Month: October 2022

Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone (2022)

Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Seven 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: Seven hours of unadorned archive footage from the collapse of the Soviet Union
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: it’s Adam Curtis, I like his style and analysis
What I don’t like about it: he doesn’t do voiceovers, no real pace or context

Review:
Curtis raids the BBC archives for footage from the USSR and former USSR from these years and assembles it into a juxtaposed tale of two, and sometimes three, Russias: that of the entrenched, corrupt and out-of-touch Communist nomenklatura, middle class Muscovites longing for economic and cultural freedom, and peasants far from Moscow whose aspirations are simpler and hardships more intense. In time the Communists are replaced by Yeltsin, whose gutsy rise to power is shown step-by-step, and gangsters become oligarchs, running every aspect of Russian society. The comments usually provided by Curtis’ voiceovers are here shown in text over the footage. Each episode is dedicated to the BBC journalists who gathered the footage. It has a tighter focus and less writing than most of his documentaries – though he takes full advantage of unspoken parallels to the current invasion of Ukraine – and doesn’t reach the career high of last year’s Can’t Get You Out of My Head but if you can sit and stare at misery for seven hours, you’ll learn a lot about a fascinating time in recent history.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): genuine war footage with dead and mangled bodies, violence, sex

Am I Being Unreasonable? (2022)

Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Six 30-minute episodes
Synopsis: Mystery comedy-drama
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: scene-stealing talented kid Ollie, manages decent drama for one episode (#4)
What I don’t like about it: dull comedy, weak first half, bad twists, no resolution

Review:
Nicola makes a new friend while dropping her son Ollie at school, a fellow mum named Jennifer. Mysteries build while they bond and are largely explained by episode 4, from Jen’s point-of-view. Sadly, the first half is more annoying than compelling and the last two episodes fizzle out awfully. The only element of the show worth seeing is Ollie, played by young disabled actor Lenny Rush with perfect comic delivery. Here is a two-minute clip of him in action.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): death, hit by train, personality disorders

The Old Man (2022)

Where to find it: Disney+ (as many billboard advertisements inform me)
Length: Seven 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: Rogue CIA retiree has to answer for his past actions
Recommendation rating: 1/5

What I like about it: nothing
What I don’t like about it: slower than dial-up, terrible stodgy writing, phoned-in acting, total lack of characters, unforgivably bad action sequences for an action show

Review:
Jeff Bridges plays the titular old man, whose exploits in Afghanistan in the 80s have led to a festering grudge which finally brings assassins to his door in the 2020s. The commentary on U.S. foreign policy really runs no deeper than that. The vibe running through this show about an invulnerable state-sponsored super soldier is very similar to Homeland and 24, only without the pulpy drama and tension that pulled those along. This is just a dour, slow collection of people talking around subjects in a very unnatural way to try to build some mystery. I couldn’t finish it – which is rare for me, I watch some garbage! – and think it may be the worst TV show I’ve seen in a long time, especially for one so hyped.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence

Big Boys (2022)

Where to find it: All 4
Length: Six 25-minute episodes
Synopsis: Sheltered kid goes to uni, rooms with a sweet lad, later makes terrible sitcom
Recommendation rating: 1/5

What I like about it: has one good joke when the inexperienced lead drinks poppers, the non-Jack characters are alright
What I don’t like about it: the writer and the show are just awful

Review:
Creator/writer Jack Rooke adapts his deeply uninteresting life story into a sitcom that will set your teeth on edge. Rooke’s character is about to go to uni when his dad dies so he defers a year, then is thrown in a shed with another “mature student”, Danny. Danny is one of my favourite character types, an extroverted, masculine ‘bro’ or ‘lad’ type, stripped of any of the toxic traits that often accompany them in real life – a fantasy character Ted Lasso built a whole show around.

Unfortunately, the POV and narration is provided by Jack, an insufferable prick who seems all too much like what he presents himself as: a working-class kid who has gone to uni and now views himself as above his background. The script is peppered with cringeworthy references to working class culture; the following, while not a direct quote, is the kind of line you can expect: “I haven’t been so shocked since Derek was voted off X Factor, my mum dropped her Take-a-Break magazine and I spat out my McCain oven chips – only 50p from Farmfoods!” It’s a special kind of torture being in his presence, even through a TV screen.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): drugs, sex, depression

Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry (2021)

Where to find it: Apple TV+
Length: 2 hours and 20 minutes
Synopsis: The making of a Gen Z hero
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: the subject, the intimate access
What I don’t like about it: so long they put an intermission in it

Review:
Billie Eilish, walking personification of the state of California, may have escaped your attention if, like me, you’re too old to keep up with Gen Z culture and call all of it ‘TikTok’ but this portrait will make a fan of even the most hardened sceptic. A product of hippy homeschooling, Eilish lives her life with kindness and carefree abandon. She is honest and upfront about her emotions, even when they’re kinda selfish. It’s hard not to love her and the close affectionate bond she shares with her family, they make great company for at least the first hour and a half of this one. We see Billie and brother Finneas writing songs together in their childhood bedrooms, Finneas lovingly nurturing his sister’s talent and attempting to quiet her overactive inner critic. Billie is incredibly cool and adorably neurodivergent throughout, greeting her obsessive fans with genuine appreciation and stopping a performance to make sure a struggling audience member got help.

Pressures soon pile up for Billie and Finneas as they are lured in by the anglerfish of fame and sign a record deal with Interscope, having to deal with the worldwide arena tours, overproduced music festivals and endless press junkets that go along with that. On top of pushing through a rapidly expanding career at the age of 17, Billie is also dealing with regular teenage challenges such as depression, passing her driving test and having a scrub for a first boyfriend, along with a unique set of challenges coming from her hypermobility, Tourette’s and other neurological issues. It honestly becomes hard to watch because even though Billie is still largely enjoying herself, she’s under a lot of strain in doing so and dissociates on camera a lot. I remain hopeful that she finds a fulfilling career without destroying her mental and physical health to keep up with the demands of being a pop icon.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

Cunk on Earth (2022)

Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Five 30-minute episodes
Synopsis: More brilliant satire from Charlie Brooker and Diane Morgan
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: hilarious, occasionally informative, Morgan is funny in everything
What I don’t like about it: 1989 Belgian techno anthem Pump Up The Jam

Review:
Diane Morgan plays recurring character Philomena Cunk as she tries to get to grips with concepts far beyond her frame of reference. Academics attempt to deadpan their way through her hyperbolic, tangential questioning. Some brilliant satirical lines which show how the world got quite so messed up – “[the industrial revolution] ushered in an age of convenience but also threatened all life on Earth. So, swings and roundabouts really.” – and parody of the cheap flashiness of BBC documentaries.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):