Thank goodness TV is still doing its duty
SO did you watch it? Of course you did. Everyone did. It was one of those rare events that unites the nation at a time when more often than not these days we’re off doing our own things, watching our own programmes streamed at a time that suits us.
I’m talking about Line of Duty of course, which as the Beeb were so delighted to tell us was the most watched drama launch in seven years.
If you haven’t watched it yet then you may wish to turn over now, as there could be spoilers.
The latest series of the TV show had 9.6 million viewers for its opening episode – more than the 9.1m who watched the series five finale.
In a time when the television landscape has been fractured by the plethora of streaming services which all offer something to suit our own needs at our own time – the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime – it was nice to think of all those people sitting down to watch the same thing at the same time.
Like the World Cup final, or England losing in the quarter-finals.
The latest series, of which there has now been two episodes, has not been put wholesale on iPlayer, meaning all of us have to wait an entire week for the next instalment.
It’s a good exercise in patience for a new generation of TV watchers used to getting what they want, when they want it.
While there are always more important things to talk about than the telly, it’s nice to have something to ramble on about just as we are allowed to host other people in our back gardens – or a park bench if you are sans garden.
The fact we are now allowed to have a chit-chat outside, thanks to the new rules, is another reason not to record it and watch at a later time, as you might end up getting spoilers.
It certainly makes a nice change from talking about the pandemic, and the follow-up issue to that, which is whether or not you’ve had the vaccine.
Anyway, my own thoughts on the latest saga of AC-12 are that Jo Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) is being given orders from young PC Ryan Pilkington, who we saw had joined the police despite being the killer of DS John Corbett (Stephen Graham) in the last series.
Davidson certainly didn’t look happy after receiving a new burner phone from some bearded chap who drove off, leaving her crying and pawing at the car window like someone had stolen the jam out of her doughnut.
The fact that Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) thought there was something familiar about PC Pilkington suggests she may end up becoming some kind of AC-12 saviour, having treacherously tipped-off her new team that they were coming earlier in the episode.
The whole storyline will certainly have people talking, and at a time when we’re finally allowed a bit more interaction with our family and friends too.
While there will have been plenty of people heading out to the tennis courts or the golf course thanks to the fact that outdoor sports can finally resume again, I suspect it’s the chance to have a BBQ and sit outside with another household which will be leapt upon by the socially starved.
Of course, if you were hoping to get a new outdoor seating set, you may have to wait a bit longer, as garden furniture was among the things held up by the ‘incident’ in the Suez Canal, when someone decided to try and do a U-turn of their 400m-long vessel in a 200m-wide waterway. Good luck with that.
Thankfully, the cargo ship was freed yesterday – so you might just get that new outdoor set in time for the aftermath of the next episode...
It’s nice to have something to ramble on about now we are allowed to meet people