IN MY VIEW
A S respite from the modern world and all its woes, on BBC First (channel 119) today at 20:02, we have The Durrells ,a nostalgic drama series with a dash of humour based on the autobiographical novels of Gerald Durrell. It tells of his family’s four years living in the Greek isles in the 1930s after the death of his father. His mother Louisa (played by Keeley Hawes) saw no future for the family without a breadwinner and took her four children to Corfu, which was a beautiful and cheap place to live despite not having electricity. There were some troubles along the way, including the kids’ emerging peculiarities, such as bringing exotic pets home and irresponsible firearm use; and the island’s backward attitude towards women. There’s a second season available after this one, and a third currently in the works. A little further from reality is
Still Star-Crossed, Vuzu AMP (channel 103) on Monday at 20:30. It’s a continuation of the story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet — not with zombies, which was a worrying possibility since Romeo and Juliet died at the end of the play. Thankfully this series, based on the novel of the same name by Melinda Taub, picks up after the deaths of the two starcrossed lovers and tries to tell a plausible tale going forward. I can’t believe we live in an age where I have to award points for no zombies.
Anyway, this show is more of a miniseries, with one episode available at the moment and two more on the way at some point in the future. The premise is that the Montagues and Capulets are on the verge of war — so I guess the peace they found at the end of the play is over because . . . look, it doesn’t matter, do you want a Romeo and Juliet sequel or not?
The dialogue might not be Shakespearean but there are still plenty of puffy sleeves, tight corsets, fabulous hats and people getting stabbed with elegant stilettos, so if that sounds good to you, this might be worth a watch. Oh, and it’s a Shonda Rhimes production (Grey's Anatomy, The Fixer, How to Get Away with Murder), if that has any bearing on your decision. For some edgy fare there is Sundance TV (channel 108). It’s been around since 1996 and represents Robert Redford’s effort to provide a platform for the interesting stories that can be found in independent film and television . . . although it also has mainstream shows of genre- and culture-defining significance. There are tons of movies currently playing, and some series. One of the latter is Fear
the Walking Dead on Monday at 21:00. It’s the first season of the prequel series to the popular postapocalyptic zombie-Armageddon TV series The Walking Dead, based on the comic of the same name. I have yet to conquer my irrational bias against zombies.
Also on the Sundance channel, for anyone who missed it, or addicts who watch it over and over, is the first season of
Breaking Bad, on Thursday at 21:00. Here’s your chance to revisit the beginnings of wily Walter White (pictured), former straight-arrow chemistry teacher who, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, turns to drug manufacturing in an effort to leave his wife and son a decent inheritance. Each to his own. LS