Don’t let You slip through TV cracks
I know a frequent complaint in this column is the so-called ‘tyranny of choice’ that we all face when it comes to our viewing habits.
Of course, the phrase ‘tyranny of choice’, which has become a buzzword for those people who complain that there is just too much good stuff in popular culture generally, and TV in particular, is perhaps the greatest example of a firstworld problem any of us will ever encounter.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not accurate.
The problem with the deluge of programming is that the really good stuff can often slip by because, let’s be honest, there are only so many hours in the day.
I consider any day which hasn’t involved about, oh, 12 hours of channel surfing to be wasted time. But even the most voracious couch potato simply cannot expect to keep up with everything that appears on the traditional Irish stations, UK channels, US broadcast networks, the various satellite options and, of course, the behemoth which is Netflix.
At this stage, even scrolling through the new Netflix options makes you feel a bit like a goose being force fed for foie gras. But some things deserve a proper mention.
Step forward You, the scathing, scary, cynical and hilarious take on a nice bookstore owner in New York who also happens to be a completely deranged stalker.
Gossip Girl alum Penn Badgley plays Joe, the self-confessed ‘nice guy’ who is anything but, while Elizabeth Lail plays Guinevere, who becomes the object of his affections.
The genius of You is that as Joe explores his new friend’s life, he realises to his horror both she and her friends are all idiots and there’s no doubt Guinevere is so annoying even Lena Dunham must look at her with disdain.
It’s a rare programme that can make you not only sympathise but actually agree with a psychopathic, homicidal stalker and completely see his point.
This is funny, unapologetically snarky and cynical and has a jawdropping final episode...
It’s hard to believe it’s 20 years since Hugo Chavez seized control in Venezuela and Revolution In Ruins – The Hugo Chavez Story (BBC Two, tonight, 9pm) charts the turbulent two decades that saw the hopes of many ordinary Venezuelans raised, and then dashed in spectacular fashion...
National Geographic has been running some fascinating programmes on the rise of the internet and tonight sees Valley Of The Boom (9pm). A blend of docudrama and interviews with the main players, this film looks at the mid-90s when Netscape – remember that logo? – was the biggest game in town.