The jury: murder trial (Channel 4) | channel4.com
Things you should have done (BBC Three) | iPlayer
The completely fictional adventures of Dick Turpin (AppleTV+)
Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough (Air nature)
You will find me in a state of mild shock. I can’t remember the last time I was so demoralized watching television. I’m talking about Channel 4 The jury: murder trial, a four-part social reality TV experiment that aired this week. A realistic, anonymised trial re-staged in a former courthouse in Chelmsford, with verdicts from two juries of real people. Experts provide insights, while actors play lawyers, suspects and witnesses. The juries, who sit in closed courtrooms, are aware that they are being filmed, but not that there is an alternative jury. For the first time there is access to jury debates. It’s fascinating television, but, as I said, disheartening. You might find yourself googling “moving to another country” as you watch it.
The experiment revolves around whether the two juries will reach the same conclusion (the series cites research that estimates that 25% of trials have incorrect outcomes) and whether these match the real verdict. The crime involves sculptor ‘John’, a man with no history of violence, who murdered his wife ‘Helen’, first by strangling her and then smashing the sides of her head with an industrial hammer. Is he guilty of murder or manslaughter and pleads for “loss of control” (which means a significantly lighter sentence)?
Immediately I am on edge. A woman’s horrific death is repurposed as… what exactly? A new form of true crime entertainment? On the other hand, it can be incredibly useful to see what happens in such cases. I only expect serious court scenes and am also annoyed by the sub-par witness dramas, reminiscent of the murder mystery weekends held in country houses and hotels. But it is the jury discussions that shrivel the soul.
How unfit for purpose the show makes the British justice system seem; how arbitrary, how vulnerable
Jurors are shown to take fixed positions absurdly early and refuse to budge. Others cannot see beyond their own memories of ‘red mists’ (overturned cups of tea; complicated dramas involving cars), or their own irrelevant life experiences (a jury member wants to hug the crying John because she is also called fat).
While Helen was clearly a troubled, volatile individual with serious mental health issues, the victim accusations (“she didn’t deserve to die, but she asked for it”) and turbo misogyny are sometimes straight out of the witch case handbook. Salem. . Loud, dominant characters (self-appointed puppeteers) exult about influencing others. One even appears to punch the air.
For the sake of spoilers, I’ll leave it at that. Obviously, it’s not good to overreact. The jury: murder trial is an experiment staged for TV, and you can’t help but suspect that some of the bigger judges are mugging for the cameras. As inadequate as the show makes the British justice system seem; how random, how vulnerable. This is compelling but worrying, revealing television: The traitors with real-world consequences.
To cheer yourself up, there’s the new six-part BBC Three comedy, Things you should have done, created by and starring Lucia Keskin. Keskin (last seen as Kelly in Big boys) plays Chi, a ‘stay-at-home daughter’ of Generation Z, who is so silly that urgent medical intervention seems to be needed. When her parents die, she is told that she can only inherit their house in Ramsgate if she meets a list of conditions (learning to drive a car, reading a book, etc.). Meanwhile, her “tense” aunt (Selin Hizli postponed Am I being unreasonable?), named Karen (natch), circles around like an irritated vulture from the suburbs, itching to get his hands on the house.
Keskin is known for her online sketches and impressions, and some (Nigella, Claudia Winkleman) are distributed here, along with fantasy interludes (Chi as sperm). The main pulse is Chi’s spatial dysfunction: she reacts to the death of her parents as if she has lost a favorite scrunchie. Elsewhere, she gets too involved with everyone from driving instructors to care home residents.
There’s more than a touch of Philomena Cunk in Chi, and the super-close interplay with her cousin (Jamie Bisping) mirrors that of Daisy May Cooper. This country. Attempts to add bits of darkness and pathos (sadness, infertility) don’t always land. However, there is mischievous play with taste boundaries (child kidnapping, ethical masturbation) and epic playfulness (I’m especially fond of Chi’s parents as rubbish, half-hearted ghosts). A little tightening of the bolts will probably create a deft comic chronicler of mundanity and inappropriate looks.
Another new comedy: the sixth part of Apple TV The completely fictional adventures of Dick Turpin. Created by Claire Downes, Ian Jarvis and Stuart Lane, it stars Noel Fielding as the 18th century highwayman.
Those who have grown accustomed to Fielding pitying flat sponges in his floral goth-in-residence role on The Great British Bake-Off will have to adapt to his comedic persona in left field. His Turpin is a ‘new school’ highwayman (“There will be less violence under my watch – more charm, maybe even some panache!”); a peace-loving vegan with a penchant for frilly coats and drinking peppermint tea in inns.
He and his hopeless gang (Marc Wootton, Ellie White and Duayne Boachie) must avoid hanging, imprisonment, nobility, warlocks, witchcraft and supernatural coaches. There’s also a corrupt police officer (Hugh Bonneville), whose menacing encounters with Turpin keep getting undermined by his childcare problems (“DadI found a dead moth”).
There is an extensive cast list: Tamsin Greig, David Threlfall, Asim Chaudhry, Jessica Hynes, Paul Kaye and others. Connor Swindells echoes his Sex education comedy chops as a dandified archrival who could be the Hansel from Turpin’s Zoolander. Sometimes it all feels like a slightly stoned, heavily costumed panto from the 90s/00s (and one with a heavy debt to Black viper and Taika Waititi’s recent pirate comedy Our flag means death) – but it’s funny and crazy, with a wry, surreal kick.
There is the new three-part docuseries on Sky Nature Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough. The host appears early in the opener in a forest full of bluebells and explores how sounds and vibrations enable hunters and also protect the hunted.
Along the way, lions roar across the African savannah (“One of nature’s greatest acoustic displays of strength”), elephants sense rain showers and bees use the buzzing to pollinate flowers. It doesn’t really need the flashy graphics that show sound waves (they look a bit gimmicky), but that doesn’t matter. Attenborough, with those signature gravelly, mellow tones, is a cunning ringmaster of the natural world who knows exactly how to thrill the crowd.
Star ratings (out of five)
The jury: murder trial ★★★★
Things you should have done ★★★
The completely fictional adventures of Dick Turpin ★★★
Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough ★★★★
What else I’m looking at
Shogun
(Disney+)
This ten-part drama, starring Hiroyuki Sanada, is based on James Clavell’s 1975 cult novel about Japanese feudal warfare in the 17th century. Epic and thunderous (seems to be East Asian Game of Thrones?) – but avoid it if you’re squeamish about violence.
Formula 1: Drive to survive
(Netflix)
The sixth series of the exciting, pulse-pounding Formula 1 docuseries where all the drama takes place – except when it happens behind the scenes, of course.
Hoe
(BBC Three)
A treat for fans of Derry girls‘ Siobhán McSweeney (Sister Michael), who writes and stars in this smooth short comedy about an average woman who needs to be seen.