TV Gems of the Month! June 2012
June 30, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Welcome to a new feature on my blog – the TV Gems of the Month! Each month I will be looking at what I think has been the best programmes on, those special gems that are a cut above the rest. This June we’ve had a telly treat with the Jubilee Celebrations, Euro 2012 and the return of Big Brother to tie us over into July and the start of the great British summer! But heres what I feel are this months TV Gems….
Britain in a Day, BBC Two (Scott Free Films, BBC)
What an amazing programme giving us a brief glimpse into some or the normal, and not so normal people that make up our nation. As the programme started, initially I had very low expectations. It did not grab me straight away, but after ten minutes in I was hooked, laughing, crying and watching with eager anticipation peoples day to day lives. The wedding, the proposal and the long lost families were all tied together with other clips showing the variety of British everyday lives. From over 600 hours of footage the editors deserve a BAFTA for this – watch them speak here about the film and cutting down all that footage here! It’s a brilliant one off gem!
True Love, BBC One & BBC Two (BBC, Working Title Television)
A interesting improvised drama about the love lives of different characters living in Margate. Its a really interesting concept and that why I’ve chosen it for a TV Gem. I think ultimately its let down by its time slot, as I do not feel as an audience we get enough character development in just half an hour, and could of perhaps benefited from a hour slot. However, I think the strength here, whilst at times lacking in its loss of a script, is the performances. Each night the performances carry the show and the casting was chosen perfectly for these episodes. Beautifully shot, well directed, with strong performances I think it was an interesting drama, but True Love perhaps it could have benefited from a longer running time.
Starlings, Sky One (Baby Cow Productions)
Tucked up on the sofa, the last hour of telly before heading to bed for work on Monday, Starlings is on to perfectly end the weekend. Introduced to a lovely but dysfunctional family, this warm comedy has the slightly dramatic undertones of Terry’s heart problems, along with the will-they-won’t-they of Bell and Rubin, supported by a interesting cast each providing their own comedic skills to the parts. Its well produced and directed, with a clear tone, clear set of well developed characters as beautifully shot to create a lighthearted drama for Sunday night viewing. At times I expected it to be more comical and even more dramatic, but having the subtlety of this gives it its charm. I hope this is recommissioned for a second series as I think its one of Sky best British comedy dramas they’ve produced recently.
Silk, BBC One (BBC)
Returning for its second series, Silk has surpassed itself and has proven itself to be one the better written and more popular BBC One Dramas. For me, court room drama are always interesting and I think Silk is defiantly one of the best. The leaps and bound that this second series has gone through only make the drama much more successful, with better cases each week, more character development and an overall confidence gained from its first series. This series seemed to have more of an overall theme, giving it a much better structure or each episode. If you’ve missed this make sure you catch up because this terrific drama has been nominated for a third series.
Episodes, BBC Two (Hat Trick Productions)
American and British humour is brilliantly brought together in Episodes, which returned earlier this month for its second series. Its main draw for the audience is Matt Leblanc playing an exaggerated version of himself, but this series we get the classic sitcom will they won’t they between Sean and Beverly. The reason why this made the Tv Gems for June is the writing. The comedy purely comes from the writing from David Crane and Jeffery Klarik, creating awkward situations and perfecting them with comical and realistic dialogue for Sean and Beverly when they find themselves in these odd situations. As they are the characters the audience follow, and their journey, the writing seamlessly makes it easy to follow and sums up when the thoughts of the audience. Hopefully, the series will be renewed for a third series as I think its one of the better written sitcoms for both American and British audiences.
It’s been a good month for TV and a special mention should got to Dead Boss, that started on BBC Three. I really enjoy it and its hilarious, but I want to see where the series goes before making a final judgement. Also deserving of a mention was Channel 4′s Dispatches Undercover Undertaker, which looked at Co-operative’s Funeral Care. This was a great documentary exposing a serious issue which needs to be resolved.
