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CROSSFIRE, TUESDAY, BBC1
After a turbulent fortnight after the Queen’s death, TV audiences may have been looking for potentially comforting combinations of solace and distraction. So where should you go?
The three-part BBC drama Crossfire, starring Keeley Hawes, was initially scheduled to run on consecutive evenings from Monday, but was inevitably rerouted before finally starting last Tuesday.
And if “escapism” was what you were looking for, Crossfire delivered — not least because the shooting happened at a hotel in the Canary Islands, where former copper-turned-security consultant Jo (a riveting Hawes ) was on vacation with her husband, their two young children, and her oldest daughter from a previous marriage. So far, so happy (modern, mixed, mixed race) families.
Slightly less likely, however, Jo and co were also on vacation with their best friends. Personally, I find it hard enough to organize my own vacations without trying to coordinate others’ schedules so that a bunch of busy middle-aged people with careers and kids could get it done in just a few weeks. (via flashbacks, we found out the idea of an Easter holiday had been conceived on New Year’s Eve) felt like dramatic sleight of hand from writer Louise Doughty.
The three-part BBC drama Crossfire, starring Keeley Hawes, was initially scheduled to run on consecutive evenings from last Monday, but was inevitably rerouted before finally starting last Tuesday.
The author of the novel Apple Tree Yard (a huge hit after being adapted for the BBC in 2017), Doughty’s comfort zone for storytelling explores what happens when outwardly strong and capable women find themselves in situations where events are beyond their control.
In Apple Tree, Emily Watson’s Yvonne had an affair with Ben Chaplin’s Mark that went very dark, very quickly, while in Crossfire it is the unfolding of Jo’s relationship with one of her husband’s oldest friends (on the same holiday, with his family …) against the background of a few angry gunmen running around and shooting at vacationers.
When Jo was forced to brush up on her police skills, she had to try to save her family, her relationship, the lives of her friends and the other hotel guests and staff. It was a big question – and her journey was predictably on the edge of the seat with inevitable twists and turns; the excellent Hawes (who also co-produced) was the glue that successfully bonded together some slightly frayed plot strands.
Kathryn Flett (pictured): The random-shooter-with-no-clear-motive also made an appearance in the otherwise brilliant Sherwood – I hope it’s not just a trend that is used not to offend
A lot of viewers will want to catch up on iPlayer, so I don’t want to give too much away. However, if there was one thing about Crossfire that felt a little shocking, it was the BBC’s diversity in action checklist – ensuring Jo’s close friendship group (great performances from Royal Shakespeare Company’s trusty Josette Simon OBE, Line Of Duty star Anneika Rose and Shalisha James-Davis as Jo’s daughter) felt a little forced, while the shooters’ own motives were so vague they felt less like a real conspiracy than a neat plot device.
The random-shooter-with-no-clear-motive also made an appearance in the otherwise brilliant Sherwood – I hope it’s not just a trend that is used to avoid offending.
However, while I enjoyed Crossfire’s welcome escapism a lot, it was the last shot of the series that failed me. The close-up of a uniformed police officer customizing his hat with his shiny “EIIR” badge was—suddenly, unexpectedly—certainly much more emotional than the show’s creators could ever have predicted.
Softened by a sponge apartment building
As I waited to watch the procession from the palace to Westminster Hall before the queen lay in state, I struck up a conversation with PC Skinner of the Met – on duty over the barrier – who admitted that after several long shifts all was well. was with me because when I got home last night it was Bake Off’.
Whether viewers were on duty or not, Syabira’s luscious Red Velvet cake and Janusz’s spectacular sponge interpretation of his mother’s apartment building in the first episode were so uplifting that I’m sure we’ll all be entertained and calmed down during this sixth season ( Tuesday, Ch4, with judges Paul and Prue, above).
The wide fan base is far from soggy – after all, the new Prince and Princess of Wales are known as fans.
MICHAEL PALIN: TUESDAY IN IRAQ, CHANNEL 5
Even though it was the birthplace of civilization, there may be many countries closer to the top of your vacation bucket list than Iraq. So it’s great to see the indomitable Michael Palin make the journey, if only so we don’t have to.
Having been fascinated by the country for a long time, he had to get permission from his doctor to travel there – presumably for insurance purposes – and was clearly delighted to learn that he could go to a country that has had a terrible present but an extraordinary past” . The still cheerful Sir Michael (below) – turning 80 next year – set off by train and followed the Tigris River south for 1,000 miles from its source in Turkey.
While in the still-ravaged city of Mosul, five years after the fighting ended there, he chatted with children playing among the ruins before moving on to buy a neat, tailored coat in the gleaming, high-rise city of Erbil. , the thriving capital of Iraqi Kurdistan 80 kilometers to the east. When he took part, somewhat nervously, in the torchlit (“Glastonbury-meets-Apocalypse Now”) New Year’s parade in Akre, Palin admitted that “the first days in Iraq were really a baptism of fire.”
Sir Michael is still a dry, witty, amiable guide, just not quite as stable on his feet these days, so it’s pretty unlikely we’ll see him climb too many mountainsides dodging tracer fire. So his fans will definitely want to make the most of his visit to a country about which many of us are more prejudiced than facts.