Telly Watching- Part 3

Talking of television comedy as I was in the last 'Telly Watching' post, I should mention 'Inside No 9', an anthology comedy series which is what you might term 'black comedy.' It may not be everyone's cup of tea and some may not even describe it as comedy. The series is now in its sixth series and is created by and performed by the team behind 'The League of Gentlemen', Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Sheersmith. It's likely not to be to everybody's taste. The language is quite strong, but at least it's adult and some of the themes are quite controversial, so if you manage to see it (there are episodes on the BBC iPlayer.) you have been warned. I have only seen two episodes, so I can't comment on other episodes or earlier series. It has reached series 6, so there are plenty of episodes to choose from. The episode I watched the other day, called 'Simon Says' has similarities with the play and film 'Sleuth' which starred Michael Caine and Lawrence Olivier and based on the play by Anthony Shaffer and 'Misery' a story by Stephen King and made into a film and a stage play. Further to the similarities of other series, the most obvious must be 'Tales of The Unexpected', based on the short stories of Roald Dahl. Many of those stories have a twist that you don't always see coming. Then some themes crop up in the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Say no more. Just watch and then decide what you think. But considering the amount of dross that crosses our television screens, it's great to have something which is at least vaguely original and intriguing. I can hardly be described as 'Sitcom', but at least they're attempting to try different styles of comedy, although I don't think it's exactly 'laugh out loud comedy.

I have been watching the BBC Television adaptation of 'The Pursuit of Love, based on the novel by Nancy Mitford. I watched the first two episodes and enjoyed them. The production design, costumes and general look of the show is great and seems to have caught the feel of the period well. All the characters are well acted and presented, but this final episode just didn't hold my attention and I just lost interest. I think it's probably because I can't identify with these hedonistic, vacuous people. Self indulgent and empty. There's nothing likeable about any of them. Too much money, sex and drugs? Possibly. Just too self-obsessed. Just go and get a job. Mind you, it does make a change from murder and mayhem in so much of what passes for 'drama' in other productions. Too many television productions just seem to copy one another. Since the series 'Broadchurch', for example, other crime series have just copied the look and feel of that one show, characters shouting at one another, staring vacantly at nothing (in Broadchurch, which is set near the sea, there's a lot of scenes with characters staring at . . . the sea. 

Back on the subject of 'The Pursuit of Love', I'm drawn to the fact that it's structure and characters are similar to 'Brideshead Revisited.' Another set of selfish, moneyed, aristocratic characters that just complain about life, seem to do nothing and just moan on and on. Interesting in that it's exactly 40 years since the Granada production of this Evelyn Waugh novel. It was extremely lavish. It had eleven episodes and had an amazing cast, which included John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Diana Quick, Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews. But at least it had some redeeming features. The Charles Ryder character, played by Jeremy Irons, is an outsider and the one character you can at least identify with. I doubt that, with the current television landscape, that a production of a somewhat obscure novel such as Brideshead Revisited, would be adapted into eleven episodes. Unless Netflix was to make it. Just far too expensive to make by an ITV company (bearing in mind that in 1981 ITV was still made up of the 15 or so local companies, and not what it was to morph into when it became one rather bland organisation it has become in the 21st century.)