British TV Show Reviews "R"

Randall and Hopkirk: Deceased (11/01)
Some of you might remember the old 60s series as My Partner, The Ghost about a private detective haunted by his former partner's spirit.  Now comics Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer have teamed up with The Fast Show producer Charlie Higson to remake the series for the digital age.  Former Doctor Who Tom Baker is also on hand as a guide in the afterlife to show the new ghost Marty Hopkirk (Reeves, pretty much playing it straight except for the fart jokes) alongside amazing special effects the old series could only have dreamed about.  The show itself is an entertaining whiffle with glossy production values and various cameos by comedians, but much like Marty, mostly insubstantial. Read my feature about Reeves and Mortimer.

A Rather English Marriage (9/99)
Albert Finney plays an old duffer RAF squadron leader (who insists everyone address him as such), recently widowed, who strikes up an arrangement with another widower played by Tom Courtenay in this TV movie. Things are going just fine until Joanna Lumley enters the picture, sweeping Finney off his feet, although Courtenay is suspicious of her true motives.

The Real Bridget Jones (1/02)
A series of Channel 4 shorts that coincided with the release of the movie that gives little biographies of actual women in Britain named Bridget Jones and how they are unlike the fictional character.  A clever idea.

Real Women (7/98)
Three part BBC drama about five women who have been friends since school and the lead-up to one of their weddings. Even after years their lives are interconnected in ways they can't even imagine, conducting affairs, picking up men, or just coming out of the closet. Everything comes to a head on the wedding day when confrontations and revelations nearly lead to the Wedding From Hell. But like the Spice Girls said, "Friendship never ends." (Too bad it didn't work for them!)

Red Dwarf VII (3/97)
Weak offerings again, especially as the mainstay of the series (the great unsung Chris Barrie) is in only half the episodes. "Tikka To Ride" kicks off the seventh season with a time travel tale that takes the boys back to Dallas in 1963. An American series wouldn't touch the tastelessness of the plot developments with a 10-foot-pole. "Stoke Me A Clipper" is Ace Rimmer's swan song - or is it? - as Chris Barrie takes a temporary (except for flashbacks) leave of absence from the show. The pre-credits sequence highlighting Ace's latest exploit is the best part. "Ouraboros", better known as the logo from "Millennium" (as well as Scully's new tattoo if you've seen "The X-Files" lately), reintroduced Kochanski to the series with a whiny actress replacing C.P. Grogan, as well as attempting to give Lister some more backstory. "Duct Soup," done as a budget-saving episode, is probably the most pointless story ever. But Rimmer is back with a vengeance in "Blue" when Kryten goes to extreme lengths to cure Lister of his "fond" memories of his former crewmate. The musical number at the end (including a chorus of singing Rimmers) is a classic, and the highlight of the season. "Beyond a Joke," co-written by Robert Llewellyn, focuses on a crisis for Kryten when a mad symbiot (Don Henderson, slumming here) attacks the crew. An attempt is made to show just how petty Kryten's jealousy of Kochanski is (attempting to thwart a VR visit to "Jane Austin World") but it's a joke that already had run its course several episodes earlier. Finally, a two-part episode ("Epideme" and "Nanarchy") wrap up the season as Dave contracts a fatal - and intelligent - virus which requires severe measures to cure, and the final solution to the missing Red Dwarf is revealed. Norman Lovett makes a welcome return to our monitors, as does the ship itself along with its trademark horn theme, although not before the Cat makes one final very funny observation about their wayward ship. I won't spoil it here but it's a cute sight gag in a series woefully short of quality visual humor. At least Chris Barrie will be back in all eight episodes next year (and presumably Norman Lovett). Something to look forward to I hope.

Red Dwarf Extended (3/98)
The BBC attempts to milk Red Dwarf just a bit more with video releases of old episodes with extra scenes. This goes as far back as the first season which now has new special effects and the digitizing process that makes the series appear to have been shot on film. Remarkably, in the 7th season episodes, the laugh track has been removed (or perhaps forgotten), with "Tikka To Ride" having an entire 5 minute sequence at the end added. Strictly for fans, who of course will buy them all up in droves.

Red Ken Gets The Blues (9/98)
A documentary narrated by Dawn French chronicling the rise of left-winger Ken Livingstone in London politics in the 1970s. The Tories and right-wing papers hated Livingstone but his populist approach to the Greater London Council (GLC) just increased his appeal. But he eventually bit off more than he could chew and the GLC was abolished by Margaret Thatcher in an attempt to consolidate power with the central government instead of local (mostly left-wing) councils. The documentary is illustrated with examples of some of the excesses of the GLC, particularly by the Comic Strip team (of which Dawn French was a part) which spoofed his supposed reputation as doing anything to support feminist/gay/leftie causes.

The Reflecting Skin (5/94)
An American Gothic vampire story. This BBC TV movie takes place in the Great Plains during the 50s. A young boy suspects his neighbor (a widowed British woman) of being a vampire. Let's just say, a lot of people die and none of them from natural causes. Is it vampirism, or something else? Extremely well shot and directed: a farmhouse sitting in the middle of wheat fields never looked so sinister.

Remember Me? (7/99)
Chaos reigns when Robert Lindsay suddenly appears at the middle class home of old flame Imelda Staunton in this Channel 4 TV movie. Well what do you expect? Lindsay specializes in playing walking disaster areas like a one-man Marx Brothers. Here he is a broker whose clients are after him, on the run with a daft girl, hoping to cross the channel. But first he needs a some money, and thus he arrives on Staunton’s doorstep, much to the distress of her husband (Rik Mayall), though amusement of her children. Brenda Blethyn (Secrets and Lies) and James Fleet (The Vicar of Dibley) make an appearance as houseguests who appear halfway through and are instantly thrown into the ever-increasing insanity. What’s amazing is the ending does NOT have a happy ending tying up all the loose ends, even though every cliche is set up for it. Very refreshing.

Reputations (1/00)
BBC/A&E documentary series, featuring a two-part examination of the life of Alfred Hitchcock (for his centennial last year). Denis Lawson narrates his rise from humble beginnings in Leytonstone, to his position as the most famous movie director in his time, although in the end he was trapped by his own reputation and unable to make a cutting-edge movie he wanted to in 1967.

Requiem Apache (3/95)
An Alan Bleasdale movie, this one filled with oddball characters in a drama about a former getaway-car driver trying to escape his old ties. He's gotten married and cares for his infant daughter while living in a pastoral country village. But the old gang want him to do "just one more job." Cameos by Christopher Ryan and Julie Walters.

Rescue Me (3/03)
Sally Phillips (Smack The Pony) leads this BBC ensemble series behind the scenes at a fictional trendy fashion magazine.  She's just broken up with her doctor husband, someone at work has a crush on her, and each week she has to do research on some ridiculous article.  The subplots involving the other employees help fill each hour, and Phillips is an engaging if somewhat irritating presence.

Residents (1/02)
BBC drama series about a row of houses on a street and the various interactions and stories in each.  There's the bullying ex-con with out-of-control kids, the old-age pensioners, the single mother trying to escape from the sex industry, the gay couple, and the Romeo-and-Juliet kids whose families are completely incompatible.  Some of it is a bit grim, particularly the sadism inflicted by the bully on his neighbors, but it's well-acted by a cast of unknowns and compelling without becoming an over-the-top soap opera.

Respect (5/97)
Nick Berry, Britain's answer to George Clooney, stars in this TV Movie as yet another working class mug, this time a boxer who wants to quit the ring. Quite unexpectedly he manages to avoid getting into The Big Fight at the end of the picture, something you wouldn't see in an American production.

A Respectable Trade (9/98)
The great Warren Clarke stars as a 17th Century ship owner in the slave trade working out of Bristol who takes as his bride the upper class niece of a Lord. She moves to Bristol and learns from the inside-out all about the slavery and her part in the process: teaching a group fresh off the boat from Africa to become houseslaves. Of course it slowly begins to dawn on her that they are more than "ignorant savages," particularly one she calls Moses, who it turns out can read and write. Clarke meanwhile uses his wife's connections to move up in Bristol society but he is outclassed literally and figuratively, and ultimately used and discarded by the money men who control local commerce. This four-part BBC drama is a harrowing but unflinching look at a dark period of English history, but also marks the beginning of the abolitionist movement and hope for the future.

Return to Blood River (7/94)
A South African ex-patriot (Kevin McNally--he was Lt. Hugo Lang in the Dr Who story "Twin Dilemma") returns home after 17 years just as Mandela is taking over and the Dutch Afrikaneers are making some adjustments of their own. Warren Clarke (Sleepers), who seems to be appearing in just about everything these days including House of Windsor and Moving Story (see separate listings), plays McNally's brother-in-law who has been running the family business since his father's recent death. The title refers to one of the great pride's of Dutch memory when in colonial times they scored a big victory over the natives. This BBC movie provides an insight into what is happening now in South Africa and how people are coping with the recent political changes.

Rex The Runt (5/99)
Aardman Animation, the Wallace and Gromit folks, get to let their hair down, so to speak, with this slightly risque series of clay-animated shorts for the BBC about a family of dogs who get into adventures. Celebrity voices such as Paul Merton, Eddie Izzard, and Antoine de Caunes are part of the weird, wonderful world of Rex and his pals, as they travel in time, get kidnapped by aliens, or try drilling at the North Pole.

Rhinoceros (1/00)
Hunky Robson Green (Touching Evil) stars a former footballer in this ITV TV movie as an absent father of an autistic boy who hooks up with his ex-wife when the boy gets lost in Wales on a trip home. After that it's a road movie and the inevitable reignition of passion between the couple as they search for their son and help him achieve independence.

Rich Deceiver (1/96)
Leslie Dunlop (May to December) stars in this two-part drama about a working class housewife who suddenly wins £12 million in the pools. But her husband is a proud but defeated man, so instead of telling him about her winnings, she sets out to secretly invest in a company that will give him a good job and the confidence he needs. Unfortunately, his eventual success creates a monster who eventually ditches her and takes up with a bimbo, all the while unaware of his wife's newfound wealth.

Rik Mayall Presents (5/93)
Anthology series featuring the actor in a variety of different parts. Mickey Love is a tragedy of almost Shakespearean proportions as a series of misunderstandings result in the complete self-destruction of a likeable TV presenter. It's like watching a car wreck - but you can't take your eyes away. Briefest Encounter guest-stars Amanda Donohoe in a tale about The Date From Hell. And in Dancing Queen, a bachelor-party prank sends a prospective groom to Scotland aboard a train with a stripper (Helena Bonham-Carter) - but no money.

(7/95) In Dirty Old Town, he is a bum who is mistaken for a hot screenwriter and given the high life. An amusing parody of the Soho film scene. In Clair de Lune, Rik is a minicab driver who is hijacked along with his 8-year-old daughter by a woman on the run. It all ends happily. One of the episodes from two years ago, Dancing Queen is about to be remade by Disney featuring Real Stars (despite the fact that Helena Bonham Carter co-starred with Rik originally). (See profile for Rik Mayall)

The Ring Reduced (9/95)
The Reduced Shakespeare Company (all three of them) manage to perform most of Wagner's Ring Cycle in 22 minutes. A cute send-up of opera, with some funny sight-gags as well.

Riot at the Rite (4/07)
Dramatization of the creation of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" in 1913 Paris and how it shocked the world of music and dance at the time.  He was a nut to be sure, but a genius at the same time and stuck to his creative guns to produce what everyone now recognizes as a classic. 

The River (11/89)
Harmless sitcom about a river tender (lock keeper) and his romance with a ditzy Scottish girl.

Roald Dahl's Little Red Riding Hood (7/96)
Ian Holm narrates this revisionist version of the fairy tale featuring Julie Walters and a host of actors wearing animatronic animal heads. Danny DeVito is the voice of the Big Bad Wolf who is no match for the little girl (Walters, also playing her grandmother) he intends to eat. A clever production though much of the material probably soars over the heads of younger viewers.

Rock Babylon (5/99)
Graham Norton looks at the history of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll in this special. What more do you need to know?

Rock Profile (3/02)
A parody of celebrity interviews with Jamie Theakston meeting different musical acts each week all impersonated by Little Britain's Matt Lucas (Shooting Stars) and David Walliams (Attachments).  Lucas began this act during Sir Bernard's Stately Homes and he and Williams also appeared on the 2001 Comic Relief as "Elton John" and his boyfriend.  Incredibly, they run the actual group's real music videos as filler during the show accompanied by spurious crawls along the bottom highlighting various "rock facts."

Rod Hull - A Bird In The Hand (10/05)
Documentary about the popular British comedian who found lasting fame as the "owner" of Emu, a puppet that would attack celebrities at the drop of a hat (his accosting of Michael Parkinson in the 1970s is still a TV highlights staple).  Unable to find success in Britain originally, he moved to Australia in the 1960s to get involved in their fledgling TV industry.  Eventually he "found" (some allege he stole) Emu and returned to Britain in triumph, a top-rated TV series, a million pound mansion and fame.  Alas, by the time he died in 1999 (in an accident when he fell off his roof adjusting his TV aerial) he was bankrupt and worth only a few thousand pounds.  One of his last bits of fame was being impersonated by a fake Rod Hull (Kevin Eldon) on Fist of Fun which culminated in an Emu-free appearance by him on the show in 1996.

Roger, Roger (1/97)
Writer John Sullivan's (Only Fools and Horses) TV movie about a mini-cab firm run by Robert Daws (Outside Edge) and the men who work there, including Neil Morrissey (Men Behaving Badly) as a would-be musician who finally gets to meet his idol - though not in circumstances he would prefer. Became a series in 1998 but without Morrissey.

The Romantics (4/08)
Peter Ackroyd  introduces the audience to the Romantic era and the people who embodied it by using fancy BBC graphics and big-name actors like David Tennant reading the poetry of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Room 101 (1/97)
If you remember George Orwell's 1984, Room 101 was the place where you had to face your worst fears (Winston Smith's being of course rats). In this BBC series, guests are invited on to submit the things they really hate for entry into the Room 101 Hall of Fame, explaining why on the way. You probably learn a bit too much about each of the stars who appear, but it's certainly a novel concept to see executed.

Root of All Evil? (4/07)
Fascinating documentary with Oxford professor Richard Dawkings on the effect of religion on children.  And let's just say, he doesn't think it's positive.

The Rottentrolls Phenomenon (11/01)
At first I thought this was just a mockumentary about a fictitious children's puppet show and the sad fans who loved it (and the even sadder ones who made it) until they actually began running real episodes of the thing.  It's a real program!!  I still assume the documentary part was a hoax but I have discovered to my surprise that The Rottentrolls (with narration by Martin Clunes) was an actual series inflicted on the children of Britain by ITV.  Shame, I thought it was all a brilliant satire until then.

Rough Diamond (4/08)
Irish-based family drama about a family of horse trainers including Jonah, a horse-whisper who meets the son he never knew he had (who also has the touch) and their rivalry with the rich stable up the road.  Something for everyone if you like this stuff: hunky guys, romance, and horses, horses horses!

A Royal Scandal (11/96)
BBC dramatization narrated by Ian Richardson about the 18th Century wedding of George the IV (Richard E. Grant) and Princess Caroline from Brunswick. It's hate at first sight and things only go downhill from there. Like another Royal Couple two centuries later, the Prince of Wales resents his more popular wife, and they spend decades battling each other before he tries to divorce her once and for all. Fascinating, witty, and all true, based on actual letters written at the time by the participants.

The Royle Family (1/99)
Caroline Aherne, best known in Britain as "Mrs. Merton," a gossipy older chat show host (as well as a Fast Show regular) co-wrote and stars in this BBC series about a Manchester family of couch potatoes which is presented almost as a documentary about the chronically unaware. There's no laugh track, and there aren't really any jokes per se, just a weekly look in on the Royle family as the wedding day of their daughter (Aherne) approaches, about the only diversion from their daily intake of cigarettes, fatty food, and television. There's something unsettling to me that people who are clearly better off are behind a series that seems merely to exist to mock the uneducated working class. It's like watching a car wreck: you can't turn away but at the same time you feel uncomfortable.