You're Nicked!

 'Law and Order UK (ITV) ' is yet another variation of the seemingly endless franchise that has grown hydra-like from the original US series going back over 20 years now. While 'thetvreviewguy' hankers after phrases like 'has she been mirandised?' or 'he's gonna lawyer up', he enjoys the new version where 'guv' has replaced 'loot' and a D.A. is a barrister and other localisation phrases (in the London edition, 'Man One' and 'Man Two' are more likely to be stage/character directions than statutory charges). The British and American legal systems are very different and it would be great for DPP lawyers if they got to act like detectives tracking down and questioning a witness. But the adherence to the structure of dividing the episode between 'Law' - the cops - and 'Order' - the court advocates - makes for easy and entertaining comparisons with their US counterpart. Programmes like 'Law and Order' go as far as they can in the hour-long, one-off, no-swearing formats that they have. Serious issues, moral dilemmas if you like, get a brief but often serious examination in the limited time available. Bradley Walsh, sans silly glasses, is a good little actor, and the cast is always loyal to the ensemble nature of the script; no grandstanding here. And the verdict from 'thetvreviewguy'? To the charge of fast-moving, watchable crime drama; guilty.

Hope and some Joy

Did you like ‘Raising Arizona’, the Eighties Coen Brothers flick? Did you think ‘this is a very funny movie’? Did you also think; ‘hmm, this is so good, I’d like to see it turned into a tv series’? Probably not.Yet this is precisely what has been done with ‘Raising Hope’ (SKY 1). They’ve even taken the first part of the movie title, spot what they’ve done there? Alright, maybe ‘thetvreviewguy’ is being too critical; it’s a not too bad, nowhere near ‘The Simpsons’; it's trailer-park comedy that has endearing characters and some excellent lines. However, homage, imitation and plagiarism are all related concepts and it can be hard to know where one flows into the other. ‘Raising Hope’ is funny and reflects the down-turn zeitgeist; money is too tight to mention for this amiable family of eccentrics and the humour is affectionate and not mocking. Slices of Americana have always appealed to ‘thetvreviewguy’ and this is no different; not, as stated, highly original but nevertheless and good take on the American white working class (more likely now, sadly, to be working part-time or being unemployed). ‘Raising Hope’ is perfectly acceptable as Sunday evening fare; it should raise a few laughs too.

In the Great Scheme of the Universe Can Things Only Get Better?

Brian Cox is one of the new generation of science presenters that don’t look like crazy scientists should. Young and hip, these new sciensters are media savvy and tv friendly. Professor Cox, formerly a member of ‘D-Ream’, is the latest in a long line of rock star astronomers and physicists spanning that universe from Brian May to, er, Brian Cox.‘Wonders of the Universe’ (BBC2) takes us out of the Solar System and asks the really big questions that ‘thetvrevieguy’ likes to have explained for him in…really…simple…terms and on this front, Cox doesn’t disappoint. That’s not to say Cox talks down to his audience; this is really complicated stuff, and as Cox himself said, some of the material is barely skating undergraduate physics let alone heavy duty equations (thank God) and jargon-filled discussions. Instead (and this is something the BBC has good form on) graphics and narration tell the story of how and why we’re all here. He addresses the really big questions; what happened before the big bang? How will it all end? Do aliens roam our planet in disguise? (ok, ‘thetvreviewguy’ made up the last one but you get the picture).  Light years ahead of other tv space/science programmes.

Going Ape - Evolution

Are we still evolving? Well, that all depends on who you're talking too. Steve Jones, leading boffin, reckons we've stopped and took a graveyard walk with host Alice Roberts to show how mortality rates have improved through natural selection and, of course, modern medicine. Meanwhile, another White Coat reckons we're still changing and, surprisingly, we're getting shorter and fatter. Either way, BBC2's 'Horizon' hit the nail on the head again for the non-technical viewer, i.e. 'thetvreviewguy' who tries to make a date with this enjoyable and informative programme whenever he can. Alright, he may not fully understand the quantum mechanics stuff and the multi-universe theories (indeed, being honest, hardly at all), but at least he feels a but cleverer after tuning in. Dr Alice Roberts, a foxy egghead if ever there was one, is never less than a likeable and learned host as she steers us. It's less than 100 years since the Scopes Trial and vast swathes of the American South believe in the literal truth of Genesis; even the 'tvreviewguy' knows that fossils are more than 4000 years old. Science on TV doesn't have to dumb down to be watchable and 'Horizon' has kept pretty high standards since first being on air in 1964. As MTV used to say, 'Feed Your Mind'.