TV
SITCOM
g prostitution of under-age DRAMA SERIES #3333? girls in 1885. David CLOCKING OFF 8802’ Fri 6 Apr, . Stead - a NOrthumbrian M9“ 2 AP“ 9pm .’.. 5_45pm g... pamphleteer. writer and ' r *‘ —"—'”—' middle-class radical Are there actually still such things as closely involved with the textile factories in Britain? I had burgeoning Salvation assumed that the concept of actually Army Movement - saw making. you know. stuff, had gone out London as a modern- the window. to be replaced by jobs a day Babylon and it was answering phones and. erm, phone ' his mission to have the answering. age of consent raised. Irrespective of what's happening in To do this he went the real world then, Clocking Off. Paul l undercover. Pious and Abbott's feisty drama set in sanctimonious to the Manchester's Mackintosh Textiles last. he made the most returns for a second series. and
unlikely secret agent but ; continues to tackle weighty topics
with the help of a former 9 with a refreshing zeal and a spring in
Right from its Opening
scene. in which Mom is brothel Madame. he its working-class step. And as these . , , .
seen shaving Pop's ‘ shook Victorian society things go. it's actually pretty good. More a Jug" the "9” m" M 'men'gence and b°"°°ks
head. the suburban. all- with his exposes. With bunch of dramatic snapshots than a bona fide series. the prtxjramme-makers have preferred to concentrate
American family of historical source material on one or two characters every episode. and with a strong ensemble cast it-esley Sharp and Ricky ionilinson
Malcolm In The Middle is like this you can't really j among them) the results are engaging if not quite life-altering.
patently worlds away go wrong. This i This treatment has an occasionally disorientating effect. like when you see \ery familiar faces from other
from the feel-good programme is beautifully shows reduced to shouting the odd obscenity in the background. but overall there‘s a sense of coiriradesliip
schmaltz of Happy Days shot and stylised and between actors somewhat in keeping with the gang mentality of the drama's setting.
and The Wonder Years. the historical experts The first episode sees cheeky chappy adulterer Kev suspecting his neighbour and colleague Brian A a wiry
Malcolm is the third of (included a clearly little nutjob - of being a paedophile. It‘s to the show's credit that it manages not to succumb to the usual
four brothers in an excited Roy Hattersley) dumb stereotypes when treating such a sensitive subject. and also that the outcome is never obvious.
unremarkable family are used to good effect. l Clocking Off is an impressive drama. with just the right mix of intelligence and bollocks. (Doug Johnstonei
whose world is rocked (Paul Dale) I
when he's diagnosed 5"”"' "TV ' ” ‘ ' '
with a genius IO and g save this. Dull people. Marilyn ManSUn Iookey- comedy is (harder than ALSO ON
bundled into a class for 3 8302, wed 28 Mar, 1 Dull events. Dull ‘ likey. Meanwhile. middle an armadillo wrth a flick- Top Ten: X Rated
gifted children. 5 8.30pm . I programme. Won't brother Bailey is such a knife') the pair breeze (ammo! .1 Sm m M“ Like Gary Coleman and ---~—~-~ ~-~—--- ~ - E somebody please put whining pedant that through sketches and 10pm) mm [WW '
Jodie Foster before him. this worn-out viewers may find larks which are ”
presents; naughty songs
Frankie Muniz, who programme formula out themselves longing for a essentially spot-on piss- from Mmkmm I WW} plays Malcolm, is one of of its misery? giant to reach down and takes; of Dom Joly and am NWA‘ ' those shrunken adults (Kirsty Knaggs) unscrew his head like a his ilk in the Media whom the producers l bottle-top. Chaos Collective. ol the 00‘ 00'“ And KOShe' want us to be believe is ' DRAMA SERIES Acting for the Party Of world of Cinema wrth (BBC‘ - M0” 9 Al”-
' ' I ' PARTY OF FIVE - ' - . 11.153 )tnl Documentary 8 preCOCIOUSIy gifted E4 Fri 30 Mar 7pm Five-ers involves trying fluffy toy spoofs ‘ l ’ x ' i child actor. Whatever his ..’ ' to cram as many facial (including the Brad Pitt "‘VUWSJJ‘US WW“ 'l credentials. Muniz is a ! ' ~ A expressrons into one line punchathon Tufty Club) “WW5 ‘0 “‘3 WWW “"‘i brilliant discovery. as is humanly possible. and of daytime quiz JOW‘S" ”‘ Emm” ‘0‘ “W
complete with bulging And . . . ah . . . why . . . shows in ‘Oui/zlesticks' g4ce (BBC 1, lue 1% Apr. comedy eyes and ah . . . do they (take where the rules are more 4.35pm) Sparky kids' rasping smoker's bark. E ‘ smile) all speak . . . ah complex than the Scottish comedy drama his face permanently if f ‘ (knit eyebrows) . . . I questions. returns. twisted in incredulity. Is that the sound. of Sue mean . . .. like this . . r. ? l Adam & Joe are never That Gay Show (BBC
Malcolm's world is ‘Mel & Sue' Perkins' j ; know their parents died gorng to change the cm“). H 6 A” peopled with Ioveably career being rushed off : tragically and Kirsten world and their show “1:30pm, Sm“ Cantu.“ ) misanthropic characters. to the emergency room I 5 had cancer and nearly may not be as subversive whom “$14.de The script eschews hear? Or is it just the . ‘ lost the baby and as student followers “mm/m germ. political correctness. clatter of BBC 3 Claude nearly got raped claim. but if you‘re not 1 - a bristles with acid one- programmers hitting the t . . ; and all but. Jesus. will laughing out loud at E"""‘*'“ ‘H- Sf" ’ Al)" liners and subverts all bottom of the barrel? i you just get over it? them. yetir loathing of the 10W”) Prom“ “m “V” the stock elements of This fly-on-the-wall I Originally a big. stripy . (Allan Radcliffe) Silly borders on the l)‘3”‘)"”""“?" “'0'” “l” the US sitcom; all the documentary lark has ; flop on both sides of the i pathological. “"N‘Ch‘m ml) Swmmu” way down to the sickly gone far enough. The 3 Atlantic. the gooey ' (Brian Donaldson) sweet ‘final thought’. second in this latest : American drama Party JOE SHOW after which Malcolm IS series focuses on Of Five miraculously i Channel 4’ wed 4 Apr, found to be Sitting on a ‘Emergency’. No offence 3 escaped the axe and is ' 11pm g... dustbin containing his to the brave Liverpudlian ; about to inflict its sixth ‘ younger brother. paramedics featured. series on unsuspecting ‘ Brattish juveniles who (Allan Radcliffe) but I don't think the ER audiences. ‘ have been unable to
scnptwriters would get Square-jawed Charlie shed their student
%L+MoEa}/xq‘§ERIES over-excited about ‘ and trembly-lipped ' worldview or anarcho- UNCOVERED: mopping up drunks late . Kirsten are posed on media pioneers “'36le FOR into the night. And the the threshold of deconstructing the
ALE high drama of an matrimony. but production of culture and Channel 4. Tue 27 Mar, abandoned bus found : otherwise it's business analysing our 9pm me near the Queen Mum's as usual for the angst- consumption of art?
residence by Dave the ridden orphans. Sarah What makes Adam
This fascinating area traffic controller has a metal rod stuck up Buxton and Joe Cornish documentary is about didn't quite do it for me her back. attached to a rise above the former The Pall Mall Gazette's either. hair clasp. forcing her to and steer sensibly away editor and his bold Sue Perkins can walk with her head from the latter is that. efforts to end the usually be relied on to permanently tilted to one well. they‘re actually very. practice he called The add a bit of pep to side. Annoying baby very funny indeed. , Maiden Tribute; the anything she contributes sister Claude is now a Attempting to show procurement and to. but even she couldn‘t helium-voiced teen how difficult the art of Brattish juveniles or media pioneers?
104 THE LIST 29 Mar—12 Apr 2001