Every Tuesday, TMINE flags up what new TV events BAFTA is holding around the UK
BAFTA’s speeding up again, with another November event unveiled, as well as the first of its December events revealed. What more pre-Christmas delights will follow?
TV Preview: Elizabeth is Missing
Wednesday, 27 November 2019 – 7:00pm The May Fair Hotel, Stratton St, Mayfair, London W1J 8LT
A preview of the feature length BBC drama followed by a Q+A with actor Glenda Jackson, director Aisling Walsh, writer Andrea Gibb and executive producer Sarah Brown.
Adapted from Emma Healey’s novel, Elizabeth Is Missing combines a gripping mystery with a tender yet unflinching exploration of one woman’s struggle with dementia.
When her best friend Elizabeth goes missing, Maud (Jackson) is convinced that something terrible has happened, and sets out to solve the mystery. But with her dementia worsening, unfinished business unearthed and the past and present starting to merge, Maud’s search takes on a poignant urgency.
Elizabeth Is Missing is a 1×90’ drama written by Andrea Gibb, adapted from Emma Healey’s novel. Executive Producers are Sarah Brown and Andrea Gibb for STV Productions and Gaynor Holmes for BBC One. It will be produced by Chrissy Skinns.
Friday, 6 December 2019 – 7:00pm The May Fair Hotel, Stratton Street, London, W1J 8LT
A preview of the series’ feature-length third instalment followed by a Q&A with key cast and crew.
Gold’s UKTV Original Dial M for Middlesbrough sees Gemma (Sian Gibson) and Terry (Johnny Vegas) thrown into jeopardy when their coach breaks down in the middle of a fierce thunderstorm whilst they’re on their way to collect Mildred (Sheila Reid) and Hilda (Georgie Glen) and take them to a funeral in Middlesbrough.
Our intrepid duo are forced to seek refuge in Shady Creek Caravan Park, a mysterious and sinister place that seems to strike a particular terror in an unusually jumpy Gemma. Here we meet an eclectic mix of characters including site owners Evie (Sally Lindsay) and Jed (Phil Davis), extraordinarily clumsy Chef Susan (Joanna Page), Events Manager and ‘90s throwback Darren (Jason Donovan), drop dead gorgeous American tourist Chad (John Macmillan), and long-term park resident Edna (Annette Crosbie).
More recently arrived on the scene are holiday prize-winners (if you can call them that) Phil (Jason Forbes), who struggles to get a word in while his other half Penny (Ambreen Razia) struggles to stop words coming out, and excitable birdwatchers Neil (Mike Wozniak) and Mary (Selina Griffiths), all of whom are causing quite a stir.
The thing about sci-fi and fantasy is that no matter how terrible it gets, somebody somewhere will think it’s great. Objectively speaking, there are mops used for wiping the floors of hospital wards of diarrhoeic patients that contribute more to world culture than certain sci-fi shows, but they’ll still gel with some aspect of someone’s subconsciousness, light some imaginative spark somewhere or get someone’s blood flowing because of a tiny-costumed actor or actress. And they will watch, long past the point when sanity, decency or the human soul should have stopped them.
I’m assuming that either a TV commissioner at Apple is aware of this fact or the above rule applies to TV commissioners as well as audience members, because there is no other explanation for See.
Or the fact that in a good seven to ten months, some Internet denizen will come across this review, ignore the posting guidelines and accuse me of having a personal axe to grind, no taste, a hatred of all things good and pure, a love of panning things (despite my having recommended more than 100 TV shows in my time), or being in the pay of the Illuminati, Microsoft or Netflix (who may all be one and the same) – because all independent and fair-minded thinkers will agree it’s The Best Show Ever.
It will happen.
You see, See is not the best TV show ever. Indeed, it’s a candidate for the worst TV show ever. But that won’t stop somebody somewhere from ABSOLUTELY LOVING IT. BE QUITE YOU PTHETIC H8TERS! Or a TV commissioner at Apple from already having renewed it for a second season. It’s sci-fi.
Oh say can you See?
See stars Jason Momoa. You may know him from Game of Thrones, The Red Road or Aquaman, as well as the metric fuck-ton of terrible TV shows he’s also starred in (Baywatch, Stargate Atlantis, Frontier). He’s a charismatic and extremely good looking actor. He is literally the only reason to watch it.
It’s set 600 years after a virus has wiped out all but a couple of million members of the human race, all of whom are now blind. Society has evolved and regressed to deal with its new situation, with technology a thing of the past, groups living together in small villages and a religion centred on oppressing everyone by telling them vision is evil.
Momoa plays Baba Voss who Let’s stop right there in the middle of that sentence because you should already be laughing your socks off. Yes, Baba Voss. Maybe you aren’t. Maybe there’s something about it being written down that means you’re not laughing yet. But after you hear it for the third or even fifth time, you’ll start to snigger. That’s even before you hit the likes of “Tamacti Jun”, “Gether Bax” and “Haniwa”.
Let’s stick with ‘Momoa’ in print, then. Momoa leads a village in the middle of the American wilderness. One day, a woman pregnant with the children of would-be revolutionary Tamacti Jun comes to the village. Despite the risk of the ‘witchfinders’ coming to the village after her, Momoa takes her in and looks after her and her children as they grow up.
However, it’s not long before the new family discovers that the children have a secret ability: the ability to see. Will the witchfinders come for them and what will they do with their ability?
Do you honestly care? And if you do, can you be helped?
Screen Australia green lights: 1970s faux monster-hunting Leyland Brothers comedy documentary, Chinese mystery comedy Lucky Lee, UN white saviour hero complex comedy drama Tales From The United Nonsense, girls fleeing ‘local hero’ drama Blood Sisters, idealistic youth worker drama Dog Box, sci-fi-esque consumer goods demo comedy Science+ and fake terminal illness comedy drama Unwell
Galactic Baby developing: Muslim one-upmanship comedy Bogan Muslim and self-explanatory comedy Teen Ward