Dreams and nightmares Keith Sharp
The kindness of strangers
If you were a fan of Reginald Perrin, then the new documentary series The Kindness Diaries might just appeal to you as well. Leon Logothetis may not have faked suicide to escape his humdrum life, but he certainly killed his career as a stockbroker in London when he decided to take off on a motorbike to see the world and do as many good deeds as he could for complete strangers. He may not have found the meaning of life, but he has found a meaningful one.
Choice TV, Monday, 8.30pm
Dream builders
British architect Kevin McCloud built a worldwide following with his series Grand Designs, and now we have our own Kiwi version of the man, and the show, in Grand Designs New Zealand. Chris Moller steps into McCloud’s shoes for this series, travelling around the country and visiting people who are pouring their hearts, souls and money into creating their own bit of architectural paradise. And quite frankly, you wouldn’t believe the lengths some people will go to to build exactly the home they want to live in.
TV3, Sunday, 8.30pm
Satisfaction guaranteed
Right – a question for the guys: If you discovered that your wife was paying a male escort for sex, would you a) file for divorce, or b) become a male escort yourself to find out why she is doing it. The new US drama Satisfaction, starting on TV3 this week, takes its main character, Neil (Matt Passmore), down the latter course as he tries to save his marriage. This one is from the makers of Nip/Tuck, so expect the unconventional.
TV3, Sunday, 9.30pm
Unscripted crime stories
It must be tough for television producers to find innovative new scripts for police dramas, but the makers of the new British series Suspects have found a way around it by not having a script. The actors in this drama have been given the storyline and scene structure for each episode, but they provide the dialogue themselves. It’s a surprisingly effective approach and, as it is shot in the fly-on-the-wall style of a documentary series, they really do look like real cops doing a real job. So do the criminals, for that matter!
The Box, Tuesday, 9.30pm
A Spike in popularity
It would be no exaggeration to say that the great, yet manicdepressive Spike Milligan was an inspiration to huge numbers of comedians (and would-be comedians) during his creative years from the early 1950s to the late 1990s. He changed the face of radio comedy with his wildly-inventive scripts for The Goon Show, and also took his unique talents to TV, film and books. Underneath it all, however, Milligan was a tortured soul who never really recovered from the traumas of combat in World War II. Comedy Greats: Spike Milligan reviews the career of a comedy genius.
Jones!, Thursday, 9.30pm. Set at the end of the 19th century, Scottish director John Maclean’s ‘‘European western’’ follows the story of 16-year-old Jay Cavendish ( The Road’s Kodi Smit-McPhee) as he journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves, accompanied by a mysterious guide named Silas (Michael Fassbender).
Slight but packed-full of emotion during its slim running time, the story benefits greatly from some terrific performances, including a suitably eccentric Ben Mendelsohn, and terrific use of the South Island’s Mackenzie Country, with its eclectic mix of tussock plains, silver birch forests and riverbanks.