Jury: Murder Trial (Channel 4) | kanal4.com
What You Need to Do (BBC Three) | iPlayer
The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (AppleTV+)
The Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough (Sky Nature)
You find me in a low-level state of shock. I don’t remember the last time I was this depressed while watching television. I’m talking about Channel 4 Jury: Murder Trial, a four-episode reality TV social experiment airing throughout the week. A real-life anonymous trial re-enacted in a former Chelmsford courthouse, where verdicts were made by two juries of real people. Actors portray attorneys, defendants and witnesses while experts provide insight. Juries sitting in closed courtrooms are aware that they are being filmed, but they are not aware of the existence of an alternative jury. For the first time there is access to jury deliberations. It’s fascinating television, but as I said, discouraging. While you’re watching this, you may find yourself Googling “moving to another country.”
The experiment focuses on whether two juries will reach the same conclusion (the series cites studies estimating that 25% of cases have wrong results) and whether these match real-life verdicts. The crime involves sculptor “John”, who had no history of violence, murdering his wife “Helen” by first strangling her and then smashing the sides of her head with an industrial hammer. Is he guilty of murder or manslaughter with an alleged “loss of control” (implying a much lighter sentence)?
I suddenly got goosebumps. A woman’s gruesome death has been reimagined as: What exactly? A new form of true crime entertainment? On the other hand, it can be extremely useful to see what happens in such cases. While I expect only heavy-handed courtroom scenes, I am also disturbed by the inadequate witness dramatizations that reek of murder mystery weekends held in country houses and hotels. But it is the jury deliberations that sour the soul.
The show shows how unfit for purpose the UK judicial system is; How random, how vulnerable
Jurors appear to have taken firm positions absurdly early and refused to budge. Others can’t see past their own “red mist” memories (throwing teacups; complicated dramas about cars) or their own unrelated life experiences (one juror wants to hug a crying John because he was also called fat).
Although Helen is clearly a troubled, volatile individual with serious mental health issues, her occasional victim-blaming (“she didn’t deserve to die, but she wanted it”) and extreme misogyny seem straight out of the Salem witch trial handbook. . Loud, dominant characters (those who describe themselves as puppet masters) are happy to influence others. One even looks like he’s punching the air.
I’ll leave it here, being careful not to give spoilers. Frankly, it is not right to overreact. Jury: Murder Trial It’s a staged experiment for TV, and you can’t help but suspect that some of the grand jury characters are robbing for the cameras. Even so, the show shows how ill-suited the UK judicial system is to its purpose; how random, how sensitive. This is riveting yet troubling, illuminating television: traitors with real-world consequences.
To cheer yourself up, BBC Three has a new six-part comedy. What You Need to DoThe film created and starring Lucia Keskin. Sharp (last seen as Kelly) big kids) plays Chi, the “stay-at-home girl” of Generation Z who is so cowardly that she requires emergency medical attention. When his parents died, he was told he could only inherit their house in Ramsgate if he completed a list of conditions (learning to drive, reading books, etc.). Meanwhile, her aunt (Selin Hizli) who is diagnosed as “nervous” Am I being unreasonable?), called Karen (natch), is circling like a bored suburban vulture, eager to take over the house.
Sharp is known for her online skits and impressions, some of which (Nigella, Claudia Winkleman) are interspersed here and there with fantastical cutscenes (Chi as sperm). The main pulse is Chi’s spatial dysfunction: She reacts to the deaths of her parents as if she had lost her favorite hairpin. Elsewhere, she becomes overly involved with everyone from driving instructors to care home residents.
There’s a little more to Chi than Philomena Cunk, and the extremely intense interaction with her cousin (Jamie Bisping) mirrors that of Daisy May Cooper this country. Attempts to add some darkness and pain (grief, infertility) do not always yield results. There is, however, a devilish play with the boundaries of good taste (child abduction, moral masturbation) and epic slapstick (I particularly enjoy seeing Chi’s parents as absurd, reluctant ghosts). With a little tightening of the bolts, a masterful comedic chronicler of ordinary and inappropriate appearances is likely to emerge.
Another new comedy: Apple TV’s six-episode era The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin. Created by Claire Downes, Ian Jarvis and Stuart Lane, the film stars Noel Fielding as an 18th century bandit.
Those who are used to Fielding complaining about the flat sponges in his role as the ostentatious gothic guest house Great British Bake will have to readjust to his comedic persona on the left side. His Turpin is a “new-style” thug (“There will be less violence on my watch – more charm, maybe even a little panache!”); A peace-loving vegan with a penchant for flowing capes and drinking mint tea in hotels.
He and his desperate gang (Marc Wootton, Ellie White and Duayne Boachie) must escape execution, imprisonment, nobles, sorcerers, witchcraft and supernatural rams. There’s also a corrupt lawman (Hugh Bonneville), whose menacing encounters with Turpin are constantly undermined by childcare issues (“FatherI found a dead moth”).
There’s a huge cast list: Tamsin Greig, David Threlfall, Asim Chaudhry, Jessica Hynes, Paul Kaye and others. Connor Swindells reiterates sexual education The comedy stars a snobbish arch-rival who could be the Hansel to Turpin’s Zoolander. At times it all feels a bit like a drunken, heavily costumed 1990s/00s panto (and someone who owes it a huge debt). karayabancı and Taika Waititi’s latest pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death) – but it’s delightfully funny and silly with a wry, surrealist kick.
Sky Nature has a new three-part documentary series The Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough. Opening early in a forest full of bluebells, the presenter examines how sounds and vibrations enable predators and also protect prey.
Along the way, lions roar across the African Savanna (“One of the great acoustic displays of power in nature”), elephants sense rainstorms, and bees use buzzing to pollinate flowers. It doesn’t really need flashy graphics showing sound waves (they look a bit gimmicky), but it doesn’t matter. Attenborough is a cunning ringmaster of the natural world who knows exactly how to excite a crowd with his signature gravelly, mellow tones.
Star ratings (out of five)
Jury: Murder Trial ★★★★
What You Need to Do ★★★
The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin ★★★
The Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough ★★★★
What else am I watching?
shogun
(Disney+)
This 10-episode drama starring Hiroyuki Sanada is based on James Clavell’s 1975 cult novel about Japanese feudal warfare in the 1600s. Epic and booming (ready to be East Asian) Game of thrones?) – but avoid if you are sensitive about violence.
Formula 1: Try to Survive
(Netflix)
The drama continues in the sixth series of the thrilling, brutal Formula 1 docuseries – except behind the scenes, of course.
spud
(BBC Three)
A treat for fans Derry GirlsSiobhán McSweeney (Sister Michael) writes and stars in this must-see, agile comedy short about an average woman.