Christmas TV Review

If you were glued to the TV like I was over Christmas, you’ll have noticed that the festive period offered up some rather brilliant televised drama. Amongst the best was Boardwalk Empire’s shocking Christmas Eve finale, the return of the critically acclaimed, BAFTA-winning BBC drama Sherlock on New Year’s Day and Sky One’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s much-loved Treasure Island. Oh, and Pat Butcher met her maker on Eastenders.

Sherlock’s comeback was nothing short of brilliant, A Scandal in Belgravia (an update of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original A Scandal in Bohemia) quashing any worries that the series wouldn’t be able to live up to the high standards set by the show’s previous three instalments. The story saw Sherlock (the excellent Benedict Cumberbatch) face off against one of his most troublesome foes yet, Irene Adler (Laura Pulver). A dominatrix in possession of a camera phone full of compromising images and secrets, Adler got into Sherlock’s head like no one else, setting the super sleuth off balance and playing him for a fool for quite some time. Without spoiling any more of the plot, the episode’s ending was cheer-worthy and cleverly done and the writing throughout was sharp and peppered with nods to Conan Doyle’s original works. My only gripe would be the conclusion to the tense stand-off between Sherlock, Watson (a put upon Martin Freeman) and Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) from last year’s The Great Game. It felt like a letdown and seemed to go nowhere. Still, the rest of the episode completely blew me away.

 Treasure Island was a lavish, swash-buckling two-part adventure which proved to be, above all else, a grand feast for the eyes. Yes, aesthetics was where Treasure Island succeeded best, with a distinct lack of CGI making a welcome change to Hollywood’s obsession with that particular technology. The story of young Jim Hawkins (here played by Toby Regbo) and the doomed quest for Captain Flint’s fortune was very watchable, but ended flat with an overly sentimental conclusion which left me craving something more poignant. Regardless of that, Eddie Izzard made for an interesting Long John Silver. Charismatic, charming and devious, Izzard was possibly the best thing in Treasure Island when it came to characters. I hadn’t expected him to pull the role off so effectively, and although there will be naysayers, in my eyes, he did a commendable job. What the casting director was thinking in casting Elijah Wood as mad Ben Gunn I don’t know, but Wood was a huge misstep. He looked the part (again, aesthetics) but wasn’t convincing in portraying Gunn’s insanity. Overall, Treasure Island was an enjoyable period romp, but a forgettable one. 

Eddie Izzard might have been a likeable villain on Treasure Island but the same cannot be said for Enoch ‘Nucky’ Thompson (Steve Buscemi) on Boardwalk Empire. Christmas Eve saw season two of this US import come to a close and let’s just say that the writers, producers or whoever is responsible for the departure of a certain character have made a very bold decision, one which has polarised fans. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, but the negativity this choice has been met with might come as a worry to the top dogs at HBO. I for one, liked it, but though that it felt somewhat forced, as if external factors were at work. There have been rumblings that this particular actor wanted to leave of their own accord and if this is the case then what could Boardwalk’s writers have done? In retrospect, Boardwalk’s second season has been incredible, so much better than the first. I still find it difficult to relate to Nucky (especially now, after THAT). Despite the moments of love he shows Margaret’s kids, he still comes across as cold and stiff, unlikeable. It seems now that an opening has appeared for some of the show’s lesser used characters to shine in season three – Al Capone (Stephen Graham) for example. Whatever the circumstances behind the scenes, To The Lost was a shocking episode which showed that Boardwalk is a series willing to take risks.

Christmas is always a fruitful time for television drama, and this year has provided us with some very tasty morsels. I now look forward to the rest of Sherlock, the return of Boardwalk Empire next year and whatever Sky One has up its sleeve next. Mad Men comes to Sky Atlantic later this year, which is a must watch, and the return of Mad Dogs has me intrigued – how will the lads escape? Keep tuned.