TV review: River City: The one where Bob and Angus recall good times

The Herald Scotland

3 days ago

Soaps need a delicate touch at times, and if you can put a dash of wry humour in the mix so much the better. The Hilda scene, for instance, was preceded by Vera and Ivy conceding that Hilda, for all her faults, was a decent sort.
The lightest of touches was on display tonight in River City. Yes, that River City, the Glesga-set soap that's wall to wall gangsters if you listen to its detractors. The one that will be no more after autumn next year.
The scene involved Angus and Bob sitting on a couch. Nothing special. The pair have been best pals since Adam was a customer in the Oyster Cafe. They are the Likely Lads of River City. For Bob and Terry read Bob and Angus. Usually to be found bickering in the garage, occasionally they get something a little different to do.
Context: last summer, Bob's fiancée Kim died. It was possibly the least showy death in soap history. She sat on a bench, she closed her eyes, and she went. She did get engaged minutes before, mind you, and she had recently been in a horrific car accident. Viewers were genuinely upset. Bob was left a single dad.
Angus and his partner Amber are expecting their first child, an event the normally easy-going mechanic is finding hard to handle. All he wanted to do was watch a daft movie with his mate, but fate and darts intervened.
"No more spontaneous karaoke sessions or nights out on the town,' said Angus.
We never did any of that anyway, said Bob. And having a kid is exciting.
'As exciting as watching people trying to stop a shark from causing nuclear Armageddon?'
'Is it a great white?'
'A massive white.'
"I'd say it's on a par.'
Written by Emma Lennox, produced by Deb Charles and directed by Meg Campbell, it's a small scene yet says so much about what makes River City tick. There's a shared history here, a sense of humour that's in with the bricks. It takes years to build this kind of atmosphere, yet it can disappear in the flourish of a BBC executive's pen.
River City has to go because it is not passing the value for money test, says BBC Scotland management. Compared to big hitters such as Shetland - average audience 700,000 in Scotland - River City isn't cutting it with just 200,000 viewers. Tell that to the viewers, many elderly, who have stuck with it through months of crazy scheduling. Tell that to the cast and crew who will be out of a job. No more karaoke sessions or nights on the town, right enough. What a shame.