It's a Fair Cop Gov

'Scott & Bailey' (ITV) is a passable female buddy-buddy cop show set in up North of Watford. Both characters are modern women who have lives outside of work and the programme jogs along at a medium pace ('Morse' being slow, any 'CSI' being quick).  Both Bailey (Susanne Jones) and Scott (Lesley Sharp) are played well and we have a rolling plot line with a one-off whodunit each week. The detective unit is run by the no-nonsense Inspector featuring a scene-stealing Amelia Bullmore. It's a demographic box ticker - single 30s woman? Check. Working mother? Check. And there's little of the mortuary chic that we get in most cop shows these days (although there is the obligatory post-mortem shot). Pluses: the characters are kind of convincing i.e. not totally incredible and the production values look good. Minuses; no one swears strongly and 48 minutes worth of telly detective investigation time barely opens a murder case book. Perhaps the biggest minus, and concessions being allowed for this being the scene-setting first episode, is that 'Scott & Bailey' is a character, not plot-driven story. And it's distinctly not cerebral, not the 'Wire', not even 'Cagney and Lacey' - which was one of 'thetvreviewguy's favourite eighties tv shows. 'Scott & Bailey' (the ampersand seems very important here) doesn't hit the Sunday night 'murther' vacuum left by 'Taggart'. May be a grower but 'thettvreviewguy' can take or leave it - cop show junkies wil get their fix though.

Miami Prison Blues - Louis Theroux Checks In

Louis Theroux, chronicler of the bizarre and outrageous, scores once again in 'Snitches Get Stitches' (BBC2), a fly on the wall, documentary in the savage hell that is Miami Mega Jail. Technically, all these prisoners are innocent; it's a remand prison. But there's little innocence in an environment where victimisation, stabbing and beatings are common and the guards look on and do little to intervene to prevent this feral culture from thriving. Theroux has matured over the years; previously, he may have once looked like a sensation-seeker, showing us freaks and misfits. But now, you really get the impression he cares. He cares about an obviously disturbed inmate accused of shooting his girlfriend; he never stops asking 'why?' though. The western world is by and large a civilised place; Theroux shows us places where the usual rules don't apply, where when someone asks you 'what shoe size are you?' (as these remand prisoners do), you know you're in for a vicious, senseless beating to take the shoes from your feet. 'Snitches Get Stitches' reminds 'thetvreviewguy' of how thin society's veneer of civilisation can be; how brutality can become common place; how prison, may work as punishment but not as rehabilitation. Most of the prisoners featured in 'Snitches Get Stitches' accept the twisted logic of the inmate code in Miami Mega Jail. Louis Theroux makes a great documentary and he is rapidly developing into an acute observer of society; 'thetvreviewguy' is happy watching Louis documentaries from the safety of his couch.

Not Doing the Business

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The 6 'P's. Know the Market. Watch trends. These somewhat pat phrases sum up 'Business Nightmares' BBC2, an entertaining overview, or re-hash, if you will,  of corporate marketing disasters and failure. The 'New Coke' fiasco? Hear more about it from embarrassed executives and talking head contributions from the likes of Richard Branson and James Dyson. Persil launch underpants-shredding washing powder? Too good to be true, but yes, it did happen. Polaroid not being able to handle to rise of Digital? A sad piece tempered by the fact that the company is making a comeback. Presented by Evan Davies in his usual amiable manner, 'thetvreviewguy' liked the editing and production values in 'Business Nightmares' and liked Davies' potted MBA Strategy module. However, an obvious question is how the BBC were allowed to essentially give free advertising time to mega-brands? Perhaps because the programme was a co-production with the excellent Open University television unit? There really wasn't any new information imparted; no great insights, no killer lines, no exclusives. 'Business Nightmares' is, of course, destined for extensive re-runs in Business Schools for the next couple of years. Essentially, we 'learn' that you have to speculate to accumulate and that successful entrepreneurs do their best to calculate and then minimise risk. The rise and rise of the 'Brand' continues unabated and until consumers learn or, more practically, have time to de-code a barrage of corporate messages and narratives, we will continue to buy brand over quality; most people blind testing the new Coke preferred it to the Old but when told how they would feel about it replacing their favourite sugar water, there was a resounding 'No!'. The next set of results from 'Business Nightmares' is out next week and 'thetvreviewguy' will be tuning in, if only to see how he's not the only one who makes mistakes.

Karl Pilkington - Philosopher for Our Times

Ricky Gervais - huge star. Stephen Merchant - movie career apace. Karl Pilkington? If you're to believe the first two, he's a blithering idiot, moron, twat, arsehole...and these people are his friends. Yet, as fans of Karl will know, he has a unique world-view; stunning in its banality, absurdness and naivety and a laugh-riot. In the animated 'Ricky Gervais Show' (HBO/Channel 4), Pilkington gets the almighty piss taken out of him by Gervais and Merchant, and truth be told, it can be hilarious. Yes Gervais overdoes it on the laughometer and yes the humour can appear cruel and mean...but if Karl's in on the joke, then it's better than 'The Office' for hee-haws and giggles. The thing about Gervais is this; he's creative, funny and smart but his callousness and cruelty grates with 'thetvreviewguy' - he frequently takes a joke too far. 'The Ricky Gervais Show' walks this particular tight-rope. Karl Pilkington wouldn't be the most well-read of blokes, if indeed, he's read any books at all, yet, despite this, he occasionally comes out with an absolute gem of wisdom amongst his moronic and bizarre and guffawable opinions on everything from evolution to philosophy. Ricky Gervais surely knows that Pilkington is the star of the show. While 'thetvreviewguy' won't't be lining up to worship at the 'Genius' Gervais Deity, he likes 'The Ricky Gervais Show' a lot and would particularly like to have a pint with Karl and ask him what's it all about?

In my Humble Opinion

'Opionated' (BBC2) is not a new format; it's a vehicle for Frank Skinner to ramble on and as such is watchable but not compelling. Like a lot of topical/news chat/quiz shows, the envelope has been pushed years ago. So, if you're prepared to watch a format that's been varied to death over the years, you may take your entertainment from the added value from the guests and host but not the structure. Skinner is old by tv standards but can still coin a good phrase and poke at some good targets; he has a genuinely thoughtful relationship with his studio audience, and, with his age and experience, knows not to act the diva. For 'thetvreviewguy', Skinner can still come up with a killer line in his clever monologue. He has become a witty, after-dinner speaker-type comic (on telly anyway), rather than a grenade-throwing provocateur and perhaps, for Skinner, this is no bad thing; it's very hard to maintain an 'Enfant Terrible' persona into middle and later age without seeming tiresome. A master of timing and an intelligent man, Skinner seems like a man at peace with himeslf; he makes presenting look easy and is relaxed enough not to let much bother him. And he has easily out-lived his former comedy partner David Baddiel as 'Talent' on network television. 'Opinionated' may not have a mean and hungry look but it makes 'thetvreviewguy' laugh. Chortle TV.

Modern Times

Take a Colombian babe, Al Bundy from 'Married with Children', his gay son, his high-maintenance  'Soccer Mom' daughter, the three family units they're part of and you have the nuts and bolts of a 'Modern Family' (SKY One), an eponymous tale of family life told with affection, humour and sharp observation. It's a cosy, relaxing evening's viewing and always leaves 'thetvreviewguy' comfortable in the knowledge that all families are dysfunctional, especially the ones on television. 'Modern Family' is a move away from 'Blue Collar ' Comedy at a time when recession/depression is making a thematic return to the mainstream; the three families are well-off by Irish standards; indeed, they're positively Cosby-esque in their lifestyles. But 'thetvreviewguy' isn't judging them on their household income but on the quality of the writing and 'Modern Family' doesn't disappoint. Characterisation is key and the writers don't invent zany, ludicrous behaviours out of character with the dramatis personae; every plot line has a reason and the lack of a studio audience makes this feel very un-sit com like. And, if like 'thetvreviewguy', you're reaching mid-life, well, it provides a wry view on life's quirks and mishaps. To paraphrase Homer Simpson, Modern Family is an excellent portrait of 'whatever year it is we're in now'. It's also effortless comedy and is another welcome addition to 'thetvreviewguy's' increasingly long list of Sunday evening wind-down TV.

How to Get Ahead in Advertising

Is it the era when men wore hats and women wore skirts, the often excoriating view of consumer capitalism, the brilliance of the writing or the quality of the acting the makes 'Mad Men' a leading brand in in modern televison? Who wouldn't want to start drinking in the office at 11 in the morning and smoke their lungs out all day while working? 'Mad Men' works brilliantly as satire, entertainment and, more profoundly, as a mirror to corporate and real life asking us to question what is real and what is appearance. Don Draper is highly sucessful and creative at the same time as he is miserable and conventional; as an ad man on Madison Avenue his job is to both bend reality by selling an illusory view of the world and to make the his target market feel comfortable and secure in a familiar milieu. 'Sterling Cooper' is about making money, not art; sure, Don gets to be more creative in a single week then most of us manage in a year but it's always with a view to the bottom line - there's no room for luxuries such as 'Art for Art's sake when promoting Lucky Strike. The characters are all too human: petty at work and at home, ethically compromised status obsessed and superficial in many aspects. However, it's also fair to say that the 'Mad Men' are funny, generous, considerate and admirable when they want to be. The series explains more, amuses more and moves more than most other tv dramas. A complete box set is essential to prepare for the coming fifth series; 'thetvreviewguy' suggests if you want to know how the mythmakers are the hidden persuaders in selling us all our daily bread, watch 'Mad Men'.