Worzel Gummidge - Saucy Nancy Review - Like Taking a Bath in Pure Kindness *****

Worzel Gummidge special ‘Saucy Nancy’ review: Like taking a bath in pure kindness

Mackenzie Crook's whimsical adaptation returns with another tremendous one-off.

It’s a tough ask expecting anyone to approach BBC One’s Worzel Gummidge with a truly critical eye – from its gentle opening theme onwards, Mackenzie Crook’s adaptation of Barbara Euphan Todd’s original books is so genial and good-natured that to highlight any inadequacies would almost feel mean-spirited. Happily, though – and like its two predecessors from Christmas 2019 – the show’s latest instalment, ‘Saucy Nancy’, is also so accomplished that there’s actually very little to “grumble grumble” about.

Having come across a £20 pound note, living scarecrow Worzel (Crook, who also serves as writer/director) looks to spend his bounty at a local scrapyard, only to come across old friend Saucy Nancy (Shirley Henderson), a potty-mouthed (by Worzel’s definition, anyway) ship’s figurehead come to life, with the rest of the episode concerning his, Susan (India Brown) and John (Thierry Wickens)’s efforts to return Nancy to the craft from whence she came.

It’s an enchanting hour of drama – light on plot, yes, but rich in character, humour and good cheer. To call Worzel Gummidge “gentle” and “pleasant” almost seems like it’s doing the series a disservice, though – while it absolutely is those things, Crook’s script is also smart and sharp, with a number of laugh-out-loud gags and a knowing sense of its own glorious absurdity.

Crafting a drama such as this – sweet but not overly saccharine, soothing without being slow – is, one suspects, much harder to pull off than it looks. The same could be said for Crook’s quirky, charming, wide-eyed turn as the title character, which remains the heart of the show – there’s a heart and humanity to the performance, even through thick layers of prosthetics, that prevents Worzel from becoming a cartoon character. Likewise, his young friends John and Susan regard Worzel with just the right balance of adoration and good-natured mockery, with Brown and Wickens effortlessly endearing.

2019’s specials set a high bar when it comes to supporting cast, what with Sir Michael Palin guesting as The Green Man, but happily ‘Saucy Nancy’ doesn’t drop the ball here either – the role of the outrageous Nancy plays perfectly to Shirley Henderson’s strengths as a performer, adding a dash of salt to the show’s sweetness, and while we won’t spoil the specifics of Brian Blessed’s cameo here, suffice it to say his character Abraham Longshanks makes for a hugely memorable addition to this show’s cast of colourful characters.

To top it all off, Worzel Gummidge also looks and sounds glorious – there’s a strong musical element to ‘Saucy Nancy’, with a gorgeous soundtrack from folk act The Unthanks that not only heightens the emotional moments but also punctuates some of the episode’s best jokes, and while I promised myself I wouldn’t fall into the trap of describing this episode as “the perfect antidote to the year we’ve just been through”, this latest trip to Scatterbrook can’t help but feel all the more magical after many of us have spent the majority of 2020 locked away in our homes, far from beautiful, sprawling countryside.

Like taking a long, relaxing bath in pure kindness, Worzel Gummidge leaves the viewer with a smile on their face and their heart full – with only a slight bittersweetness lingering as the credits roll, as we’re left wondering when we’ll get to see Worzel and friends again. More please, BBC One – and as soon as humanly (or scarecrow-ly) possible.

Author: Morgan Jeffrey
Published: The Radio Times Website (2020.12.23 08:00)

Source: https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-12...

The Split Series Two Review – Steamy Legal Saga Raises the Bar Again

With its flagrant infidelities and families at war, Abi Morgan’s divorce lawyer drama is a tasty, racy treat you’ll want to binge.

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A high-end divorce lawyer with marital problems of her own? It is a solid setup with obvious dramatic potential, but premises don’t always come to pass in TV land. It took series one of The Split (BBC One) to prove that its writer/producer, Abi Morgan, and its star, Nicola Walker, were the team to deliver. Series two asks only that we settle in comfortably for more of the same.

Three months have passed and the once-warring Defoe family of solicitors – eldest sister Hannah (Walker), mother Ruth (Deborah Findlay) and middle sister Nina (Annabel Scholey) – are now united, post-merger, at Noble Hale Defoe. Hannah also seems to have brokered peace with her barrister husband, Nathan (a suitably hangdog Stephen Mangan), although she is still carrying on a part-retaliatory, part-romantic affair with her colleague Christie (Barry Atsma). Meanwhile, the firm’s director, Zander (Chukwudi Iwuji) has returned from a stint at the Chicago offices, bringing with him a management consultant, Tyler (Damien Molony), to “cut away fat”. Sounds ominous, especially as Tyler is also Zander’s new fiance. Still, it’s hard to set dead against the man who played Gameface’s adorable driving instructor.

The Split has been called Britain’s answer to The Good Wife – certainly Hannah Stern has silk shirts as covetable as anything in Alicia Florrick’s wardrobe – and it is enjoyable to imagine Zander spent his time in Chicago arguing cases at Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart for a future crossover episode. Also, like The Good Wife, The Split’s procedural structure, with divorce-of-the-week cases, provides plentiful opportunities for interesting casting. In the last series, Nina got entangled with a sadboi standup, played to perfection by Horrible Histories’ Mathew Baynton. This time there’s Donna Air, herself no stranger to tabloid tattle, as Fi Hansen, a TV personality who is plotting to escape her controlling husband (Ben Bailey Smith) and, in a few episodes’ time we’ll have Anna Chancellor as a formidably stylish opposing counsel. “She gives good coat,” observes Hannah, ruefully.

All of which only adds to the guilty, gossipy pleasure. Sure, the coincidences don’t always stand up to cross-examination, but you can never really have too many unexpected encounters with exes, teary toilet-cubicle confessions or paternity mix-ups, can you? Nathan seems to speak for all fans of The Split when he defends his “sidebar-of-shame” scrolling to a snooty Hannah: “I may maintain a healthy interest in celebrity culture, from a socio-anthropological point of view, but to not would mean we miss out on gems like this!” (This particular “gem” being the news that Mr Hansen has been having it off with the nanny.)

Sometimes, the sass turns soppy and The Split is less like the British Good Wife, and more like Little Women with legal briefs. The scene in which the Defoe sisters respond to some happy news by crowding into Hannah’s office to bounce and squeal might have been less cringey in crinolines. Acerbic Ruth is clearly Aunt March, chaotic party girl Nina is Amy and ever-afflicted baby sister Rose (Fiona Button) is Beth. Sadly the comparison falls down at Hannah who, despite Walker’s eminent watchability, isn’t quite as “Jo March” as she ought to be.

“Don’t you ever feel guilty?” she asks Christie during a spot of flagrant infidelity, with her office door wide open. “No!” he grins. “And neither should you!” But then Christie isn’t married and doesn’t have any kids. Also, he’s a man. In series one, Hannah was often seen rushing home from some late-running work event in a panic. Now she does the same, only with a share of adulteress’s guilt added to the usual working mother’s quota.

There are hints that series two will apply its light touch to such matters as childcare division, infertility panic, contraceptive admin and how these things can combine to place an unequal burden on the female half of couples. Maybe, too, this will be the series that the Defoe-adjacent characters rise up and claim their right to A-storylines. Overlooked junior solicitor Maggie (Ellora Torchia), James (Rudi Dharmalingam) the floppy of hair – and, ahem, other things – son-in-law, and Nathan’s new pupil Chloe (Amaka Okafor) all struggle to get a word in with this family of absolute attention-seekers.

Is The Split the most original, cliche-eschewing drama on television? No. Should you nonetheless gulp down the entire series, like a chilled glass of chablis after a hard day of “having it all” in high heels? Yes, yes you should. It just slips down so easily.

Author: Ellen E Jones
Published: The Guardian Website (2020.02.11 22:05)

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/feb/11/the-split-series-two-review-steamy-legal-saga-raises-the-bar-again