There's So Many Colours In The Rainbow

‘Horizon’ (BBC2) rarely fails to hit the mark. It’s no secret that ‘thetvreviewguy’ loves good science programmes even though he was hopeless at all his school science subjects; he suspects he isn’t the only one like this. Last Monday’s show was all about colour; how do we perceive it, what do different colours mean, can they make us feel powerful or powerless? As usual, there was some very interesting stuff discussed that only occasionally fell near pointyhead territory. Narrated mellifluously by Samantha Bond (she of ‘Moneypenny’ fame), we found out some fascinating facts about colours. Okay, so red is associated with danger and passion and if we ‘see red’ we get angry. But if we sit in a red painted room, time slows down rather than speeds up, unlike in a blue room where it seems to pass by more quickly. Reds and browns are also believed to make us hungry; all of these assertions are based on empirically established facts yet many of them can sound silly or made up. We see how the Namibian Himba tribe, in some amazing footage, are able to distinguish the subtlest blue, which jumps out at them in a visual test, but are unable to distinguish a clear blue (in our eyes) among a sea of greens. This is said to be due to there being fewer words in the Himba vocabulary to describe colour. ‘Horizon’ has been going since 1964 and has, despite some minor criticisms, always managed to provide entertaining educational television for the non-expert. While ‘thetvreviewguy’ may not be a fully fledged scientist, he knows what he likes and enjoyed this colourful dissertation on the visual world.

It's a Kind of Magic

Jonathan Ross is a very annoying and overpaid man, exceptionally overpaid. He took the BBC for a ride for years as a ‘contractor’ presenter, fleecing the licence fee payer and corporation for millions. His move to ITV was unlamented by ‘thetvreviewguy’ who thinks stars like Ross add little value for the viewer. And yet, ‘Fool Us’ (ITV), with Penn and Teller, is a great TV show, a return to Saturday night fare at its best and a magic programme that allows the real stars, i.e. the magicians, to take the limelight with Ross shutting his all too mouthy gob for most of the programme. The format sees amateur magicians try and fool Penn and Teller with the prize on offer being a slot in Vegas backed by P&T. The two guys are genuinely funny and always ‘big up’ their guests whether they manage to guess how the trick is done or not. Penn, the chatty one, is a good old-fashioned ‘roll-up, roll up’ showman and Teller is terrific as the silent partner; together they make for a really talented and hilarious double act. The beauty of good magic is in being totally baffled as to how something’s done; Penn is a noted rationalist and never claims what he does is more than an illusory. ‘Fool Us’ brings us Muggles into their world and allows us an insight into the ways and means of pro-magicians. Well worth tuning in for, despite Jonathan Ross.

Playing the Numbers Game

'The Code' (BBC2) looks at the role of numbers and numerical patterns in life, architecture, the Universe and everything. Ably presented by Macus du Sautoy (host of an excellent series about mathematicians on Radio 4), the programme considers the hidden patterns all around us that are either invisible or totally ignored. Now ‘thetvreviewguy’ is by no means a maths guru and likes his sums prepared and presented in a simple manner; du Sautoy tries his best to do just this. We are reintroduced to the wonders of Pi and how it can help us guess the weight of fish (something to do with standard deviation). Pi has some interesting qualities, which ‘thetvreviewguy’ can’t go into now for time reasons, but, needless to say, you can do stuff with it. Radar would not exist were it not for imaginary numbers; yes, we could fly without radar but we’d be crashing an awful lot more. Magical proportions in architecture have always been a staple for cod fiction but du Sautoy presents a mathematical dissection of Chartres Cathedral, where lines, triangles and squares underlie the whole shape and structure of the building. Musical chords and harmony were cited as another example of where 'The Code’ kicks in and anyone familiar with dissonant compositions will know how initially jarring they can sound. The BBC excels at this sort of TV – educational and entertaining fare, unembarrassed to undertake, in a previously much derided phrase, a ‘mission to explain’. Mathematics and numbers are everywhere and even if we don’t understand most of it, people like du Sautoy are there to help us try. For ‘thetvreviewguy’, ‘The Code’ is numero uno.

Dispatches from the Undergrowth

Monday's 'Dispatches' (Channel 4) presented by everyone's favourite One Nation Tory, Peter Oborne, looked at 'How Murdoch Ran Britain' and it didn't make for easy viewing. News International's unethical and allegedly criminal activities have been the subject of a torrent of revelations. Murdoch's grip on the English political establishment seems incredible now, only a few short weeks since the scandal started getting (for Murdoch) out of control. A by now familiar cast of commentators (including Lance Price, Michael Wolff, Alan Rusbridger, Claire Enders - a real heroine - Hugh Grant and - pantomime villain Paul McMullan) covered all the angles. The Dirty Digger's use intimidatory tactics to browbeat and bully politicians had been going on for decades; Tom Watson, Labour MP and phone-hacking campaigner, said that 'dozens' of MPs were intimidated and threatened over the years. The all-too-close relationship between the Met and the 'News of the World' was highlighted; there was a revolving door between News International and Scotland Yard ('thetvreviewguy ' will never tire of Andy Hayman's 'Good God No! Absolutely Not!' moment, which was given another welcome airing). John Major refused to 'cosy up' to Murdoch and he was lambasted with personal abuse throughout his, admittedly, calamitous premiership. Rebecca Brooks, Rupert and James Murdoch were bullies and like all bullies, their power crumbled once stood up to. The Murdoch family may well survive to fight another day; they are, after all, richer than Croesus and still big media players. But, as Oborne pointed out, instead of social, business and political lodestars for the British political class, they've become pariahs. 'Dispatches' was a superb piece of investigative reporting, editing, presentation and production. We all like a morality tale and 'thetvreviewguy' hopes, that in this one, the bad guys get their comeuppance in the end.

News on 'The Hour' from 1956

BBC2’s ‘The Hour’, set in a BBC newsroom in the pivotal year of 1956 (Suez, transition from post-war austerity into the 60s), looks great. The first episode had everything: shadowy ‘spooks’, raffish presenters (Dominic West’s going to storm this one), feisty female producers and journalists, police bribery, a sharp ‘look and feel’ of 1950s London and a large element of not knowing what’s going on (a seeming prerequisite for much of contemporary TV drama). The casting is superb: while the technology seems quaint, BBC managers may not have changed that much in 60 years; personality types endure and there’s some fine acting about in ‘The Hour’s portrayal of the BBC top brass. Ramola Garai and Ben Whishaw are outstanding as Bel and Freddie, a high flying producer and keen sleuth-hound respectively.  BBC television news, up to the mid 1950s, consisted of tales of debtante engagements and obsequious interviews with Prime Ministers. The cultural change that took place in a hugely class conscious society has been well documented, and ‘The Hour’ captures an era where the winds of change are soon to blow.  Who knows, and 'thetvreviewguy' certainly doesn't, where ‘The Hour’ will go? Light and shade are hard tones to carry separately, let alone together in a TV drama. But please let's have a stop to British critics saying that the only good shows are American; there's plenty of writing, acting, directing and production talent outside of the US, operating on a fraction of some of the budgets in the States. For 'thetvreviewguy', this was a most enjoyable 'Hour'.

Hacking Away To The Truth

Money and power have been dangerous bedfellows since time immemorial. Last night’s ‘Panorama’ (BBC1) on the Murdoch hacking scandal left ‘thetvreviewguy’ crying out for more. It was a superior summary of background and events so far and, at half an hour long, the viewer’s appetite could have easily managed another couple of courses. We’ve now had resignations, newspapers closing and, tragically, a death; one of those interviewed on the programme was Sean Hoare; the 'News of the World' whistleblower was found dead yesterday. Rupert Murdoch has been the dominant media mogul for much of the last forty years and his empire is now in freefall. It’s a credit to the BBC that they still have reporters ready to tell a story without fear or favour and ‘Panorama’ has a proud tradition. The hacking story would have remained dead and buried if it hadn’t been for the work of the ‘Guardian’ and ‘Private Eye’; the BBC’s coverage since the story broke has been exemplary. Both Labour and the Tories have bowed at the knee for Rupert and as was said it the ‘Guardian’, this story could go anywhere. ‘Panorama’ fulfilled its public service remit with aplomb and ‘thetvreviewguy’ felt it captured the ‘you couldn’t make it up’ nature of the scandal perfectly. This show will run and run.

Three Blokes in a Car

'Top Gear' (BBC2)  is always on 'Dave' or some other channel somewhere. Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have serious road miles clocked up at this stage and the show has become an international franchise, toured, been a huge money spinner for the BBC and the presenters, and generally been omnipresent for much of the last decade. It has a simple formula of the three amigos getting lost, exchanging pub-style banter and delivering soliloquies on what it means to be a dude. Cars are incidental, a peg on which to hang the schtick; petrolheads enjoy the show but it's not pitched at them; 'Top Gear' is aimed at your average Joe, who sees his car as an extension of himself (at a deeper psychological level, not a dick thing).Throw in a celebrity guest/fan and you have a programme where the ordinary, the regular, get to feel extraordinary. Of course,  'thetvreviewguy' can understand why 'Top Gear' (TG) is so popular but for him, 'TG' is akin to bumping into that neighbour or acquaintance at an annual barbeque that you don't really dislike but just have no great desire to meet up with again in a hurry (nothing personal of course). There's a huge amount of Clarkson, May and Hammond playing at being kids; it's mildly amusing, occasionally irritating but mostly, a harmless hour of telly padded out with plenty of faux bufoonery and cod dialogue. Yes, Clarkson is a dolt when writing in the 'Sunday Times' where he espouses his tedious reactionary views (real and posed). And yet...'thetvreviewguy' still holds that 'Top Gear' has a certain amount of charm but becoming a regular viewer wouldn't be one of his driving ambitions.