list.co.uk/tv
SEASONAL SPECIAL DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL BBC One, Sun 25 Dec
It’s almost as much of a Christmas tradition as the Queen’s Speech. Doctor Who is back once again for a festive one-hour special. This time the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) will be teaming up with a comic book superhero in New York to save the world from evil aliens in ‘The Return of Doctor Mysterio’. Matt Lucas also returns as the bumbling Nardole. ‘Delighted and slightly amazed to be welcoming Matt Lucas back on to the TARDIS,’ says head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, ‘and this time it’s not just for Christmas, he’s sticking around.’ Lucas will join Capaldi and new companion Bill
(Pearl Mackie) for series ten in 2017, which also marks the last with Moffat as head writer. He took over the reins from Russell T Davies back in 2008 and his dark imaginings gave us the Weeping Angels and steered the Doctor through two regenerations (from David Tennant to Matt Smith to Capaldi). Chris Chibnall will be taking over. Best known as writer / creator of Life on Mars and Broadchurch, Chibnall is a lifelong Doctor Who fan who has already written five episodes and several webisodes.
‘While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him . . . I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip,’ laughs Moffat. (Henry Northmore)
Previews & Reviews | TV
HIGHLIGHTS
THE CROWN Fri 4 Nov, Netflix Lavish drama telling the story of Queen Elizabeth II with Claire Foy stepping into HRH’s tiara. See review, left. PLANET EARTH II Sun 6 Nov, BBC One Astonishing new wildlife documentary series from Sir David Attenborough and the BBC Natural History Unit. See review, page 126.
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON Thu 15 Nov, 10pm, E! James Corden helped drag the US late-night talk show tradition across the Atlantic. Now E! get in on the act screening Fallon’s chat and comedy extravaganza just 24 hours after broadcast in America.
THE GRAND TOUR Fri 18 Nov, Amazon Prime Instant Video We shudder at the thought of Jeremy Clarkson’s new TV venture. But it is big news, so there you go. Cars, Clarkson, Hammond and May talking Top Gear-type tosh even though they’re not allowed to call it Top Gear any more.
GILMORE GIRLS: A YEAR IN THE LIFE Fri 25 Nov, Netflix Revival of the much- missed Gilmore Girls, with four feature-length specials covering each season (winter, spring, summer and fall).
DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL Sun 25 Dec, BBC One It just wouldn’t be Christmas without your favourite Time Lord starring in a seasonal special with a superhero theme. See preview, left.
ROYAL DRAMA THE CROWN Netflix from Fri 4 Nov ●●●●●
Netflix has announced it will be spending a whopping $6 billion on original content next year (to provide context, HBO spent just shy of $2 billion in 2016). And with a reputed $100 million price tag per season, The Crown is an integral part of this new offensive. Retelling the life of Queen Elizabeth II, The Crown opens in 1947 on the eve of Elizabeth’s (Claire Foy)
marriage to Philip Mountbatten (Matt Smith). Five years later, King George VI (Jared Harris) dies. As news of her father’s death spreads around the world, Elizabeth is blissfully unaware on safari in Africa. The young princess is crowned Queen of England at the age of 25. Your opinion of The Crown will probably be determined by your feelings towards the monarchy, but it’s
impossible to deny it’s beautifully made, with lavish sets and costumes. Much like ITV’s recent Victoria, it's a clever blend of history and fiction disguised as fact.
Foy might not look like the Queen but she’s got the accent down pat, prim and proper yet revealing a hidden strength. Smith avoids the cheap gaffe-prone caricature of Philip, bringing a human edge to his struggle for identity in his wife’s shadow, while John Lithgow brings just the right amount of cantankerous charm to Winston Churchill. The Crown can be a bit stuffy, though. There’s some drama with an elephant in Kenya; Edward (Alex Jennings) and Mrs Simpson pop up from time to time; fog brings London to a standstill in episode four while Princess Margaret’s (Vanessa Kirby) romance with Peter Townsend (Ben Miles) simmers in the background. However, most of the action is confined to meaningful discussions about duty and responsibility.
The Crown constantly reminds us that, behind the pomp and circumstance, these are real people;
closeted, detached from society, their lives defined by compromise and obligation. This humanising can make it feel a bit like a PR exercise for the British royal family. However, if you can watch objectively, it’s a fascinating portrayal of post-war Britain and the birth of the modern monarchy. (Henry Northmore)
THE LAST DRAGON SLAYER Sun 25 Dec, Sky 1 Fantasy action for all the family (unlike Sky Atlantic’s rather icky Game of Thrones) based on Jasper Fforde’s novel. SHERLOCK – SEASON 4 Sun 1 Jan, BBC One More mysteries and enigmatic sleuthing. And if recent comments from Benedict Cumberbatch are to be believed, this could be the last series of Sherlock for the foreseeable future.
HOMELAND – SEASON 6 Jan (date tbc), Channel 4 Season 5 found Homeland back on track focusing on Carrie Mathison (Clare Danes) in Berlin. Now she’s back in America for more espionage action set during a US presidential election. RESIDENT EVIL VII: BIOHAZARD Tue 24 Jan, PC / PS4 / Xbox One The world’s greatest survival horror series goes first person for the next horrifying instalment.
3 Nov 2016–31 Jan 2017 THE LIST 127