New British TV Show Reviews

Absolute Power (7/04)
Stephen Fry and John Bird star in this wicked BBC satire comedy series as partners in London's most ruthless public relations firm.  Each week, in multiple storylines, they take on the most demanding assignments with Bird typically ending up with egg on his face, and Fry smelling like a rose.  There is nothing they won't do to help a client, including a candidate for archbishop of Canterbury, a female MP looking to advance her career, and best of all, Geoffrey Palmer as leader of a rural political party with a rather large skeleton in his closet.

Bedtime (7/04)
Andy Hamilton's low-keyed serial drama set in successive evenings in adjacent houses returns as a three part Christmas special that includes an older couple (Sheila Hancock and Timothy West) visiting their new grandchild for the first time, and a Muslim shopkeeper (The Kumar's at No. 42's Vincent Ebrahim) who survives a violent encounter that might be connected with his uptight businessman neighbor (Neil Stuke).

Brides In the Bath (7/04)
Continuing ITV's tradition of TV movies based on the great British serial killers (including A Is For Acid and Shipman), this time with Martin Kemp (EastEnders) as George Smith,  a serial bigamist and murderer who killed for profit in the years before World War I.  His modus operandi was to kill his newlywed wives in the bathtub, drowning them so it appeared as an accident.  Richard Griffiths (Harry Potter's uncle) is his defense attorney at his trial but Smith's obvious guilt was too difficult to hide and he was executed in 1915.

Dee Construction: The Simon Dee Story (7/04)
Simon Dee was to British 1960s talk shows what Johnny Carson was in the U.S.   Jumping from pirate Radio Caroline to the BBC, he quickly got his own series and was arguably one of the most famous people in Britain by the late 1960s (even appearing in the classic "The Italian Job" opposite Michael Caine).  And then, when the BBC refused to give him a raise, he went over to David Frosts' rival London Weekend Television, bombed (particularly after an on air incident involving George Lazenby) and was off the air within a year, a pariah on TV for 33 years and a cautionary tale of those who succeed too quickly.  Or was he?  In this documentary presented by TV critic Victory Lewis-Smith, Dee's rise and fall is chronicled in the context of its time, as well as letting him participate in a round table discussion with various TV producers (including Rumpole creator John Mortimer).  Needless to say, 33 year in exile has left Dee a little bit bitter, shall we say? and maybe a lot more paranoid (Lewis-Smith can't resist playing some of the ranting phone messages left by Dee as the show was being put together).  Channel 4, which produced the show, even lets Dee back on air for one night only doing his old chat show, although the speed he goes through guests barely leaves any time for chat.

Distraction (7/04)
An evil and sadistic late night Channel 4 quiz show, nevertheless it's compulsive viewing.  Four hapless contestants are tortured through four rounds (at times having electric shocks, being hit by paint balls, or sitting under pooing pigeons) while being asked fairly easy general knowledge questions.  The winner then is given either a new car or 5000 pounds but then must answer five final questions or risk having the car systematically destroyed or the money burned.  Hosted by Jimmy Carr who never quits making fun of the contestants, you feel dirty after watching each episode but human nature prevents you from looking away at the same time.

French & Saunders Actually (7/04)
Their annual Christmas special includes parodies of Alan Yentob's Images series (this one about free runners), the ITV lesbian gardening detective series Rosemary and Thyme (which I'd never even seen!), and "Catherine Zeta-Jones" (Dawn) delivering the Queen's annual Christmas message.

Grumpy Old Men (7/04)
Documentary series with various UK celebrities (Bob Geldof, Will Self, Tony Hawks, etc) getting a chance to moan on in a very un-politically correct way about various topics.  Narrated by their patron saint (at least in sitcoms) Geoffrey Palmer.

The Illustrated Mum (7/04)
Michelle Collins stars as a single mother of two girls who is manic depressive and prone to wearing a lot of tattoos.  Her older teenage daughter is savvy enough to stand up for herself and make friends and be popular in school, but the younger grade school sister is picked on constantly for having such an unusual mother.  Collins obsesses about reuniting with Mikey, the older sister's father, and actually manages to find him, but he's more interested in raising his daughter than dealing with the flaky mother.  Plus this leaves the younger one to cope on her own.  Fortunately, Channel 4 didn't want to depress everyone too much, so a promise of a better ending is given these three (and the audience) for having survived the sometimes grim drama.

Little Britain (7/04)
Matt Lucas (Shooting Stars) and David Walliams (Cruise of the Gods) have been a comedy team for several years now (Rock Profiles) and now get their own BBC comedy series that is very reminiscent of The League of Gentlemen.  Flawlessly narrated by Tom Baker, Lucas and Walliams play most of the characters, male, female, or indeterminate.  Guest star Anthony Stewart Head appears as a Prime Minister who doesn't realize just how devoted his aide is.

Norman Stanley Fletcher: Life Beyond The Box (7/04)
A mockumentary based on the life of the character played by famed comedian Ronnie Barker in the classic 1974-77 prison comedy series Porridge.

The Office (7/04)
The acclaimed cult BBC comedy series (and American critical darling) comes to an end with a two-part finale set at Christmas that picks up several years after the events in the original two seasons.  David Brent (Ricky Gervais) was of course let go and now works as a freelance salesman and does gigs at night trying to cling on to his small sliver of fame (or infamy), while continuing to "drop in" at his old place of employment.  Tim (Martin Freeman) has a new annoying workmate, a pregnant woman, while Gareth is still just as clueless as the new office boss.  Meanwhile in Florida, all is not perfect with Dawn's life, and the documentary crew intervene by sending her back to Britain for a fateful reunion with Tim.

The Pilot Show (7/04)
Channel 4 show where minor British celebrities are conned into believing the worst ideas ever as potential TV shows they could participate in.  Maybe some folks just want to cling on to fame, no matter how tenuous, or maybe it's just the British good manners not to laugh in the face of a producer when you need a job, no matter how naff an idea they might have for you.

Pleasureland (7/04)
Part of Channel 4's "Adult at 14" season, this TV movie about a schoolgirl coming of age and discovering sex among her peers is as grim and raw as it gets.  No one likes to be reminded of those times, although if you had a teenage daughter, you could do worse than having her see this powerful film.

The Private Life of Samuel Pepys (7/04)
Steve Coogan stars as the famous 17th Century London diarist in a story told in flashback from his trial for treason while he was with the Admiralty.  Though Pepys loved his French wife, he was quite the womanizer, and made a lot of enemies for always making it to the top whether during Cromwell's domination or the subsequent Restoration.  Coogan plays Pepys in a similar style as his breakout role in "24 Hour Party People" making asides to the camera (his funniest comes during the burning of London in 1666 when someone points off camera that the entire city is burning and Coogan assures us, "You'll just have to take my word for it," thus acknowledging the low budget of this entertaining costume drama).

Promoted To Glory (7/04)
ITV TV movie with Ken Stott as Mike, a wino who seeks redemption with Annie, a Salvation Army worker.  After being hit by a bus, he turns up at her rehab facility much to the annoyance of her Army fiancee Nigel played by perennial loser Kevin Whately (Inspector Morse).  Mike eventually sobers up and decides the only way to earn Annie's love is to join the Army with her.  Will she succumb to his charms or stick with Nigel?  I have to say though, as a Christmas-oriented special, this has the most cynical ending I've ever witnessed in my life.  It's like killing Jimmy Stewart halfway through "It's a Wonderful Life."  I'm not knocking it, mind you, but talk about souring the holiday cheer.  You'd never see anything remotely like this on American TV at Christmastime in a million years.