All a Bit Rich

Thomas Kochs is a precise man. Everything has an exact place and standards are always maintained. This is par for the course if you're General Manager of Claridge’s Hotel. Thomas was just one of the many real-life characters featured in the 'upstairs/mostly-downstairs' BBC2 Documentary 'Inside Claridge’s', a fly-on-the-wall feature on the Mayfair Hotel. While 'thetvreviewguy' found some of the guests to be as obnoxious as you'd expect (a Cuban Exile Sugar Magnate or the young arriviste American financier indulging in his plutocrat fantasies), he did enjoy looking at the sheer mouth-dropping luxury of the place. Last night's episode, set during the Olympics, featured the arrival of some delegations that frankly don't have the GDP to be living it up on their country's expense. But the staff treats old and new money alike, with obsequious deference and kindness where required too. The temporary installation of the utterly pretentious Noma Restaurant during the summer (200 Pounds per 'cover' where you can eat salad leaves and ants) made for enjoyable viewing; people with money will buy any old shit if everyone else is doing it. Perhaps Thomas put his finger on it when he said that what (rich) people are looking for now, is a series of special moments and events in their lives; while the levelling instincts of 'thetvreviewguy' were to the fore when viewing this, he would need all his strength to turn down a cup of tea in Claridge’s Hotel; he definitely doesn’t have the money to stay there.

The Pain in Spain

Paul Mason's 'The Great Spanish Crash' (BBC2) was an authoritative and depressing account of economic, banking and housing collapse in Spain over the last four years. The story is all too familiar yet this was an engaging and at times moving presentation of how one of the World's growing economies has slumped into the depths of depression. Spain had very poor banking regulation, a property boom fuelled by entry into the Euro and cheap interest rates and an economy overly dependent on construction for revenue income. Loans that municipalities could easily service in the good times became almost impossible to repay in the recession/depression. The psychic effect of the collapse has been devastating; between 40-50% of youth unemployment, forced graduate emigration, mass demonstrations where the familiar question being asked is 'why should austerity apply to those not responsible for the collapse of the financial system'? 'The Great Spanish Crash' was a professional and comprehensive documentary with access to policy makers and Prime Ministers; but it was Paul Mason's engagement with ordinary people that was the most effective as the viewer saw the scale of human suffering unleashed by the 'great unravelling'. While 'thetvreviewguy' admires Mason's skill and humanity in this compelling programme, he is depressed about where it's all going to end. A'' Triple A'' of a programme.

All Coola-Boola with Love/Hate

Were you late to the ‘Love/Hate’ (RTE1) party? Were you addicted to the Gangland mayhem, scheming and betrayal? The series has had the Irish public gripped for much of the last two months and Sunday’s finale pulled in over a million viewers. The featured world is, fortunately, an alien one to most viewers. However the geography will be all too familiar to most Dublin viewers and there are many ‘no-go’ areas where ‘thetvreviewguy’ would, er, not go. ‘Love/Hate’ has been praised for its gritty realism…we see the after-effects of a killing, the rat-like cunning of the main protagonists and how crime does pay for some ‘Crims’ but causes misery in their local communities and beyond. There’s big hope that the series will be adapted for the US market and while it has been remarked on that there aren't enough episodes – six, compared to 24 in a flagship American production – there is potential for a franchise across the Pond. Aiden Gillen and Robert Sheehan and Ruth Negga have been outstanding and Stuart Carolan’s writing has been from the top drawer throughout. The brutality of the criminal underworld should come as a surprise to nobody and Carolan shines a light onto all the dark and scummy areas of the subculture. Would make a nice box set as long as you’re not offended by the word ‘geebag’.

Essential Dining - 'Friday Night Dinner'

'Friday Night Dinner' (Channel 4/RTE 2) is one of the funnier comedies on the small screen right now. A mixture of Cast and Humour between 'Green Wing' and 'The Inbetweeners', it is also like a middle class, Jewish version of 'The Royal Family' and is an easy and charming comedy. There are also some excellently appropriate obscenities used to great effect. Simon Bird as Adam Goodmnan essentially reprises his role from ''The Inbetweeners'' as a gawky nerd - Tamsin Greig is superb as his mother and Paul Ritter perfect as his hapless father. Girls, angst and peer group status remain the perennial concern of the post-adolescent (and much older) male and 'Friday Night Dinner' hits on these familiar themes with some sharp writing and very funny dialogue. There's great chemistry between Bird and his annoying on-screen brother Jonny, played with aplomb by Tom Rosenthal. Throw in the brilliant Mark Heap as the dingbat neighbour and you have a cast that is a joy to watch. For anyone who says the Sit Com is dead, well, 'thetvreviewguy' says give this show a go. It's mundane yet smart. There's a Christmas Special coming up which 'thetvreviewguy' is really looking forward to; it's always refreshing to see good comedy being commissioned and 'Friday Night Dinner' adds to the canon. A tasty morsel.

The State We're In? Gabriel Byrne Convinces as PM

'Secret State' (Channel 4) is the best political thriller of the last ten years. Brilliant casting; Gabriel Byrne as a conscientious and progressive Prime Minister Tom Dawkins thrust into Office after the mysterious death of his predecessor in a plane crash, Gina McKee as the tenacious investigative journalist uncovering links to Big Oil and a chemical explosion that killed 19 in a Northern town, Rupert Graves as the duplicitous (or treasonous) Home Secretary, Charles Dance as the dependable Parliamentary ‘Chief Whip’ and Ireland's own Ruth Negga as an compassionate GCHQ 'listener'. This is tight, tense, bare-knuckle ride TV 'based on' (i.e. with Chris Mullin's permission) the incomparable 'A Very British Coup', itself one of the outstanding dramas of the (gulp!) 1980s which was a formative influence on 'thetvreviewguy's' political leanings. In 'Secret State', the 'conspiracy' has been updated and while various netpickers (a word this reviewer has just coined, hopefully) have pointed out that a Prime Minister and the Head of a Multinational Bank ('Royal Caledonian' - hmm, wonder who that could be?) would be unlikely to have a meeting in the middle of Downing Street, this is still fiction, albeit one that seems very close to the bone at times. Gabriel Byrne starred in another terrific conspiracy thriller as lead in 'Defence of the Realm', here he shows himself to be 'Primus Inter Pares' when it comes to playing the role of honourable man being pursued by dark forces. Channel 4 make a huge amount of terrible TV but sometimes they'll produce a gem like this; 'Secret State' is a shining jewel among a lot of trash.

Know Wot I Mean 'Arry?

'Harry & Paul' (BBC2), now in its fourth series, is an amiable low-key sketch show featuring two of the greatest mimics and character inventors from the last 25 years. Yes, Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse are still making 'thetvreviewguy' chortle, snigger and occasionally keel over in admiration at their comedy/art. The ensemble cast goes over some of the older sketches - 'I Saw You Coming' is a Primrose Hill mark-up antique merchant that is all too common, the 'Dragons Den' parody is still really funny. Enfield and Whitehouse were never political comedians; they just want to make people laugh. Hat-tip to Laura Salon who has a face, if not quite a name you'll recognise (but you will shortly). There's an element of the two comics coasting it for some of the sketches but, in fairness, they're both coming from such a high level that 'thetvreviewguy' is prepared to indulge them; Harry and Paul have reached middle-age having accomplished so much that it would be churlish to expect 'zingers' with every joke and every sketch. On the downside, there's a bit of the worst of 'Private Eye' misanthropy about some of Enfield's humour - on the upside, his eye for eccentricity or the absurd is still pretty good. Definitely worth a look and you'll probably get a good laugh out of it too.

Celebrity Diversions

'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!' (ITV) is this Autumn's escapist trash and there's no point being too superior about it as 'thetvreviewguy' can't defend this rubbish intellectually; he will just agree with you. Whatever it is about IACGMOOH, the 2012 take are living up/down to most expectations. It's a total switch off from the cruddy news out there and while Ant N Dec (Caitlin Moran says that you can tell them apart because Ant is the one that looks like an Ant) show no sign of growing old gracefully, they do provide light relief in these dire times. Now 'thetvreviewguy' does not enjoy the Bush Tucker trials as much as some viewers and wouldn't keep voting that poor girl Helen in but he does enjoy the silliness of it all. As for the Nadine Dorries controversy, well as long as she's a good sport and plays the game, it's no skin off his nose that an MP from Westminster is far removed from her constituents. The 'celebrity' nature of IACGMOOH is always elastic; never heard of him, who is she? There's also a moral on the transitory nature of fame; Colin Baker was once 'Dr Who', for goodness sake and Limahl also used to be a massive star. But in the Jungle, you're brought back down to earth pretty damn quickly. Even winning the contest doesn't really kick-start or re-boot a career but it does provide the viewing public with some mindless entertainment. And it beats the Hell out of X Factor etc in being able to take the piss out of itself.