Catch Up Round Up: 09/05/13 – 15/05/13
A brief summary of what’s still available on Catch Up/On Demand from a pick of the previous weeks TV. All dates are as of Thursday 16th May 2013.
Paul O’Grady – For the Love of Dogs – Aired Thursday 9th May ITV1. 23 days left.
As a cat lover, I’ve always found dog lovers and their sometimes obsessive relationships with their pets bizarre. Having heard about this show repeatedly from my coworkers, who you guessed it, talk about their dogs 24/7, I was a little underwhelmed. It’s interesting and there’s plenty of places to go ooh, aww and to shed a tear, but you really have got to be gaga about canines to really get into it. Otherwise there just isn’t enough variation on show, and kittens are cuter anyway.
The British Academy Television Awards – Aired Sunday 12th May BBC1. 3 days left.
It’s not presented by Stephen Fry, read the news summaries instead.
Skint – Aired Monday 13th May Ch4. 27 days left.
This documentary, following the lives of the people of an estate in Scunthorpe (a town where I happen to work), starts with a tongue in cheek voice-over, that concludes that it’s just people trying to get by with no money. Within 5 minutes you see a heavily pregnant woman (about to have her seventh child despite her and her husband being on benefits for a year) jumping up and down on a trampoline. No, these aren’t good, honest people trying to get by in unfortunate circumstances, they’re lazy, selfish idiots. Get ready to be filled with bile.
Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA – Aired Monday 13th May Ch4. 27 days left.
This is of course an old UK show, that some of you might remember from a quite a few years back, but Gordon moved it to the US ages ago and it’s doing very well. The great thing about this American version is that the participants make Ramsay look sane. Be prepared for lots of swearing, fighting and manky looking food, but it is a lot of fun, if a little formulaic and glossy.
The Fall – Aired Monday 13th May BBC2. 32 days left.
This is my new favourite drama. An English Met detective, played by Gillian Anderson who at least lived in the UK until she was 13, travels to Northern Ireland to perform a 28 day review of a murder case that is going nowhere. It actually suffers heavily from pacing issues, but I love the story and the characters (except for the inept police officers). I’m hoping by episode 2 they have fixed the glitches and it speeds along nicely.
Keeping Britain Alive: The NHS in a Day – Aired Tuesday 14th May BBC2. 8 days left.
Clearly a bit of a propaganda piece considering the terrible headlines the NHS has been getting lately, but that’s not to say it isn’t interesting. Though you will end up with a headache and seasickness from the heavy handed editing and some of the action camerawork. There’s some good stories here, and not all in A&E, though with all the skipping about you do wish they would stick to some stories and drop others, particularly when they don’t bother to spend any real time on them.
