Jailhouse sob stories
She was caught and served two and a half years in an Argentinian jail. It was a gripping story and she told it well from the moment she talked to Frank via internet dating to her decision to join him in London. It was a big carrot he dangled and a big lie he told.
Only her daughter Ariana May had doubts about the relationship. Sharon was convinced about his sincerity. It could be the only explanation as to why she agreed to break her journey and stay for a week in a seedy South American hotel.
Frank explained he needed her to bring valuable documents to him. They came in the form of cocaine with a street value of $1.25 million. It may have resembled granny’s laxative powder, but Sharon lost years of her life in a crowded prison cell.
At the end of the episode she acknowledged she was naive, too trusting, head over heels in love and innocent. But she wasn’t contrite and I never heard sorry. As for her internet lover, who was less than frank, there appeared to be little interest or appetite to track him down.
I Am Innocent has appeal. I love a good story, but I love a balanced programme better.
What a howler to start the new series of Ready For Take Off (TV One, Wednesdays) with the Wallaby rugby team leaving to contest the 2015 World Cup. It should have been called Ready For Landing.
They were paraded in front of a Qantas jet and then departed, only to be beaten by the All Blacks in the final. But it was a historic moment to see head coach Michael Cheika smile.
That grimace should be preserved. It hasn’t been seen since.
Ready For Take Off was probably a bargain basement purchase from Oz TV. It’s a look behind the world’s ‘‘safest’’ airline and, as such, is probably an informative series.
There was an interesting account of Nephi, who needed a doctor’s certificate to allow him to travel from Perth to Melbourne. He was denied, but created such a stink they flew him business class the following day. Good one Nephi. Have you ever thought of appearing on I Am Innocent?
For all those who enjoy air travel, unless they’re leaving from Wellington, Ready For Take Off is helpful and even comforting. But next time don’t start with an outof-date episode about your national team. Michael Cheika smiling is the stuff of nightmares.
It was easy to go missing with The Missing (TV One, Tuesdays). The episode was too smart for its own good. One minute Alice Webster returns home after being snatched 11 years earlier, next her family stands vigil at her graveside and then Stefan Baptiste, the retired French policeman seen in the previous series, is off to Iraq to track down her abductor.
But if you can put up with the premeditated confusion, then The Missing appears a quality British series that will only answer the what, how and why questions, when it’s ready.
Even then, we don’t know if Alice is for real and, if she doesn’t know, then who does?
In Great Canal Journeys (Living, Sundays) the aristocracy of British acting, Timothy West and Prunella Scales (Sybil Fawlty), take their river boat along the canals of Britain, Ireland and Europe.
Last Sunday, it was Ireland, tomorrow is Denmark. It’s a pleasant and nostalgic excursion, made more memorable as Prunella slips into dementia. Last week, they travelled the loughs and canals of Ireland and discovered Timothy’s family roots.
His grandfather was C W Carleton Crowe, a refined actor, who knew what little finger to raise when he drank English Breakfast from a porcelain cup. The Carleton estates still exist alongside the waterways and yes, near one castle there was a fawlty tower.