The X Factor (Reality, ITV1); series 12, the second week of live shows
Ballers (Drama, Sky Atlantic); series 1, episode 1 – Pilot
The artist formerly known as “The Rock”, Dwayne Johnson, is a magnificent man: a walking Mount Rushmore of brawn and charm, able to own a screen just as easily as any wrestling ring. It’s no different in Ballers, the new American Football “dramedy” from HBO, and his first TV lead after conquering Hollywood.He plays Spencer Strasmore, a retired player now trying to make it as a financial manager to the sporting stars; a job involving the NFL’s most ludicrous egos. If you’ve ever seen HBO’s trashy bro show Entourage, then the tone’s similar: a banter bus of wealth and partying. But it’s Johnson, with his straining suit and soothing warmth, that offsets the sleaze, giving it all some much-needed humanity.
Redesign My Brain (Factual, Discovery); series 2, episode 1 – Help Me Adapt
Renowned neuroscientist Morrissey once asked, ‘Does the body rule the mind. Or does the mind rule the body?’ Redesign My Brain thinks it has the answer, as presenter Todd Sampson proves the mental over the physical the only way he knows how: by climbing a 120m rock face in Utah’s Moab Desert, blindfolded. Paying lip service to science, this series two opener instead puts Sampson through the most tedious of tasks – the kind where he must learn ‘mind over matter’ or ‘think outside the box’. One puzzle literally requires him to sort recycling properly. A necessity, I’m sure, when it comes to scaling the heavens, although probably not as useful as having previously climbed Mount Everest, which Sampson already has.
Josh (Comedy, BBC3); series 1, episode 1 – Swimming and Kissing
This is the harmless – if unremarkable – sitcom from Josh Widdicombe, who you may recognise as the squeaky-voiced Hobbit one from Channel 4’s The Last Leg. Based around a London flat-share, it charts the misadventures of the gawky Josh, his Welsh, laddish mate Owen and the “emotionally damaged” Kate, who this week must navigate a sexy pool party – but oh no, Josh can’t swim! – and the revelation that Kate kisses like a blender. Jack Dee also features as an intrusive, socially inept landlord. If you’ve never seen a sitcom in your life, prepare to be wowed. Otherwise, there’s nothing here you haven’t seen before – only then it was probably done better, sharper and quicker.
Obama At War (Documentary, PBS)
How will history remember Barack Obama? The first black president of the United States, sure. That’s a given. But what else? Obamacare? Osama Bin Laden? Death by drone? According to this documentary, it could very well be for his indecision in the Syrian civil war.As Syria burned, the White House dithered – unsure whether to back “moderate” rebels fighting against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, even as it gassed its own people with sarin. Morally and politically, it’s a difficult choice, but Obama’s reluctance for war left the rebels desperate, creating a vacuum for the rise of Islamic State (Isis). As Robert Ford, former US ambassador to Damascus, says, “I worry now that we’re too little and we’re too late.”
Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA (Documentary, PBS)
On 14 December 2012, a gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and killed 20 children between the ages of six and seven, along with six adult staff members. Surely this had to be the tipping point for gun control?Alas, as this documentary shows, the political influence of the National Rifle Association – one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington – made sure even the most modest of bills didn’t pass. Through a balanced set of interviews, Gunned Down charts the NRA’s rise as gun control’s greatest adversary – a ferocious, politically deft group that views the firearm as freedom, and whose five million members possess the power to swing elections. A bizarre, stupefying watch for any Brit.
YouTube Revolution (Documentary, National Geographic)
Is YouTube great or amazing? That’s the question posed by this documentary: a puffy look back on the video-sharing site’s past ten years. Through people with job titles like “head of trends”, we’re told how YouTube went from a modest start-up to a Google-owned superpower; one that changed pop culture through the power of “viral”, Justin Bieber, cat videos and whatever a Zoella is. All fair enough, although claims to have toppled governments during the Arab Spring are stretching it a bit. Bright and peppy, this is at its best when putting faces to famous videos; such as the boys behind the legendary “Charlie bit my finger”, who are still bemused to have been watched more than 800 million times.
Yonderland (Comedy, Sky1); series 2, episode 4 – Up The Workers
Not many shows can get away with both talking puppets and class war, but then not many shows are Yonderland – fantastical fever dream fun for all the family. This week the evil Negatus is in trouble after unwittingly killing his boss’ right-hand man, Admiral Anous (heh). Meanwhile, Debbie Maddox leaves behind her new guest – genie-in-a-box Babbas – to sort out an industrial dispute.Remember the Ninnies from series one? They’ve stopped firing clever people into the Sun and are now hilarious parodies of The Apprentice: posh, champagne-popping fat cats who are exploiting the striking workers of a cushion sweatshop. “It’s like Thatcher all over again,” one of them says. “He used to do the roofs on the cottages. It’s a long story.”
North Korea: Life inside the Secret State (Documentary, PBS)
There is a story that, before he died, former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was the best golfer in the world – with state media reporting that he once scored 11 holes-in-one on an 18-hole course. You hear lots of funny little things like that, don’t you? About an Orwellian world too bizarre to exist. The reality, however, is grimly serious. Through secret, undercover footage, this Dispatches documentary shows a country of broken spirit; whose people have no choice but to believe they live in a utopia of torture and starving children. There are those fighting for change, though: defectors that risk their lives smuggling South Korean TV and Hollywood films through the border. Skyfall is very popular, apparently.
Revenge Porn (Documentary, Channel 4)
Of all the internet’s dark, misogynistic depths, revenge porn is one of its lowest. Mostly practised by jilted ex-boyfriends, it is the act of taking any “sexts” – intimate, often graphic photos – sent during a relationship and later uploading them online for ridicule.It’s now illegal in the UK, but still thrives, as presenter Anna Richardson finds. In this documentary, she not only meets victims and perpetrators, but uploads her own nude pictures to a revenge porn site in an attempt to understand how this seedy world works. It’s an interesting take on the subject, although one that leads on Richardson’s experience more than anyone else’s; providing a basic, entry-level introduction to a profoundly bigger problem – one that stretches far beyond vengeance.
Don’t Take My Baby (Drama, BBC3)
Every year in the UK an estimated 3,000 children are taken from couples judged too disabled to ensure their care. Yet that’s just a statistic – a cold, hard number. It holds little power compared with the story of 21-year-old wheelchair user Anna and her partially sighted partner Tom, who must prove to the social services that they’re able-bodied enough to keep their baby. For any new parent, it’s a whole other dimension of terror. Based on real-life testimony, Don’t Take My Baby is an impressively intelligent, even-handed drama, one that tackles the issue with humour and warmth, while never patronising disability, nor ignoring its harsh realities.
These previews first appeared in Radio Times magazine from July – December 2015.