DRAMA SEASON
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SHAKESPEARE RETOLD
8801, Mon 7 Nov, 8.30pm
There’s a delicate balance to be struck when adapting Shakespeare for the screen. Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 uncut rendition of Hamlet is intermittently inspired, if pointlessly reverential, while recent Hollywood adaptations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Richard III go so far out of their way to be blandly ‘accessible’ they bear little resemblance to the work of the bard. With its new weekly selection of Shakespeare-inspired dramas, the writers dispense with such annoyances as anachronistic language by completely rewriting the text and updating the setting for a contemporary audience. Shakespeare’s plots are full of contrivances, unlikelihoods and fantastical elements, so if a contemporary viewer is not going to accept these in a traditional adaptation, they’re hardly likely to relate more to As You Like It just because the setting has been transported from the Forest of Arden to Chesser World of Adventure. This is the central problem with A Midsummer Night’s Dream (.0. ) which takes place in a holiday park. While the piece benefits from strong turns by Imelda Staunton, Bill Paterson and Johnny Vegas (as an incredulous Bottom), the attempt to make this most subversive, erotic and savage of Shakespeare’s plays somehow more ‘relevant’ has resulted in its being reduced to banal soap opera. Far better is season opener Much Ado About Nothing (0... ) which wisely focuses on the wonderfully combative Beatrice and Benedict, anchors in a regional news show. While the sub-plot involving Billie Piper as weather girl Hero is less compelling, Sarah Parish and Damian Lewis are spikin convincing as the unlikely
lovers. (Allan Radcliffe)
US REALITY INVASION IOWA ITV4, Thu 3 Nov, 10pm 0.
While there are no doubt more genuinely horrid reality shows across the globe. Invasion Iowa may well be as insidious as it
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gets. William Shatner is taking a camera crew to the small town of Riverside (the future birthplace of Captain James T Kirk) to shoot a new sci-fi movie. and some of the community's citizens have been invited to
audition for key roles. And in their droves they come. fairytales lying ahead of a select bunch.
Except. the movie is a fake and Shatner and co are only there to film the hapless bucks for this show. the revelation of which should he intriguing as some of those chosen for parts look as if they could rip Shatner's head from his slowly rotunding frame. This is the only reason anyone could have for continuing to watch this half-hour show which somehow requires three commercial breaks. An enterprise which is doomed to failure. (Brian Donaldson)
MUSIC DOCUMENTARY SUFI SOUL Channel 4, Sun 6 Nov, 11.30pm 0000
If your knowledge of Sufism is limited to the Qawalli music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the tables of Mulla Nasrudin. then this fascinating domimentary should be a real eye opener. Writer William Dalrymple lays bare the myths that surround the Muslim faith by charting the creative histOry of its most inclusive and kindly strand. From Syria to Morocco. Turkey and beyond he
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visits Sufi shrines and sits in on musical events with a passionate glee he can hardly contain.
His point is that Sufism in all its many forms (it seems to be a religion that quietly mutates from country to cOuntry) holds the secrets to most Asians' passion for Islam and not the fundameritalism that is oft reported. From whirling dervishes to the glorious highs of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. this is a giddy. humbling ride and Dalrymple proves a posth hesitant but informed. intelligent and never patronising guide. (Paul Dale)
COMEDY DRAMA SENSITIVE SKIN 8802, Thu 10 Nov, 10pm 00
This interesting new comedy drama from the BBC has a lot going for it. yet all the ingredients for what should be a cracking show somehow add up to less than it could. Dealing with a middle aged couple heading towards (30. the show boasts several excellent performances from the central characters: Joanna Lumley as Davina. Denis Lawson as her newspaper columnist husband and the ubiquitous James Lance (you'll know him when you see him) as
their hapless son.
The whole thing is understated. which is something of a relief. yet instead of the bittersweet edge they were clearly going for. the ovewvhelming middle class. middle- aged ennui sucks everything down into a morass of depression. from which the show never recovers. The script tries too hard to compensate. overly wordy dialogue sounding forced at times. which is a shame because this could've been a much more intriguing programme. (Doug Johnstone)
COP DRAMA
GHOST SQUAD Channel 4, Tue 15 Nov, 10pm O
For what is surely Channel Four's amateurish answer to Spooks, we are treated to the covert operations of the police forces shadowy internal investigations team. rooting out bent. brutal and bigoted bobbies. In this Ho/lyoaks of police dramas. a not unattractive cast has been assembled to portray the unlikely adventures of Amy Harris (Elaine Cassidyl. a young. really very pretty and totally unconvincing policewoman whose team-mates have turned against her. The plot twists and turns as the viewer struggles to give a toss.
Ghost Squad has adopted shaky camera work and lots of unnecessary shouting and swearing to create
The Music Show BBCZ, Fri 4 Nov, 11.35pm Mr Holland's Friday night musical hegemony is challenged with this BBC Scotland show which opens with Belle & Sebastian. Sons & Daughters and ballboy.
The Princess and Panorama 8802, Tue 8 Nov, 9pm lt's ten years since Martin Bashir got Di to chat about her 'crowded' marriage and this documentary looks behind the scenes of that ratings-heavy interview.
Traffic ITV4, Wed 9 Nov, 10pm The original telly show was great. Soderbergh's movie version was top- notch and this new three—barter (created by Stephen 24 Hopkins) looks like being thoroughly addictive.
Peep Show Channel 4, Fri 17 Nov, 70pm The point-of—view comedy show's series-three opener features a mugging. a monk and a manage a trois.
Alien Worlds Channel 4, Sat 72 Nov, 7pm This two- parter explores how aliens might look. how they might move and how they might live and die.
sense of tension and gritty realism. Neither really delivers the desired impact. While a seasoned potty mouth can effortlessly slot expletives into almost any sentence. by placing too much emphasis on profanities. a novice can utterly undermine their cause: and this is a case in point. Steer clear.
(Mark Edmundson)