SHORT ON MYSTERY... LONG ON FUN

MYSTERIES OF THE PYRAMIDS WITH DARA Ó BRIAIN

Revelation of the week – in so many ways – is the BBC Storyville documentary The Gullspång Miracle: A Nordic Mystery (iplayer). We follow sisters Kari and May after they’re reunited with their deceased sister Lita’s missing twin, Olaug. However, what begins as a touching familial tale swiftly twists into a story that’s stranger and more complex than most authors of fiction would dare to imagine. Pure Nordic noir, it’s a brilliantly directed debut by Maria Fredriksson.

MY5 ★★★★

I’m a fan of Dara Ó Briain’s take on popular science. Combining his maths and theoretical physics training with the seasoned standup’s light comedic touch, the results are effectively a Brian Cox show – albeit on a smaller budget and with better jokes.

However, anybody expecting their pyramids with a big sideorder of mystery will find that

Dara’s latest is less Mysteries Of The Pyramids than Accepted Academic Theories Of The Pyramids. If, for example, you enjoyed Netflix’s 2022 super-hit Ancient Apocalypse (presented by the long-time pyramid theory outlier Graham Hancock), Dara’s retread through predictable Great Pyramid-related received wisdom will be boring old ground, well covered.

‘I’m a man of science and reason, so alternative theories around who built the pyramids just frustrate me,’ he declares. However, even if my taste in amateur pyramidology is probably too ‘woo-woo’ for scientists, I’m very happy exploring the middle of the Venn diagram. I loved Professor Salima Ikram’s description of tombs stuffed with objects to ease a pharaoh’s transition to the afterlife as ‘a resurrection machine’.

And who wouldn’t agree with Dara’s observation that the Great Pyramid of Giza ‘asks more questions than it answers’.