TV PICKS
Sir Kenneth gets Agatha Christie back on track, writes
Agatha Christie, reloaded
Anyone remember the SABC2 programme Showville from a few years ago? It was one of those reality talent shows with a grand prize up for grabs — but with a difference. The gist of it is that the crew heads to the quietest nowhere towns and dorpies looking to find star material in the most unlikely places.
The second season starts today at 4pm and will occupy the same slot every Sunday for its full run. The hosts are actress and choreographer Lorcia Cooper and former e.tv Craz-e presenter Morena “Mo” Sefatsa. The contest in each dorpie is divided into three days: the auditions; rehearsal and coaching; and the final show in front of the whole town, after which the winner walks away with a R10,000 prize and a trophy. Neat!
Apart from that it seems my peeps are less than confident in their offerings this month, because my inbox’s September press promos are anaemic.
So let’s go hunting and see what we can scare up ourselves.
Have you seen the 1974 version of
Murder on the Orient Express? I’m almost certain I have, but I was quite young at the time, in my tweens, I think. As such, the only memories I have of it are snippets of scenes and a few words of dialogue. I should watch it again some time — and maybe I’ll catch the 2017 remake, today on M-Net (channel 101) at 8.05pm, to see how it stacks up. The 1974 version won an Oscar and was nominated for five. It starred Albert Finney as Agatha Christie’s detective character Hercule Poirot as he tried to solve a murder aboard a posh train. The 2017 version didn’t garner quite as many accolades — hardly any, actually — but it doesn’t seem to have been hated, at least. It’s just OK. Anyway, this version stars Kenneth Branagh as the Belgian detective.
Also starting this week on M-Net (channel 101) is Deception ,anew procedural crime drama show from this year, Mondays at 7pm. The premise might sound a little familiar: has-been stage magician Cameron Black, played by Jack Cutmore-Scott, used to be fairly renowned, but now uses his knowledge of trickery to help the FBI solve crimes. Just hearing that probably brings to mind The Mentalist — another show about a trickster helping the cops. Anyway, Cameron has a twin brother named Jonathan, who was framed for a vehicular homicide. Cameron’s ulterior motive for working with the cops is to track down the people who framed his brother. I’m guessing this will serve as the character arc throughout the series, with each crime of the week bringing him closer to the truth — and if that is the case, I hope they wrapped it up by the end of season one, because the show is already cancelled. Apparently Deception was well-received in Europe, even if it had a mere average reception in the US, and fans from both sides of the pond petitioned to save the series, to no avail. One good thing came out of it at least — this seems to have been a breakout role for Cutmore-Scott.