Daily Archives: Tuesday, 1st April 2008
Later Live… with Jools Holland
I’m sure I’ve mentioned the long-running music show Later… with Jools Holland once or twice. It’s always been a delight – the diverse range of artists taking part means there’s always something good, and often something new to discover, making it essential viewing[1] for anyone at all interested in popular music. It was on Later… that I first saw Franz Ferdinand, for instance…
Anyway, it’s been running so long, that it’s been given a bit of a kick to make it more interesting. The show is generally recorded pretty much in one take on Tuesday evenings, and from now on, a portion of that recording session will be going out live at 10pm on BBC2. The full-length version will still be shown on Fridays.
I’d forgotten to watch it at 10, but I had remembered to set the V+ box, and I’m watching it now. The best bit so far for me was the reformed (and quite possibly reconstituted and recycled) Only Ones playing Another Girl, Another Planet. Good stuff.
[1] Or, given that it’s on at 11:30 on Friday nights, essential recording to watch while more awake
Ashes to Ashes – Series One
I mentioned Ashes to Ashes after the first episode went out, and now the series has come to an end, it’s time to have a look at the whole thing…
It had its ups and downs – some of the time, it felt like the programme makers weren’t sure what they were trying to create. Given that it lacked the mystery that made Life on Mars so compelling (unlike The Master Sam Tyler, Alex Drake knows she’s in a coma), it needed some kind of hook. The hook chosen was Alex’s relationship with her parents, who died in a car bombing. Having met her mother, and after some hostility, found that she really liked her, Alex decided that what she needed to do to “get home” was to prevent the bombing.
Much of the time, the oddness was kept on low, which made the show into something more like a conventional police drama, which, for me, rather missed the point. But things got a lot better in the last episode, which was show last week. As the day of her parents’ deaths approaches, Alex tries desperately to save them. Her attempts involve driving a pink tank[1] over the car that she thinks they’ll be using, and having her parents arrested..
Of course, events still take their course, and Alex is horrified to learn the truth about who killed her parents[5]. And she’s still stuck in 1981 with Gene Hunt. There will be a second series next year, which may or may not be interesting.
Ashes to Ashes had a lot to live up to – Life on Mars was quite brilliant and original. Making a derivative follow-up was something of a risk, which didn’t pay off quite as well as it might, but was a lot better than it could have been. And if that sounds non-committal, it probably is. I’ll probably watch the series again at some point, and maybe I’ll be more impressed with the middle bits. But for now, I’d say: good start, good ending, not so sure about the rest.
[1] Gay pride march, which also involved a certain Tom Robinson[2]. Alex tells him that he’ll end up on “Radio 6″[3], fall in love with a woman and have two kids. He doesn’t seem to believe her.[4]
[2] Yes, 2-4-6-8 Motorway, etc
[3] Or 6Music, as it’s better known
[4] It would have seemed quite unlikely at the time…
[5] No spoilers here 
Weight Report – 1 April 2008
Hmmm. A small step in the right direction today, though something of a lack of steps of the walking to or from work variety.
