This article was originally published in The Scotsman on Saturday 13th October 2012.
GETTING
ON
Wednesday,
BBC4, 10pm
BIG
SCIENCE
BBC4,
days and times vary
HEBBURN
Thursday,
BBC2, 10pm
Paul
Whitelaw
Dismantled
by a government possessed of all the selflessness and empathy of a
Cyberman attending an annual “Let's Kill the Humans” convention,
the NHS currently finds itself in the most parlous position of its
lifetime. And while no conceivable trace of good could ever arise
from this dismal situation, it does add an extra layer of depth to
careworn sitcom GETTING ON. So that's something. I suppose.
Now
in its third series, this unvarnished gem – written by and starring
Vicki Pepperdine, Joanna Scanlan, and former psychiatric nurse Jo
Brand – has always presented a humane and despairing portrait of
the beleaguered NHS. But now more than ever it feels like a helpless
eulogy for an institution trudging towards its final days.
If
that all sounds like unreasonably depressing fodder for a comedy, it
should be explained – for those who haven't already succumbed to
its charms – that Getting On never goes in search of broad,
easy laughs. Instead its subtle humour arises naturally from
realistic situations and well-rounded characters. It's funny in a
desperate, often painful way.
Set
in an understaffed geriatric ward, it lives up to its double-edged
title by showing ordinary, flawed human beings muddling through under
trying circumstances (i.e. life). Overshadowed by the ever-present
spectre of death – laugh it up, folks! - it pays heartfelt yet
crucially unsentimental tribute to the thankless lot of NHS nurses.
Jo
Brand as knackered nurse Kim is the heart of Getting On.
Although shrouded in lingering traces of Brand's cynical comic
persona, Kim is kinder and more cognisant of the needs of her elderly
patients than any other character in the show. She's that rare thing:
someone from a modern British sitcom that you'd actually like to know
in real life.
The
same can't be said for Pepperdine as effortlessly condescending
consultant Dr Moore, who's more concerned with ticking boxes and
boosting her profile. Permanently teetering on a frayed tightrope of
passive-aggression and stunning obliviousness, she's a weirdly
vulnerable monster, and Pepperdine plays her impeccably.
Scanlan,
who's already asserted her deft comic touch as Terri in The Thick
Of It, also impresses as capable but lazy ward sister Den, who
tends to form a shaky united front with Kim. In the latest episode
she receives unwelcome news from her ex-partner and male matron,
Hilary – a beautifully understated performance from hulking comic
Ricky Grover – while struggling with a hypochondriac patient.
I'd
describe Getting On as bittersweet, if that word hadn't been
hijacked to describe bland ITV comedy-dramas starring Martin Clunes
as a lonely divorcee. Instead I'll describe it as a raw, honest study
of institutional and mortal decay, but funny.
Directed
by, among others, Scanlan's The Thick Of It co-star Peter
Capaldi, it's deliberately grey and unflatteringly lit, all the
better to underscore its harsh, satirical message. In the unlikely
event of Jeremy Hunt sitting down to watch it, I doubt that he'd care
about that message at all. This, ultimately, is all you need to know.
Swapping
its nurses uniform for a lab coat, BBC4 launches its BIG SCIENCE
season this week, featuring a host of classy documentaries devoted
to, well, you can probably guess.
It
begins with Order and Disorder (Tuesday,
9pm), in which Professor Jim Al-Khalili explains how the human race
came to harness and manipulate energy. In The Final
Frontier? A Horizon Guide to the Universe (Wednesday,
9pm), Dallas Campbell raids the Horizon
archive to chart the scientific breakthroughs that have transformed
our understanding of the universe. Meanwhile, in Tails You
Win – The Science of Chance (Thursday,
9pm), David Spiegelhalter, the – implausible yet impressive job
title alert – Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk at
Cambridge University, examines factors of risk and probability to
argue that, instead of avoiding chance, we should embrace it.
Finally,
HEBBURN is a fairly warm-hearted new sitcom written by
stand-up comic Jason Cook. Set in the unremarkable town of Hebburn,
South Tyneside, where Cook grew up, it revolves around a close-knit
working-class family headed by Vic Reeves (here billed under his real
name, Jim Moir) and Gina McKee. He's affable and blokey, she's
overbearingly well-meaning in the way that sitcom mums almost always
are.
Rounding
out the brood are comedian Chris Ramsey – who looks like Stan
Laurel moonlighting as a member of One Direction – as the prodigal
son awkwardly introducing his girlfriend (Fresh Meat's
Kimberley Nixon) to the family for the first time. But unbeknownst to
them, the pair secretly got married in Vegas. Oh no! Apparently.
There's
also a daffy gran prone to inappropriate outbursts, and a
tart-with-a-heart sister. So no, it won't win any awards for
originality (if indeed such awards existed). And that's Hebburn's
problem: although it's packed with gags, they're mostly rather
obvious and unremarkable. Cook – who also appears in a supporting
role – can't resist all the usual cheap tracksuits and fake-tan
jibes, and even throws a cheesy pub singer in for good measure.
Tinged with pathos and black comedy, it's amiable enough, and nicely
performed – especially by McKee, reminding us that she's capable of
delivering much more than the frosty types she's usually cast as. But
it isn't remotely distinctive or original.
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