TV
Ad rockers: Jack Docherty and Moray Hunter
PREVIEW The Creatives BBC2, Fri 2 Oct, 9.30pm.
Jack Docherty’s new serres The Creatives, a satrre on the advertrsrng rndustry, reunrtes the Channel 5 chat- show host wrth long-term collaborator Moray Hunter, hrs colleague on Absolute/y and Mr Don And Mr George.
’We wanted to do somethrng ab0ut the creatrve process,’ says Docherty. ’But Moray and I have spent too many years of Our lrves Srttrng rn a room wrrtrng, so we drdn't really want to make rt about wrrters. The nearest thrng was advertrsers, although we were scared off for a whrle because people would thrnk It's an 80s tOprc. Thrs rs the frrst trme we've done somethrng where peOpIe can go "Oh, I know someone Irke that". The Creatives rs our stab at the marnstream.’
Ben (Docherty) and Robbre IHunterI play the creatrve artrsts behrnd the ads — 50up-makers and prle-creamers are
Soapbox
Vultures circle as a new love triangle hits Albert Square
EastEnders pulled out all the dramatrc stops last week to challenge rts great rrval Corr/e, rn the only way rt seems to know how these days: yet another brzarre love trrangle rnvolvrng the Mrtchells.
’How ’bout I run away wrth you,’ Grant asks hrs mother-rn-Iaw L0urse, only a matter of weeks Srnce he put that same entrcrng proposal to hrs brother’s wrfe. StrII, you can’t blame hrm for wanting to escape The Vrc, where Pat ’n’ Roy, Peggy 'n’ Frank are all playing an rnterrnrnable game of darts. ’What am I domg?’ asked an unhappy Grant at one mm, and the same questron c0u|d be put to the drrector, who pulled out every stagey trrck rn the frlmmaker’s handbook to mrIk the srtuatron, cameras sprnnrng erZrly upwards to watch the characters runnrng round Irke rats rn a trap.
In EastEnders, The Famrly rs the only true moralrty or vrrtue —v L0urse comes across as such an unattractrve character because she’s the only one who doesn't pay lrp servrce to that creed. But after all that drama, Trff strII went back to Grant (’But Mum, I love ’rm, dunn I7’) whrle L0urse muttered madly and was drrven to go and work
98 THE lIST 2-1 Sep-8 Oct 1998
among therr top clrents. One of therr colleagues rs Ben’s Jealous Italran txrfe, played by The Fast Show's Arabella Werr.
'There haven’t been that many Mediterranean characters rn srtcoms apart from Manuel rn Faw/ty Towers,’ says Docherty. ‘I haven't seen that culture clash between a husband and a wrfe He’s Scottrsh and so reserved and fucked up, whrle she’s so passionate They can never really rneet,’
Further conflrct arrses when a new secretary has to be appornted Of the two equally qualrfred candrdates, do they plump for the unattractrve brffer‘ or the slrm stunner? ‘Our battle rs to overcome that rnherent sexrsm we've all got rn us. It's a questron of berng crvrlrsed,’ believes Docherty,
After hrs strnt on The Creatrves, Docherty plans to take a break from the Irmelrght. ’I've got a frIm scrrpt I want to tout around, but I don't want to be on teIevrsron a lot next year,’ he says. ’l’ve been on too much -< even though rt's only Channel S.’
(Brran Donaldsonl
Grant Mitchell: shagged Tiff's mum
for Ian Beale rnow that's desperater and another secret was stored up to be revealed the next trme they need a brg ratrngs push.
Meanwhrle, poor Srmon was clashrng around lookrng for hrs errant relatrves Someone please take that man Out and grve hrrn a good trme, Just for a change. And poor Branca, Irke a flash of realrty rn thrs crazy busrness, faced another drffrcult pregnancy, She was so upset, she even uttered the rncredrble lrne‘ ’Come on chky, you're the clever One,’ Ieavrng the Brarn of Walford and the vrewrng natron stunned
(Andrea Mullaneyl
PREVIEW
McCoist & MacAulay BBCI, Thu 24 Sep, 10.20pm
One of the runnrng gags from the frrst serres of the offbeat chat show McCorst & MacAulay was the fact that the Krlmarnock goal-grabber was rnstantly recognrsable to the Scottrsh publrc, whrle the Perth—born comrc was more of a mystery man Now that Fred and AIIy are launchrng a sequel serres whrch takes them to Manchester and Oublrn, rs there a danger that no-one erI have a clue7 'We mrght frnd that that helps when you’re out and about,’ MacAulay states. ‘We found that Ally getting mobbed drdn’t make rt too easy for the vox-popprng.’
After therr encocrnter wrth Kylre rn serres one, many wrll be wonderrng If a repeat performance rs on the cards. ‘We were makrng a brd to get Kylre and Danrr on together,’ he remarks wrth the arr of a defeated man. 'On the frrst show we’ve got Mel and Sue on. We may ask them to rmpersonate the Mrnogues.' (Brran Donaldsonr
FILM OF THE FORTNIGHT
Shaft
BBC2, Sun 27 Sep, 10.45pm.
'Who‘s the black prrvate drck who’s a sex machrne to all the chrcks?’ ’Shaftl’
Damn rrght Krckrng off wrth the none-rnore-funky title track from Isaac ‘Chef' Hayes' Oscar-scooprng score as chhard R0undtree strrdes arrogantly through Noo Yawk's mean streets tpredatrng The Verve's ’Brttersweet Symphony vrd by 26 yearsr GordOn Parks’ Shaft eprtomrses the BlaprOrtatron genre.
’Complrcated man’ John Shaft, a hrpster black sleuth wrth superfly srdres, takes on the Mob and a square polrce sotrad rn an effort to clean up Harlem, frnd a crrme boss’s krdnapped daughter and get lard.
Thrs may rarely address the Afrrcan- I Amerrcan experience but R0undtree "arm" “'9'”: Shaft turns rn a performance as sharp as hrs SUItS as the brother tryrng to work rt Out, and the frlrn as a whole rs constantly entertarnrng. Shaft krcks ass. Can you drg It?
Best bit: The start, stooprd rPeter Ross)
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'KlLMARNOCK
Invisible men: Ally McCoist and Fred MacAulay
REVIEW Maximum Bob BBCZ, Sun 20 Sep tr it
Yeah, Irke what we really need rs another qurrky backwater North Amerrcan comedy-drama. Takrng rts cue from an Elmore Leonard best-seller, the show rs set rn deepest Honda and the COurt-room of Judge Bob Isom Grbbs (Beau Brrdgesr, who wreIds both the scales of Justrce and hrs restless Irbrdo wrth rrratronal rmpunrty Chuck rn the Judges wrfe, a fortune-teller possessed by the sprrrt of a young slave grrI, an escaped allrgator, twrns called Orrk and Bogarde, and you know what yOu’re dealrng wrth.
Max/mum Bob has been compared to Twin Peaks, but Lynch’s serres had genurne moments of terror arOund whrch the brzarreness was grven a sense of purpose. Maxrmum Bob rust comes across as an unremrttrng stream of surreal mrsnOmers whrch become very dull, very qurckly. tBrran Donaldson‘r
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Surreal thing: Beau Bridges (left) in Maximum Bob