Viewers spoilt for choice

SEVENTIES nostalgia is huge at the moment. Indeed, the similarities between then and now are uncanny. Inflation, food shortages, a fuel crisis, a new album by Abba, a Bond film with a title consisting of four single-syllable words, the last being “Die”.

Shall I go on?

No, OK, fair enough.

But there’s one thing from that strange decade which, thank heavens, the human race need never suffer again. Namely, the nightmare of having to choose between two TV programmes being shown at the same time.The average 70s home, if you remember, or even if you don’t, had no access even to the most primitive TV-taping device, let alone the effortless catch-up services we enjoy today, such as the BBC iPlayer, the ITV Hub and the Whatever Channel4’ s Thing Is Called.

Thank heavens those days are gone. Otherwise, among countless agonising choices we’d be forced to make daily, we’d be having to take our pick tonight between BBC1’s new comedy-drama THE OUTLAWS and ITV’s new crime series THE LONG CALL, each starting at 9pm. And that would be a shame, because they’re both rather good.

In fact, The Outlaws is beyond good. Written by Stephen Merchant, who also co-stars, it’s a funny, engaging, Kay-Mellor-like ensemble piece about a bunch of very different characters who find themselves doing community service together.

Christopher Walken is shifty old ne’er-do-well Frank. Darren Boyd is short-fused businessman John. Gamba Cole is sweet-natured doorman Christian. Clare Perkins is Left-wing activist Myrna. Eleanor Tomlinson is Instagrammy socialite Gabby. Rhianne Barreto is academic high-flyer Rani, and Merchant himself is an iffy lawyer called Greg.

The writing here is tremendous, with some lovely lines generously shared around.You soon feel a real attachment to these flawed individuals, even the least likeable.

And a belter of a story is about to take seed, dragging this motley crew into a turf war.

That said, The Long Call, another killy thing from Ann “Vera, Shetland” Cleeves, should maybe be the one you watch first, if only because it’s nightly (until Thursday) so you’ll want to stay on top of it.

Set on the north Devon coast – because in ITV dramas, remember, everything bad happens at the seaside, invariably among a tightly-knit community hiding dark secrets – it stars Ben Aldridge as DI Matthew Venn, returning to the home town he left in his teens when he rejected his deeply religious upbringing.

He’s investigating the murder of a man found dead on the beach.

As per usual, everyone’s acting dead shifty.