American man of letters with plenty to write home about
EVENT television, appointment to view, the one that gets the highlighter treatment in the listings (The Herald: old school and proud of it). Whatever you call a TV must-see, chances are a new Ken Burns/Lynn Novick documentary would be on the list.
The documentarians and codirectors behind The Civil War, Jazz, Baseball and much else have now turned their attention to that titan of American letters,
Hemingway (BBC4, Tuesday, 9pm).
With its distinctive blend of archive footage, photographs, music, talking heads and actors’ readings, the series attempts to go beyond the myth of Hemingway as Flashman with a Corona typewriter to deliver a more nuanced, and surprising, picture.
Among those reading excerpts from Hemingway’s letters and manuscripts are Jeff Daniels (as Hemingway), Patricia Clarkson, and Meryl Streep, while the list of talking heads includes enough writers and literary scholars to fill a library. The writer’s son, Patrick Hemingway, now 92, is also interviewed for a film that took seven years to make.
The first of six episodes takes the Hemingway story from birth, through school, to the First World War and his early days as a newspaper reporter and (frequently rejected) short story writer. Though he seemed to have an idyllic childhood in suburban Illinois, his doctor father’s depression and his mother’s forceful personality made for many clashes. In his very early days, his mother dressed him and one of his sisters as twins.
A shrapnel blast in Italy left Hemingway with 227 wounds to his legs. He was changed forever by those first experiences of overseas, becoming restless and bored on his return to America. He fought with his mother so much she told him to go.
Off to Paris as a reporter, he became part of the celebrated literary and artistic scene of the times, one that stretched from James Joyce to Alice B Toklas. Already you can see him seeking out experiences and people of influence, his ambition plain to see. But even in these early days he was dogged by depression and doubts, wondering if he would ever make it as a novelist.
By episode end he is married with a baby on the way, not that this seems to change his life plan and quest for greatness.
Handsome, gifted, already developing his hard as flint writing style, Hemingway caused a stir wherever he went, young as he was. This attraction to the spotlight did not always serve him well. As Edna O’Brien says, one of his weaknesses was that he loved an audience. “In front of an audience he lost the best part of himself, by trying to impress the audience.”
Wonderful. Get that highlighter pen out now.
Big Dog Britain (Channel 4, Thursday, 10pm) sounds like the latest post-Brexit marketing campaign from Downing Street. In fact it is exactly what it appears, a look at those who share their lives with Great Danes, Irish wolfhounds, St Bernards, and their like.
We meet the couple with a pack of Newfoundlands who
have to clean their home twice a day to keep the hairs and drool at bay. In Berkshire, there is a Pyrenean Mountain Dog that eats steak at the dining table, while in London one Great Dane can be seen riding with his owner in a motorcycle sidecar (the dog is in the sidecar, not the owner).
Big dog numbers are declining, with Great Dane registrations at their lowest for 50 years. The disadvantages are clear: they are expensive to keep, take up a lot of space and, the one that puts most people off, they die earlier than smaller dogs.
There is more to Richard Macer’s firm than the always amusing sights of huge dogs sitting on people’s laps. Each story has something to say about the human-animal bond, and how these joyful creatures often help us through the tougher times. “You saved me,” more than one human tells their dog.
There have been the official announcements of “freedom days”, the dates from which Covid restrictions will start to lift, but few things will say a return to normal summer business than the opening titles for
The series goes beyond the myth of Hemingway as Flashman with a Corona typewriter to deliver a more nuanced, and surprising, portrait
Wimbledon (daily from Monday, BBC1/BBC2).
Only world wars and Covid have stopped Wimbledon, and the tournament’s absence last year left a very large hole in the calendar. Familiar faces and voices will be back on commentary duty, including now permanent fixture John McEnroe. Who would have thought the one time enfant terrible of centre court would end up a darling of the BBC and tennis fans?
Expect a particularly warm welcome back for Andy Murray, winner of two championships. After one sporting defeat so far this summer, dare Scottish fans dream again? Oh, go on then.