"Our Planet" on Netflix is an utter beauty
You should also be checking out "Race Across The World" and "The Brexit Storm"
Hello,
Scotty here with your weekly guide to what's worth watching.
Before we move on, here are a few [NON-SPOILER] things you might have missed in Line of Duty last night:
1) Remember Ryan? The kid who used to deliver mobile phones in the very first series of the show? He’s back! 2) There was also a moment where Steve Arnott receives a notification on a dating app. The person who sends Steve a message? It’s Tina. She’s Martin Compston’s wife (Steve Arnott did not respond to her message *sigh*) 3) The photo PC Maneet Bindra (Maya Sondhi) shows Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) at the start of the episode is Maya’s actual 2-year-old child. 4) You might have noticed that Arnott spoke a lot of jargon in last night’s episode. Compston told me on last week’s 5 Live Must Watch podcast that showrunner Jed Mecurio has tried before to make his lines as complicated as possible to catch him out.
FYI: I’m now a weekly columnist for RadioTimes.com. For my first column, I re-watched every Line of Duty interview scene to work out whether they have got more intense. There are graphs, ladies and gentlemen.
(I’m also keeping a thread of every single time Ted Hastings says “Mother of God” during this series on Twitter. Heaven help me.)
Here are some other good shows this week worth talking about:
Our Planet (Netflix, Friday) - The BBC should be a bit worried that one of the key things that made them stand out from their commercial rivals, namely world-class natural history documentaries voiced by Sir David Attenborough, is now also being made by Netflix. Where the BBC has an edge is that they can perfectly schedule episodes at 8pm on a Sunday when you’ve just eaten a massive roast, ensuring plenty of moments become a massive talking point the next day. Does the fact that we can binge all eight episodes in one go, regardless of whether we've just binged a roast, change that? We shall have to wait and see.
FYI: I interviewed Sir David Attenborough about Our Planet for BuzzFeed, and asked him about why his nature documentaries resonate with so many young people. In his answer, he tells us to get off our screens: “If they lose, in the face of computers, that vision of the natural world, they have lost a great treasure. And most people don't lose it. And even those that do, it's still there latent within them, and you can set it aflame.”
The Murder of Jill Dando (BBC One, Tuesday 9pm) - It's been 20 years since BBC newsreader and presenter Jill Dando was shot and killed on her doorstep in South West London. This documentary, featuring interviews with friends, colleagues and detectives. equally celebrates her life as well as explaining why this high-profile murder remains unsolved. You just end us feeling for the BBC News colleagues who had to report what happened to one of their own.
The Brexit Storm: Laura Kuenssberg’s Inside Story (BBC Two, Monday 9pm) - Yep, Brexit. I know. You’re tired. I’m tired. Ughghhghg. But this documentary, made in partnership with Vice Studios, is actually a not-half-bad overview of how we got into this mess in the first place. Plus, it’s a genuinely fascinating insight into how Kuenssberg does her job between the times that she’s in front of camera. You see her reacting to breaking news in real-time, chasing contacts and engaging in chit-chat before the cameras start rolling. It’s fascinating.
Also remember… Veep is back (Sky Atlantic, Wednesday 10.05pm), Derry Girls (Channel 4, Tuesday 9.15pm), the final episode of This Time with Alan Partridge (BBC One, Monday 9.30pm). Fleabag (BBC Three) is also absolutely worth your time - one of the best shows this year so far. I have to say, television right now is the best it has been in a long, long time.
Also… Race Across The World (BBC iPlayer, BBC Two, Sundays 8pm) - I have fallen in love with this show. The concept is simple: teams of two race from London to Singapore without using a plane and without being able to use their phones for navigation. What makes it so good are the contributors: the father and son who are trying to build their relationship, the retired couple who want to go for a real adventure. Also, surprising for a BBC show, it is incredibly bingeable. I know some people who have seen it all in one go.
And finally, a recommendation from Liam, a reader of Worth Watching: The West Wing (it’s one of the DVDs under your television): “When things are so divisive I find the optimism and wholesome nature of Sorkin’s show the ideal antidote to restore faith in the political process.”
That’s all for now. If you find this email useful, please tell other people to subscribe on the Worth Watching homepage. You can also subscribe to my page on Facebook.
Have a great week.
Scotty x