When you walk out of here . . .
. . . There will be people out there, perhaps a great many, who will think of you as a hero. I just don't for a moment want you thinking I'll be one of them.
Friday night gives you Wings
Green Wing, Channel 4, 9pm
The West Wing, More4, 10pm
A purely coincidental constellation of programmes, but both leaders in their field: a British comedy that's original and addictive and way too long, and a US drama that's impeccable and intelligent and doomed. Episode 2 of Green Wing was a massive improvement on last week's shaky first. Though some plot percolates - Caroline's unrequited love for Mac, Sue's covert self-impregnation with Mac's sperm, Martin's romance with Karen - it's the interaction of the characters that keeps it ticking over. There is no narrative arc with Boyce's baiting of Dr Statham, but it continues to entertain. (Incidentally, Mark Heap provided some tip-top physical comedy this week when confiscating Boyce's "potty putty" - harking back to his physical cabaret roots in the Two Marks, who used to juggle and unicycle in the old school Arts Council style.) I know it's not to everyone's taste, but the sheer stupidity of Sue wearing a large squirrel head reminds me of the penguin wandering the corridors in Gregory's Girl and that can be no bad thing.
The West Wing is, of course, dying before our eyes, playing out its final series in grand style. As Bartlett's presidency winds down and his hair whitens, the Santos campaign takes centre stage. This is OK, but it leaves me, as a big fan of Will and CJ and Toby and Margaret and Kate and even Annabeth, with little to hang on to, which is why last night's episode, the melancholy number 5, Here Today was a tonic. More White House-based, it was all about the revelation of who leaked the NASA story to the New York Times (deliberate shades of Plamegate). If you don't want to know the answer (and they dummied me), LOOK AWAY NOW . . .
It was Toby. They handled it brilliantly, by whom I mean writer Peter Noah and writer-turned-director Alex Graves (who really threw some shapes, framing simple stuff like Toby and Babish in an incredibly dramatic way, with deep focus throughout - you never really notice the direction, it just moves along at a lick and never misses a corner, but this episode had a real Hopper-esque beauty, if that doesn't sound too pretentious). I was actually starting to nod off midway through, thanks to a general grief-linked tiredness, but when Toby was summoned, against counsel's wishes, to see the President, I sat bolt upright. How will we live without this magnificent programme? I may have to start watching it again from the beginning.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 11:32 AM
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4 Comments:
I didn't know about Mark Heap's juggling roots so I was actually wondering whether the potty putty was done with cgi. There were two great Green Wing moments for me. Firstly Dr Statham kicking off his shoe, catching it, and then polishing it - a brilliant encapsulation of the character's repressed seething emotions and anal tendencies. Secondly not only Sue's squirrel head but the tail too! Maybe I'm stupid but I'm laughing just thinking about that tail, and so much so that I've just used an exclamation mark.
Aha! The shoe! Another great example of Mark Heap's dexterity. I can't remember who the other Mark in the Two Marks was, but they appeared quite a bit on telly in the 80s. Very acrobatic, they were.
I've been a bit critical of The West Wing of late but last night's episode was *really* good. When I saw the deep focus and interesting framing I went back to check if it was being directed by someone from outside the usual group but weas amazed to see someone from the staff. It shows that they're really making a conscious effort to do something interesting. CJ's reaction was pleasing unexpectedly realistic and heartbreaking.
Still miss Donna. I miss Josh shouting Donna.
DONNA!!!
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