There is a new test in town for women coppers: are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the F-club? Its origins are undefined, its leading associate well known (Catherine Cawood, Happy Valley), and its basic requrement, a willingness to drop the F-bomb when warranted, clear.
DCI Jessica James, the new face in Unforgotten (STV, Monday), flashed her membership early doors as she stepped into the sensible shoes vacated so tragically by Cassie Stuart in the last series of the cold case drama. Everybody loved Cassie (Nicola Walker) so we were always going to be sniffy about any replacement who wasn’t the equally beloved DI Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar).
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before DCI Jessica James was getting right on everyone’s regulations, with her “spending money wisely” this, and “limited resources” that. She certainly wasn’t keen to take on the case of the body in the chimney breast. Too far in the past to investigate, she reckoned. Sunny was of a different mind, and made the mistake of saying so.
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“This isn’t therapy,” snapped his new boss. “I am very sorry for the woman who died but it was at least 55 ******* years ago so the case is closed, as of NOW.”
DCI James (Sinead Keenan) was not having the best of starts to her new job, what with her husband troubles, but even so, she was a horror. Sunny was so upset he dropped the F-bomb himself and kicked a toilet door. Unbelievable scenes on Unforgotten!
It is going to take more than one episode for this relationship to sort itself out. Assuming it does. Such is the talent of Chris Lang, Unforgotten's writer-creator, there is no telling what he has lined up. Meanwhile, Unforgotten works its usual magic, pulling the threads of several stories together to show we’re all part of the same badly knitted jumper we call society.
A melancholy air hung over Endeavour (STV, Sunday), returning for a ninth and final series. Morse (Shaun Evans) was back from his “cure” and had sworn off the drink, leaving him in peak condition to investigate the latest wave of murders to hit Oxford. The killings, as per, were not half as interesting as the to and fro between Thursday (Roger Allam) and Morse.
The scene in the pub when Thursday came across Morse having a sly pint (it’s allowed in moderation, he told his unconvinced boss) was a heartbreaker.
Viewers can see how the future is shaping up for Morse. We know it is going to be far from happy, but that does not make it any less poignant. “Mind how you go,” Thursday tells his protege. A simple phrase, a sad little joke even, but what a weight of emotion it carried.
You have to hand to members of The Church of the Latter-Day Saints: they do not lack a sense of humour. How else could they use The Book of Mormon as a recruiting opportunity? We saw them in the documentary The Mormons are Coming (BBC2, Tuesday), chatting away with theatregoers leaving the musical that lampoons their faith, offering to tell a different story. One punter thought they were part of the show.
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It’s all part of a strategy that has brought the church 17 million members worldwide. Though it has led the way in recruitment techniques, including its use of social media, the church still relies at its core on believers knocking on doors. The film followed a handful of these “missionaries” as they went through training at a centre in Lancashire.
“This new branch of Christianity has faced its fair share of controversy,” said the narrator, “but it is now recognised as a mainstream religion”. Albeit one that only fully accepted black members in 1978, frowns on tea and coffee as much as alcohol, etc.
The filmmakers took care to be even-handed, their questions answered with polished ease by church elders. The young trainees were more revealing, not in what they said but in how they dealt with the strains of this religious life, as were the interviews with those who had left the church.
Danny Dyer. Sorry, should have prepared you for that. But over the years I have found the best way of dealing with Mr Dyer is head-on, much in the way he presents his new gameshow Cheat (Netflix). A lot of money has been spent putting together what Danny called “the ultimate battle of brains, blagging and bare-faced lying.” What the rules are I have no idea – it took me years to crack The Chase – but it’s something about secret cheat buttons and accusing fellow contestants of lying.
Co-host Ellie Taylor called the four young hopefuls “absolute scumbags, the lot of ‘em’, but it was said with love. Cheat duly raced along and raised a smile, which is no mean feat; ask Morse.
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