TV review

Published Monday 11 February 2008 at 15:55 by Harry Venning

“People who have periods shouldn’t be given responsibility,” sneers one of the Metropolitan Police’s finest, as his new superior officer DI Drake passes by. Drake, one such person who has periods, has recently made her presence felt in the squad room, with her unexpected arrival dressed as a prostitute, an unconventional approach, incoherent babbling about hallucinations, and a flagrant disrespect for the Guv’nor, Gene Hunt.

Yes, Life On Mars is back with a new decade, a new time-travelling detective in a coma, a new title, Ashes to Ashes, but the same Gene Hunt. Hunt is older - the setting is now the early eighties - but not a lot wiser, and certainly no less blunt, brutal and bellicose. He remains one of TV’s truly great creations, and watching Philip Glenister bring him to larger than life is the only reason to watch this utterly pointless and redundant sequel.

Ashes to Ashes reheats the Life On Mars leftovers, mixing lashings of boorish behaviour from the Boys in Blue with a host of nostalgic cultural references, but forgets to season the stew with any of the wit or originality that made its predecessor so memorable. Worse still, Keeley Hawes’ Inspector Drake totally fails to convince as either a high ranking police officer, or as a dramatic foil for Hunt’s macho excesses.

She is undoubtedly sexy, but chronically dull and disappointingly limp with it. Not that the BBC would ever jeopardise its ratings with such leftfield casting, but wouldn’t the whole set-up, and Hunt’s response, in particular, have been so much more interesting if DI Drake had been played by a less conventionally attractive, more combative woman? Say, Jo Brand?

Episode one was mostly concerned with scene-setting, so one can, perhaps, forgive the wafer-thin plot about City-based cocaine dealers, with its ridiculous, fatality-free, comic book shoot out. But the omens aren’t promising for a series that seems intent on parodying itself, in the absence of any better ideas.

Then again, some shows do take a while to find their feet. Never Better is a case in point. Concerning the misadventures of Keith (Stephen Mangan) a cynical, selfish, recovering alcoholic, Never Better’s debut resembled yet another reworking of Curb Your Enthusiasm, following a bemused, bewildered comic hero as he’s buffeted by the vagaries of life. The theme of alcoholism seemed altogether spurious, with AA meetings included for no other reason than to furnish the series with comic grotesques.

But there were enough good lines to encourage me to persist, and I am glad I did. Keith’s alcoholism and recovery have become more central to the series and this, ironically, has given the comedy a lot more bite. The acting is first rate, with Stephen Mangan’s central performance increasing in stature each week. But best of all are the beautifully crafted scripts, flirting occasionally with all out farce, that rarely fail to deliver a satisfying comedy climax.

DETAILS

Ashes to Ashes - BBC1, Thursday, February 7, 9pm

Never Better - BBC2, Thursday, February 7, 10pm