John has the final word
TONIGHT at 8pm we have the final of this year’s MASTERMIND (BBC2).The specialist subjects, reassuringly, are Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition of 1914-17, Cole Porter, the Vienna Secession, Jimmy Carter, Flanders and Swann, and the films of David Cronenberg.
I say “reassuringly” because, call me old-fashioned, but I expect a Mastermind final to contain an awful lot of questions I couldn’t possibly answer myself – surely that’s the point? Here, we have six subjects which pretty much guarantee this. I do know Cole
Porter wrote Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and that former US President Jimmy Carter used to grow peanuts, but mostly these are hefty, challenging topics.
And rightly so. I’d rather that than have a champion who’s got there by specialising in, say, the hits of Haircut 100.
Also, this is Mastermind
quizmaster John Humphrys’ final show. So yes, it’s the last time he’ll be handing a lovely glass bowl to a deserving winner.
Unless, of course, he gets himself a job at a fairground.
Also at 8pm, this time on Channel 4, we have HOW TO SAVE A GRAND IN 24 HOURS,
a new series that promises to show us how to cut costs across the board – on shopping, cooking, cleaning, you name it.
I say “us”.What it’s actually doing is focusing on the finances of a different household each week, bringing in various experts to help cut their bills.
Specifically, there’s a food expert (“renowned restaurateur Gary Usher”), a do-it-yourself expert (“doyenne of DIY, Eve Humphreys”) and a cleaning expert (“Peachy Clean will be showing us how to bring order to chaos”).
And yes, I do know what you’re all thinking.You’re all thinking: “Gosh, fancy being christened Peachy Clean and then growing up to be an expert on cleaning – it’s almost as though it were written in the stars…”
Yes, I was thinking that myself. But I was also thinking: “Let’s hope this show visits households who represent a real challenge, who’ve already done all the common-sense things, budgetingwise, and yet still can’t balance the books.That would make it genuinely helpful.
“Let’s hope it’s not just people who keep buying silly stuff that they don’t need, where any old ninny could tell them what the answer is…”
Elsewhere tonight, ITV’s latest five-night crime thriller VIEWPOINT (9pm) stars Noel Clarke as a surveillance cop, spying on a suspect from a flat directly opposite. It may sound like a story with somewhat limited scope but take my advice and stick with it.
It soon develops into something satisfyingly tangled and intense.