The Death of a President - Fifty Years On

The assassination of President John F Kennedy happened 50 years ago, more than half a life time in the past. Yet ‘The Day President Kennedy Died’ (ITV) made that fateful day seem shockingly contemporary. Narrated by Kevin Spacey, the documentary interweaved eye witness interviews with some amazing footage; the events of those 48 hours (if you include the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby) resonate to this day. If the President’s car hadn’t been open-top, if they it had been raining the roof would have been down, if not Dallas at that time and that moment…so many ifs leading to time’s arrow and that moment when shots were fired by Oswald or Oswald and/or others (we can never really know). The testimonies of the Secret Service Agents, Doctors, Reporters and Witnesses were absolutely riveting as was the footage of Kennedy’s last day. Not only was JFK the first TV President, he was also, tragically, the first TV assassination – though no TV coverage comes close to the hand-held Zaprudder footage. The documentary leaned towards, but never pandered to, the conspiracy view of the shooting. One was left asking could Oswald really have had the wherewithal acting alone to kill the President of the United States? There’s also the feeling of what might have been had John F Kennedy not been killed on that sunny November; would he have been the greatest reforming figure since FDR (as hypothesised by Oliver stone)? Or would Kennedy been no better or no worse than LBJ in Vietnam and on the Home Front? A superb documentary about an epochal moment in American History.

An End to Zee Leetle Grey Cells

The end of an era. ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot has been played by David Suchet for the last 25 years and ‘Curtain; Poirot’s Last Case’ (ITV) ended with a bang and a whimper. These productions, along with the Morse family of superior crime dramas, have always been a good yard ahead of the usual ITV gruel of ‘Personality’ TV, gameshows and X Factor type dross. But ‘Poirot’ was like a beacon in the dark morass of schlock and like all good English Country murders, suitable entertainment for the whole family. Yet, because of the subject matter in this episode – the Belgian Detective’s demise and his commission of a shocking act – spoiler implied – this was a much darker episode than usual. The moustachioed moocher is near the end of his life and returns to the scene of his first great mystery. He is now in a wheelchair and, in his own words, relies on the ‘Tim-nice-but-dim’ Captain Hastings ‘to be his eyes and ears’. There is murder afoot in this country mansion but with none of it being even a hat-tip to the 'Midsomer Murder' jokey slayings. We’ve never seen Suchet play the role with more darkness; the last episode also has a spectre-like essence to it, it is most unlike the series. Christie fans knew what was coming but the ensemble cast and production values made this a couple of hours worth watching that still surprise. A wonderful denouement to an epic series. Now, where is ‘thevreviewguy’, who doesn’t get ‘Downton Abbey’, going to turn to for his quality period drama?

Not so Gaga

Where do you stand on ‘twerking’? Well, think back a few months ago and it seemed that Lady Gaga was the wild child and cause celbre de jour, if one is allowed to mix one's French. Now, she seems like a very classy lady indeed compared to Miley Cyrus (if you’re reading this a a couple of years in the future you might well be asking ‘Miley Who?’) ‘The Culture Show Special’ (BBC2) turned its beady on Miss Gaga with a quirky half hour interview slash profile of the great lady herself. Ms Gaga is nothing if eccentric but Miranda Sawyer’s profile, (Gaga was promoting her new album, ‘Art Pop) portrayed a likeable and thoughtful artistic soul trapped in the body of a 3am-belter Pop singer. The music is a take it or leave it but she herself is trying to articulate an artistic statement and form an aesthetic sensibility and came across as a pretty nice woman too. Sawyer and Gaga did not appear to spend too much time together but there was a connection between the two that made for an exceptional and interesting interview. The mega star looked wannner and paler than usual but there was something very endearing about how she was almost shy during the interview. Miranda Sawyer has become an accomplished presenter and has found the sweet spot in her presenting of these Culture Show Specials. While ‘thetvreviewguy’ is scarcely gaga about Gaga, he does have a softer spot for one of popular culture’s biggest eccentrics.

Lucy Lets Loose

Readers of this blog, and there are some, will know of this writer’s affection for Dr Lucy Worsley, History and the BBC’s Lord Peter Wimsey jolly super girl. She’s back again on BBC Four presenting the intriguingly entitled ‘Harlots, Housewives and Heroines’ and a spiffing programme it is too. From salons in France to barrows in London, we surveyed the 1660s and the Restoration. Dr Lucy, for ‘thetvreviewguy’ shall be calling her that from hereon in, looked at the lot of women in Charles II’s time – and if, gentle womenfolk, you were one of his Mistresses, then your lot in life was pretty good. Charlie 2 had 13 illegitimate children and stationed his lovers close to Home or in various royal palaces. Dr Lucy positively revelled in dressing up as both courtesan and puritan. The viewer was left wondering where Charles got the time for his amorousness; his activities fuelled avid gossip at Court and among the hoi polloi too. We learnt of how Pepys, whom Dr Lucy called a ‘perv’, had a collection of lithographs of the King’s Mistresses. Being a royal doxy meant living a ‘codefied relationship’; there were rules about how to be treated and it was usually with more respect than most other women. Long may Dr Lucy reign over us with her distinctive breathlessness, grace and cheeky smile. Definitely one for your consideration, fops and fopesses.

The Dream

The documentary maker has a simple goal; to tell a story. But this central function is complicated by a myriad of factors: who to interview, what footage to use, choice of music, balance of the programme etc. So, by any criterion, 'Martin Luther King and the March on Washington' (BBC2) had a high bar to reach. And it cleared this bar by a mile. Narrated by Denzel Washington, this was a tale from the not to distant past of how Martin Luther King's Dream speech came to be given and the events on that extraordinary day in 1963. The American South was blighted by vile post-Civil War racist segregation. The mobilisation of tens of thousands of Blacks and Whites to protest the 'urgency of now', the soaring rhetoric of Dr King, the eventual persuasion of the Kennedy Administration to act - all combined to make this event one of the most empowering in American history. JFK's team feared endorsing the event because of the prospect of violence - this was a very real concern for Kennedy's advisors; contingency plans were made for the possibility of rioting on the Mall. But there was no violent protest, just the attendance of thousands rapt in awe, crying, riveted by Dr King's peroration. The 'Dream' lives on - and the courage of those who used passive resistance and civil disobedience eventually led to Barack Obama in the White House. Dr King's speech still as the power to reduce the listener to tears: 'Free at Last, Free at Last, Thank God Almighty, we are free at Last!'

Flying Dinosaurs in Montana?

Dinosaurs and TV go hand-in-hand - 'thetvreviewguy' blames Steven Spielberg for most of the Hoop-lah. Before 'Jurassic Park', dinosaur-mania wasn't quite as fevered. ‘Horizon - Dinosaurs: the Hunt for Life’ (BBC2) looked at our wiped out ancestors (again), through the eyes of Dr Mary Schweitzer, a smart, and to this dinosaur of a reviewer, hottie of a scientist who says she is this close to extracting DNA from a dinosaur fossil. She does a lot of her field-work in Montana, and the viewer was spared none of that State's beauty and wildness – but was spared from the crazy part of the population that lives there. Dr Shweitzer has pioneered work looking at the biology of dinosaurs rather than focusing purely on the palaeontology. We followed her on her trip to the Gobi dessert and heard why she believes dinos and birds have more in common than you might think. These sort of programmes can make 'thetvreviewguy' feel quite inadequate about his career, which doesn't involve looking for T Rex Fossils or work-travel to Mongolia. This 'Horizon' was a lot more hit than miss but perhaps in looking to centre the narrative exclusively on the doubtless excellent work of Dr Schweitzer, the programme makers missed an opportunity to give a more rounded presentation of all the latest research in the dinosaur world. Chewy though.

Tears of a Clown - Miller on Hancock

Poor Tony Hancock. A giant of 1950s and 1960s British television comedy, he died at his own hand and is one of the great comic heroes for a generation of comedians. In an affectionate and moving portrait, 'Ben Miller - My Hero Tony Hancock' (BBC1), Miller interviewed friends and writers who knew and worked with the legend of the small screen. What came across was a man who, crippled by anxiety, peaked to too quickly and couldn't cope with his 'fame' which never compensated for his depressive tendencies. Ben Miller never judged, and the tone was mixed - respectful of Hancock's achievements - a prime time BBC comedy slot at 32, married to a model - and, to 'thetvreviewguy', amazement that Hancock ever looked less than middle-aged. But there was sadness around the man - he drank excessively, was unable to sustain his success and ultimately succumbed to taking his own life. As a TH enthusiast, Miller was careful not to slip into hagiography; this was a full picture of a remarkable and in many ways admirable human being. The sad clown is a cliché but perhaps never so true as in Hancock's case. His suicide was all the more tragic for him not being able to see the joy and laughter he gave to millions. Poor Tony, he didn't realise that he had made a difference.