The Pole of the Gallows (BBC2)
The Great British Sewing Bee (BBC1)
David came along from Birmingham, that much is clear. “I walked from Birmingham,” he told his sister-in-law Gwen.
“He was from Birmingham,” Gwen told her sister Grace. “Did he walk from Birmingham?” Grace repeated, checking to make sure she had her facts straight. Later, Gwen’s husband asked David where he had been. “Birmingham,” David announced.
There must be something in the waters of Yorkshire The gallows post (BBC2), because an hour later Grace was still confused. ‘Where have you been?’ she asked David. Guess what he answered.
Either the entire extended family in this 18th-century village suffers from acute short-term amnesia, or the actors struggle with their dialogue.
The Gallows Pole is loosely based on a novel by Benjamin Myers, itself based on the historical legend of a band of starving weavers at the start of the Industrial Revolution, who turned to forgery and forgery.
Michael Socha stars as David Hartley in The Gallow’s Pole (BBC2) alongside Sophie McShera as his wife Grace
Not that you’d guess any of that from the first of this three-part series, which got off to a slow start, to say the least.
The first five minutes consisted of a man walking down from Birmingham in a blood-soaked shirt, dragging a sack of blacksmithing tools behind him, and fighting off demon hallucinations with deer antlers.
Captions flashed on screen warning us of “canals dug by children” as “factories ravage the country.”
When David (Michael Socha) finally came home, delirious from an infected stab wound, the villagers crowded around the house, loudly explaining to each other where he had been. Did I mention Birmingham?
Director Shane Meadows – who describes himself in Georgian Gothic letters in the credits as the purveyor of scenes – made his name in the noughties with This Is England, a film about a gang of young skinheads. Starring Stephen Graham and Vicky McClure, much of the dialogue was improvised.
He tries the same technique here, but with no clear direction or lines of script, many of the inexperienced cast flounder. They stand frozen, visibly grasping for something to say, repeating each other too often, like a student improv class. When David said “F*** the King!” came up, they all eagerly pounced on it and squawked like parrots.
During a tentative argument with David, Sophie McShera of Downton Abbey, as Grace, came up with the most telling line. “Why did you take a long break?” she asked. “You’re doing a big break, it sounds like a lie.”
Presenter Sara Pascoe with judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young from the Great British Sewing Bee (BBC1)
Without a script, the plot doesn’t develop, and without a plot I got distracted – I wondered why these poverty-stricken villagers all had fresh skin, well-groomed hair, and white linen. They didn’t look hungry: they looked like they’d had oat milk lattes between shots.
We can thank the industrial revolution and its factories The Great British Sewing Bee (BBC1)which was filmed in a former wool factory called Sunny Banks near Leeds.
After a perfect opening episode last week, we already feel like we know the contestants – they all got just enough screen time, with well-chosen glimpses of their personalities.
The sewing challenges, making a backpack and a swimsuit, are almost incidental as we learn more about them. Fauve is an international golfer, Mia makes stained glass, Matthew works as an entertainer on cruise ships.
A holiday theme ran through the show, with blasts of sunny music from the Undertones, Eddie Cochran, Donovan and many more. In one task, Judge Esme Young demanded outfits made from the colorful plastic of beach windshields.
“This is a sculptural fabric,” she announced. I have no idea what that means, but the Bee is a reliable delight.