A cheetah, an ostrich, and the last slice of pizza. All things that can disappear PDQ, but none of them go faster than tickets to see David Tennant on stage. Been there, done that, got the blister on the finger from pressing refresh over and over.
For all those who have felt a similar pain, some excellent news. Good, starring David Tennant (BBC4, Sunday, 10pm) brings a filmed performance of CP Taylor’s modern classic to the small screen. This is the National Theatre production that marked Tennant’s triumphant return to the West End post-pandemic.
Directed by Dominic Cooke, the filmed version had a run in cinemas last April but now it comes to terrestrial TV and is yours to watch free (save for the licence fee).
Good is a three-hander about the slide of a seemingly liberal academic and “good man”, John Halder (Tennant), into Nazism. It opens in 1933, with Halder trying to reassure his best friend Maurice (Elliott Levey) that Hitler doesn’t hate Jews as much as he says, and that the new Germany will of course have a place for them.
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As the months and weeks pass, Halder’s ambition and greed lead him to join the party and crawl up its ranks.
Levey and Tennant’s fellow Scot Sharon Small play a number of characters, from Halder’s best friend to his aged mother. Both are outstanding, but it’s that man Tennant who grabs the attention and never lets go. His Halder is at once repulsive yet fascinating, a coward who uses music to shut out the horrors he helps perpetrate.
Filmed plays don’t always work. Too many layers between viewer and viewed perhaps. This one does, with plenty of close-ups and only three characters to concentrate on. You can almost forget the audience is there till one of them coughs.
Prepare to huff and puff and blow out the candles to mark BBC2’s 60th Birthday (BBC2, Saturday, from 6.30pm). The occasion is marked across the week with, what else, repeats. Here’s another chance to see again a collection of shows, all of which started on the third channel (ITV beating BBC2 for second place).
The party starts with comedy and the first episode of The Likely Lads. As I recall it, Clement and La Frenais’ creation was pretty bleak when it started though just as funny as the subsequent series. Next along is Open All Hours (meh), Butterflies (nice kitchen), and Miranda (gies peace). At 8.25pm the music starts with classic clips from BBC2 shows and concerts filmed for the channel. Expect the Stones, Joni Mitchell, Elton John, plus Kylie of course.
More music arrives at the end of the week on Johnson and Knopfler’s Music Legends (Sky Arts, free to view, Thursday, 10pm). It is a simple format, with the AC/DC singer and the Dire Straits geetar man shooting the breeze and having a good old singalong with some of their favourite musicians.
The guest list includes Cyndi Lauper, Nile Rogers and Santana and starts with Tom Jones. Introducing themselves as “just a couple of Georgie lads”, Johnson and Knopfler bond with the Welshman over their working class backgrounds. Jones was the son of a coal miner and, like his interviewers, served his apprenticeship as a performer in the working men’s clubs.
Jones’ musical memories stretch back further to when he was 12 and had TB. Confined to bed for two years, he listened to the radio to while away the hours. Rock and roll was just beginning and the blues and country music were starting to make their way across the Atlantic.
The Jones episode is short on clips - for the most part the programme is three guys sitting round a coffee table - but the ones it has are terrific. Care to see Jones and pal Jerry Lee Lewis performing Great Balls of Fire? Strut this way.
Jones is a born raconteur with great stories about his early days in America and earning the respect of his peers. Among the admirers of the voice from the valleys was Elvis. There is a photo of the two meeting which should have been captioned “battle of the sideburns”. For my money, Elvis just squeaked it.
According to the Radio Times, “if you are 60-plus and American” the title of Good Times (Netflix, now) will spark some memories. I remember it and I don’t fit into either category (just), so it must have made it over here at some point.
The 1970s sitcom was ahead of its time - and the Cosby Show - by having a black family at its heart. What was a live action show has now been turned into an animated comedy. Behind the venture are some big names in the field, including Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy and Ted.
Fair to say the new Good Times hasn’t had the toastiest of welcomes, scoring just 33% average audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Variety found it “stuffed full of repetitive stereotypes, stale jokes and bizarre choices”. See for yourself, if only for the homage to the original theme tune in the opening seconds.
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