Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr
BBC1/iPlayer
***
When Alan Carr was last seen wielding a paintbrush with intent he was in the company of Amanda Holden doing another of their house transformations abroad. Holden barely lets him get a word in edgeways so it’s little wonder he goes a bit crazy in his own show. Then again, I don’t think he needs much persuasion.
Here he is back in his happy place, the show he took over four years ago and has made his own, name in the title and everything. But then everyone is happy on Interior Design Masters. As a reality competition, it’s the opposite of The Apprentice.
That said, judge Michelle Ogundehin does have a sofa of doom from which she dispatches a contestant each week.
Read more
- The Studio: Hollywood savages itself with hilarious results
- Stacey & Joe reviewed
- Air fryer fans, meet Hannah Fry
- A revenge thriller that dares to be different
In the first episode it looked like Victoria was going home to the west end of Glasgow sooner than anticipated. In the task to redesign a youth hostel room in the Lake District she had run riot with her signature style, “contemporary luxe” (lots of flowery stuff and stripes), and not paid enough attention to guests’ practical needs, like having somewhere to store muddy boots.
Luckily for Victoria someone else got their marching orders, leaving her to return next week. ‘Mon Victoria, get a grip on that stripe obsession. Your city expects.
Black Mirror
Netflix
***
With the world as it is, you might think it impossible for any drama to beat reality for dystopian bleakness, and so it proves with this patchy seventh series from Charlie Brooker.
But don’t give up on Black Mirror just yet. There are still flashes of brilliance here and star turns - step forward Peter Capaldi - that will make your head spin.
Of the six new episodes, the best turns out to be Common People. Chris O’Dowd and Rashida Jones play Mike and Amanda, just your average American couple struggling to get by.
When Amanda, a teacher, is felled by a brain tumour, it looks like recovery is going to be long, slow and painful. But then the pair are introduced to a new programme, Rivermind, which uses an implant to get the brain working again. All that’s needed to access the service is a monthly subscription at a surprisingly reasonable price.
Everything is going great until Amanda starts to slow down again. An upgrade is required, for a fee of course.
Upgrades, ad-free versions, basic models - any resemblance to streaming services is, I’m sure, wholly coincidental.
In what is a little corner of Scotland, Plaything finds Peter Capaldi delivering a standout performance as a crazed gamer arrested for attempted murder, with fellow Glaswegian Lewis Gribben (T2 Trainspotting) as his younger self.
The final standout episode is Eulogy, starring Paul Giamatti as a shambling author who gets a call one day telling him an old flame has died. Would he contribute to the eulogy? Since the affair ended badly, he’s worked hard to erase memories of his lost love. But what do you know, technology has an answer.
Giamatti’s writer has no hesitation in hooking his brain up to the latest tech. Have these people never seen an episode of Black Mirror?
Share