Off the planet and out of this world
PICKOFTHEWEEK Alien Worlds, Netflix
There are, at a rough estimate, moreplanets in the universe than there are grains of sand on the Earth. Andif life exists on even the tiniest fraction of them, newnetflix seriesalien Worlds points out, the universe must be crawling with absolutely hideous aliens.
Alienworlds isn’t the first timewe’ve had a crack at imagining what kind of bizarre creatures might exist out there in the farthest reaches of space, the twostars – Wars and Trek – were all over it four decades ago. But it’s quite possible that no othershow has taken the whole exercise this seriously before.
The four-part series is presented in the familiar style of a Bbcnature documentary, narrated by Sophie Okonedo. Each episode is set on a different hypothetical planet, applying the laws of life on Earth to imagine what kind of life could live there, and CGIing it all into existence.
The first episode is set on a planet called Atlas. It’s twice the size and has double the gravity of Earth, and it’s basically a total hellhole. The best alien it’s got going for it is the skygrazer, adisgusting bald bird with six wings that never stops flying and feeds on floating seeds.
Toexplain the science behind these creatureswecut back to Earth, where a professional paraglider explains gravity. Later, a falconry expert helps explain howthe skygrazers’ main enemies hunt, swoopingdown from above like evil air balloons.
The narrative conventions of the nature documentary still apply, however, even whenit’smadeup. The pack of evil balloons is too small this time, and the skygrazer gets away.
“Today, they’ll go hungry,” Okonedointones solemnly. “Onatlas, survival is agame of chance.” Bloody hell, their tourism board isn’t going to be happy about this.
WORTHWATCHING Yourhonour, Neon, fromtomorrow
You’re the head of casting for a showthat requires an actor to play a goodmanforced to do a very bad thing by impossibly stressful circumstances. Whoseagent are you calling first? Bryan Cranston’s, obviously. Tooon the nose? Not for the makers ofyour Honour, a legal thriller about a respected judge (Cranston) whoseson (Hunter Doohan) gets caught upin a hit-and-run involvingsomeof Neworleans’ leading criminals. It’s based on an Israeli series calledkvodo, it’s 10 episodes long,
and Cranston is severely under thepumpinpretty muchall of them.
Theripper, Netflix, fromwednesday
Whenitcomes to the Rippers, Jack typically has the lion’s share of the infamy – but that maybe about to change with the arrival of Netflix’s next true-crime documentary series. It’s about the Yorkshire Ripper, the serial murderer whokilled 13womeninthe north of England in the late 1970s, and also goes into what Englandwas like culturally at that time. Whywas he able to carry on for so long without being caught, andwhydid the police have such ahard time identifying him?
Tiny Pretty Things, Netflix
Does anybody evermakeit to the elite ballet school stage of ballet and simply have anice timewith their friends, practising standing on their tiptoes and doing spins? Absolutely not if the entire canon of ballet school film and television is anything to go by. Tinyprettythings might not quite beblackswanbut it’s still moreintense and chaotic than seems healthy. It follows the students at Chicago’s only elite dance academy, the Archer School of Ballet, as they each walk the increasingly narrow tightrope between making it as a ballet star and total dance failure.
MOVIEOFTHEWEEK Marainey’s Black Bottomnetflix, from Friday
Maraineywasknownas “the mother of the blues” in the 1920s and 30s, the black bottomwasthenameof a popular dance back then, and Marainey’sblackbottom is thenameof a 1982 play inspired by the singer’s life, about the exploitation of black recording artists by white producers.
The movie version stars Viola Davis in the role ofma Rainey, but perhapsmost notably it also haschadwick Boseman, in his final role before he died earlier this year, as her trumpeter Levee.
FROMTHEVAULT Gavin& Stacey (2007), Tvnzondemand
Usually if a character’sname is in the title of a showthey’re either interesting or funny, but notwithgavin& Stacey. The titular couple here are dull as dishwater, but that’s fine because the supporting characters carry all theweight.
Probably helps that two of them– Ruth Jones and James Corden – created theshowand madethemselves the best characters (why wouldn’t you?) and that another isrob Brydon. Whenitcomesto family sitcoms to binge at Christmas, this one’s still top tier.