BEFORE Jed Bartlett of The West Wing, the left-leaning TV viewer’s imaginary political leader of choice was Harry Perkins, from Channel 4’s classic 1988 drama A Very British Coup.
Secret State
Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm
Space Dive
Sunday, BBC2, 8:30pm
Sweeping into office with a radical mandate, he was a working class hero and Sheffield Labour MP who wanted to clean up the media, withdraw from military alliance with the United States, scrap nuclear weapons and generally reform the outmoded elements of Westminster. During the grim Thatcher years, it was a potent fantasy for those opposed to her, even though Perkins – played by the late Irish theatre veteran Ray McAnally – was beset by attacks from the tabloids, the civil service, the US and MI5, which eventually resulted in a military coup.
Of course, when a Labour party led by an MP from the North of England finally did get into power, things didn’t play out at all like that. And Chris Mullin, whose novel was the basis for the series, became a government minister whose diaries later chronicled the ‘rise and fall’ of Tony Blair. Thirty years on from the novel’s publication, and 24 years since its first adaptation, A Very British Coup is back in another incarnation. But in 2012 – after the Iraq War and the Levenson inquiry and the expenses scandal and everything else – perhaps it’s no longer possible to sell us a fantasy Prime Minister.
For the new version, renamed Secret State, actually shares only a faint wisp of plot with the original. In fact, it’s more reminiscent of a slightly later, more cynical political drama series, House Of Cards, based on a novel by a Tory politician and memorably starring Ian Richardson as an amoral Chief Whip who schemed and smiled like a shark. Here, a fine actor with an equally sharkish look, Charles Dance, hovers behind the scenes at No. 10, carefully pushing his pawns into place.
In place of Harry Perkins, we now have Tom Dawkins – the name, perhaps, not just an echo but also a nod to the sceptical scientist – who is played by another Irish actor and Proper Film Star, Gabriel Byrne. As his run as the therapist in HBO’s In Treatment showed, there’s something inherently sincere about Byrne’s performances: he looks trustworthy, but in a human way, someone with flaws but good intentions. Of course he’s perfectly able to subvert that for a role, but in the initial set-up of Secret State, it’s probably as well that he doesn’t – because Dawkins is a strangely underwritten, nebulous character throughout this first episode and, frankly, any clues from the actor help.
I think this is because, unlike Chris Mullin’s original Harry Perkins, who came from an immediately identifiable working class, trade unionist, self-educated socialist background – he was half Arthur Scargill, half Tony Benn – we don’t quite know what Dawkins’ politics are. Indeed, we don’t even really know what party he’s from, just that he starts off as the slightly overlooked Deputy Prime Minister, apparently having been given the post simply to outflank two ambitious Cabinet rivals.
So when the thriller plot kicks in, involving a major industrial accident, a possible terrorist attack and a sinister multinational company, it’s hard to read Dawkins’ reactions. When he suddenly departs from a prepared, place-holder speech to deliver a stirring message to the nation, is he rising to the occasion or grandstanding? Encouraged by Dance’s character to push himself forward for the top job, is he tempted by the surfacing of a long-buried ambition, succumbing to responsibility or being manipulated? It’s an interesting dynamic, but given that the plot has to start slowly, I’d have appreciated a bit more insight into Dawkins’ background and political context to give us something to catch on to.
But then, this man without an obvious ideology perhaps is more representative of his times. Like so many of his real-life equivalents, perhaps his political background simply is politics, where apparatchiks and policy wonks move through the ranks of like-minded souls without ever seeing much of the world beyond the party bubble. Well, probably not: you don’t cast Gabriel Byrne for that so probably more will be revealed in the subsequent three episodes. If so, that’s the biggest fantasy element this time round.
The producers of Space Dive must have been desperately hoping that nothing went wrong when Felix Baumgartner – already becoming a trivia question name – jumped out 24 miles above the earth a few weeks ago. A documentary recording a tragic end to his crazy, fascinating attempt would have been a very different programme to this enthusiastic account of his success (not to mention that over three years of filming his preparations, the documentary crew became part of Baumgartner’s team and were no doubt personally invested).
As it’s turned out, thankfully, they’ve been able to put together a film that records not just the technical details – which, at times, become a bit too technical for most of us – but also the doubts, fears and frustrating delays lying behind the project. And there’s a lovely story there too about the relationship between Baumgartner and Colonel Joe Kittinger, his 84-year-old trainer and holder of the original 19-mile record. The veteran’s seen-it-all calm soothed the younger man’s emotional reactions – beset by panic attacks and claustrophobia in his pressurised suit – and together they made it work. In better resolution and with different angles from the footage shown so far, we can now really appreciate their ridiculous, wonderful achievement.
SMALL SCREEN MOVIES
The Inbetweeners Movie * * * *
Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm
A surprise hit, this British TV spin-off recaptured the gauche haplessness of the four teenage pals on holiday, complete with dodgy hotel, bad nights out and awkward seduction attempts. But in opening out the sitcom, it even managed to give them a little bit – but not too much – depth, resulting in some touching moments along with the crude gags. Silly, yet oddly charming, much like the boys themselves.
Attack The Block * * *
Friday, Film4, 9pm
Hoodies vs Aliens, as a London teen gang turn from mugging to monster-slugging when their estate is invaded from space, in this sharp comic action film directed by Joe Cornish of Adam & Joe fame.
Comrades * * * *
Tuesday, Film4, 11:55pm
Uncompromising social realist director Bill Douglas’s account of the 1830s Tolpuddle Martyrs, farm labourers deported to Australia after trying to form a union, is a stark, unprettified historical drama with some fine acting from the likes of Keith Allen and Philip Davis.
Hancock * * *
Tomorrow, Channel 5, 7:15pm
Unusual superhero film with Will Smith as a lazy, drunken has-been with special powers who takes on a PR man to improve his image. Good laughs and action sequences but the ending takes a sharp and bizarre turn.