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Belfast Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
‘Just sprinkle your swearing s*** all over it': How The Thick of It redefined expletives on TV
Armando Iannucci wanted to make something 'rough and ready' about what politics was really like in the 2000s. With a team of talented writers, he created a classic comedy that still resonates today. Katie Rosseinsky dissects the anatomy of its foul-mouthed invective It takes about one minute for a verbal grenade to be lobbed in The Thick of It's first episode. Spin doctor Malcolm Tucker, played by Peter Capaldi, is on the phone, mouthing off about an MP, who, in Tucker's estimation at least, is not just totally rubbish at his job, he's 'as useless as a marzipan dildo'. As insults go, it's lewd but also ludicrous, utterly damning yet surreally silly. And, as the show's creator Armando Iannucci says, it 'sets the tone for everything' to come. Over the course of four series and one Oscar-nominated spin-off film, The Thick of It raised the bar with some of the most creative invective ever heard on television. The political sitcom, which debuted in an appropriately post-watershed late slot on BBC Four on 19 May 2005, ushered viewers behind the scenes in the fictional – but all too realistic – Department for Social Affairs (it would add Citizenship to its cumbersome remit in later seasons).
Irish Independent
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Today's top TV and streaming choices: Tarrac na Farraige, Brooklyn and Overcompensating
Tarrac na Farraige RTÉ One, 7pm Perilous working conditions, rising operational costs and low profits mean fewer young people are considering fishing careers. This episode shines a spotlight on what this means for the industry's future. Fatiha El-Ghorri, Jason Mantzoukas, Mathew Baynton, Rosie Ramsey and Stevie Martin get a chance to stretch their wings during a trip to an old abbey. Fíorscéal TG4, 10.30pm Fascinating insight into how dedicated scientific researchers are becoming increasingly creative in their efforts to alleviate the pain of those with chronic conditions or disabilities. Brooklyn BBC Four, 7.30pm Wonderful adaptation of Colm Tóibín's novel about an Irish immigrant whose fresh start in New York could be ruined by bad news from home. On her return, she finds herself torn between the man she left in America, and a new love. Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson star. Overcompensating Prime Video, streaming now Meet Benny and Carmen. He's a closeted former football legend, she's a determined outsider, as they navigate hook-ups, flavoured vodka and fake IDs on the college campus. If you're in a dystopia loop, The Assessment might be a better fit. Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story Netflix, streaming now Two of the UK's most prolific killers are once again under the microscope due to recently unearthed police recordings. Untold: The Liver King Netflix, streaming now By ritualistically horsing into raw meat on social media, The Liver King created an enterprise around supplements. And he supposedly had the muscles to show it. How did he get so enormous...? Speaking of ripped physiques: in the week following WrestleMania, last night saw WWE superstars seeking retribution against past opponents and beginning new rivalries. Even Cena isn't safe. Bad Thoughts Netflix, streaming now If you fancy Black Mirror vibes but with bloody slapstick humour, this collection of wildly disturbing stories pushes the boundaries of decency in ways only Tom Segura could conjure. Expect tales from a country music star who mines people's misery in exchange for spoiled prawns, a tortured barista, and lots of other delightful weirdness. Speaking of which, a new volume of Love, Death and Robots lands today. A Deadly American Marriage Netflix, streaming now The story of Jason Corbett and Molly Martens was always going to be made into a Netflix documentary. Corbett, a widower, got married in 2008 to Martens, his Tennessee au pair. They left Ireland to start over in North Carolina with his kids, Jack and Sarah. Their story took a dark turn in August 2015, when Molly and her dad, former FBI agent Thomas Martens, were in an altercation resulting in Jason's death. Molly later entered a no-contest plea, claiming self-defence, while Thomas was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in 2023. After their 2024 prison release, uncertainty remained about certain facets. Directed by Jessica Burgess and Jenny Popplewell, this documentary includes exclusive interviews providing insight into the divergent perspectives of those involved, leaving some grappling with the question of: 'Who was the real victim?' And, given Jack and Sarah's unbelievably brave contributions, the answer to that would be: the kids. Octopus! Prime Video, streaming now Narrated by Phoebe Fleabag Waller-Bridge, this marvellous mash-up chronicles being killed by a lover, losing yourself in Mexico, spotting a unicorn, befriending a competitive quilter, exploring our connection with aliens, and extra Tracy Morgan. This is how all nature documentaries ought to be produced from now on. Rose International Dance Prize Marquee TV, streaming now For those unfamiliar with Marquee TV, it's your global streaming platform for the arts. This 60-minute film, narrated by Fiona Shaw (Bad Sisters, Harry Potter, plus too many more to mention), sees internationally acclaimed choreographers compete for dance's version of the Oscars. The Match Netflix, streaming now If you're watching season two of The Devil's Plan and wondering why there's always a Go master in the line-up, this cut-throat drama could give you some context. For something at the other end of the spectrum entirely, Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon and a rake load of other famous people star in Nonnas.
Telegraph
05-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Jonathan Dimbleby: My Father and Belsen, review: After 80 years, the broadcaster's words still have the power to shock
Very few news reports linger in the memory. We remember the news itself, of course, but not how it was delivered or by whom, because that barely matters. I can recall only two in vivid detail: Michael Buerk's 1984 dispatch on the Ethiopian famine, and Brian Hanrahan informing us of a successful mission by British jet fighters during the Falklands conflict: 'I counted them all out and I counted them all back.' Richard Dimbleby's radio report on the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, as the first war correspondent to enter the camp and reveal the true depravity of the Nazi regime, remains the gold standard. It was revisited in Jonathan Dimbleby: My Father and Belsen (BBC Four), as part of a weekend of VE Day scheduling. This was a short but not slight programme, just 20 minutes long, and one imagines that the older man would have approved of its concision. It was not an indulgent piece of television, but a respectful tribute to one of the BBC's finest broadcasters. Dimbleby's words in that April 1945 report still have the power to shock. The mother 'distraught to the point of madness,' putting her baby in the arms of a British soldier, who opened the bundle of rags to find that the child had been dead for days. The line: 'I have never seen British soldiers so moved to cold fury as the men who opened the Belsen camp.' According to his son, two things made him a master of the craft. 'One is an air of authority and gravitas in what he was saying; he used words well, which is critical in broadcasting. And he had an eye for the telling detail.' Consider this description of Belsen prisoners on that day: 'Behind the huts, two youths and two girls who had found a morsel of food were sitting together on the grass in picnic fashion, sharing it. They were not six feet from a pile of decomposing bodies.' Remarkably, Dimbleby was only 32 at the time but, as Jonathan said, 'he had an air of authority, a measured, calm delivery that was oddly reassuring'. He did also love the excitement of war reporting, according to his son, and pinched some 'AH' monogrammed cutlery when he went into Hitler's bunker. Where is today's Richard Dimbleby? There is no present-day equivalent, although there are several news presenters I can think of who have big enough egos to imagine themselves as his successor. Nobody has his gravitas, and these days, it's all a scramble for breaking news or viral clips. He died in 1965 at the awfully young age of just 52, a few months after recording a Panorama in which he revisited Belsen to mark the 20th anniversary of the war's end. Jonathan said the programme was important to him because it was one of his father's final appearances while he was ill with cancer, but as a journalist, he also couldn't help marvelling at the technique on display: speaking to camera, no notes, delivered in one take. 'The professionalism,' said Jonathan. 'I look at it not only as a son but as a professional broadcaster thinking, 'Oh my goodness.''
Telegraph
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Families Like Ours, review: this tale of a flooded Denmark will drag you into its slipstream
If you live in one of the ever-rising number of households designated as a flood risk then it might be handy to have a life jacket to hand when watching Families Like Ours (BBC Four). Because in this (let's hope not too) prescient drama, a whole country is going under. Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, who launched Mads Mikkelsen into the drink at the climax of his modern classic movie Another Round, is diving into deep water again here: he's asking us to ponder what would happen if a whole country has to be abandoned due to rising water levels. In Families Like Ours, Denmark is literally sunk. It's an ingenious, if chilling, set-up. As the news of the Danish Government's decision to abandon ship and launch a repatriation programme for its six million citizens seeps out, panic understandably sets in. The border floodgates open and we meet a handful of characters struggling to keep heads above water as the world turns its back on them: Denmark, pretty quickly, finds out who its friends are. But it's individual stories, not the bigger picture, that Vinterberg – who writes as well as directs – turns his focus on. The political issues thrown up by a country abandoning itself and creating its own diaspora are given short shrift in favour of examining the personal impact of what forging a new tribe of refugees entails. The heart of the story is 18-year-old Laura (Amaryllis April August), whose one key mystifying decision to derail her own future in order to support her struggling mother sends ripples across Europe as she lands everyone – from her dad and his new family, to her recently met love-of-her-life – into a tailspin. Now I'm not one to try and control the characters in TV dramas (until we get truly interactive, let's face it: it's a thankless task) but it takes a whole suspension bridge of disbelief to go with the flow of the wildly illogical choices each and every character makes here as their lives are summarily upended. Laura's not the only one with her finger on the self-destruct button. Henrik (Magnus Millang) is another character who will have you shouting at the screen in bafflement as he repeatedly sets about detonating his marriage to husband, government official Nikolaj (Esben Smed), thanks to his outsized victim mentality. But shouting at the screen means that, for all their inexplicable actions, these characters have a way of getting under your skin. Put yourself in their place: what would you do if you found yourself washed up on the margins of a world where any potential lifelines come swathed in choking red tape? It's a tough question because no one comes out too well in Vinterberg's scenario. The undercurrent coursing through Families Like Ours is a sour take on humanity, a recourse to base survival instincts only occasionally sweetened by random acts of kindness. Fascinating and infuriating in equal measure and ultimately oddly moving, for all its flaws, Families Like Ours pulls you into its emotional slipstream and won't let go.
Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Ronnie O'Sullivan bemoans 'awful' performance after crashing out of the World Championship as he falls short in his bid for a record eighth title
Ronnie O'Sullivan had no complaints after being thrashed by China's rising star Zhao Xintong in their World Championship semi-final. Having been tied at 4-4 overnight, Zhao dominated Thursday's opening session, winning all eight frames to move into a 12-4 lead. He then kept his cool in the evening to complete an emphatic 17-7 victory, sealing his place in the final with a session to spare. O'Sullivan had come through three matches to reach the last four after four months away from snooker to protect his mental health, but he could not keep pace with Zhao, and admitted afterwards that he had simply not played well enough to compete. 'Zhao played good, he deserved his victory,' O'Sullivan told BBC Four. 'I think he's done brilliantly all tournament and all credit to Zhao. He played better than me.' Reflecting on his struggles in the morning session, the seven-time world champion added: 'I've been awful for quite a while, those performances are in there, they've been coming out quite regularly recently.' Having taken time away from the game, O'Sullivan received a big reception from the Crucible crowd throughout the tournament, but the 49-year-old hinted that his below-par performances had led to him finding it difficult to enjoy his run to the semi-finals. On his desire to play, O'Sullivan said: 'I'd like it to be [there], I'd just like to play alright and I just felt like I never gave him a game so that's a bit disappointing.' O'Sullivan remains level on seven world titles with Stephen Hendry. He last won the tournament in 2022 and was hoping to move past the Scottish great this year. But he rarely looked comfortable in Sheffield as he changed his cue and fiddled with the tip during matches. He failed to find the winning formula, and will now have to watch the final from home, with Zhao set to face either Judd Trump or Mark Williams, who are currently locked at 8-8 in their semi-final.
