STV aims for Hogmanay ratings winner with Chic Murray retrospectiveBy Lucy Jordan
The "Tall Droll" looks set to capture the lion's share of the Hogmanay TV viewing next week, when STV devotes a half-hour special to the legendary, lugubrious Chic Murray.
The master of the deadpan one-liner will lead the STV charge against BBC Scotland as the stations go head to head with their festive schedules on New Year's Eve, with live shows and plenty of seasonal and national nostalgia on offer from both broadcasters.
Both channels are seeing in the New Year with a wistful look at the ghosts of comedy past. BBC Scotland pays tribute to the nation's comic legacy, picking the best bits of Scottish humour from over the years in Comedy Resolutions, including classic material from Rikki Fulton, Robbie Coltrane, Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill.
Over on STV is the one-off documentary about the legendary Murray. "It will probably be the best programme of the evening," said Dorothy Paul, who will contribute, along with Andy Cameron and Alex Norton. "I adored Chic as a human being and as an artist. He was such a funny, unique, unusual man."
Which to watch? Even Paul English, the Daily Record TV critic, can't choose: "It's a close call between STV's Chic Murray celebration and BBC Scotland's Comedy Resolutions clip show, which will cast back to the halcyon days of Scotch & Wry and Naked Video. It's a case of Sky+ one and watch the other. People tend towards nostalgia at this time of year, and I think that's reflected in the schedules."
Paul thinks that's to be expected: "This time of year is all about nostalgia. We've just completed a whole year, and nothing's getting any better."
She predicts that the credit crunch will increase this appetite for the past: "We've not got much to look forward to next year - people are going to long for the good old days more and more."
But, inevitably, time marches ever forward, and so the evening's telly nudges us once more into the present, with live Hogmanay parties on both sides. Vicky Lee and Gerry McCulloch host STV's show from Glasgow Pacific Quay with live links to parties around the country - from Glasgow's George Square, Edinburgh's Princes Street, Inverness and Stonehaven, which celebrates New Year with a fireball swinging festival.
"Our show's the one to watch because it gives you an insight into parties all over the country," says McCulloch. "Plus you get to see Vicky and me having a laugh."
Nostalgia over, the next Hogmanay crown up for grabs seems to be for who can show the most patriotism on this very Scottish holiday, at least according to McCulloch.
"I think our viewers know STV as the Scottish channel," he said, "and I think we tend to be very Scottish about Christmas and especially about New Year.
"We've got some fantastic Scottish programming coming up, and I can't wait for the Chic Murray documentary. If you want to be Scottish, stay Scottish and watch Scottish, you come to us."
However, it'll still be a far cry from the days of the White Heather Club, which Lee thinks will work to their advantage: "We're not going to be all teary-eyed and traditional Scottish. It's going to be young, modern, something in it for everyone - not just bagpipes!"
Over on the BBC, Jackie Bird and Hardeep Singh Kohli will ring in the New Year from Edinburgh Castle's Great Hall with a lively mix of contemporary and traditional Scottish music. Sharleen Spiteri and Leon Jackson will join acclaimed fiddle and accordion duo Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham to first-foot the nation.
Unmissable stuff? Some people don't think so. The usual alternative, Jools Holland's Hootenany, has Annie Lennox, US rock band The Hold Steady and Sam Sparro this year, and although it isn't live, it's normally less traditional than either STV or BBC Scotland's Hogmanay shows. But for some, that is exactly what new Year's Eve is all about: "Good festive TV needs the feel-good factor, it needs a bit of cheese," says Lee, "and there'll be plenty of that on our Hogmanay show."
