Rating: 
I was looking forward to catching Channel 4’s latest documentary/cultural experiment, Amish: The World’s Squarest Teenagers, and I wasn’t disappointed.
The hour-long doc followed five teenagers from an Amish community in America as they are plonked down in London for a completely new cultural experience. Although the title of the programme would indicate a kind of ‘point and laugh at the weirdy beardy kids’ angle, the documentary was more balanced and enlightening than you may think.
What surprised me about Amish: The World’s Squarest Teenagers was the attitude of the young participants on both sides of the cultural divide. I read a review in The Independent which implied that the Amish teenagers looked down their noses at the London life so different from their own, but I really didn’t get this at all. I found them to be endlessly curious and fascinated by this new world, intelligently questioning the parts they didn’t understand and joining in nearly every new challenge.
No new concept was rejected outright (such as the street dancing display by the London kids, although this really was a challenge for the Amish kids to understand) but instead questioned and probed until it could be fitted somewhere within the Amish view of the world. Which is, of course, limited to the confines of the Amish community.
I think the Amish teenagers adapted and engaged remarkably well, contrary to the common experience with zealous religious groups who stubbornly refuse to accept anything new.
At times, the Amish way of life did seem really appealing. On the memorial day of a teenager stabbed in a local park, the Amish teens expressed gratitude that they did not have to worry about being killed, attacked or stolen from in their community, a place of safety where there is no violence.
Their values seemed simple and pure, believing in hard work and the importance of community. However, the religious aspect governing everything about their lives, and the rough deal Amish women seem to get – obeying their husbands and all of the Amish restrictions – was a little hard to swallow for non-believers such as myself.
What was also surprising was the London teenagers’ attitudes to the newcomers. Despite living on an estate known for gang violence, in single parent families and with not much money, the teens made me proud to be British. They were polite, courteous and very accepting of the Amish and the fact that they knew nothing about their way of life.
Maybe the Amish teenagers were too different- almost too alien to be bullied or mocked. Had they just come from just down the road wearing the wrong trainers, rather than looking like they come from a past civilisation that worships hats and Easter, they might have had the piss taken something unmerciful.
I found the mutual understanding – or attempts at understanding – on both sides very, very touching. The Amish girls teaching needlework and singing with a couple of genuinely interested, streetwise London girls was incredible, although it really shouldn’t be so extraordinary that these simple pleasures can still appeal. It gave me renewed faith in Britain’s youth; that the country’s not completely gone to hell as the papers would have you believe.
I also learned something new about the Amish way of life. Apparently, the community sends teenagers out into the world at 16 for ‘Rumspringa’, where they get a taste of the outside world and have to choose whether to return or not (most do). Whilst I imagine this is a recipe for disaster - with a number of very sheltered adolescents either going completely off the rails or being scared out of their wits – I’m very impressed that the Amish are so secure in their faith as to allow it, and to trust in their children to return.
There are three more instalments of this show, sending the Amish to different places in the UK. The teaser for next week’s programme (shown on Sunday 1st August at 8pm on Channel 4), where the Amish males indulge in some rock & roll excesses with band brats from the Kent countryside does not look so promising. But we’ll see.
For a different take on this programme, you may be interested in Charlie Brooker’s review in the Guardian
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Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes cast)
Category TV and Film |
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On viewing the BBC's trailer a week ago for its new Sunday drama Sherlock I rolled my eyes and thought 'not again'. We've had re-makes of popular characters and stories (dis)gracing our screens far too many times in recent years (last year's laughable 'Day of the Triffids' comes immediately to mind) so I was skeptical. Guy Ritchie's 2009 big screen attempt was another mark against modern incarnations of the Conan Doyle's iconic creation, and the post-Ritchie-treatment timing of this new show seemed a cynical ploy to gain higher viewing figures.
On closer inspection I realised I had unfairly judged this serial before a minute had even aired. It is the brainchild of Mark Gatiss (of 'The League of Gentleman' fame) and Doctor Who
head honcho Steven Moffat. Moffatt, of course, has form for breathing new life and modernity into old characters and Gatiss with his Holmes-referencing Lucifer Box
novels knows his way around a nice, twisted mystery. The omens for Sherlock were actually pretty good.
The first of the three planned ninety-minute episodes, 'A Study in Pink' is a deliberate play on words of Arthur C. Doyle's A Study in Scarlet
- his first novel about the now famous detective. The big difference is that this re-telling is set in modern day London and gone are the gaslights and horse-drawn carriages, and in their place are black cabs, computers and a multitude of mobile phones.
We follow the story from the view of John Watson (played by Martin Freeman), an ex-military doctor as he attempts to adjust to life after being wounded in the war in Afghanistan. He walks with a psychosomatic limp and is clearly having a hard time leaving the war behind. He's also on the verge of being evicted (a smart dig at the inadequacy of wounded veteran's benefits) and needs to find a flatmate. Lucky for him he meets a friend who knows where we can find one, and despite being subjected to the full force of Holmes' eccentric and borderline sociopathic personality, Watson is intrigued.
However, before he agrees to move in to 221B Baker Street, an 'amazed' and sometimes bewildered Dr Watson follows with the audience as Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) is called in by an increasingly desperate Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves) to solve the case of apparent serial-suicides, all victims dying by the same poison. To describe more of the plot would spoil a delicious mystery that twists deftly towards a satisfying conclusion and leaves all but the most eagle-eyed viewer guessing.
The performances here were top-notch. Not having been properly introduced to Cumberbatch in any previous role I was delighted with his Holmes. Seemingly cold and calculating, but possessing a dry wit and penchant for detail, he was mesmerising. Arrogant but absorbing with multiple nicotine patches replacing the traditional pipe, Cumberbatch delivered a confident and flourishing performance that was near faultless.
Martin Freeman also a pleasant surprise; known as an able comedy actor I expected him to be the comic relief with little else to do, but it is through Watson's eyes that we view Holmes, and Freeman's warm character provided a much needed heart and conscience for the audience to follow without ever becoming bumbling or foolish.
'A Study in Pink' wasn't without problems though. An over-reliance on technology from the internet to texting on iPhones, which started off as a reminder that we are no longer in Victorian England, quickly grew tiresome, and by the time Holmes asked Watson to 'send a text' for the umpteenth time I began to feel as if I were watching one of those 'don't let a phone spoil your movie' Orange ads that can often be seen at the cinema. The text that comes up on the screen (caller: withheld) the minute any phone dare bleep also quickly grows stale. While I appreciate the character of Sherlock would take any advantage of technology he could get, it's too in your face and more subtlety is needed in the following episodes if this series wants to achieve perfection.
It's further proof that good story-telling is in the characters as much as the plot. This could have been a disaster but it works, and that's because both lead characters are true to the spirit of their Victorian counterparts. Cleverly re-inventing the original story of the book, this version of 'Sherlock' stands as an excellent mystery on its own and serves to set-up some tempting titbits for future episodes.
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Rating: 5.0/5 (4 votes cast)
Category TV and Film |
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Refreshingly unshouty Kids TV fun with... Rufus Hound???
- Creepy: Rufus as Cheryl
You may know Rufus Hound best for his disturbingly mustachioed, deadpan slink through Cheryl Cole/Tweedy’s Fight For This Love
routine on Let’s Dance for Sport Relief.
Let’s Dance for Sport Relief is a Saturday night family entertainment type show where comedians, TV chefs and other faces you know but would struggle to name recreate famous dance routines with nominally hilarious results. It is awful television.
When the dancing is good, the format is boring and when the dancing is bad it is embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch.
However, even this poor cousin of celebrity reality TV vehicles has a decent audience, and with its charitable, philanthropic credentials, the power to jump-start careers.
Hound, piggybacking a little on wor Cheryl’s popularity, deservedly romped to victory thanks to the most polished routine of the series and his tangible charisma. Evidently, think the BBC, the public have spoken; they like Hound’s dancing transvestism and therefore want to see him on television as much as the schedules will bear, but what to do with him?
Those that have been following Hound’s career a little longer will know Hound as a sort of comedian, first coming to prominence as a roving reporter type at Glastonbury, before a few appearances as presenter of an ailing Top of the Pops.
He was also briefly Claudia Winkelman’s predecessor on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes 2, and more recently he has become a permanent guest on Leigh Francis’ Keith Lemon-fronted ITV2 panel show Celebrity Juice as well as a team captain, opposite Marcus Brigstocke, on Argumental- an original bit of comedy programming from digital channel Dave.
It’s an unconvincing odds and sods sort of CV for a man who is not quite a stand-up and a bit funny looking to be a mainstream presenter. One thing you would say, having briefly glanced at his IMDB page is that he has no form as an actor; serial voice-over merchant, occasional audience wrangler, and ironic, laconic studio guest and talking head, yes, but nothing to mark him out as a budding thespian.
Which makes Hounded all the more surprising and confusing.
Hounded is a sci-fi sit-com, commissioned for the CBBC channel but showing on BBC1’s terrestrial slot for children’s programming as well, with Rufus Hound cast in the lead role as a version of himself.
He plays a TV presenter- glib, smirking, it’s Rufus basically- blasted into a parallel dimension by his future self, and forced to live the same day over and over, Groundhog Day
style.
Every episode Hound wakes up, gives us the skinny to camera, and then has to foil a fiendish plot to destroy the world, hatched by the evil Dr Muhahahaha. If Hound succeeds- and of course he does- the bad doctor hits a big red button, the whole day rewinds and Rufus has to get up and do it all over again.
Each new (same) day, Dr Mu – played by familiar faced actor Colin McFarlane – hatches a different scheme to try and get the better of Hound, and our hirsute, handlebar-wearing hero foils him with the aid of what looks like a plutonium powered watch, and a couple of annoying kids that turn up in whatever alternate universe Hound’s heroics are required. It’s a bit like a mix of The Goodies
, Scooby Doo and Quantum Leap
.
- Rufus & Dr Muhahahaha
Hounded is silly and good-hearted, and doesn’t look too cheap and wobbly. The episode I saw, Eggy Breath, concerned a plot by Dr Mu to isolate the grot particle in order to give everyone on earth terribly smelly breath, and thus make the planet uninhabitable. There were needless to say lots of green burps to keep the young ’uns amused.
There were also a few good gags for a kids show, with a Douglas Adams
style emphasis on the administrative aspect of running an evil empire.
The acting is good, not too tongue in cheek and over the top, and even the kids performances don’t grate. Hound is steady enough too. He is likeable, and comfortable as he should be while essentially playing himself. The pot-bellied funnyman is fine when delivering his lines, and doing the gags and wry looks, and though he looks a bit awkward when pressed into any proper acting- reacting to and interacting with the set and that sort of thing- he charms his way through.
Hounded probably isn’t a show that anyone apart from Hound and the commissioner wanted to see made- he surely isn’t the buzz name on the playground- but since it has been made, you could do worse than sit down with your kids and watch it. Its a lot quieter, cleverer and subtler than much of the tweenage appropriate output on TV, and Hound and the cast’s enthusiasm for their featherlight material is infectious.
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Rating: 5.0/5 (5 votes cast)
Category TV and Film |
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ASDA Fiery Caribbean Style Sauce is the supermarket giant's attempt to fly its hot sauce kite in the ample wind that fills the sails of Levi Roots massively popular Reggae Reggae Sauce.
Despite the ASDA sauce's aping of the colouring and font on the Reggae Reggae packaging, it is not a patch on the charismatic Caribbean's trademark condiment unfortunately.
The beauty of Reggae Reggae Sauce is that you can use it in or on pretty much anything. It's great as a garnish or a marinade or just to flavour a dish that you've grown a little tired of. Heck, it's even got its own dedicated Reggae Reggae Cookbook
and theme song
.
I've tried the ASDA alternative on sandwiches and as dip, and while it probably shares many constituent ingredients with Roots' breakout Dragons' Den product, but the balance isn't quite there.
For me, there is an overwhelming flavour of bay leaf. I'm clearly a philistine however, because bay leaf is not listed in the ingredients. My best guess is that this very dominant flavour is a combination of clove and cinnamon- two flavours that I'm not especially enamoured of anyway.
Reggae Reggae Sauce
comes from a home recipe, from a man with a strong Caribbean heritage; it was tried and tested at festivals and carnivals for years before Levi Roots brought it to the shops. It is a unique, and uniquely delicious, sauce that the people have taken to their hearts; any attempt to replicate the Reggae Reggae revolution is bound to fail as a pale, inferior imitation.
There is a gentle heat to the ASDA sauce, but not the burn I'd want from a bottle with HOT in foot high letters on the front, backed up with a double chilli insignia.
Many own brand products are just as good as the equivalents from the leading brands, with the added benefit of being significantly cheaper. ASDA Fiery Caribbean Style Sauce is really cheap at only £1.00 for 360g but it lacks any of the moreish magic of Reggae Reggae sauce. An extra 1/2 star for value.
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Category Food and Drink, Shopping |
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Like the Lord of the Flies kids picking the flesh from Just William's still warm corpse. With military precision.
Toby Litt’s fourth novel Deadkidsongs starts off like a Boys Own adventure; in the shadow of the cold war a group of school chums come together over the summer holidays to form Gang (not the Gang), an exclusive, regimented, pseudo-military club.
Andrew, Peter, Matthew and Paul set up base-camps around the village of rural Amplewick, run reconnaissance missions and complete silly training exercises with deadly seriousness. They are, it transpires, proudly and earnestly readying themselves for when the Ruskies arrive or when the Nazis come out of hiding.
Litt controls the pace of his novel beautifully. There is an almost imperceptible, gut wrenching slide from his conjured childhood world of tree-houses and wheelbarrow races into darker, more dangerous literary landscape.
Andrew- the leader of Gang- has been warped and conditioned by his father ( known as the best father or the squadron commander) a cruel ex-military man who dishes out unpleasant beatings to his wife and child. Andrew is obsessed with violence and death, and is possessed of a short-sighted vindictiveness that quickly becomes terrifying.
His sway over Gang leads the boys down some fairly harrowing avenues, made all the more disturbing by an abiding notion that these are still boys-will-be boys scrapes and escapades.
Told from the perspective of the four members of Gang, drawing you into their worlds and minds, Litt unveils his tapestry of horror and intrigue piece by piece. We are made complicit in the boys’ misadventures too, revelling in the youthful camaraderie and abundance of imagination, while recoiling from their icy-veined plots.
- Litt lit: Deadidsongs author Toby
Litt’s blackest of comic novels shudders to a haunting, if slightly confusing, conclusion that will leave you reeling and with a head full of questions, unsure whether to feel relief, sadness or revulsion.
There were times I wanted to close Deadkidsongs, shut it in a drawer and then set fire to the drawer, as Gang strayed ever further from the path of normal human behaviour, and I did have to take a moment or two to compose myself while reading. The power of Litt’s prose and his compelling, slow-reveal story-telling insisted that I read on however, even if, on occasion, I compulsively picked up the book with an ‘I don’t want to read this’ moan.
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Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)
Category Books |
