Treme

I don't want to go all Guardian on you but if I see the name of David Simon attached to a TV series then I start to get excited. He could potentially create a series about the pest control workers of Watford and I would be ready and waiting for the first episode. I have tried in the past when looking at The Wire and Generation Kill to pinpoint some of the reasons why his programmes are such good television but there must be a single word out there to describe the incredible feeling of relaxation and contentment that comes when you settle down to watch a TV programme that is quite simply excellent. The look, the casting, the script, the music, it all just works and, more to the point, feels a million miles away from the so-called quality drama made on this side of the Atlantic.

After five seasons and 60 episodes Simon's superlative series The Wire had included many topics, memorable characters and set-pieces but turned out in the end to really be about nothing less than the city of Baltimore itself rather than simply its drug dealers and cops. Treme, named for a neighbourhood in the city of New Orleans, is very clearly a programme about an area and its people, a people dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, now three months in the past. It's appropriate that a natural disaster that has scattered people to the wind should beget a series of disparate characters and story-lines, but it is also part of the reason why the programme is so satisfying. There is no hurry to explain anything or the small connections between the seemingly separate threads. Frequently the scene you see isn't the one that would further the plot easily but the one that fleshes out the character (for example one character who plays the trombone goes to hospital with a split lip. In this country we'd see the scene with the doctor where he finds out whether he can still play or not. In Treme we see him in the waiting room, interacting with other patients about the state of healthcare and the city and then he sings a song, the scene ending when his name is finally called) or provides yet another example of what the programme is slowly building - a showcase for the cultural heritage of New Orleans.

The most dominant strand of that is music. Oh man, the music in this series is incredible. Jazz, Be-Bop, Funk, Soul, Creole, styles-I-don't -even-know-the-name-of; the range is diverse, the playing incredible, the sheer amount of screen time given over to performance shows how much love there is for the music and however disparate the characters, music seems to play a part in just about all of their lives. Being a David Simon series it contains plenty of real-life musicians playing themselves including John Boutte, Kermit Ruffins, Coco Robicheaux, Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Steve Earle and Deacon John. The first episode begins with instruments being tuned, drinks being poured, negotiations over payment and then the late arrival of a familiar face; Wendell Pierce, who memorably played Bunk in The Wire, is now New Orleans native Antoine Batiste, trombone player and almost inevitably a 'playa' of another sort too. Whether it's dodging cab fares or juggling his complicated personal relations I can't think of another actor who could so successfully charm you and make you laugh even whilst behaving despicably.

Clarke Peters is back too, but gone is the moral rock of Lester Freamon from The Wire, here he plays a far more ambiguous character, Albert "Big Chief" Lambreaux, head of a tribe of Mardi Gras Indians. If you've ever seen pictures of men dressed in elaborate feathered costumes you might be surprised to know a little more about the history behind them. I say ambiguous because whilst he is a man of principle he is also a man prepared to beat another man close to death after stealing from him. He is almost incapable of avoiding confrontation and whilst he quietly goes about restoring his bar, ruined by Katrina, and slowly working on the costumes for this year's march he is one of several spearheads prepared to take on the official response to the disaster.

The plot, if you want to call it that, is driven by the search by LaDonna Batiste-Williams (played by Khandi Alexander, the observant amongst you will have spotted that this is Antoine's ex-wife) for her brother, missing since Katrina. Aided by lawyer Toni Bernette (Melissa Leo) they become immersed in a mountain of bureaucracy as they chase paperwork from one department to another, charting the confusion of police procedure and incarceration in a manner that will be familiar to anyone who has read Dave Eggers' Katrina-novel Zeitoun.

Toni Bernette is the wife of Creighton, played by the instantly recognisable John Goodman, a University professor and anti-establishment firebrand. His forays into the new social media, hilarious rants that he videos on his webcam and uploads to You Tube, will lend him a new notoriety in the neighbourhood but also provide us with something of a direct link to the feelings of those on the ground. As the series progresses it is good to be reminded that when a disaster ceases to be a news item it doesn't suddenly stop being a disaster for those living with the consequences.

Steve Zahn provides almost constant comedy in his role as part-time DJ and musician Davis McAlary. His passion for not only the music but the wider culture of New Orleans finds its expression by various, and always enthusiastic, means. From an old Louisiana family he's the kind of guy who thinks it's ok for him to use the 'n' word because he's lived his whole life in the Treme district (unfortunately for him one guy in the bar doesn't see things the same way). His on-off relationship with chef Janette Desautel provides a link to another part of the culture - food. Anyone who appreciates good food will find themselves with mouth-a-watering as the episodes pass by. A city made up of people from all over the globe of course produces cuisine that reflects those influences and as Janette struggles to keep her high-end restaurant running amidst lower numbers, gas cut-offs, and creditors closing in, her sheer passion for food is infectious.

In fact passion is a really important theme. Whether it's passion for music, food, history, literature or politics; the desire to find lost family or mark their passing, rebuild your home or even the city, uphold what's sacred or tear down what's corrupt, each and every character does so with a passion that is characteristic of those with something worth saving in the face of adversity. As a collective, the city is preparing for carnival, and doing so in defiance of those who want to stop it happening at all. The importance of the 'second line' to each member of the cast is palpable, the importance of being able to uphold tradition despite hardship, the importance of showing what New Orleans has that no other city can replicate. It is a very positive energy that drives all of this forwards. We believe what we watch is genuine because it is felt by everyone involved to be genuine, because for many of them it is. New Orleans wasn't wiped off the map by Katrina but Treme shows that the actions of politicians after the event could have had as devastating an impact as the natural disaster itself, for anything that threatens the distinctive culture of a region threatens to wash away the region itself. This series is already a testament to that culture but is also uniquely entertaining, lovingly created and thrillingly subversive. Please watch it if you can.

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In Treatment

I've never quite 'got' Gabriel Byrne. He's always pretty compelling to watch, with that quiet rumble of a voice and the ever-present Irish accent, but there's something a bit 'samey' about the performances of his I've watched. There's no place for him to hide in his role as psychotherapist Dr. Paul Weston in my latest HBO box-set marathon, and I'm happy to say that he's perfect for it, giving at times a masterclass in what you can convey with just your face and no text. Developed from the Israeli television series BeTipul there is a rigid structure to proceedings based on Paul's consulting diary. From Monday to Thursday we see four of his sessions with patients and on Friday, Weston's chance to see his own therapist Gina (played by the quite brilliant Diane Wiest). Each episode is about 25 minutes and by following the stories of the same four patients each week we are given plenty of time to get to know them over the 43 episodes, the kind of character development just not possible in most conventional dramas. The familiar location of Paul's office (part of his home - with its own entrance) creates a reassuring environment so that on the rare occasion when we are not there we feel a little uncertain as the audience, like a fish out of water. When the rules are broken we experience an unease similar to that of the characters. Something similar happens when Paul's family life encroaches on his work. I've never quite worked out if the footsteps I could sometimes hear moving around came from the TV or my own neighbours.

Monday is the beautiful anaesthesiologist Laura. Tuesday is alpha-male fighter pilot Alex. Wednesday is teenage gymnast Sophie. Thursday is couple Jake and Amy. I won't go into too much detail about the patients and their problems, that would be the very definition of a spoiler, but suffice to say that each role is cast impeccably (the young Mia Wasikowska - currently starring as Tim Burton's 'Alice' - is particularly impressive as Sophie, giving one of those performances where the acting is 'invisible'), the actors making bold choices that aren't designed to make them sympathetic necessarily. The first week sets things up nicely, making clear the reason for each patients therapy, but of course there is much more to be discussed around the initial reason for treatment. During each session there is a quiet battle, and sometimes not all that quiet, between patient and therapist as one seeks to unearth the answers and the other cannot help but challenge the process and its worth.

At the end of that first week is Paul's first session with Gina, a revelation for a couple of reasons. This is the first opportunity we have to see behind the impassive mask of the therapist as Paul vents his frustrations about his patients and the therapeutic process. But also, and perhaps more importantly, the relationship between Paul and Gina is not as simple as you might think. This is not part of a continuous therapy for Paul, in fact he hasn't seen Gina for years. Pushed by his desperation, unable to think of anyone else he can talk to about it, he seeks out Gina with whom he has a troubled history. Watching the two of them grapple with this at the same time as trying to ignore it and be professional makes the final session of the week a constant highlight. We are also watching two actors at the top of their game. Wiest has that remarkable face which seems to smile and grimace at the same time, and there is a marvelous ambiguity to her performance so that we wonder all the time whether Paul has been unfair or not when describing her as a 'sleepy spider'. But Byrne, as I said, is the revelation for me. The largest part of his job after all is to listen and that is where an actor can show just how good he is. No text, no movement, very little facial expression, and yet he manages to convey concern, sympathy, irritation, pain, impatience, even love. For that is the thing that he says he must have for all his patients: love. And that is what makes his sessions with Gina such dynamite. A therapist so involved with his patients naturally has a lot to express during his own therapy, and the complex relationship with Gina causes a kind of intensity feedback loop.

Inevitably, over the course of over forty episodes, there are some that aren't quite as good as others and I don't understand why the programme makers felt the need to tie up the loose ends so neatly at the end of the series. I, for one, didn't need such closure. But, these small quibbles aside, In Treatment is an engrossing series, particularly for the focus it affords to each actor, and I'll be keen to see how Paul copes with season two.

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Missing The Apprentice?

You can find more from 'Cassetteboy' here.

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Generation Kill

Suffering from box-set withdrawal and scrabbling around for something that didn't involve retarded members of the public being patronised by three mismatched and almost entirely unqualified arbiters of talent (although I did watch that too) it was time to sign up for the latest from David Simon and Ed Burns, creators of The Wire. If, as Ed Burns asserted, The Wire was a programme made for the cops and the pushers of Baltimore then Generation Kill is for the soldiers in Iraq or perhaps more accurately, the Marines. If like me you aren't exactly clear about the differences between a Marine and a Soldier then don't expect to have it explained so much as made very clear that there is a difference and that the Army are idiots and the Marines are cold, hard killing machines (at least according to them) especially The 1st Recon Marines.

As you might expect if you've seen any of The Wire there is no concession made to the viewer who doesn't understand military jargon, procedure or politics. You'll need to keep that finger near the pause button for a breather every now and then or revel in the barrage which ranges from profanity to poetry. The credits roll to a soundtrack of radio communication, a familiar crackle of static and codewords for those Wire viewers. This is also another programme whose strength is in its ensemble, and whose storylines are legion. Based on the book written by Rolling Stone journalist Evan Wright we ride with him, embedded with the Marines spearheading the invasion of the most recent Iraq war. Before the action we see the troops sparring with each other both physically and vocally, this is a tight knit group who revel in mocking each other, and Wright is immediately targeted as a Left-wing hippie faggot until they learn that he wrote Beaver Hunt for a pornographic magazine. Kudos!

A documentary about the making of the series shows the actors involved attending a boot camp where they were drilled by Rudy Reyes and Eric Kocher, both Marines and both acting in the series. Reyes is particularly extraordinary, built like some kind of Greek god/movie star, a highly trained killing machine and yet filled to the brim with zen-like calm at all times. What the training has clearly helped the actors to do is bond as a unit and get as close as possible to portraying the reality of men in conflict. These are men of a generation interested in pop music and video games and yet also interested in reading Chomsky and debating race relations. The big mistake would be to assume that they're stupid. Even at their most profane they manage to extend they insults to Shakespearean levels of intricacy. James Ransone as the driver Person is particularly hilarious; fuelled by uppers his riffs on everything from patriotism to global instability are worth the price of admission on their own.

Humour plays such an important part in the daily lives of these men so that moments after being engaged in firefights they are cracking jokes. There are longer running gags too like the reporter's photo of his girlfriend which he is constantly trying to relocate as it passed around by the men. The officer class come in for some stick too with 'Encino Man' taking stupidity to alarming levels and the perfectly dubbed 'Captain America', with his hysterical and alarmist responses to just about any situation, becoming a danger to his own men. That is how the programme develops it serious themes, not through the po-faced seriousness typical of TV drama in this country but by making the audience complicit; laughing one moment at the antics of an officer who later will become a liability, perhaps even a war criminal.

The skill to take a subject like the Iraq war and make a programme which remains un-judgemental and impartial is the really impressive thing. Because the programme isn't about the Iraq war, it's about the Marines, it's about these men and through them, through the presentation of the reality of their situation you are exposed to ideas and opinions which you then have to make your own judgement on. We see the fatal results of what seems at first to be a comical episode involving a young recruit shooting at a camel in a desperate bid to fire his weapon in anger. We see the results of nervy men at a checkpoint without a clear strategy for stopping vehicles. We watch with the Marines as they observe a village, contenting themselves that it contains only civilians before a decision taken by their superiors somewhere else takes the mater out of their hands. But no judgement. In one scene, when inspecting the body of someone they have shot, they discover his passport and the fact that this is a jihadist from Syria, someone who crucially came into the country to fight the Americans only after they had invaded; a shock to all the Marines. Knowing now the extended horror following the end of 'combat operations' it is interesting to see the first hints that America was not prepared in any way for what they found when the crossed the line into Iraq.

Comparisons to The Wire are pointless for many reasons and unimportant for just one. David Simon and Ed Burns are committed to giving you the chance to see something you haven't seen before (unless you happen to be a Marine or drug cop). It's then up to you to decide what to do with that. It makes for fascinating TV which also happens to be provocative, funny, well made, impeccably acted and well worth seven hours of your time.

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An hour and twenty five minutes of heaven

Five Minutes Of Heaven starring Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt, broadcast last night on BBC2 was a great piece of television. The main reason I know this is because I cannot stand James Nesbitt and yet I watched him twitching away for an hour and a half and didn't even think of reaching for the remote. Nesbitt played Joe Griffen who as a young boy witnessed his elder brother being murdered and has carried the guilt of his death ever since. His killer, Alistair Little, played by Neeson with cold professionalism has been haunted in his own way by the shooting, comitting himself to helping others deal with conflict after serving his twelve years in jail. Both of these characters are real men, in fact my wife heard Little speak at the Barbican many years ago, and what writer Guy Hibbert imagined, after exhaustive interviews with both men, was what might happen if they were to meet and try to reconcile the past.

The Truth and Reconciliation Comission in South Africa televised the results of confrontations just like this and it was the media force behind this meeting last night that allowed Hibbert to play on notions of authenticity, forgiveness and the difference between drama and documentary. In order to understand the men they are now, the first third of the film showed us the shooting as it happened, a brilliant piece of recreation, Mark Davison as the young Little looking uncannily like Neeson. The middle third dealt with the build up to the television meeting of the two men. Griffen, blamed by his mother for doing nothing to prevent his brother's death, is a man beset by nerves, answering voices in his head and bent on revenge. The artificial presence of the cameras, lights and make-up girl all building to make the moment of confrontation even more excruciating. Griffen is even forced to re-film the momentous walk towards his tormentor when the cameraman stumbles, ratcheting the tension up a notch further.

The focus afforded by taking a single event to examine the legacy of the troubles is what helped to make it such a successful piece of television. The acting was pretty damn good and the direction, from Oliver Hirschbiegel (of Downfall fame) taut and restrained. If you didn't see it and I haven't ruined it all with my ramblings then you can catch it on the BBC's wondrous iPlayer.

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all the better to disappoint you with

So, I'm back. Hurrah. Being without a broadband connection for a couple of weeks has taught me that I am utterly reliant on the web to do just about everything, which is just where they want us I guess. I'm not sure who 'they' are, I've gone all conspiratorial. It must be the Red Riding Trilogy which started just before I disappeared.

If you actually listened to me and watched it, and the following two feature length episodes, then I would like to apologise. Six hours is a long time. That's kind of the point, that's what television can do that films can't; take the time to tell the story in a unique way. However, if it doesn't use that time in a way which leaves you feeling that your investment paid off then it all feels a bit, well, Northern Rock. I still think the first part was really interesting and above all promising but I'm afraid parts two and three didn't deliver for me. There was an interesting atmosphere of paranoia during the period of the Yorkshire Ripper's crimes, and it was shot and acted beautifully throughout but as it wore on it seemed to get more and more conventional. The desperate tying together of loose ends in the final section was particularly unsatisfactory. I could have gone for a bit more ambiguity, in fact I thought that might have been the point but instead we were treated to evil coppers, 'this is the north, where we do what we like' repeated about fifteen times and the wheeling out of some trusty paedophiles to round things off.

I'm only disappointed because it all promised so much more. Never mind. Back to watching the latest spirit-sapping reality TV programme.

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another fine mess

I am moving home. There may therefore be a brief hiatus in my posts here until things are up and running in our new abode.

Right, back to packing.

Wow, what a lot of books...



Ooooh, just before I go and lose my broadband connection, PLEASE tell me that you watched Red Riding last night, or that if you didn't you recorded it or if you didn't manage that you will go to Catch Up online. PLEASE!

Just brilliant television. Who says the Americans are the only ones who can do it? (oh, that might have been me actually). No time for a detailed analysis but let's just say the acting was fantastic, the script intelligent, the direction superb, the visuals dark and interesting and the atmosphere genuinely terrifying. Must-see-TV.

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2008: Review of my Year

I'd like to start off by mentioning that this year the standard of books I have read and music I have listened to has been incredibly high. I have always been a reader of reviews in order to find new authors, or books worth reading, as well as speaking to booksellers and even the odd friend, but the risk has always been falling prey to the puff piece (a particular hazard when finding music). If reviewing is your job, a daily task, there's always the chance that through the repetition of themes and ideas, through all the mediocrity, something which is merely different or puts its head above the parapet can be elevated to the status of next big thing, album of the year, or even that dreaded word: MASTERPIECE!

What has changed all of that for me has been blogging. Through reading a wide variety of views, written in a way that tends to reveal far more of the personality, tastes and prejudices of the author and then cross referencing those recommendations, I have found my strike rate getting better and better. Add to that the increase (I hope) in my own critical faculties since I began writing my own reviews and we have the reasons why 2008 has been such an enjoyable year for me. Forget the Booker, and other prize lists, and even be wary of the paid experts. For a really good idea about what's worth reading, listening to or watching listen to the enthusiasts who bother to write their thoughts up in their spare time. Not all of them of course, some of them are rubbish.

Books

Choosing a book of the year is well nigh impossible for me this year. There are so many books I have enjoyed, been challenged by and simply in awe of. What I've decided to do is mention three books written by authors who are making themselves essential writers. The books have stayed with me through the year and share a theme; that best summarised by the famous line by William Faulkner: 'The past is never dead. It isn't even past.'

Darkmans by Nicola Barker

A book I read right at the beginning of the year and which I cannot quite shake from my head. It failed to win the Booker judges over last year but I was bowled over by its ambition. It's a big novel filled with ideas, the very text itself fractured and interrupted by the presence of the past in the form of John Scogin, court jester to Edward IV. Many characters find themselves losing control over their own actions as this malevolent spirit reaches out, a genuinely unsettling experience for the reader with some clever typography. The plot is wide ranging but as one character observes about history,'It's a fascinating business. Kind of like solving a crime. Like unravelling a mystery story. All the clues are in the text and your job is simply to sniff them out'. International rail links may not have put Ashford on the map but this grand novel by one of the this country's most exciting writers certainly deserves to.

Glister by John Burnside

A writer who deserves to be read by many, many more, Burnside's work as a poet and his recent memoir A Lie About My Father have helped to develop his fiction into something very distinctive. Glister combines the sinister menace of a fairytale with the very modern horrors of violence and murder. His vision of Innertown, a place poisoned by industry, strikes at the very heart of our fears for our environment. Haunted by a history of child murders, it is a society broken, divided and scared, through which he also latches onto our fears for and of children in a genuinely original way. His skills as a poet populate almost every page with a phrase or image that sticks in your mind and it all adds up to being a authentically frightening experience.

The Impostor by Damon Galgut

Sneaking in just before the end of the year Galgut's latest novel is a powerful work filled with symbolism and heavy with meaning. Looking to get his life going again Adam Napier retreats to his brothers rural house in the karoo to write poetry. A chance encounter with an old schoolfriend brings his past rushing back, temptation within his grasp and as his moral compass wavers he finds himself embroiled in the machinations of the new South Africa. Filled with striking imagery and evocative prose it is a short novel which punches well above its weight and marks Galgut out as a writer of extreme promise for the future.


Honourable mentions: The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block, The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano, The Secret Scripture and A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry, Blackmoor by Edward Hogan, The Book Of Ebenezer Le Page by G B Edwards,The Cottagers by M N Klimasewiski.

Not-book-of-the-year: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I know I'm in the minority here but really, you deserve better, people.

Music

It's been a fanatastic year for music I think. Paul Weller and Nick Cave showed some of the young pretenders how it's really done. Portishead and Tricky came back as strong as ever and Elbow finally earned some recognition after 18 years of making great music together. But the best music was being made on the other side of the pond I'm afraid, whether it was the invention of young acts like MGMT and Vampire Weekend or the profusion of beautiful male harmonies and alt. folk Americana. But amongst all the fantastic music this year one album stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Dear Science, by TV On The Radio

Inventive, angry, free and funky; Brooklyn's art-rockers delivered on their earlier promise with an album of sparkling gems and no filler. I'm not a big fan of star ratings but this is what 5-stars was meant for. In fact this album deserves a Michelin star it's so rich and tasty. Music which is exciting in its combinations of musical influences, its variety on the album itself and its approaches vocally is enough to raise it above its peers, but when it actually has something to say too, then you really have something worth listening to. Sometimes an album comes along which gives all the other bands out there a real kick up the arse, and should embarrass some groups into retirement. The last one like that was OK Computer and it seems fitting that the band who paid tribute to that release with their first demo OK Calculator should have risen to take that crown.


Close, but no cigar: For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver, Sun Giant EP by Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend, I could name many, many more...

Not album of the year: Anywhere I Lay My Head by Scarlett Johansson. Don't give up the day job. Even Dave Sitek couldn't save this one.

Film

I have seen far too few films this year for one reason or another so I don't feel I can really talk about my film of the year (we've joined LOVEFiLM now so perhaps next year will be better) but I enjoyed laughing away at Son Of Rambow, Knocked Up and In Bruges and was certainly electrified by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. I thought There Will Be Blood might sneak in and steal the crown but if I had to pick one film it would be David Fincher's superb Zodiac. The recreation of the period is spot on, the performances from Jake Gyllenhall, Robert Downey Jr and Mark Ruffalo are superb and the personal investment from Fincher, who was growing up in San Francisco at the time the killings occurred, makes all the difference. His confidence to take time to tell the story may not be to all tastes but what's two and half hours between friends?

TV

2008 has been the year of the box-set for many folks. Amazon's DVD sales chart has become the subject of newspaper articles. For me, HBO continued to dominate my viewing with all five series of The Wire. Most TV programmes struggle to tell even one side of the story competently. The Wire puts them to shame by providing the most rounded portrait of a city I have ever seen. Crediting its audience with some intelligence, it never patronised; dealing with big issues and big storylines with the confidence of those who know all sides of the story. No, it's not The Sopranos, but what is?

Theatre and Art

If I haven't watched many films this year I certainly haven't seen nearly enough Theatre or Art. Having a baby does nothing for your social life. On the plus side I know all the words to all the songs on Balamory, In The Night Garden and Tikkabilla. I'm hoping next year will be different. And I hope you'll enjoy some of it with me...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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O, for a muse of fire

Charlie Brooker (or Charlton Brooker, as I amusingly discovered his full name to be recently) is always good for a laugh. His irreverent swipes on TV and popular culture often dissolve into the mental ramblings of a teenager who's spent too much time in his room on his own...well, watching TV.

But last night it all went a bit Alan Yentob, in a writers special in which he interviewed Russell T Davies (Queer As Folk, Doctor Who), Tony Jordan (Eastenders, Hustle, Life On Mars), Paul Abbot (State Of Play, Shameless), Graham Linehan (Father Ted, The IT Crowd), Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show) about the writing process. It was fascinating and all the better for not being po-faced in any way. Thanks to the wonderous BBC iPlayer you can watch it here for the next 7 days.

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The Wire - Season Five

And so another televisual odyssey ends. 60 episodes over five seasons and a programme which has been described as more talked about than watched (this is the problem of a series playing on satellite/cable channel FX) - although the DVD box-sets of The Wire are on the best-seller lists at Amazon. With just 10 episodes in the final series David Simon seems to be trying to 'do more with less', a phrase used several times in the offices of The Baltimore Sun newspaper which features largely. Simon of course worked at that very newspaper for 12 years and so it seems almost obvious that he would chose to focus on the media at some point. What he shows is that interplay between media, politics and policing; the symbiotic relationship these agencies have with each other and how each in turn can be exploited by the other.

McNulty is back. His presence was missed in the last season, so it's good to have him back, but he's in a very worrying place; looking like he could skid off that road again at any time and driven by that passion which can create 'good police' but also perhaps lead him to test the boundaries of what is acceptable (and indeed legal). Carcetti, now installed as mayor, has come face to face with a huge deficit in his budget which leads to massive cutbacks for the police: no overtime and an effective end to the special crimes unit. This leads McNulty to hatch a plan that will give the papers what they want and therefore place pressure on the Mayor to provide funds for police work: a serial killer. Now, I love this programme, but this plot-line had me wrinkling my nose in discomfort. It isn't that I didn't believe it was possible, Simon shows in intricate detail how it can all be manufactured, but I just didn't believe that this would be the course any detective would take, even a true maverick like McNulty. The fact that Freamon, who has always been a moral yardstick of sorts, is part of the whole conspiracy only compounded my worry. It wasn't until the penultimate episode (which is the best of the season, possibly the series) that I began to feel it might work. Such a grand scheme allows Simon to bring so many elements of his story together, it's just crucial that having got so many balls improbably into the air we see them come crashing back down to earth.

That said, there's something about this season that doesn't quite work. It's like a programme which knows that it's coming to an end, tying up its loose ends, bringing things full circle and showing that people and events will continue in the same vein after the credits roll. It's all just slightly self-conscious.

But I don't want to dwell on that. As someone (I think it was Freamon) says, 'It's about the journey, not the destination.' And it's been a hell of a journey. I have written previously about the impact television can have when we, the viewers, make an investment in the characters. Over such a prolonged period of time (60 hours of television) we can see so much of their lives, so much development that, as when we read a novel, there is a connection there which means that even a serial murderer like Chris can arouse our sympathy even whilst beating someone to death. A junkie like Bubbles can have us hoping and praying that he can make it another clean day. A morally ambiguous anti-hero like Omar can have you wanting to put him out of his misery like a wounded pet. That is extraordinary television. To be able to put forward complex sociological arguments, economic theory, and political discourse together with street slang, profanity and poetry whilst leaving the audience concentrated on the characters is quite an achievement. Let's also not forget the other character in the piece: Baltimore. I genuinely feel that if I went there now I would know where, and more pertinently where not to go. Just as The Sopranos gave a real sense of New Jersey The Wire has shown in great detail the differences between the projects, the docks, city hall, 'Hamsterdam', the corners and the variety of people that populate them. The final episode has its heart on its sleeve as it shows what this programme has always been about: the people of Baltimore. Along the way of course it has shown us some important aspects of modern life relevant to all of us.

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The Wire - Season Four

Well, season four has completely blown me away. Building on the achievements of the previous three seasons it adds a new dimension which you might say was previously lacking: genuine emotional involvement. As I've said before the writing and the detail contained within it had made us interested in the characters and to care about them too. But by focusing on the education system, and a group of eighth graders in particular, it forces us to really worry about a group of children growing up in a city which has already shown that for some people the only opportunities available are different ways to ruin your life.

A hotly contested mayoral election is the main event in Baltimore. Tommy Carcetti may be the wrong colour to be mayor but by speaking to the right people and genuinely trying to engage with the voters he puts himself in a real position to challenge that. Aiden Gillen, looking immediately more comfortable in his role this series, shows with lip-smacking relish the contortions necessary to move ahead politically in a town with a black majority. Spin, sleaze and backhanders abound. It's a bit like here in England. For the police meanwhile, with Barksdale back inside, Marlo Stanfield is the target and the question that plagues them is how he has managed to wrest so much control of the corners without stacking up bodies. Stanfield's two enforcers, Chris and Snoop, are genuinely frightening with their cold detachment and in much the same way as Javier Bardem terrorised those he met in 'No Country For Old Men' whilst carrying a pneumatic cattle gun, they stalk anonymously through the vacant houses armed with a nail gun and a tub of lime.

Jimmy McNulty is almost entirely absent from the series (maybe Dominic West was busy doing one of his theatre jobs in the UK) which is a bit of a shame. Even in the scenes he is in he is a changed man, on the wagon and working hard to be a family man. Bunk keeps us going with his inimitable wisdom but the focus of this series really is with the children. Prez and Colvin having both left the police department are working in the school system; Prez as a teacher and Colvin working with a special group of corner kids to find the way to integrate them back into the classroom. It is a rude awakening for both of them and for us as viewers too. Lt. Daniels later says that he 'had a good education now that I think on it'. I found myself very grateful for mine as I watched these children struggle. It isn't just within the school system that we see the importance of mentoring and nurture. On the street the entrepreneurial Bubbles is trying to help a young boy himself, but there's a reason why they call it the school of hard knocks.

As I've said, it really is all about the children, and the four main actors (pictured above) are a credit to the series. Each have their own problems and seem to be following a trajectory. As a viewer I found myself desperately trying to change the course of that trajectory by thought alone, like a horror movie fan screaming 'don't go back into the house'. I really cared, and that is due largely to the performances. It isn't that these children are innocent and deserve our protection; it's precisely because they aren't innocent and yet still deserve our help and protection that shows the maturity of this series. I've barely scratched the surface here, you'll just have to watch it and educate yourself.

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The Wire - Season Three

Look at the picture above and you will notice something. Avon and Stringer, together in the same car, but looking in different directions. That tells you all you need to know about these two 'brothers' in season three of The Wire. Whilst Stringer is greasing palms to make the most of the properties they control Avon is glad to be back in the game, keeping control of the corners, and regaining his place on the street. Season three brings us back to the problem of drugs in Baltimore and one man's plan to combat the problem. Major Colvin jokes at one stage that to meet the crime reduction targets he has been set he is going to legalise drugs. But his throwaway comment isn't too far from the truth. By creating zones where a blind eye will be turned on drug dealing and use, he hopes to clean up the corners, concentrate the problem in specific areas and make it easier to target those wrongdoers when the time is right. What it allows the series to explore is the wide web that drugs cast in society, how it affects those directly involved in their production, selling, use and abuse; everyone from the kids used as lookouts to the lone elderly woman who finds herself the only resident in one of these 'free zones'.

Daniels and his now permanent detail have a much harder task to gain any useful information from a wire as the drug crews have become far more cautious about how they use phones, and with their communication in general. This means that we get to enjoy the complications of the police work again, just as in the first series, but with added layers. In fact layers are being added in all aspects of the programme allowing the series to show what TV can do better than any other medium. Given the extended time of several hour-long episodes we are seeing characters rendered in the kind of detail which is usually the reserve of the novelist. It isn't simply time that allows this, but the amazingly high standard of writing and performance. Characters aren't given vast speeches to show personality, just the right words; and the actors deliver them perfectly. Relationships within the police team and the implications of the work on their personal lives (and vice versa) create wonderful tensions. These are mirrored on the other side of the legal divide with the drug crews.

On top of all of that we have the character of the city itself. Baltimore is depicted in great detail; the various districts feel very different to one another, requiring differing approaches from the police. The interplay between politics, policing, media and residents is given great prominence in this series. Everyone is checking their back, as an air of intrigue and suspicion worthy of Shakespeare hangs over proceedings. The introduction of Aiden Gillen (another actor from this side of the water) as Tommy Corcetti, a young and ambitious council man, is significant. I just hope he relaxes into his role. His reptilian stare is right but he looks a little nervous at the moment, like he's really concentrating on getting the accent right. He's a fantastic actor though so I'm not too concerned. The skullduggery is also obvious amongst, and indeed within, the drug crews too of course and it is that increasing body count which keeps the heat on the police and the wind in the sails of this superlative series. Bring on season four.

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The Wire - Season Two

Despite bringing in a case (of sorts) at the end of last season there is a fair bit of fallout for Baltimore's boys in blue at the beginning of season two. Lieutenant Daniels has been banished to the basement archives and McNulty is a fish out of water working with the harbour police. In fact the first few episodes show brilliantly how ill at ease he is. His barrel chest looks likely to topple him over the side of the boat and there's a repeating joke about his inability to tie any kind of knot. The action shifts for the most part away from the projects run by Avon Barksdale (who now languishes in jail with his nephew D'Angelo) and his crew and to the docks where stevedores and longshoremen ply their trade. In the modern age there is plenty of money to be made from those anonymous looking shipping containers but when one of them is found to contain the bodies of 14 eastern European women a new case begins.

Some slightly transparent plotting allows Daniels out of his underground exile with carte blanche to assemble his old detail (and the promise that if they bring in a case the team will become permanent - very handy for subsequent series) but once things get going it's just nice to have them all back together again. Only McNulty is left adrift and we see his private life following that familiar collision course from the first season. His drunken conversations with 'Bunk' are a particular highlight (and should come with subtitles of their own). We also get to meet Mrs McNulty for the first time as he tries to patch together his relationship.

At the centre of the case is the Sobotka family: Frank is a union official, knee-deep in corruption, his nephew Nick, short on hours at the docks, is doing what it takes to make money whilst also trying to keep Frank's son Ziggy from messing it all up. This series lacks some of the interest of the first. The dock workers can be difficult to care about at times because they are often shown to be just plain stupid. Higher up the ladder is 'The Greek' who with his constantly clicking worry beads is the enigmatic boss. The police work too doesn't get its hooks into you in the same way. Perhaps because of what they've learnt from the first case it all feels far more procedural rather than as if they're feeling their way through. But this is still a compelling series as we watch the personal lives of the team develop, that conflict between home and work putting strains on relationships.

Barksdale's crew continue to fascinate and it is Stringer Bell, played brilliantly by British actor Idris Elba, who exerts all the power whilst Avon does his time inside. His hands are on everything, and I mean everything, and I wonder how that might develop in season three. Could there be some possible conflict in the future? The thief Omar is the other really strong character, still stalking the streets looking to revenge the murder of his 'boy'. Underneath his chilling exterior there is that passion of a man wronged and he is given some of the more memorable utterances. The script continues to be wonderfully baffling at times and maybe suffers in places from much more obvious political point making but whilst it may not have been as impressive a series it still remains far more engaging, serious and worth watching than anything comparable from this side of the water.

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The Wire - Season One

After watching The Sopranos in its entirety in one fell swoop last year I was left exhilarated and bereft, worried that I may not be able to enjoy anything on television ever again as it could only fail to live up to the genius of David Chase's 'family' drama.

There has been a lot of positive stuff written about David Simon's series, particularly in The Guardian recently which means that as I began watching there was a heavy burden on its shoulders. Set in Baltimore, a city familiar to those who watched the brilliant Homicide: Life On The Street, this is a complex drama following drug dealers and the police who are watching them. It is uncompromising stuff and the first few episodes left me a little confused, often reaching for the rewind button to go back over conversations. The writers don't feel the need to explain everything they write, crediting the audience with some intelligence (which makes a nice change) but also having total confidence in their material. This is a slow burn series and as the characters are introduced and developed the plot progresses.

As the series tag-line says: Listen Carefully. The slang used by those on the street is sometimes like listening to a different language, tuning your ear in takes time, but this is an experience mirrored by the police themselves who as they listen in on 'the wire' have to decode the phrases used that detail the movement of drugs and the committing of violence in order to place themselves a step ahead. The language used by the police themselves is complex. The legalese, the police slang or simply the detail of genuine speech between friends and colleagues is left for us to sort through but the experience of keeping pace and sometimes having that breakthrough moment where knowledge dawns on you meant that I felt I was following the investigation of the case in real time rather than having the privilege of foresight which is often gifted to the audience.

This is truly an ensemble piece, as evinced by the alphabetical cast list in the opening credits, but one name comes before that and if the program has a leading character it is Dominic West's detective Jimmy McNulty. A hard drinking cop with a failed marriage and questionable parenting skills is a risky leading man but the series is all about moral ambiguity. We are encouraged not to see the cops as good and the dealers as bad. In fact for large parts of the first series we see the dealers abiding by their rules and code whilst the cops bend theirs and behave appallingly towards each other. McNulty is hated by his boss (especially as it was his out-of-turn conversation with a judge which forced him to assemble the team for this case originally), his wife, his lover and some of his colleagues. He even hates himself. But the case he builds against Avon Barksdale and his crew becomes a personal crusade of redemption which brings him right to the edge. The kind of man who uses his own children to help him tail a suspect (and loses them in a market in the process) is not what his colleagues might term 'good police' but we follow him and feel ourselves rewarded with those flashes of integrity which keep him pushing the case along when the powers that surround him threaten to collapse it.

It is a mark of the scale of the program that it encompasses not just the bureaucracy of police work, or the politics in the office, but the politics above and beyond it. The chain of command is one thing but the greasy pole of promotion means that those with ambition have to keep things well oiled. It is difficult to maintain integrity when everyone seemingly has to make compromises in order to move up. Even the investigation itself as it follows 'the money' will uncover corruption at the highest levels. With the recent scandals involving political donations in the UK it is worth pointing out that the American political system actively encourages ignorance of the source of political donations.

At the other end of the scale we see not just the dealers but the users themselves; the men and women who amongst the warren of 'low risers' and 'towers' that make up social housing have never been the given a chance. One character, Bubbles, is brought vividly to life by Andre Royo. The marked and scarred skin on his face, the missing tooth, the twitches and facial tics that mark him as a man in the grip of addiction are subtly devastating. His attempts to go clean and straight are heartbreaking as with a small look of concern or worry we see how much it means to him and so, eventually, to us. Most of the other addicts are shown to be animals, doing whatever is necessary to survive, literally crawling all over each other at one point when free vials of heroin are tossed into the air.

This is a human drama, a family drama, literally with Avon Barksdale and his nephew D'Angelo (whose acquittal in the first episode sparks the investigation), but also symbolically amongst his wider organisation and of course the police. Because the series takes its time in establishing the characters without relying on the shorthand of recognisable traits the characters feel fully rounded. We don't have to understand them or even like them to be interested in what they do and why they do it. And crucially it is our involvement in their stories, rather than the plot itself which will bring us back for another series. I can't wait to get going on series two and if you haven't already I seriously recommend you get going on number one. It takes at least six or seven episodes to get its teeth into you but by then you'll be hooked, an addict like the rest of us.

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Mad Men - The First Series

Anyone still watching? I only ask because a few friends have given up and I'm a little surprised I'm sticking with it at times. The dearth of quality television may have something to do with it, but also the nagging thought that the series may at some point live up to its potential. The heavy handed signposting continues (It's the 60's you know) not to mention the smoking in every scene but it's undeniably well made with lighting and cinematography of the highest order. The script has its moments and the acting too but why isn't it quite satisfying?

I quite like Jon Hamm as Don Draper but he's no James Gandolfini. It's not a fair comparison obviously but there was always a vulnerability to Tony Soprano that meant no matter how violent or extreme his actions you still cared what happened to him. What a character. Draper on the other hand is a fiction, a 'whore-child' to begin with who uses the accident of war to assume a new identity, his life then carefully constructed in line with the American Dream. No wonder he's so good at knowing what people want. But to keep his fiction going he's not allowed to show much in the way of emotion, or maybe that's a repressed Sixties thing too. Barely a flicker as he heard of his brother's suicide, not much even in the final shot as he returned to an empty home. I like the conceit of a man who lies for a living leading a life which is itself a lie but I'm hoping it's leading somewhere.

It's Don's wife Betty that I've become interested in (don't be smutty). Through the series she has lost her naivety, whether through observing the lives of others or having her eyes opened to her own. There was something so touching about the way she reached out her hand to Glen (the little boy who had walked in on her on the toilet earlier in the series) in the last episode and admitted, as she hadn't to anyone else, that she was 'so sad'. 'Please tell me I'll be okay', she asked, but how could he? She seems to have developed more than any other character. Having discovered that Don receives reports on her therapy sessions she used last night's to send him a message; that she knows of his infidelity and doesn't like it. Clever girl.

In fact with the men being so obnoxious and hateful it was the female characters in general that held my attention. Peggy Olsen promised so much at the start but the whole gosh Peggy's put on some weight and is often feeling queasy in the morning story reached it's obvious conclusion with ooh I'm getting some stomach pains. Difficult to take very seriously. The pregnancy makeup was pretty good though. Joan Holloway kept up her impressive pout throughout and even tugged on the heartstrings a little with a simple kiss when Roger Sterling returned to work after his heart attack.

I'd like to take a moment to praise Rich Sommer who plays Harry Crane. With those heavy black specs and the lollipop he's been a quiet figure cracking jokes every now and then and content with the wife at home but he suddenly developed after his fling at the election night party. The sight of him in his vest and underpants, sleeping in the office after being kicked out by his wife was suitably tragic. More for him please in series two and more for everyone by which I mean there's only so much to enjoy in watching the birth of famous ad campaigns of the past. It has to be about the characters if it's to last, if not; how many will still be tuning in by the end of the next series?

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Gavin and Stacey

Last night saw the welcome return of Gavin and Stacey to BBC3 (although how many awards do you have to win to get put on one of the two main channels these days?). There are several reasons why this programme is brilliant. Firstly and most importantly it is funny. Genuinely laugh-out-loud funny (So that having got a baby off to sleep just before it started I had to try and limit my volume resulting in a kind of Muttley-style wheeze). It sits somewhere between your standard sitcom (minus the canned laughter) and the cringing comedy of recent years (minus Ricky Gervais). None of the characters feel caricatured and even Rob Brydon and Alison Steadman who can grate a little at times are both brilliant. But it also has heart, not simply between Gavin and Stacey themselves but in the development between Nessa and Smithy we have an affecting relationship to rival those you might expect to find in any drama. Ruth Jones and James Corden have not only written the funniest programme on TV at the moment, they're stealing some of the best lines. But the real strength of the show is that there aren't any weak links, it's real ensemble stuff. I just worry what might happen if the Americans get their hands on it.

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Mad Men - episode 1

First episodes are tough to get right. You don't want it to be a roll call of characters or pure exposition but you have to set the scene and get people interested enough to tune in next week. On the whole Mad Men did pretty well. It was certainly very clear about setting the scene. It was the early 1960's so everyone smoked. A lot. All the time. Even the doctor whilst he was examining young Peggy. The men were all 'men' (apart from Salvatore who you may have noticed was subtly homosexual). Which means misogynists. One great line: 'We need to show them what kind of men we are so that they know what kind of women to be.' And the women were all more interesting than the men. The femme fatale Joan Hollaway acting as a kind of guide to new girl Peggy, who showed in this one episode what she was prepared to do to succeed.

And then there was Don Draper. There is something perfect about that character's name. The best creative man at the agency and a man who despite having a beautiful wife and children at home finds solace in another woman's bed and lives 'like there's no tomorrow. Because there isn't'. In one scene we saw him looking at a war medal. That's what I call planting something to pique your interest. He promises to be an interesting man to follow.

Sure, it was a little over-written, some of the speeches too well crafted perhaps, but it's ten times better than anything else I've watched recently and I so want something to get hooked on. Like those damn Luckies. It's Toasted.

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the new Sopranos?

At the end of my piece on The Sopranos I asked what on earth I was supposed to watch next after having been spoiled so rotten by some of the best that TV can offer. Well from tomorrow we have Mad Men, another award winning drama from the States, created by Matthew Weiner who was writer and Executive Producer on the last 3 seasons of The Sopranos. Please be good. Please.

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2007: Review of my year

Books

Gents by Warwick Collins

This was the year I started to read (and write) blogs, one of which was Me and My Big Mouth. Scott Pack was kind enough to send me a copy of this slim novel and what a gem it turned out to be. The deceptively simple plot revolves around three West-Indian men working in a public toilet, but this is a novel which contains so much: Racial and sexual prejudice, relationships between and amongst the sexes and some of the most sharply observed dialogue I have ever read. So sharp in fact that when two actors approached Collins about turning this into a film they were surprised to find that he himself wasn't West-Indian.

Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson

I have felt at times that I was the only person in the UK who had read Johnson but I have since discovered a few who share my passion and this year saw the publication of his first novel in seven years. And what a novel. A vast Vietam war era epic with a huge cast of characters, huge themes and the National Book Award as reward for his efforts. It has its flaws but the ambition and scope are enough to put it right at the front of my mind when thinking back on this year. Hopefully it may introduce him to a wider readership.

Honourable mentions: The Devil's Footprints by John Burnside, Thirteen by Sebastian Beaumont, Men In Space by Tom McCarthy

Not-book-of-the-year: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan. Sorry everyone, I don't get the fuss.

Music

In Rainbows by Radiohead

Not only was this Radiohead's best music in years but the method of its release managed to cause a huge stir throughout the music industry. That has always been the potential power of this band and it was gratifying to see them wield it and get away with it. As for the album itslef Thom Yorke has said that they called it In Rainbows 'Because it was the desire to get somewhere that you're not'. After the protest of Hail To The Thief this was the sound of a far more positive band and a more personal approach lyrically from new Dad Thom.

Boxer by The National

The National are one of those bands whose adherents speak passionately about their music. 2005's Alligator was a real highlight that year and whilst Boxer felt similar at first it has revealed its subtleties over time. Matt Beringer's distinctive vocals lend the dramatic playing real gravitas. I saw them live at this years Latitude Festival and I'm sure they won some new fans that day.

Honourable mentions: The Reminder by Feist, Neon Bible by Arcade Fire, You Follow Me by Nina Nastasia and Jim White

Not-album-of-the-year: Myths Of The Near Future by The Klaxons. The Mercury jury triumph again.

Film

I knew I hadn't been to the cinema much this year when it turned out that the two films I picked (Casino Royale- making Bond brilliant again and Apocalypto- a stunning, visceral experience) were actually released in 2006. Ooops.

Once

Don't worry about whether this film is the revolution in film musicals some have called it just revel in its unabashed romanticism. It's rough around the edges and all the better for it and charts brilliantly and painfully what it feels like to fall in love.

Honourable mentions: The Lives of Others, Little Miss Sunshine.
Not-film-of-the-year: Sunshine.

TV

The Sopranos

As I have written here this was the year I did The Sopranos. All of it. In one go. Wow. One of the most enjoyable experiences in my life. Where on earth do I go from here?

Comedy

I have found this year that the stuff on telly that's making me tune in is comedy. Another series of Curb Your Enthusiasm in the States showed Larry David having more fun than ever, Flight of The Conchords was a real surprise hit making me giggle like a child, The Mighty Boosh returned with their best series yet and Gavin and Stacey showed that British Comedy wasn't the oxymoron it used to be.

The return of Saturday night

The Family night-in returns better than ever. Doctor Who continued to re-capture the hearts of the nation and even showed some of the more subversive images on TV. Best of all however is Strictly Come Dancing. Now I'm not a huge fan of reality TV especially not the celebrity variety but Strictly combines charm, the learning of a real skill and the raising of money for charity into one gorgeous bundle. There is always something to talk about from Bruce's declining presenting skills and Tess's wardrobe to dubious scores and the voting of the great British public. Sometimes the dancing even gets a mention. Reading this blog about it all has made it even more entertaining.

Not-TV-of-the-year: X-factor. Just rubbish, in every way imaginable. Have you no self-respect?

Theatre

I didn't see nearly enough theatre this year and what I did see tended to be disappointing. Ian Rickson's production of Pinter's The Hothouse was ok, Kwame Kwei-Armah's new play Statement of Regret was interesting but let down by a poor production and the biggest disappointment of all was Punchdrunk's Faust at Wapping. Yes, it looked stunning and was certainly an experience but as I wandered the huge warehouse with my mask on I felt I wasn't the only one wondering where the show was and if it wasn't all a bit 'emperor's new clothes'. Must try harder to get out to more next year (like that's easy with a new baby!)

Art

Didn't do much art this year either but there was one piece you couldn't fail to see if you walked around London towards the end of the year. Anthony Gormley's sculptures watched over us all from various vantage points around the city and it was fascinating to spot new ones every now and then. The sensation was uncanny, almost like catching a possible suicide in progress or some kind of alien landing. Brilliant public art, I was sad to see them go.

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come with us now on a journey through time and space

If you like your comedy silly with funky music and extreme fashion then the Boosh are for you my friend. Series 3 of The Mighty Boosh is on BBC 3 from next Thursday at 10:30pm but if you're really impatient like me you can watch the first episode online here.

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