Arresting escapade you can Count on
MY FAITH IN good television is restored.
A Gentleman In Moscow (Paramount+) is one of the best new dramas this year. Not feeling particularly well disposed to Russians generally, I was initially unconvinced by the title, but was soon won over by some first-class acting from Ewan Mcgregor.
The story, based on the 2016 novel of the same name, was adapted by Ben Vanstone who also did the reboot of All Creatures Great And Small. You couldn’t find two projects more dissimilar if you tried, although I can well imagine Siegfried (the lovable grumpy vet) feeling very much at home in Moscow’s Metropole Hotel where our hero is forced to take up residence after the 1917 Russian Revolution.
I notice they didn’t send him to a Premier Inn. Much more politic for Bolsheviks.
Our man was Count Alexander Rostov (Mcgregor) who sported a luxurious ’tache befitting an aristocrat.
However, this was not the time to draw attention to yourself. Anything but.
The gallant thing about Rostov was that, despite house arrest, he was determined to live the life of a gentleman.
Who wouldn’t – when the Russian state is offering a stay at a full inclusive rate?
Of course, life was not that simple for new comrade Rostov, especially when his old friend turns up, a Prince no less, and a gifted violinist. I was delighted to see that Nikolai Petrov was played by an actor, known in our house at least, as “Kevin from Motherland” (Paul Ready). Shouldn’t he be looking after some children?
The pair then hatched a plan to escape the hotel which, in hindsight, wasn’t a very good idea.
As we know, the Russians are partial to summary justice, which doesn’t give you an awful lot of time to make an eloquent, witty speech that might charm your captors. At least Nikolai got to play a few more bars of his beloved Rachmaninov “on Russian soil for the last time”.
With a modern resonance, the drama reminds us that Russia is driven by tyranny, regardless of who’s selling it.
There is much to recommend this five-star tale – the score, the acting, the set design, and the script. But in the end, it’s Mcgregor’s finely crafted, empathetic performance that draws you in and makes you root for him. However in vain this may be.
Kevin from Motherland made another surprising appearance, this time in Mandy (BBC2, Wednesday). I suppose it wasn’t a complete shock to find him in this comedy, which starred Diane Morgan, his co-star from
Motherland. Who better,
It’s time to rename James Martin’s Saturday Morning
funny moments when cutlery and other metal bits clung to her person. Channeling Tom Cruise, she went wing-walking as Kevin did his worst to extort £1million from the airline.
It was Airplane all over again – “Roger, Roger!”
Meanwhile, one of the best jobs on television has become available.
All you need is a passport, a wry demeanor, some comedy credits and an uncanny ability to solve a crime when everyone around you hasn’t a clue and there is virtually no evidence to support your theory.
I speak of Death In Paradise (BBC1, Sunday), the detective series, which has just lost Ralf Little (Neville) as its star turn.
Don’t feel bad for him, after all he has been lounging around in the sun – sorry acting – for four years!
The bookmakers bizarrely have Martin Clunes as a short-priced favourite to disembark at Saint Marie for the job.
Doc Martin in Guadeloupe? Yep, I’d watch it. But surely PC Penhale ( John Marquez) is worth considering, too, with regular cameos from Bert Large.
Finally, why is the BBC broadcasting eight hours of US import The Dropout (BBC1, Tuesday)? This is just a schedule filler. Why are we interested in an entrepreneur who deceived her clients? We weren’t affected. Worse still, the drama is still on Disney+, so it’s effectively a very expensive repeat. And the BBC wants to increase the licence fee…
Why not invest money in new British writing with a series of eight one-hour dramas instead? Who knows, we might just end up with exciting stories of our own –A Gentleman In Moss Side?
show (ITV, Saturday) James Martin’s Celebrity Flog It. Like many others of its kind, the programme is a celebrity selling opportunity parading as an interview. We have nothing against comedian David Baddiel, quite the contrary, but he was encouraged by Martin to mention every single project that he was working on. This amounted to two books and
even a musical. I was delighted to hear about the musical, but I was less enthused by the children’s books. Can we please stop chat shows descending into,
“Oh, and another thing I’d like to flog is...” Our interest level
is waning, fast. she must have thought, to play a dozy hijacker on a plane than actor Paul?
Let’s face it, if you were on an easyjet flight, and Kevin from Motherland stormed the cockpit over Tenerife, you’d immediately return, unruffled, to your cheap sandwich.
The comedy itself was highly creative and very silly, so it was just what we needed right now, the sillier the better.
The plot hinged on the idea that Mandy was too short to become an air steward, so she had her legs surgically lengthened. While it healed, she had to wear calipers which were magnetic – cue, lots of