Hoarder trapped by trash
Beverley from western Canada was a shopaholic and her dogs were a dropaholic. Hoarding: Buried Alive ( TV One, Tuesdays) tells the tragic story of a 41- year- old woman with cash register eyes who had an even greater problem of where to put everything. In the end her purchases just got trodden on as she lined her home with layers and layers of rubbish.
Beneath the decay were doggie deposits that caused a health problem for the house, the street and the neighbourhood. In the end she reached her use- by date with friends and family who decided something had to be done. A psychologist and police officer were called in. He should have been a Mountie, which was the only way to scale the garbage.
With the threat of her house being red- carded, she finally agreed to allow a cleanup team to remove the rubbish. However, before the bulldoze- ectomy could begin, Beverley reversed her decision and wanted her 90 handbags back. Then came the good part. She was given a reprieve and, when Constable Kurtis Horner visited six weeks later, she had made a start on the kitchen. There was even somewhere to sit down.
The episode stalled at that point. For the voyeur there wasn’t a chance to see if any lasting progress had been made. For those concerned about her state of mind, there was no serious dialogue between Beverley and her doctor about how she could address her problem.
For the dogs, we’ll never know if their dirt box had been moved outside, or if the fridge had been cleaned since Mr Westinghouse invented it.
Last Resort ( TV4, Wednesday) is one of those boys’ own adventures that gets too clever for its own good. Robert Patrick, Hollywood’s answer to the Punakaiki Rocks, stars as Chief Of Boat ( COB) on the submarine, Colorado.
He’s a gung- ho, follow orders, crew member who has a hissy fit when Captain Marcus Chaplin doesn’t fire his missiles at Pakistan until he gets confirmation from the highest level.
When he refuses, the military responds by ordering the submarine’s destruction. The Colorado becomes a bottom feeder and crawls towards an island, disturbing a myriad of fascinating creatures on the ocean’s floor. Chief Prosser ( Patrick) is very annoyed. On the island Captain Chaplin takes over a Nato base and defies the might of the Pentagon. That’s the straightforward bit. But there are navy Seals on board who have their own agenda and Men In Black are holding family members hostage back in the US of A.
Last Resort could be a last resort for viewers but it’s better than that. It has plenty of action, officers with jaws like a Georgie Pie but an out of control storyline. Perhaps Prosser’s job is to sort out the script by putting it on starvation rations. MALCOLM HOPWOOD