By 1927, film was not new. It wasn’t even a novelty. But it was monochrome and as a result, every bit of news footage and virtually every photograph taken during the 1920s was monochrome. Weirdly, as a result, we tend to think of the 1920s as actually being monochrome.
Yet there were pioneers of colour film working at the time, including William Friese-Greene, who allowed his son Claude to shoot a series of travelogues using the colour film techniques he was experimenting with. And here below is the London travelogue. Weirdly, despite the obvious huge changes in terms of transport, traffic, etc, by being in colour, suddenly 1927 doesn’t seem so remote anymore. In fact, it’s sobering to think that the footage shot here is about as distant from us in time as the construction of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar’s Square was when William Friese-Greene went passed it.
In the UK: Saturday, 7pm, 11th May 2013, BBC1/BBC1 HD. Available on the iPlayer In the US: Saturday, 8pm/7c, 11th May 2013, BBC America
Well, it’s Wednesday so there’s probably not much point doing a full review of Saturday’s Doctor Who episode – you’ve probably forgotten it all, already – but for the record and for completeness’ sake, so I thought I’d jot down a few thoughts. Spoilers after the jump…
All good things must come to an end, and the various play strands on UK television were eventually replaced with TV movie strands instead. However, that didn’t mean an end to quality. Quite the contrary: Screen Two, BBC2’s film strand, produced some of the best movies/plays that British television has ever produced.
Fittingly, the first ever Screen Two production in 1984 was Alan Clarke’s Contact, based on AFN Clarke’s book of the same name. Hard though it is to believe in retrospect, but Northern Ireland was once a hotspot for terrorism in the western world, with the provisional IRA engaged in decades-long guerrilla warfare with the British army in Northern Ireland, while carrying out bombing campaigns there and on the mainland, too.
It’s a historical situation that was examined in many works, including ITV’s Shoot To Kill, almost all of which were controversial at the time. Contact, which was followed by a sequel from Clarke called Elephant, were the decade’s best attempts at capturing the nature of ‘The Troubles’ on film.
It follows a platoon of paratroopers patrolling ‘bandit country’ in South Armagh, a hotbed of IRA activity running along the unmarked border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It explores the trauma of soldiers living under the constant shadow of terror. With little in the way of plot, Contact is an examination of the dynamics of fear as much as it is a comment on the specifics of the Irish situation. Nevertheless, it re-opened the debate as to how television drama should address the Troubles.
Clarke took the stripped-down narrative approach of Contact even further in 1989 with Elephant. Without story or character, Elephant features 18 reconstructed and completely unrelated murders on the streets of Belfast. Clarke’s intention was to strip away any sectarian justification for killing by showing the harsh realities of murder.
In the US: Sundays, 10.30pm, HBO In the UK: Will air on BBC2 this year
Christopher Guest is a god, of course. One of the originators of Spinal Tap, he is the premier maker of the improvised ‘mockumentary’, with films like Best in Class that are cuttingly funny social observations. He is America’s Mike Leigh.
Except, of course, Guest is half-British, the son of a UN diplomat, and shared his childhood between London and New York. Which is why we shouldn’t be surprised that BBC2’s latest co-production with HBO – following on from the likes of Rome and Parade’s End – is set predominantly in Britain. Family Tree follows Chris O’Dowd’s (The IT Crowd, Bridesmaids) attempts to trace various members of his family after his great aunt dies, leaving him a box of memorabilia. Along the way, he’s helped and hindered by his sister (Nina Conti, best known for her stand-up act, but also from Guest’s For Your Consideration), who still uses the therapy monkey she had when she was a child to say things that would otherwise be unsayable, and his dad (long-time Guest collaborator Michael McKean from Spinal Tap).
Again, largely improvised by the cast, it’s well observed and engrossing, flirting with British stereotypes while undermining them and having far more depth than a whole load of US shows I could name. But is it funny? Well…
Time once more to creep up the competency pyramid in this week’s upfronts presentation, with ABC now unleashing upon us all the shows that it’s planning to include in its 2013-14 season. You might not think that ABC would be that much higher up the pyramid than Fox, given that last year, despite the presence of the good but now cancelled Last Resort, ABC managed to give us the dreadful 666 Park Avenue, The Family Tools, How To Live With Your Parents For The Rest of Your Life, Malibu Country, Nashville, The Neighbors, Red Widow and Zero Hour, only two of which have been picked up for second seasons.
Yet this year, we do have a decent enough selection of shows to pick from – well, decent at first trailer-glance, anyway, and mostly in the drama rather than comedy section. Here’s the rundown:
New dramas
Betrayal: Two lovers on opposite sides of a court case. James Cromwell, Hannah Ware and Stuart Townsend star.
Killer Women: Tricia Helfer as a Texas Ranger – what could be bad? Also features Michael Trucco and Marc Blucas.
Lucky 7: Remake of BBC1’s The Syndicate, in which a bunch of co-workers with exciting back stories win the lottery.
Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.l.E.L.D: Fuck, yeah
Mind Games: A cross between Lie To Me and Mission: Impossible. Christian Slater stars so it’ll be cancelled within three episodes
Once Upon A Time In Wonderland: Spin-off from Once Upon A Time set in Wonderland and Victorian England. Stars Sophie Lowe, Michael Socha and John Lithgow.
Resurrection: The dead come back to life in a small town. Stars Omar Epps from House, as well as Kurtwood Smith
New Comedies
Back In The Game: Failed pro softball player Maggie Lawson agrees to coach a team of kids. Also features James Caan and Lenora Crichlow
The Goldbergs: Growing pains 80s nostalgia-fest.
Mixology: Single people meet in a bar and discover how empty and pointless existence is. Who knew Happy Hour was due for a remake?
Super Fun Night: Rebel Wilson paired with Kevin Bishop for a girls’ night out. How unusual
Trophy Wife: Reformed party girl Malin Akerman marries Bradley Whitford and has to deal with his family. I’d rather see the adventures of party girl Malin Akerman, myself.
After the jump, full summaries, trailers and a schedule.
