Maryland – Wednesday, BBC Two, 10.05pm
I urge you to watch this. Originally performed at London’s Royal Court in 2021, Lucy Kirkwood’s 30-minute play confronts the horrific everyday issue of violence against women. Mary and Mary (Zawe Ashton and Hayley Squires) meet for the first time at a police station in the dead of night. They’ve both been assaulted by men. We follow them over the course of a humiliating investigative process loosely overseen by an excruciatingly jocular and insensitive policeman (Daniel Mays). Maryland is a savage indictment of standard police procedure in cases such as these. It’s driven by fury and compassion, it does not flinch from the appalling injustice of a society in which women are forced to live in fear of assault.
Long Lost Family Special: The Unknown Soldiers – Monday, STV, 9pm
Four years ago in Belgium, the remains of nine British soldiers were discovered in a trench on what was once a World War One battlefield. In this typically sensitive edition of ITV’s stalwart DNA search, hosts Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall team up with an official MOD unit colloquially known as the War Detectives. Their mission: to identify those long-lost fallen soldiers and formally lay them to rest. Campbell and McCall meet up with some of their descendants. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the War Detectives, the time has now come for them to pay their final respects. As you would expect, the dénouement is very poignant. It’s a reunion of sorts, a moment of closure.
Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm
Filmed over the space of a year at London’s highly esteemed Royal Marsden Hospital, this illuminating three-part series follows surgeons and patients as they grapple with reaching a difficult mutual decision: to operate or not? The Royal Marsden provides specialist cancer treatment. Some patients can be saved. Others, alas, cannot. The series begins with Jade, who has a cancerous tumour in her throat. The quite clearly brilliant surgeon, Professor Paleri, uses a surgical robot in an attempt to improve Jade’s chances of survival. Paleri has never attempted this procedure before. If he makes a mistake, Jade might never be able to speak or swallow again. You don’t need me to tell you this, but never underestimate these geniuses.
Britain’s Tourette’s Mystery: Scarlett Moffatt Investigates – Tuesday, Channel 4, 10pm
Yes, I know: why is that woman from Gogglebox presenting a documentary about Tourette’s? Well, Moffatt is a nice, bright, empathetic person. If we must have celebs fronting serious documentaries, we may as well encourage the likes of Moffatt. She does a pretty good job here. In the last 18 months, there has been a marked increase in physical and verbal tics amongst children and teenagers; a mental health crisis magnified by lockdown. Some of these young people have formed support networks via social media, but that in itself has presented complications. It’s a thoughtful, nuanced, inquisitive programme. Moffatt asks gently direct questions and actually listens. “I’ve got a newfound respect for Louis Theroux,” she smiles at one point.
Unvaccinated – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm
Medical experts are warning that we’re about to enter a fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Approximately five million adults in the UK still haven’t received a single dose of the vaccine. Why? In this documentary, Professor Hannah Fry brings seven unvaccinated people together under one roof. She wants to understand their reasons for refusing the vaccine. At the end of this experiment, the main point of which is to highlight the severe dangers of misinformation, some of Fry’s participants are forced to question their fears and beliefs. I haven’t seen the programme, it wasn’t available in time for my deadline, but Fry is always worth listening to. I hope you’re all vaccinated and doing okay.
The Supervet: Noel Fitzpatrick – Thursday, Channel 4, 8pm
Let joy be unconfined, animal lovers, Professor F is back. A leading veterinary surgeon, his latest series kicks off (albeit gently) with a typical cavalcade of mildly perilous yet ultimately uplifting cases. This week’s patients include a large garrulous dog who may well require some hip replacement surgery, an adorably boisterous kitten with a suspected tibia injury, and a police dog afflicted with some painful stomach and spine issues. It’s easy to take shows such as this for granted. After all, they don’t amount to much in the grand scheme of things. But they’re put together with a certain amount of unassuming artistry. Without ever resorting to outright cynicism or chicanery, they sculpt heart-warming narratives you cannot resist.
First Dates – Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm
Another year, another series of this occasionally quite sweet and ultimately harmless dating show. You know the drill by now. Suave maître d’ Fred Sirieix and his affable factotums welcome another bunch of hopeful love seekers into their sinister surveillance restaurant. Your first daters this week include a self-proclaimed ‘typical Essex lad’ who subscribes to an extreme beauty regime. Spoiler: his body is entirely hairless like an Action Man. This smooth operator’s date likes what she sees, he ticks various boxes, but will she be able to accept his unorthodox line of work? We also meet an eccentric art gallery owner who moonlights as a gas fitter. Life’s rich pageant in all its infinite glory.
FILM of THE WEEK
Hear My Song – Monday, Film4, 11:45pm
The great Irish tenor Josef Locke was a huge star in the 1940s and 1950s. This whimsical piece of fiction imagines a scenario in which Locke (Ned Beatty) returns to England after a period in tax-enforced overseas exile, while promising to reverse the ailing fortunes of an ailing Liverpool nightclub. The club’s manager (Adrian Dunbar) is convinced that a Locke concert is the answer to all his problems. But is the man he’s booked the genuine article? A tumult of confusion ensues Hear My Song became a sleeper hit when it was released in 1991. Quite right too, this bittersweet flight of fancy has a flavour all of its own. It also revived the actual Locke’s career.
LAST WEEK’S TV
My Life as a Rolling Stone – Saturday July 11, BBC Two
It was Keith and Ronnie’s turn last week. A rhythmic double bill. Ronnie’s episode was fine. As always, he came across as a nice, talented chap who is understandably liked by everyone. But the Keith episode was borderline fascinating at times. The theme was outwardly expressed by Mick and Tom Waits, the latter being a friend who understands the dangers of succumbing to a contrived dissolute persona. Keith is an introverted music geek, a sensitive soul who invented ‘Rock Wildman Keith Richards’ as a way of avoiding reality. Drink and drugs helped to support that fantasy, until they didn’t. Keith didn’t exactly deny that. The most important point is this, however: he was an incredibly gifted musician and songwriter.
The Outlaws – Sunday July 12, BBC One
Farwell, then, Stephen Merchant’s The Outlaws. A splendid piece of entertainment. It was a heartfelt comedy thriller knowingly influenced by Scorsese, Breaking Bad, Billy Wilder and, of course, Merchant’s own warm, daft, parochial comic sensibilities. I’ll miss those characters. And I really can’t stress this enough (although I’m about to): the gulf in quality between Merchant’s solo output and that of his erstwhile collaborator is staggering. The heart and soul of The Office? That clearly all came from Merchant. The other chap was great as David Brent, a fine comic performance, but everything he’s done on his own has been facile, lazy and embarrassing. I look forward to seeing what Merchant does next. A talented fella.
Conversation