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SPORT SUPERSTARS F‘Y‘?:.E'.‘__‘_.‘ J_“.,':.88'_"_ 9...”.
Sporting life was very different in the 19705. Kevin Keegan had bubblier hair, the only athletes who used artificial enhancement to boost their performance seemed to be born female in East Germany and it was still possible to win the men’s singles at Wimbledon with a wooden racket. Into such an antiquated world came Superstars, the BBC’s better-looking, more competitive cousin to It’s a Knockout without the manic wailing of Stuart Hall or the 15ft inflatable gnomes tripping up the contestants. The series also proved beyond doubt that, contrary to my gym teacher’s stern belief that being cursed with such a forename was a hindrance to sporting achievement, it was possible to have an animated snail’s name and do well on the mats, tracks and shooting ranges of the world: the two Brians, Hooper and Jacks became household names in the UK for their multi- tasking antics.
And after a series of one-off Sport Relief resurrections, Superstars is back on Five with teams led by Kelly Holmes, Steve Redgrave, Roger Black and Mike Catt, opening with a rather embarrassing episode in which the captains take their first picks with the archetypal fat and/or asthmatic kids (in this case, all the women competitors) being left to sulk at the back. Happily, they’ve maintained the dramatic yet homely theme tune by Johnny Pearson, opting wisely not to give it a make-over and whack on some drum & bass to tart things up a bit. All we need now is to see skin being burned off the feet during those notorious squat thrusts as Gene Hunt barks abuse from the sidelines and all will be well with the world again. (Brian Donaldson)
REMOTE CONTROL ;
Brian Donaldson finds the BBC spinning various tales of conspiracy to differing effect
When it comes to making new TV dramas. being brave and original can either make or break the show. Sometimes just playing it straight off the bat and keeping things safe can help your programme reap the rewards. Two hot and hyped BBC affairs go for the ‘brave' option with one flying to unusually excellent heights, the other falling flat on its over- ambitious behind.
The thumbs-up goes to Criminal Justice (BBCl, Thu 3 <2 Fri 4 Jul, 9pm 00” ). a nightly five-part drama (see. already breaking new ground) in which a decent enough lad finds himself being arrested and subsequently refused bail for the murder of a young girl. At first glance. it certainly doesn't look good for him. Ben Coulter (played with beautifully pitched bewilderment by Ben Whishaw. who you may remember being frequently tormented by the eponymous media muppet in Nathan Barley) has awoken beside a girl he met earlier that night having inadvertently picked her up in his dad 's taxi. The blood on his hands may not just be from the game of vodka-fuelled Russian roulette they played at her dad's place. but from a mighty stab wound that has killed her in bed.
Through an unfortunate series of events. Ben is arrested and taken in for questioning where he meets a sympathetic but determined cop. Harry Box (Bill Patterson) and an oddball brief, Ralph Stone (Con O'Neill). While not exactly a brutish Vic Mackey character, Box is still frustrated by the shackles placed on modern policing through rules, regulations and mounds of papenrvork while Stone soon becomes the sanest looking person in the criminal system.
Written by Peter Moffat (Hawking, Cambridge Spies). the opening episode in particular hardly wastes a frame as Ben's nightmare unravels before him, as we are taken on a journey through the justice system, a heaving barrel of rotting morals and a maelstrom of confusion for anyone miserable enough to be caught up in its murky process. Of course. given that this series is so refreshing, Ben may ultimately prove to be guilty as sin and the torment he has suffered will be wholly justified, but the point seems to be that being innocent til proven otherwise doesn't prevent you from going through a horrendous ordeal.
Which is not half a bad description you could attach to the process of watching Bonekickers (BBCl, Tue 7 Jul, 9pm 00 ), an archaeological
drama brought to us by the makers of
' Life on Mars, as though that instantly
means this will be anything other than tosh. It's actually got more in common with Cold Case and has a swashbuckling finale which is the kind of thing that would have been left on the cutting-room floor in the Chamber of Secrets. Julie Graham (her character is tough but brilliant). Hugh Bonneville (his is marginally sleazy but wildly encyclopaedic) and Adrian Lester (modern, humane) play a core team of excavating detectives who. in the daft opener, may have stumbled upon a biblical find of epic proportions which is being hunted down by fundamentalist Christians on a holy war against the Muslim community. Aside from the pitifully obvious denouement when good versus evil clashes amid flame and fury. there is one moment of jaw- dropping violence that is as obscene as it is gratuitous.
In Conspiracy Files: The Third Tower (BBC2, Sun 6 Jul, 9pm 0” ) there are two definitions of obscene. One comes from the fans of Loose Change. the internet documentary which pointed the finger at the US administration for. perhaps not directly CO-Ordinating 9/1 l, but at least making it easier for the soldiers of Bin Laden to cause merry hell in Manhattan. The others are those who just want all the conspiracy theorists to take their goofy notions and hide in a room playing endless loops of the Zapruder film.
Thing is they simply won‘t disappear while there are still so many questions unanswered. In this documentary. the focus is on WTC7. the third tower that fell that day. which wasn't hit by a plane, but still collapsed seven hours later as though via controlled explosions. Considering this building
. was largely home to US government
agencies and state officials. was there something in there that needed to be destroyed withOut trace? Get the bonekickers on the case and it will all be neatly solved in an hour.
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