising Damp (Channel 4) 8.3(l—9pm. . Rigsby (Leonard Rossiter) continues to be . as odious as ever. In this episode he decides to smarten the premises up. after the arrival of a new tenant. I On The Line (BBCB) 8.30—9pm. The controversy over athletics amateurism is dredged up again in an investigation ofthe running battle between athletes. coaches. agents and the authorities. I The Travel Show (BB(‘2)9—9.3(lpm. Tourism in Tunisia and Cumbria are giv en the (presumably contrasting) treatment. I The Play On One: Out of the Blue ( BBCl) 9.3(l—l(l.45pm. Colin Firth and Caroline Zeta ‘Darling Buds ()f May" Jones star in a comic drama set in the world of filmmaking. Alan (Firth) directs video films. and decides to direct the perfect romance between himself and young Christy (Jones). He soon finds that life imitates art. I Fatherland (Channel 4) Input—12.05am. Ken Loach's film is set in pre-unification Germany (it was made in 198(1) and follows the story of Klaus Drittemann (Gerulf Pannach)a political singer who comes into conflict with authorities in the East. Fleeing to the west in search of his father. he uncovers some disturbing facts about his family background. A period piece. but made with Loach's usual relentless realism. I Capital News(BBCl) 10.45pm—l 1.30am. The Washington Capital is on the trail of a police cover-up in the less-tban-convincing newspaper drama. I NB (Scottish) ltl.4(i— l I . lflpm, Up-to-date reports on the state of the arts in Scotland. with a Festival flavour. I Festival Night Flyte (Scottish) ' l2. l(}—12.4(lam. Harry Reid presents late-night chat from the Edinburgh Festival.
92The List 16— 22 August l99l
news coverage in.
As it was. the release ofJohn McCarthy of bumble old Worldwide Television News (who they?) blitzed every other story offthe screen. The news organisations. driven by inter-channel rivalry. have come to treat big stories in an increasingly ill-considered and crude fashion. If there isn't much information. they reach for the reliable standby ‘analysis'. in the form ofspurious experts. some of whom looked like they'd been hanging around hospitality since the Gulf War. The idea seems to be to throw everything at the story until the basic facts crumble under a welterofhalf—baked opinion and speculation. McCarthy was free. so was Edwin Tracy. Trevor MacDonald was posted to stand outside an RAF base and fill air-time with confused waffle. Questions asked were along the lines of ‘How do you think he‘s feeling right now'.". ‘How will he readjust‘.” and ‘\\'bat next forJohn'."
l V TV REVIEW
ichannel
Remember a few years ago when Sandy Gall was knocking around Afghanistan with a tea-towel on his head. offering us intense insights into the different ways you could pronounce ‘Mujahidin' in one anody'ne report. Now what ifold Sandy had been kidnapped and finally released last week? They'd have had to invent another three terrestrial channels just to get the
Not a lot you can do but fell to the ground as your knees go weak. It doesn’t hurt atfirst, but then a very warm feeling goes all through your body.
If .lohn. making a sterling effort to readjust. had searched around on his TV for something that didn't feature himself. he'd have been hard pushed. Putting the Edinburgh Festival on TV is a Sisyphean task. calling for swift judgements and close editing. The NB Festival Cinema Special (Scottish) provided enough tantalising glimpses to keep up the interest. Presenter Janice Forsyth has the humour and directness of Muriel Gray. with none of the latter‘s ‘look at me. aren’t I clever‘ smugness. ‘That was one of the most
.
boring films I‘ve ever seen.‘ she told programmer Allan Hunter. He was admirably unfazed. not agreeing. but admitting that he'd probably had more opportunities to be bored by films than Forsyth. It came as a tacit statement about the unavoidable tedium of so rnucb celluloid.
Festival TV shows would be greatly
improved by some concessions to showing the ultimate worthlessness of so many productions on offer. A vital element of the Festival and Fringe every year is discovering the multitudes of talentless and inept would-be thespians and comics who erroneously believe they have something to offer. And they usually get away with it. The spirit of the Fringe is one ofoverbearing tolerance. Pete McCarthv (who
Chrissie Rogers, the consistent irritant on the Close, is set on becoming a teacher, the natural destination ofthe whiners, naggers and petty-minded.
hasn‘t been held hostage for the last six years. despite what his appearance might suggest) on Edinburgh Nights (BBCI ) promises to give us the best and worst of the Fringe comedy. Hopefully this will embarrass enough people into returning to their day jobs. In the meantime. the first edition offered us reverent pieces on Ninagawa. Arthur Tress and the Empire Theatre. leavened with an overlong spoofof Magenta De Vine. Yes we know Magenta represents all that is bad about the London trendy". Janet Street-Porter approach to TV. but this suggested someone had a personal grudge. And why did the joke Edinburgh landlady have a Glaswegian accent‘.’
Sport and soap are still the safest escape from high culture. In the Test Match (BBC2lRicbie Richardson edged a bouncer into his groin and collapsed to the ground clutching his middle stump. so to speak. This sort ofthing always tests the commentators to the limits. but I'm happy to say Gordon Greenidge rose to the occasion admirably. ‘That‘s a very soft spot. I can tell you.‘ he said. and we nodded in agreement. ‘Not a lot you can do but fall to the ground as your knees go weak. It doesn't hurt at first. but then a very warm feeling goes all through your body.‘ Gordon had almost managed to make it sound attractive.
Brookside (Channel 4) has three cycles. like a primitive washing-machine: ludicrous. worthy and entertaining. After enjoying a brief flirtation with entertainment for a month or so. we have switched jarringly into ludicrous mode. with moody Baz trying to seduce his best mate‘s wife. and Chrissie Rogers. the consistent irritant on the Close. set on becoming a teacher. the natural destination of the whiners. naggers and petty-minded. When terrorists inadvertently kidnap teachers. they usually let them go after a few days. Sensible chaps. (Tom Lappin)