It must have been tough knowing what to do with those last remaining hours on the Titanic, which sunk exactly 100 years ago this Sunday. One thing’s for sure though, they wouldn’t have watched Titanic, a new three-hour miniseries penned by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey, Gosford Park, anything with servants) unless they really were hell-bent on a fate worse than death.
Each of the four episodes focuses on a different set of characters, climaxing with the sinking. British newspaper The Guardian felt the screenplay was “obsessed” with class to “the point that nothing else matters at all”, comparing it to being “bashed over the head again and again with a Debrett’s guide to etiquette. And then being thrown into the sea. Four times.”
Jack Davenport, the posh one in This Life, continues one of the slowest rises in the history of celluloid with the lead in Smash (TV3 Puls, Tue 22:00), an adult version of Glee that sees him directing a musical on Broadway. The critics concur it’s good. Likewise British scifi series Misfits has been praised for its adult take on X-Men. Its characters have the kinds of superpowers you would want: like turning any person who touches you into a sexual frenzy.
And there are some good docs. The Oscar nominee If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (SV1, Tue 22:30) reveals how tree-huggers are now on the FBI’s most wanted list, while Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times (DR2, Tue 21:00) looks at media’s move from print to the web.
Elsewhere, Spartacus: Vengeance (TV3+, Mon 22:00) is back for a third series with a new actor saying “I’m Spartacus” after the former lead sadly died of cancer; Inside Facebook (BBC World, Sat 22:10) promises much, but we suspect we’ll learn nothing new; The Great Indian Marriage Bazaar (BBC World, Sun 22:10) lifts the lid on the profitable world of arranged marriages; Wild Target (DRHD, Sat 20:45) is an absurd British crime caper that should never have been made – we suspect nepotism; Game of Thrones (TV3, Sat 21:00) makes its Danish TV premiere; and The Children who cheated the Nazis (DR2, Wed 17:55) sheds light on the pre-war Kindertransport of 10,000 Jewish children to Britain.
