What a great time to phone a friend...

There are so many good dramas on TV at the moment, so it’s great to have all this extra time to indulge.

One of the best last week was Quiz (ITV, Monday-Wednesday), based on the true story of an alleged scam involving contestants on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? I found it completely absorbing, and it helped that I couldn’t remember how it turned out in real life.

The tone was whimsical at times, almost Ealing comedy style, but also it was sad, painful and very serious. I liked the background it gave on the creation of the hit show and on the ‘community’ of fans that built up around it as would-be contestants went to ridiculous lengths to get onto the show for a shot at winning the elusive million pounds.

The rampant materialism was evident, but contestants were also motivated by the thrill of the game, obsession and even vanity. The show lacked a deeper insight into such matters or even into the role of conscience. The similarly-themed film Quiz Show, based on an American quiz show scandal, did a much better job in this respect.

Michael Sheen was brilliant as Chris Tarrant, the show’s host, Matthew Macfayden was all wide-eyed an innocent (or was he?) as the alleged scammer Charles Ingram, and Sian Clifford as his wife was enjoyably inscrutable. Mark Bonnar, who seems to be in every drama series these days was excellently edgy as the show’s creator Paul Smith. Irish comedians Aisling Bea and Risteard Cooper did fine turns in serious roles as media executives.

This will probably turn up on one of the Virgin Media channels in Ireland so be sure to catch it. Apart from a few profanities it’s remarkably free of ‘adult content’ and all the more enjoyable for that.

The Nest, a drama series that ended last week on BBC1, was a cautionary tale about surrogacy and the huge dangers and complexities it gives rise to. Watching it felt like being dragged through an emotional wringer.

Surrogacy

It was hard to tell whether the show was supporting of surrogacy (hardly) or making a case for better legal frameworks, or maybe it was just telling a story and letting us make up our own minds. Issues of privilege and power imbalance were teased out in the story of a wealthy young couple paying a young girl recently released from prison to be their surrogate, but I didn’t find it preachy as the plot took various unexpected twists and turns, leading to a satisfying conclusion.

Martin Compston (Line of Duty) and Sophie Rundle (Bodyguard) were riveting as the parents, but Mirren Mack gave a mighty performance as the young girl, conveying a range of emotions – vulnerability, malice, bitterness, disillusion, despair and hope.

There was quite an amount of foul language and abortion was seen uncritically as an option, but underneath all this the show had a heart and maybe, ultimately, a pro-life perspective in the broadest sense.

Another series that ended last Sunday was the costume drama Belgravia (UTV), adapted from his own novel by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey). I was lukewarm at first and yes it had many of the clichés of the genre (including hidden family secrets and the inevitable cad), but it had a certain humanity – the characters were reasonably engaging, and the acting was classy. It was interesting to see Tamsin Greig and Paul Ritter from Friday Night Dinner in very different roles, showing how versatile they are, and they were joined to great effect by other stalwarts like Tom Wilkinson.

The drama was infused with themes of morality, family devotion, sin, redemption, hope, class privilege and judgementalism.

One of the most obnoxious characters was a vain pastor with an addiction to gambling, a total lack of personal insight, and a repulsive sense of his own importance. The one time he had to deliver a sermon (pre-written by an absent colleague) it was all about his own sins. A better man might have taken it as a sign, but he just took it as a nuisance. In one key scene a woman of loose morals actually referenced Christ when she tries to convince her husband of his own worth, in that while he was tempted, as Christ was, he did the right thing.

I found the ending quite acceptable – enough closure to be satisfying but enough openings for a potential second series.

Pick of the Week

SONGS OF PRAISE

BBC1, Sunday, April 26, 1.15 pm

Seán Fletcher looks back on journeys to ancient and sacred places of pilgrimage, including Lourdes and the spectacular abbey of Mont St Michel in France.

VATICANO

EWTN, Sunday, April 26, 8.30 pm, Monday, April 27, 7.30 am, Tuesday, April 28, 2.30 pm

On the Pope’s schedule in the time of quarantine: presenting the latest news from the Vatican with excerpts and analysis of the Holy Father’s recent audiences and writings.