Radar: Cultural Highlights 01.06.26

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Criminal Record (Apple TV)

Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi play good cop and corrupted cop, respectively, in this twisty drama from Apple TV. I’ve just finished the first series but have enjoyed it, even if I thought they maybe could have wrapped it up within six rather than eight episodes. The issue with too many episodes in a series which largely features only two main characters is that the limits of these actors’ abilities becomes stretched and we soon see their limits. Both were excellent, but over the eight episodes I started to tire of the same shocked facial expression from Jumbo and the same shifty smile from Capaldi. Aside from that it dealt with the idea of historic corruption in the police well, and the damaging effects this has had on marginalised members of society, locked up unjustly. 

Children of the Blitz (BBC)

I was reluctant to watch this at first and my first reaction to it was: is this just another war documentary? But I’d read some good reviews and, after watching the first episode, found it very moving. It interviews those who were children kept at home during the Blitz as opposed to being sent to the country for safety. Some families simply didn’t want to part with their children and felt the safest place for their children was at home. The programme adopted a simple talking-heads format, which was incredibly effective at tapping into the memories people had of the Blitz. Hearing them describe the sound of the siren, and describing where they hunkered down, and the look of the streets the next day, and how the German bombs devastated local high streets and communities was striking. In the wake of recent anti-semitic attacks in the UK, a programme reminds us all about the importance of tolerance and focusing on what we share as opposed to what divides us. 

And Now for Something Completely Different (BBC)

Ah, Monty Python. Is there anything more British in its eccentricity? This 90-minute feature was basically a highlights package of their best sketches. And sketches is the right words, as some it was pretty sketchy, i.e. not that funny. John Cleese as a shouty P. E. teacher trying to teach his charges self-defence with fruit was just bizarre. As was a scene where Eric Idle plays a marriage counsellor who seduces the wife of the man he’s trying to counsel in the session, and though this may sound funny in theory, in practice it just came across as creepy. I watched so many of the scenes and heard myself saying aloud on multiple occasions: ‘that just wouldn’t get made today.’ Especially not at the BBC. Although, in saying that, most of it barely got made at the time, due to external censors, and allegedly there’s still a rocky relationship between the troupe and the Beeb. When MP get it right, though, they really are funny. See The Lumberjack Song, for example.

The Other Bennet Sister (BBC)

Am I the only person on the planet who found this predictable and dull? I couldn’t get beyond the first episode. I watched this expressly off the back of some really good reviews but just found it to be another generic Jane Austen spin-off. I suppose if you don’t really like Jane Austen this was always going to be a hard sell, and that’s probably why it didn’t work for me. I’ve never fully understood Austen-mania. Sorry, I know this will appall many of you, but I just find people talking about who may or may not be moving into the house across the field, or who may or may not be coming to tea, or who may or may not be at the dance, or who did or did not dance at the dance tedious (even if it is meant to satirise). I’m told Jane Austen is very funny, and I’m sure, in the words of Taylor Swift “it’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me.’ 

The Spectator, and The Spectator Edition Podcast

While I don’t agree with everything that’s written in it, I’ve very much been enjoying The Spectator. Not only is it nice to read an actual paper magazine, away from a screen, but I’ve been enjoying the quality and variety of the writing. Whether you agree with the writers or not, these are journalists who can write and have distinctive, engaging voices. The Books and Arts section is excellent, and for my money, beats much of what is published in The Times these days. The reviews are insightful and incisive, and I look forward to it every week. Olivia Potts and Tanya Gold are also fantastic food writers. There is also a podcast or vodcast on Youtube, where some of the writers of that edition sit round and discuss further some of their articles. The whole enterprise is a breath of fresh air. The owner of The Spectator also runs UnHerd, another medium championing free speech and independent thought, often taking contrarian stances. Long may they both continue.