' REMOTE CONTROL
Brian Donaldson finds that with modern comedy there’s nothing like good old swearing
The folk at ITV were not too keen on letting episodes of Get a Grip (STV. Wed 78 Apr, 70pm o ) find their
way into jOurnalists' hands before the first episode went on air. The reason given was that the show was so darned topical that Ben Elton and
Alexa Chung would be cracking the funnies so close to the wire that the satirical wheel would have to be reinvented. So. the moon landings and the Roswell incident are today's burning issues are they? Probably the worst thing about this pointless drivel — and there are many contenders for that dubious honour — is that it's set up as some kind of battle of the ages. where a yOung one lPopwor/d presenter Chung) and the ex-Young Ones icon (the almost universally- loathed Elton) comment on the news stories of the day from their particular spot on the generational divide. Why then, is the whole thing written by one person? One person called Ben Elton? Thoroughly bogus and totally horrible. Making a far better fist of getting older are messrs Whitehouse and Enfield. certainly on the early evidence of Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry and Paul (BBCI, Mon 16 Apr, 70.35pm 000 ) which also features the underrated Morwenna Banks and the
last ever Perrier prize scooper, Laura Solon. The only nagging doubt about this sketch affair is that they have largely foregone the original. if instantly recognisable. characters both were famous for (Loadsamoney. Stavros. Ted. and that guy who shouted 'brilliant!‘ a lot) and plumped to take a savage swipe at the rich and famous. But what stupendous swipes they are. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs talking dirty tech—speak at a party is fun enough but the silly U2 bedsit tale (check out the Joshua Tree poster) and Nelson Mandela doing alcohol ads are simply joyous.
There's not a huge amount of joy to be had in Roman’s Empire (BBCQ, Thu 72 Apr. 9.30pm 0. ). which is spoiled by a camera guy with obsessive zoom-lens disorder and appears to be the result of an ideas meeting which more or less went like this: ‘I like Scrubs. Let's do it like that with a touch of Royal Tenenbaums; you know. messed-up family stuff. All in a very British manner.‘ And bingo. the Pretty clan was born with three lovely daughters. a daft matriarch, a dodgy daddy and stir crazy son-in- laws. I'm not sure whether the antics in Derren Brown: Trick or Treat (Channel 4, Fri 13 Apr, 7 0pm 0000 ) are outlandisth funny or cause for a petition to the mud of human rights. Imagine waking up in the middle of the
night to have Dezza crouched by yOur
bed. whispering something about going for a quiet walk with the certainty that something nice or nasty wrll await yOu at the other end. Then you fall back to sleep in a photo booth you've stumbled into and wake up 1500 miles away from your London home in a steamy North African marketplace Cruel. But corking.
Still, the comedy treat of the fortnight is. probably unsurprisingly, the new
Reviews
SOCIAL DRAMA GHOSTS More4, Tue 17 Apr, 10pm 0000
When you think about Nick Broomfield and his work, you probably don’t think grimy, subtle and slow. Though, you might conjure up an image of a posh guy with a camera upsetting all manner of ruthless crooks and political outcasts with his bumbling ways. There is another vision: that of the documentary-maker who decided to turn his hand to feature films and spewed forth the truly awful Diamond Skulls. In the near 20 years of superb non-fiction creation since, Broomfield has thankfully not been tempted to stray back into ‘the movies’. Until now. But wisely, he has opted to film a dramatised and highly poignant version of real events, that of the tragedy in the winter of 2004 when 21 Chinese cockIe-pickers drowned in
Morecambe Bay.
He focuses his tale upon Ai Qin, a young mother who believes that leaving her family in China to find work in the UK will be the solution to all their problems. It soon becomes apparent, thanks to the callous gangsters and corrupt officials who hold her fate in their grubby hands, that the horrible journey and nasty conditions she finds herself in were barely worth the financial outlay and emotional trauma she invested in the mission. But, as we now know, much worse is to come. Even the nagging feeling that Broomfield will saunter into shot at any given moment, accidentally bashing someone’s head with his boom isn’t enough to douse the impact of this impressive and stately film. (Brian Donaldson)
fourth season of Peep Show (Channel 4, Fri 73 Apr, I 0.30pm 000. ). Has there ever been a comedy show that has utilised the swear word with such pinpoint accuracy and hilarious effect? The constant internal rants and occasional verbal outpourings of uptight Mark (Davrd Mitchell) and shallow Je‘z
(Robert Webb) are littered with such deliciously placed profanities that they almost make art and poetry out of cursing. Not that the show is simply about well-structured Anglo- Saxonisms. it's also about loyalty. greed. guilt. love. hate and betrayal. And. in the opening episode. a very bad goatee.
1'2 26 Apr 2001' THE LIST 87