TV f3?i'e\./lews
.list.co.uk/tv
DRAMAV'DOCUMENTARY SEASON IRAQ SEASON BBC/Channel 4
With the fifth anniversary of the West’s illegal invasion and errant desecration of Iraq upon us, the networks have seen no reason to halt the stream of related documentaries and dramas which have been filling the schedules on the sensible channels. The overall theme seems to be one of empty despair and impotent anguish: how did it ever get to this and will it ever end? 10 Days to War (8802, Thu 13 Mar, 10.30pm COO ) is a series of decent enough short playlets which explores various perspectives in the run-up to the invasion while On That Day (More4, Mon 17 Mar, 10.45pm 00.0 ) features a documentary account of the tragedy when one US marine was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED), sparking his fellow Americans to go on a bloody rampage, slaughtering 24
’0
a l
’l l,...,. . .3
innocent Iraqi children, women and men. The documentary fares better than Nick Broomfield’s noble attempts to be even-handed in his feature film Battle for Haditha (Channel 4, Mon 17 Mar, 9pm .00 ). On That Day's only failing is in borrowing too many of Broomfield’s reconstructed scenes, leaving a muddied impression of what and who is real or fictionalised.
Most damning of all is Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (Channel 4, Wed 19 Mar, 12.05am 00000), Rory Kennedy’s stunning film about the prison which in a previous life was used as Saddam’s death chamber but has become even more notorious as the locale of America’s Shame with the ghastly mistreatment (and in at least one case, the murder) of so-called suspects in the War on Terror. Errol Morris releases his Abu Ghraib film this year and even he will have to go some to touch the evil which stalks this brilliant documentary. (Brian Donaldson)
REMOTE CONTROL
Brian Donaldson finds some good. a bit of bad and plenty ugliness in a new crop of British dramas
It's Easter time. so there seems no reason on this ungodly earth why we shouldn't crack open the chocolate eggs and indulge in a bit of The Passion (BBC 7, Sun 76 Mar Feb.
8pm 00 l. Anyone who remembers Robert Powell being strapped to the cross back in the 708 and giving Jesus a deCidedly Etonian twang will be delighted to learn that this new, huger atmospheric BBC/HBO production makes similarly
94 THE LIST 13—27 Mar 2008
bizarre chOices when it comes to its regional accents. So, we have a Welshman and a Geordie given disciple status while, probably controversially. a murderous crook is handed a Scouse accent. And hats off to James Nesbitt for becoming a stern Pontius O'Pilate.
Actually, I didn't spot a Single Scot in the opening episode of The Passion, so it‘s a treat to have the gravelly burr of Peter Mullan showmg up in The Fixer (ITVI, Mon 77 Mar. 9pm .00 l. Mullan plays a mean b'stard who is the public face of some shadowy state- sponsored assassmation sguad who want people operating illegally outside a law which can't curtail them done away With. So. Mullan hires Andrew Buchan (Party Anima/Si who is doing time for the murder of the aunt and uncle who systematically abused his
Sister. The pumping soundtrack could do With being toned down a bit. especially as this show does its best work while being a bit moody. exemplified perfectly by Buchan's permanent scowl.
It's difficult to feel anything other than despotic anger at something like The Things I Haven’t Told You (BBCB.
Mon 77 Mar, 90m 0 l in which a teenage girl is killed in a ball of flames. tracking us back via her narration to the events which brOught her to this point. Written by a 26-year-old and aimed at lOrd knows who. it features one of the lamest scnpts to have floated around Since the UHWISG
'e~ e . ‘ t ‘x ‘ :s i ‘
t I v I \‘dt‘l \‘ “\\ K) \\ i \Q' ‘ \‘f‘t ... x tit at .',I 5' t t‘, i‘.t‘l|.. t
i». t- ,. K J. 1 a H\ y N \ ‘ w \ v\ ioW
.l t .2 .. .." . {'I‘E‘\ Pittmaltllt:
10.. .. .-*’~ 2‘... {‘t‘ttut‘ ii,l\t‘ RE‘ 3 at |'« ‘il‘ ' k l'\lH\ I05. \}‘\l
Qxl r.‘ .if ; ti'.” t'“. ‘ .t‘\:{\tb‘{" \U‘K’\)\\
‘3‘“ \l\‘ TO l‘tlflll
:1t"lit*lll"5l.if~{xiii l.‘~ T"i‘~ Out” T’li' i'ii'iinzut" limit. . 't‘ilti't‘l'lt"‘l \flill9‘i1Tri(\‘itwl m ‘ \iir 2 ti will” tKQJ.‘ l.l‘.li1tltli'.ttfi
undertake" '.'.itt‘ f" :1. the." ll take
"fore than .lesus to saw .it;
You can Just imagine the exi'iteini-nt
oxerflovang at the poww liruni‘h whit ti resulted in the- first episode of the latest series of Holby Blue «HM I l/ii/.”()l'l.«1a/, trip/n 0.. i throwing a character from Ho/hi (iiti into iustody for an i ssault With surgical si issiirt. she claims not to have committed upon a man who tried to rape liei months earlier. With a buddy buddy cop duo at the shows core and a Previously ()n which features a dramatic seguence in which a disgruntled Wife cooks then throws her man's dinner into the bin. this should be appalling, And in the main it's hardly Homicide. but when the threads all come together at the finale, a sense of vacuoi s satisfaction is achieved in haying put yourself through it.
$1?
The ideas people over at ITV have been working overtime this year With the Mowng Wal/paper/Fc/io Beach scenario of peeking behind the scene? of a rubbish soap and they're at it again With Rock Rivals (/TVI, Wed 79 Mar, 9pm 0 l. a drarnatised version of X Factor. Michelle Collins plays the Sharon OStXflJHlU'Sl/l‘: Judge and Sean Gallagher is the Simon Cowell of the show The twist. such as it eXists, is that they're married but he can't keep his hands off the studio's biniboriir, women It yOu can imagine the BBC, making a fictional f‘JGWS/l/g/lf and following a Paxman character around Nllll‘: all he does is eat sushi alone before heading off for a dump lalso. thankfully, alone; then you'll get a vague serriblarice of the pointless. shallow experience of “.vatching and. I imagine. appearing in this dross. Now. a drama made out of COLJntdown: that I would watch.