The many layers of irony shrouding all things ‘hipster’ are now too complex to understand, and the same could be said for the new comedy show Portlandia (SVT1, Thu 23:30). Starring Fred Armisen of Saturday Night Live fame, the sketch show also has a stellar cast of cameos, from Juliette Lewis to Steve Buscemi.
The series is full of new-ish stereotypes: the couple in a restaurant who demand to know in minute detail where their chicken came from and the life it led, to the point where they leave in order to visit the farm; the man who has stopped watching television and turned his hands to carpentry with only a wobbly chair to show for it; and the two feminists who own a book shop that only stocks unsuccessful authors and no-one is allowed to point as it looks phallic. Actually, that last one is vaguely amusing, but several other sketches simply re-enact modern situations that are stressful, without the laughs.
Someone who isn’t interested in turning off the television anytime soon is Bruce ‘Spank’ Grannec. Nicknamed ‘The Machine’ (TV2 Zulu, Sun 19:50), this documentary follows his life and progression in the 2012 FIFA Interactive World Cup.
New series The Following (TV2, Fri 22:35), previously on SVT4, features Kevin Bacon as an FBI agent on the hunt of an escaped prisoner who has formed a murderous cult with his new friends from behind bars. Don’t watch if you are not a fan of gore.
A ticket to Roskilde costs roughly the same as one to Glastonbury (BBC Ent, Sun 19:00), but the line-up at the latter is actually good. The Rolling Stones have finally agreed to allow the BBC to screen an hour of their headline slot. Adele in Albert Hall (SVT1, Sat 22:30) is also worth a watch if you’re a fan.
Elsewhere, celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal is cooking food no-one else can be bothered to in Heston’s Fantastical Food (TV3 Puls, Thu 20:00); Stephen Fry is no doubt being incredibly clever but self-effacing at the same time in Gadget Man (DR3, Sat 17:50); and the Treasures of Ancient Rome are being uncovered once again (DRK, Fri 20:00).
