29 May 2022 51
THE BEST TV FROM BRITBOX AND BEYOND... WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE
Queer As Folk (All4)
On June 9, a “reimagining”
of Russell T Davies’s LGBTQ
drama comes to Starzplay
with the promise it won’t
look to the past. Why should
it? Davies’s original defiantly
embodied its own place
and time (Manchester at the
turn of the millennium) and
conducted itself without a
thought for being respectful
to previous generations.
It’s a show that, at times,
now seems quite shallow,
cruel and melodramatic.
Yes, Davies was playing
with assumptions about gay
male archetypes, as were his
actors (Aidan Gillen, Craig
Kelly and Charlie Hunnam),
but, 23 years on, it is like
looking at your younger self
and realising that what felt
vital and important then
maybe seems a bit unformed
and embarrassing now.
Andrew MaleHere Today (Sky Cinema
Premiere, 12.10pm/2.15am)
As well as starring in this
comic drama, Billy Crystal
directed it and helped write
the screenplay, but he is not
its most vital contributor.
That status belongs to Tiffany
Haddish, whose live-wire
performance transcends the
movie’s syrupiness. Crystal
plays a respected comedy
writer who recently learnt he
has dementia, and Haddish is
this character’s newest friend
and only confidante. Although
the film’s chief creator can’t
be dissuaded from heaping
on the schmaltz, he does have
light, amusing scenes with
his co-star. (2021)Days Of The Bagnold
Summer (Film4, 12.15am)
Forced to spend a summer
in an English backwater with
his mum (Monica Dolan), this
comedy’s sulky teenage hero
(Earl Cave) feels starved of
glamour. Nonetheless, Simon
Bird’s funny, kind-hearted film
is aware that humdrum life
has its own charm. (2019)
Edward PorterLighting up the Tower (BBC1, 8pm) Dolan and Cave (Film4, 12.15am)FILM CHOICE
ON DEMAND
The Flight Attendant
(Sky/Now)
The first season of this show
was an absolute delight. An
adaptation of Chris Bohjalian’s
2018 whodunnit novel about
a cabin-crew member who
wakes up next to a dead body
in a hotel with no memory of
the night before, here was
Love, Death + Robots
(Netflix)
After the dispiriting rag-bag of
mediocre sci-fi and misogyny
that was season one, this
animated sci-fi series from
co-producers David Fincher
and Tim Miller has evolved
into a worthwhile diversion.
Significantly, the quality of
the animation in season three
has improved markedly and
can enchant and beguile.
Andrew MaleY Golau/The Light
(BBC iPlayer/S4C)
Written by Bafta-nominated
Regina Moriarty, this thriller
follows a paroled murderer
(Iwan Rheon) returning to his
home town and the effect it has
on the friend and the mother
of his victim (Alexandra Roach
and Joanna Scanlan). Shot in
Welsh and English, it’s a show
that plays games with ideas
of character, prejudice and
national identity.Gangubai Kathiawadi
(Netflix)
This biopic at times threatens
to become a Bollywood version
of a Scorsese-style gangster
movie: its heroine (played
by Alia Bhatt) was a Mumbai
mafia boss who defended
the rights of sex workers.
Despite its seamy side,
though, it is still a traditional
Indian melodrama with songs
and lavish decor. Dir: Sanjay
Leela Bhansali (2022) EPfast-paced, witty, high-concept
TV drama with a deliciously
dark heart and a captivating
lead performance from the
actor/producer Kaley Cuoco.
If season two swaps 21st-
century screwball comedy for
high-jinks spy drama, no
matter; this is emotional,
complex, psychologically
playful female-centric drama,
to be prescribed to everyone
who was disappointed by
season two of Russian Doll.An inside job: Reece Shearsmith tries hard to hear no evil (BBC2, 10pm)
Inside No 9 (BBC2, 10pm)
By now there is not much
going on inside Inside No 9
that viewers are not aware
of, what with Steve
Pemberton and Reece
Shearsmith’s fan-thrilling
BBC Sounds podcast, Inside
Inside No 9, the pair’s
“behind-the-scenes” theatre
tour and a book (written by
Mark Salisbury). Even as the
sixth and final episode of a
surprisingly hopeful seventh
series airs, there remains the
tantalising promise of an
American remake of their
quintessentially English
stories for Amazon’s Freevee
service. Tonight’s part-
animated episode is yet
another inventive triumph,
as Shearsmith stars as one
of those quiet types who
keeps himself to himself,
struggling to escape a
difficult childhood.
Helen StewartThe Repair Shop Jubilee
Special (BBC1, 8pm)
With its sensible, make-do-
and-mend mentality and its
air of “in church hall if wet”
nostalgia, few programmes
better suit a jubilee special
than this cosy gem. Royal
connections are the most
obvious when a Beefeater
brings in a lantern that has
been used to lock the gates
at the Tower of London for 103
years, but otherwise these are
items that live with common
people: a red, white and blue
tandem, a plate from Queen
Victoria’s golden jubilee, and
a jacket fit for a pearly prince.
Less emotional bric-a-brac can
be found in Bargain Hunt
Jubilee Special (BBC1,
12.15pm), in which teams seek
out royal memorabilia.
Victoria Segal
Between The Covers
(BBC2, 7.30pm)
Sara Cox’s guests — actors Neil
Morrissey and Nina Wadia,
comics Jo Brand and Darren
Harriott — discuss novels
including Monica Ali’s Love
Marriage and Margaret
Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.
Gasps greet Wadia’s revelation
that she studied Lady
Chatterley’s Lover for GCSE.Attack Of The Zeppelins
(PBS America, 7.40pm)
A fascinating documentary
about the First World War
raids that pioneered the
bombing of civilians and so
heralded the future of conflict
as “total war”. Engineering
expert Hugh Hunt investigates
why it took British scientists
so long to find a way to
destroy the German airships.The Great British Sewing
Bee (BBC1, 9pm)
It’s music week for the stitchers
left, and their first test is to
create a version of the mod
uniform turned rock star staple,
the parka. Old denim is turned
into country singers’ clobber
in the second challenge, and
David Bowie inspires the final
made-to-measure looks.
John DugdaleCRITICS’ CHOICE
The original
and best?