Peaky Blinders
BBC One, 9pm
It’s been a while; not since PICK September 2019 have we OF THE heard from Tommy Shelby WEEK (Cillian Murphy) and his gang of ultra-violent Birmingham upstarts. Since then we’ve lost Helen McCrory, who died last year, and the absence of Aunt Polly is keenly felt. The bombast, bloodspatter, toxic masculinity and anvilclanging soundtrack all remain, but this opening episode of the sixth and final series is patchy and over-styled. Admittedly, the series already seemed on the wane last time round when Tommy began pursuing unlikely ambitions on a bigger political stage, and was only saved by a biblically impressive finale. We kick off by revisiting that closing scene, but the action quickly moves four years on to an island off the coast of Newfoundland, and a reborn Tommy, as Prohibition in America is about to end. A brilliant old- Peaky set-piece, where Tommy is forced to defend himself in a bar, lifts the heart briefly. But, otherwise, most of the director’s attention appears to be on the sets, even as the script drops hints, slowly, that Tommy is planning to move in on Gina’s (Anya Taylor-Joy) powerful Boston uncle, Jack Nelson. It’s far from a blinder, but maybe enough to sustain hope that things will improve. Gerard O’Donovan