Belgravia’s pretty... but it’s no Downton
WELL, it wasn’t dear old Downton Abbey. It wasn’t bad, indeed quite watchable, but even with a hint of the Downton theme tune in the opening titles of (ITV, Sunday) – a nod to us all – it wasn’t anything close to the evocative wafting of a feather duster on the chandelier so adored by comedian Harry Hill. In fact, the whole show needed more weft than waft.
Belgravia undoubtedly had some charm, good performances and an “interesting” era, but when something is “interesting” it should be made into a documentary not a drama.
The first episode was mostly bustles in Brussels before we met “Boney” (Napoleon) at Waterloo. It barely got going until a highly revelatory last five minutes that would have shocked Call
The Midwife fans to the core. “She can’t die..!” Yes, she can.
By that stage, most of us were making our way to the kitchen to be
“entertained” by the ever dwindling contents of one’s fridge.yes, the drama may well be a grower – much like Belgravia itself, which was developed by nouveau riche builders back in the 19th century to make a bob. And then some. In truth the series had more in common with Andrew Davies’s ITV period drama Sanditon which told the story of another property development from hod carrier to heiress.
At least Belgravia writer and creator Lord Julian Fellowes never spares us a dowager.the best is, of course, Dame Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess who could fashion a line at the grimmest occasion.we need a bit of it now. Harriet Walter’s Countess of Brokenhurst in Belgravia certainly had the name and presence, but alas not the quips once delivered by Downton’s matriarch.
We all want a period drama to succeed. Much money is lavished on them, upwards of £3-5million an episode, but Belgravia needs a spirited plot injection.and just who are we rooting for here?
There was barely a downstairs set-up. The butler (Paul Ritter, from comedy fave Friday Night Dinner) should have shone, but hardly made an impact as the camera panned around the downstairs characters one by one in a game of Every Servant Gets A Line. It needed a Carson, too. It’s not too late.
The script just didn’t cut it and was down on the much expected Fellowes magic. One character at the famous ball before the Battle ofwaterloo noted,
STEPHENSON’S ROCKET
“Everything is coloured by war”.you don’t say me old son.we travel in hope for the next episode.
What did we do to deserve the lame cop doc? A crime in a past life? In the same week we’ve had daytime’s (BBC1, Tuesday) and then in the evening (BBC2, Tuesday). If you saw both, you’re entitled to a special commendation from Staffordshire Police, subject of the second. I bet they didn’t watch. The second doc actually belonged in daytime, not prime-time which should challenge and entertain, not make you slide down the sofa. Far from arresting.
(BBC1, Sunday) came to a merciful end. At least by the end of the fourth episode, the writer had discovered a new caring solution for the elderly – joyriding with local tearaways.
Ted (Timothy West) joined annoying urchin Raff who was sleeping in Alan and Celia’s garden shed. They went to Bridlington. Raff did the driving, while Ted looked over the dash to see where they were going.
Ted as it turned out was coming to the end of the road, alas. Raff escaped all condemnation, wasn’t questioned by the police and appeared to be feted for giving the old boy a few nice memories at the end. Our recollections for this once coherent drama won’t be so upbeat but I did take much pleasure during the show watching Alan and Celia drive anywhere in that nice Lexus while apparently never leaving the studio. Quite right.they should be self-isolating anyway.
Otherwise the series