Dad’s wedding presence
BEFORE we get proceedings under way, can we just establish how we’re defining “tonight”? It’s just that the box on the right says it’s “tonight’s TV” I’m previewing, and we need to be clear what exactly that means. “Tonight”, I take it we agree, means any time after 2.15 in the afternoon, correct? Splendid.
In that case, you’ll be happy for me to go ahead and tell you all about JIMMY MCGOVERN’S MOVING ON series 12 of which happens to start tonight (just humour me, all right?) at that very hour.
Moving On – where each episode, you may or may not recall, finds a character at a pivotal point in their life – has been a favourite of mine for many years, thanks to the fact it appeals on so many levels.
Pick any episode from its back catalogue (we’ve had 60 to date, drawing on a vast pool of writers and directors) and you’ll find a beautifully crisp, concise piece of storytelling.
Also, crucially, each story is self-contained.That means it has 45 minutes’ airtime, start to finish, in which to set the scene for us, introduce its characters, tell its entire tale, and then, with all due respect, go away and leave us alone to watch Escape To The Country.
There’s no tangled backstory with which we’ll need to have familiarised ourselves, no cliffhangers to mess with our heads, no pressure to tune in again tomorrow if we’re otherwise occupied – that cupboard under the stairs really does need clearing out – none of those burdens of commitment that today’s interminable drama series presumptuously heap on our shoulders.
Moving On is just a bunch of good stories.Watch one. Enjoy it. Move on.
The first of this week’s five is called Wedding Day. It’s about a chap who’s somewhat shocked, on the day he’s getting married, to see his dad turn up at the church, on the basis he’d assumed this man was dead.
Elsewhere tonight – that’s tonight in the more traditional sense – we give a warm welcome to Adrian,Alicia, Stefan, Katy and Rachel.As I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you, although you might, so I shall, they’re the latest five contestants on MASTERCHEF
Adrian is a retired head teacher. Alicia is a theatre dresser. Stefan is an architect. Katy does something I didn’t catch.And Rachel is a vegan estate agent.
By that, I just mean she’s an estate agent who also happens to be a vegan. I don’t mean she’ll only sell your house if it’s made of plants, in case you’re worried that’s become a thing.
And vegan Rachel’s opening dish? Sea bass.
“I don’t want to be pigeonholed,” she explains.