Just when you thought the BBC had given up trying to do anything new and original, and was quite content with one cop or doctor show after another, Hustle popped up in the schedules. And bloody hell, there wasn't a stethoscope in sight, and only the odd policeman or two. So congratulations to the good old beeb eh?
Well almost. Despite it being one of the most fun tv series that we've seen so far this year, it didn't live up to the promise shown in the first couple of episodes. They seemed effortlessly cool, inventive, and established the five main characters quickly as well. The cons weren't predictable or obvious, and it moved along at a relentlessly fast pace too. But then some producer had to go and ruin it all by saying something stupid like ''Hey, let's make it more soapy, give the characters backstories and hint a little at plausible romances between them. And let's make the editing really obtrusive rather than just effective, yeah? And why not break the third wall, have them talk to the viewer from time to time, it worked in Moonlighting didn't it?''
And that's the problem. Whilst not noticeable at first, it relied too much on stealing ideas from other shows and films, and this alas included the various stings the group carried out. I could forgive one, maybe two plotlines from being far from original, but more than that just wasn't on. And to badly rip off The Sting in the final episode, however knowingly, just wasn't forgivable. I'd like to concentrate on the positives, I really would. After all, the acting was superb - yes, even Robert Vaughan didn't seem out of place, though playing a smooth and smarmy character couldn't have been too much of a stretch for him. Kudos must go to Adrian Lester for really carrying the series, and showing that subtlety works just as well as over the top fireworks. A lot of the dialogue was extremely well written, and whilst sections where characters talked to the viewers sometimes annoyed, sometimes it worked too.
But ultimately it was a flawed and frustrating show. To show so much promise and then to squander it all annoys more than I can say, and the second series on it's way really must try and be more original, or it'll probably turn out to be the last one.
Friends(9pm, Fridays, C4)
Ah, good old reliable Friends. It's been a decade now, and yet despite the odd dip in quality, it's managed to avoid jumping the shark and still raises a fair few smiles with every episode. And with only one, final, season to go, they wouldn't go and fuck up a winning formula would they? Would they? Oh. Oh dear.
Because all of a sudden, presumably in an attempt to tie up loose ends and give the series a satisfying send off, they've suddenly included far too many dramatic life-changing moments which annoy beyond belief. Gone is too much of the offbeat humour, replaced with such moments, and all are accompanied by the audience cheering loudly whenever a character announces anything like ''We're getting married...We're having a baby...We're buying a house...My new socks are really nice...'' etc. And it's just not needed. Fine, fine, include such things in the very final episode if you must, but throughout the whole season? How could they have done this to us?
Sadly it's not this alone though. Ross has gone back to being inanely idiotic, Rachel's blander than bland, Phoebe's quirkyness feels forced, whilst Monica and Chandler are just plain annoying, and only Joey's on top form, getting all of the best gags and plotlines, presumably due to the fact that he's the one who signed up for the spin-off show. As in The Simpsons these days, the celebrity guest star roles seem a little obvious, inserted without need, and all of a sudden it's feeling fake. Painfully fake.
It's a bit of a televisual tragedy too, as this could have gone down as one of those extremely rare shows which lasted ten years and didn't go all crappy. Ah well, I guess in the future you can just watch up to the end of the last season and forget this one ever happened. I'm pretty damn sure you won't find yourself regretting doing so.
Garth Meranghi's Dark Place (10.30pm, Thursdays, C4)
Ah, Channel Four, I'd like to love you, I really would. Your behind some of the best comedies around (Black Books, Peep Show, all of Chris Morris' recent output), and even capable of a groundbreaking drama or two, though normally only once a year of course. And you're the only channel (well, non-digital channel anyhow) which seems to have a modicum respect for American imports and shows them in normally vaguely decent timeslots too.
Alas C4, your partly terrible too. There's too many reality tv shows (did anyone really watch The Salon or The Fit Farm?), too many daytime tv shows being broadcast in peak time slot (A Place In The Sun, What Not To Wear), and just too often nowadays the schedule's full of dated films or 100 greatest ever...shows. So I can only profess to liking you a lot, but not enough for us to date. Sorry. Er, I'm rambling aren't I? Time to get to the point methinks. Which is that Garth Meranghi's Dark Place made me like Channel Four a lot more than I had recently. Before Christmas it seemed to get stuck in to a bit of a rut, playing it way too safe, but this year a new burst of life seems to have been found. Shameless, No Angels, Black Books, the new series of Six Feet Under and South Park, hey, even Without A Trace is fairly good. But personally for me, Garth Meranghi's Dark Place was the show I secretly liked the most.
Secretly liked because this is firmly nerd tv, referencing the more odd and surreal tv shows of the late eighties and early nineties, the most obvious of these being Lars Von Trier The Kingdom, which Meranghi steals the entire premise from (a hospital's built on a portal to hell, various strange and disturbing events take place), but also from Twin Peaks, various weird itv kids drama shows from the mid-eighties, and now laughably dated American series like the A-Team.
It delights in spoofing ridiculous television contrivances, with large chunks of clunky but hilarious dialogue inserted to make the plot make sense. So much bad acting is found within each thirty minute episode it's simply rather staggering, and the sets look on the verge of collapsing nearly all the time, yet it all works perfectly. You can't fail to laugh hard at the ever self-aggrandizing lead character Dr Rick, but as with all the best sitcoms, it's not just the central character who gets all the best lines and moments. Add in some bizarrely naff special effects, cameos from some of the best alternative comedians around (Noble and Silver, Julian Barnes), and one of the best/worst theme tunes of all time, and you have, trust me, one of the greatest sitcoms of the last decade or so.
Strong words for sure, but that's how much I loved this show. A second season please Channel 4. Then I might consider at least buying you dinner...
Countdown (3.15pm, Weekdays, BBC1)
I know what you're thinking, but no, no, I haven't succumbed to insanity or inanity. It's just while I'm currently out of work I've been forced to endure daytime tv, and not for once ever expected it to be anything near watchable, let alone something which would turn out to be the highlight of a particular week. But despite Richard Whitely's ever groansome puns, Carol Vooderman's fake laughter and Susie Dent's shy dullness, for one week only, Countdown was essential tv. And the reason? Ah, one Mr Jimmy Carr.
I briefly mentioned how good it was on the mini-comment page, but really, if you missed it, which quite frankly is quite likely unless you're still a student, you missed out so hugely on one of the funniest tv moments I've witnessed this year. No, no really, it was that good. And only because of Carr. His trademark deadpan delivery often made me childishly giggle, but it was his obvious contempt for Richard and various contestants and his ignorance of the show's daytime slot which made it oh so good. Jokes about orgasms, semen and various other subjects so not suitable for Countdown's largely O.A.P. audience went down as badly as you might imagine, with normally only a barely audible chuckle or two heard from them, but trust me, it was bloody hilarious stuff.
Normally I'd go on and on about such a tv highlight, but as Countdown's largely dull and Carr is unlikely to make a repeat performance on it, there's not really any point is there? But it's well worth asking your grandparents if they ever happen to video the show, just in case you can track a couple of episodes down.
I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here (8/9pm, Every night for two weeks, ITV1)
Ever get the feeling that reality tv will just never die? That every time anyone pronounces it deceased, a hit show like this one will pop up and reinvigorate the genre? Aye, me too. And should we complain? Is it really responsible for dumbing down tv?
Ah, of course not. For one thing, tv's always had it's pretty damn dumb side. Whilst there's always been the odd rather wonderful series or two on our screens, there's always been horribly trivial and mundane nonsense too, I mean look at the soaps and how popular they are, and the more inane and annoying they are, the more viewing figures they get. And reality tv deserves its place in the schedules anyhow, when it's well done of course, especially when it's celebrity orientated like this one was, as it allows us to see how normal or insane the celebs are.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it might be a series that no one will remember in five years time, like 99% of tv really, and as per nearly all reality series, it did become a little too mundane in the final few shows, but ultimately it achieved something that very few tv programmes do - it was fun. Plain and simple. And for that reason alone, I'll be tuning in when it inevitably returns later in the year.
Alex Finch.
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