13 February 2022 51
THE BEST TV FROM MUBI AND BEYOND... FRIDAY 18 FEBRUARY
Murderville (Netflix)
If you had been asked which
British sitcom would be the
next to receive an American
makeover, it’s unlikely you
would have guessed the
chaotic mash-up of crime
drama, improv and reality
show that was 2015’s Murder
in Successville. In the original,
Tom Davis played a seedy,
incompetent detective who
recruits a real-life celebrity
to help him solve the crime
of the week. For the remake,
Arrested Development’s Will
Arnett is the loose-cannon
cop and his guest-star
sidekicks include Conan
O’Brien and Sharon Stone.
So far, the US version seems
a little too safe, lacking the
original’s dangerous whiff
of anarchy, but give it time
— Arnett certainly has the
potential to go off the rails
entirely at any point.
Andrew MaleThe Man Who Would Be
King (Film4, 11am)
Adapted from a Rudyard
Kipling story, John Huston’s
film stars Sean Connery and
Michael Caine as Victorian
British soldiers who tempt fate
when they assume power in
a remote Afghan region. The
director might have given us
an even riper yarn if he had
carried through his plan to
film the story with Clark Gable
and Humphrey Bogart in the
1950s, but the movie we have
is a fine work of entertainment
in its own right. Its stars are
on good form; its adventure
scenes are first-rate; and its
tale of hubris and punishment
is full of mordancy. (1975)Rocky (ITV, 11.05pm)
In the Oscar-winning film that
introduced us to Sylvester
Stallone’s dogged, mumbly
boxer, his life as a working-
class nobody is described
quite touchingly. By the time
his story begins to grow far-
fetched, viewers are primed
to keep cheering him on.
Dir: John G Avildsen (1976)
Edward PorterSevered: Adam Scott (Apple TV+) Stallone and Meredith (ITV, 11.05pm)FILM CHOICE
ON DEMAND
I, Sniper — The Washington
Killers (All4)
In February 2002, a Gulf
War veteran and a teenage
Jamaican boy stole a blue
1990 Chevrolet Caprice and
embarked on a crime spree
across America before arriving
in the Baltimore-Washington
Metropolitan area in October,
Phat Tuesdays —
The Era Of Hip Hop Comedy
(Amazon Prime Video)
Whether hip-hop comedy is
your specialist subject or you
are encountering the phrase
for the first time, Reginald
Hudlin’s documentary about
the history of black stand-up
at LA’s Comedy Store is
fascinating, a social and
political history of white and
black culture in the late 1990s.
Andrew MaleAll Of Us Are Dead (Netflix)
This is quite a simple one.
If the idea of a South Korean
coming-of-age zombie
apocalypse horror sounds like
your kind of thing, jump right
in. The characters are well
drawn, the effects impressive
and the young adult themes
all nicely interwoven, but this
is the kind of TV drama that
will make genre fans very
happy yet serve little purpose
for any curious neophyte.The Sky Is Everywhere
(Apple TV+)
The story of a teenage girl
(Grace Kaufman) falling in
love while mourning her
sister’s death, this Apple
original is, at heart, just
another corny teen drama,
but it was directed by
Josephine Decker, known for
exotic arthouse films such as
2020’s Shirley. She highlights
the script’s candour and
supplies bright visual ideas. EPwhere they murdered ten
innocent people with a sniper
rifle. The veteran, John Allen
Muhammad, was sentenced to
death. The teen, Lee Malvo,
was given life imprisonment.
Malvo’s testimony from his
prison cell forms the narrative
backbone of Mary-Jane
Mitchell’s chilling six-part
documentary; a disquieting
insight into the life of a child
who became educated in
the ways of murder.Welcome to the big time: Rachel Brosnahan craves her revenge (Amazon)
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
(Amazon Prime Video)
“Revenge,” purrs Midge
Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan)
to an adoring crowd in the
opening scene to this fourth
series. “I want it. I need it.
I crave it.” Comedians might
die, but Midge — previously
a nice Jewish housewife in
1950s Manhattan — appears
ready for some proactive
bloodletting. This furious
tone may signal a new
direction for the screwball
comedy-drama, but first
we rewind to the previous
season’s aftermath, when
she was ditched from a
tour of Prague. You will,
unavoidably, picture John
Cleese, as Midge’s anger boils
over and she thrashes a cab
with a branch in just her
lingerie. The question is: who
is in her sights, apart from
the entire comedy industry?
Toby EarleSeverance (Apple TV+)
Promoted to manager by his
boss (Patricia Arquette), Mark
(Parks and Recreation’s Adam
Scott) has to induct a new
recruit (Brit Lower). When
she becomes stroppy, he
handles it badly; after he
returns glumly to his desk,
we at last learn what the
“severance” of this thriller’s
title is — something it would
be unfair to reveal fully, but
involving a separation of
employees’ work and private
lives. So far, Severance takes
this Black Mirror-like premise
and seems to be intent on
showing its repercussions
as dully as possible, but things
do become a little livelier
once Mark goes home, so
conceivably it might improve
in later episodes.
John Dugdale
Unreported World
(C4, 7.30pm)
Seyi Rhodes joins a charity
in South Sudan, where just
200,000 people have been
fully vaccinated. Supplies
are patchy and the task of
covering a difficult geographic
area is considerable — and
that’s before medics are
confronted by preachers
with an anti-vaxx stance.Susan Calman’s Grand Day
Out (C5, 8pm)
“Some of the best adventures
happen when you just have a
pootle around,” says Calman
tonight, making what she calls
a “bucket-list trip” around the
Highlands. To her surprise,
she is a natural at the
traditional Scottish pastimes
of axe throwing, power
boating and paddle-boarding.Dating No Filter
(Sky Max, 10pm)
This dating show’s first series
was weakened by the fact the
snarky critiques of sofa-bound
celebrities were aimed at
ordinary civilians. Thankfully,
this season’s “romantics” are
TikTokers, YouTubers and
influencers, balancing the
power dynamic nicely.
Helen StewartCRITICS’ CHOICE
A very American
murder case