_ Painless birth
Science fiction, millionaires and TV history will all get an airing when Birthrights returns to BBC 2 screens this summer tor a second series, ‘dealing with culture, citizenship and identity trom a variety of black perspectives’.
Watchability is a key consideration for the MOSAIC project consultative committee who advise on the commissioning oi Birthrights, according to Europe Singh. BBC Education Ollicer. MOSAIC is a live-year project producing materials which are primarily aimed at anti-racist training. The committee provides general themes and then invites tenders from independent
programme makers as a way at tapping 1
young black talent.
‘Blrthrights is the counterbalance to the victim-centred approach to black people,’ says Singh. ‘ll you are looking at discrimination and racism, you normally see black people as victims. What we wanted to do was have a series that asserts pride and identity, a leeling of belonging to British Society.’
Singh is well aware oi the pitlalls of being worthy but boring. One programme examines the issues at black people and ageing. ‘We had more tenders lor this programme than any other,’ he says, ‘a lot were very boring.’ Instead ol complaining about why people are not getting the services
they need, the programme-maker has ‘empowered some old people themselves to go and make their own film about themselves and about their lives, and then to make a lilm oi them making a lilm. To watch the old people actually taking charge oi their own images is more poweriul than some at the stuff that they are actually talking about’
To complement the Birthrights series, BBCZ will be airing Black And White In Colour, two programmes at TV archives which examine the hidden history oi black people on television. (Thom Dibdin)
Birthrights begins its six week run on Wednesday 3 June at 7.40pm with And Still I Bise, which examines the myths and stereotypes surrounding black women. Black & White in Colour is on 27 June/4 July.
Yanks go home
Bobbie Coltrane gazes out overthe empty Clyde The Americans have been in Dunoon since 1961 when they arrived to man the nuclear submarine base on Holy Loch. At the time they caused the biggest demonstration in Scotland since the General Strike. Thirty years later the Yanks are going home, leaving the local residents and businesses to experience a mixture at reliel and concern about their uncertain luture. To mark the departure ol the Americans, BBC Scotland have scheduled an evening at programmes devoted to the theme ot American wlthouttoo many tears, acknowledging the inlluence the Americans have had on the area, but pointing out that it hasn’t always been a healthy one. Military bases aside, Dunoon has long attracted Clasweglans tor a day out and a trip down the water on the Waverley. To start the evening, an
edition at The Insiders lollows Bobbie Coltrane down the Clyde, accompanied by Gordon Kennedy and local girl Lynda Szakas for a good old Yankee burger in Dunoon’s Last Bar-B-O.
For jazz singer Suzanne Bonnar, daughter at a GI and a local beauty queen, the departure of the Americans is a bitter-sweet attair. She speaks about her tears and hopes for the town in the repeated documentary Fly Me To Dunoon, which looks at the impact the 3000 servicemen had on the small town.
It’s a theme that is continued in Tin Fish, a leature lilm from Scots director
Paul Morton starring Emma Thompson. ,
She plays a local mother whose son is seriously ill and whose illness is linked to the tears at radiation lrom the nuclear submarines. ForThompson, it was a chance to return to the place where she enjoyed childhood holidays, and she was keen enough on the project to work for nothing.
To round oil we have the Highwaymen. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristoiierson trot out the counry classics live in concert, reminding us as the Gls go home that they at least have left behind a thriving West Coast country scene. Their other legacies might not be so welcome. (Tom Lappin)
The One Yank And They’re Oli evening at programmes is on BBC1 lrom 8.05pm on BBC1 Scotland.
Your guide to what’s new on the VHS iront In the rental shops and on the sell-through shelves
Rental
I Other People’s Money (15) Norman Jewison‘s slightly tardy comment on the “greed is good‘ 80s stars Danny DeVito as a predatory moneyman out to gain control of an old New England business, but becoming embroiled instead in a romantic attachment to his lawyer adversary. The'film tries to be a Major Statement but ends up closer toa glorification of capitalism than an indictment. (Warner)
.4/ I a,
I Hot Shots (PG) Top Gun gets the Naked Gun treatment in this uneven spoof with Charlie Sheen rather out of place among the rapid-fire gags. Some ofthe satirical touches are a tad tasteless with a few GulfWar gags hastily tacked on. (Fox)
I , ’ ' churn out dubious zany
. l comedies. This one
PREVIEW TELEVISION
’. PL, . e,
' ,"l‘. u
I; I“ n} l"
i I Tales From The Darkside
I (18)A horrortryptych
i with a wraparound story starring Matthew
; Lawrence as a small boy,
i Timmy. spinning yarns to avoid being eaten by
Debbie Harry (don’t
. knock it till you‘ve tried it
Tim. . .). Timmy‘stales
include Christian Slater
being harassed by a 3000-
ycar-old mummy. a cat
from hell who causes
' havoc in a millionaire‘s
house. and an artist who
makes a deal with an
enormous gargoyle
creature (sounds like the
Daily Mirror contracts
system in the Maxwell
days). Timmy‘s ploy
works but there‘s still
another twist in the plot.
(Columbia Tristar)
I In A Stranger’s Hand ( 15) A small child disappears.
9 causing her mother to
embark on a desperate
and nightmarish search
among child kidnappers
and murderers. A
run-of-the mill thriller
with Robert Urich
‘ half-decent as wealthy and
selfish company boss Jack
; Bauer. (Odyssey)
5 I Switch(15) Blake
Edwards continues to
i benefits from not
f ; featuringJulie Andrews, but Ellen Barkin isn‘ta 55: § substantial improvement
I n as Steve Brooks. an ' j obnoxious kinda dead guy sent back down to Earth in
o l
I The Fisher King (15)
g Terry Gilliam‘s
‘ contemporary fantasy ', stars Jeff Bridges as a
I brash talk DJ shattered by
g i
the unforeseen repercussions of his aggressive style when a regular caller shoots up a yuppie restaurant. Trying to rebuild his life, he runs into the seriously loopy Robin Williams who was widowed in the tragedy. Together they come to learn rather a lot about loss and ending up with the right women. lt‘s overlong, over- sentimental and woefully indulgent but strangely appealing for all that. Bridges is excellent as the seriously flawed central character. (20:20 Vision)
: female form to attempt to
I prove that someone
somewhere actually liked
* him. Of course, his best
mate rather fancies old Steve in his new guise.
i
with hilarious consequences. Not. (Columbia Tristar)
., ” Wm WI“ .‘. 1-01'1’ My 54 . . r (1211‘ from I Who Will Love My Children? (PG) A cracker. Ann-Margret is the terminally-ill mother of ten whose arthritic husband is hitting the bottle (a bit late forthat matey). She astutely realises that an ideal daddy he ain’t and is forced to make an agonising decision, to farm out all her children to assorted foster families and dump the one she can‘t get rid of in a home for the mentally subnormal. Aaaah. A tribute to one woman‘s courage and strength. a story of sacrifice and undying love . . . and a hoot from start to gruesome finish. Brought to you by those warm people at (Odyssey) I The Human Shield (15) (Warner)
Sell-Through
I Shadow Theatre, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 (18) Freddie Kruger (Robert Englund) is your host for a round-up of classic moments from the horror genre featuring clips and interviews with notable directors. Volume one looks at the new generation of monsters including Dr Butcher MD (medical deviant) and assorted sick scientists. Volume two looks at the new breed of directors including Sam Raimi, Brian Yuzna and Dario Argento, and Volume
:j three looks at the
psychological thrill of horror, and the history of horror hype. (Screen
Entertainment £10.99
.\' i I \ 2- fi“ \ ‘ a
eachtape)
Ellen Barkin in Blake Edwards’s Switch
The List 22 May — 4 June 1992 59