I should have thought about this more carefully — the timing of it, I mean. This is Crucible time, and in the normal scheme of things I would be watching almost nothing but snooker. Yes, dear readers, I am that sad and pathetic thing known as a snooker addict, and a red-button one at that. But I eschew the green baize and march purposefully into the world of television previews — and what a challenging world it is.
Not, I suppose, as challenging as the task that faces The Town Taking on China (BBC2, Tuesday), one of those programmes that reassuringly does exactly what it says on the tin. Kirkby-based cushion manufacturer Tony wants to see whether the ‘British manufacturing lion can take on the Asian tiger China’, and as Tony owns a sister plant on the east coast of China — the ‘textile capital of the world’ — you’d think he’d know better. Tony reckons that, because of inflation and the universal demand for higher wages, China is becoming less competitive — brought about by its success, and herein lies an opportunity for us. Unfortunately, even in the fifth most-deprived borough in Britain, awash with second-generation worklessness, the new recruits Tony needs for his plans to succeed just can’t handle the heat of modern manufacturing — they go home, and they don’t come back. Inspiring and depressing all at once.
Much fun was had in The Plot to Topple a King (Channel 4, Wednesday) — a proper old-fashioned conspiracy unfurled. I’m sure we shouldn’t be surprised to discover that the powers-that-be brought down the ‘unsuitable’ Edward VIII, but the programme highlighted the role that the ‘High Priest of the Establishment’, Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Gordon Lang, played in it, with the co-operation of Stanley Baldwin and the Queen Mother.
It’s common knowledge that Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon had no time for Edward or Mrs Simpson, but it appears that she (or her husband, though that seems unlikely) actively courted the Archbishop with a view to being seen as the eminently suitable alternative. The populist Edward was widely adored, the abdication was unpopular and the crowing henchman Lang quickly lost his exalted status, but not before placing the crown on the head of George VI. And though one sympathises with Edward, it’s hard not to reach the conclusion, with the emphatic benefit of hindsight, that the result was for the best.
The television event of the week was, of course, Planet Earth Live (BBC1). Was it the mind-blowing, earth-shaking, game-changing wildlife spectacle that was widely publicised? No. Was it great telly? Yes — heartwarming and heartrending, beautiful and cruel, poignant and delightful, moving and melancholic, all the stuff of life and death as promised. But it wasn’t Attenborough. It wasn’t poetic, it was parochial; it wasn’t Blue Planet, it was Springwatch gone global, and in that it seems to sum up the BBC — stick with what you do, very well, just make it bigger. And why not? It works and we love it. Julia Bradbury presented with her usual charm; Richard Hammond seemed struck with stage fright on this first outing, but I’m sure he’ll quickly find his feet.
A Civil Arrangement (BBC4, Sunday) is pretty much a contemporary episode of Talking Heads, as narrated by the mother of the bride? groom? partner? in an impending civil partnership. But it’s a cracking little story with a satisfying twist, well and wittily written by Colin Hough. And, as was the case with all the Talking Heads, the responsibility for singlehandedly carrying the story and delivering the appropriate emotional impact was left to one of our finest actors, Alison Steadman — always a joy to watch.
The second series of The Killing (Channel 4, Wednesday) has started and it’s set in Seattle with Sofie Gråbøl (the original Danish detective Sarah Lund) in a cameo role. I’m confused. One thing is for sure: we like our television detectives emotionally flawed in whatever language, and with Lewis (ITV) hovering just over the horizon, we are reminded that sometimes their flaws have to be created — remember when Morse’s sidekick was fresh-faced and happy-go-lucky, before graduation to the front rank required he be made depressed and grumpy?