By James Wigney
Copyright news
ONE SHOW TWO VIEWS
KING & CONQUEROR
SUNDAY AND MONDAY, 8.30PM, SBS AND SBS ON DEMAND
It’s hard to see Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in armour and swinging a sword and not think of his most famous creation, the tortured Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones.
And indeed there are echoes of the much loved fantasy drama in King & Conqueror, albeit with far fewer dragons and zombies and much less rumpy-pumpy.
GoT enthusiasts will find plenty to like with the feuding families, rival claims to the throne, political shenanigans and epic battles in this dramatisation of the events leading up to the era-defining Battle Of Hastings, in which Coster-Waldau’s William, Duke Of Normandy, will face off against James Norton’s Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwinson.
Sure, the show plays a little fast and loose with historical events (the two protagonists meet 22 years too early and in the wrong country but who’s counting?) and it does sometimes get a little bogged down in the details but at heart it’s such a ripping yarn and stacked with a who’s who of British thespians including Eddie Marsan and Juliet Stevenson that it just about gets away with it.
JAMES WIGNEY
If you want to avoid spoilers for this one, be sure to give the Bayeux tapestry a wide berth. Even if you know the outcome of the dramatic and course-changing Battle of Hastings, this sweeping epic fleshes out the famed conflict, offering a modern perspective on the key players’ motivations and backstory.
And unlike the needlecraft, this miniseries also includes insights about the powerful women behind the men duking it out on the battlefield. Setting the stage for the inevitable 1066 showdown that will change the course of British history, we meet the astute warrior, Harold (Happy Valley’s James Norton) who – along with his unrecognised partner Edith (Emily Beecham) – has grown weary of his domineering father, Godwin (Geoff Bell).
We also encounter Harold’s eventual rival, William (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his wife Matilda (Clemence Poesy) as the creepy Edward (Eddie Marsan) is about to be installed as a puppet king by his manipulative mother Lady Emma (Juliet Stevenson).
With skulduggery and familial plotting aplenty, think of this as Succession in armour.
SIOBHAN DUCK
HOW ARE YOU? IT’S ALAN (PARTRIDGE)
As one of the great British comedy characters, it’s always a pleasure to welcome back Steve Coogan’s hapless, hopeless, pullover-loving TV and radio presenter to the small screen. And after a spell in Saudi Arabia, spruiking camel-related dairy products and government-sanctioned messaging, his latest desperate attempt to make an impression on the English public is by tackling the country’s mental health crisis with a new documentary series (sponsored by a local tanning centre). He brings his usual lack of guile, tact and expertise – and penchant for mansplaining – to the hot-button topic as he recruits dodgy experts, bails up unsuspecting strangers in the street, crashes book clubs and rambles through the wilds in his laugh-out-loud quest to make a difference.
SYDNEY 2000: THE BEST EVER
WEDNESDAY, 8.35PM, THURSDAY, 8.45PM, CHANNEL 9
It was then International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch who described the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as the best ever and – rampant parochialism aside – it’s hard to disagree even 25 years later. After all the worry about whether the trains and ticketing would work, anyone fortunate enough to have been in the Harbour City for those memorable weeks will never forget them. This two-part documentary celebrating the milestone also does a good job of capturing that magic, thanks to interviews with Cathy Freeman at Uluru about carrying the expectations of a nation in the 400m, Ian Thorpe going back to the pool where he bagged three swimming gold medals as well reliving as lighter moments such how Equatorial Guinea novice Eric “The Eel” Moussambani became a cult hero just by finishing a race.
BLUE LIGHTS
THURSDAY, 9.30PM, SBS
Hot on the heels of its Best Drama BAFTA this year, the rock-solid police drama about law enforcement on the gritty streets of Belfast is back for a third season with its two lead characters Grace (Sian Brooke) and Stevie (Martin McCann) well and truly an item. But while domestic bliss beckons for them, it’s chaos as usual outside as the crew try to crack a drug ring that’s using an encrypted app to spread from its street dealers right up into the highest echelons of the Northern Ireland capital. After the “peelers” accidentally tread on the toes of a top-level investigation by the organised crime division, Grace is dragged back to her social worker past as one of her former charges gets involved with some very bad people.
JOHN CANDY: I LIKE ME
FRIDAY, PRIME VIDEO
It’s an absolute travesty that John Candy wasn’t at least nominated for an Oscar for his role in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, 1987 comedy that inspired the title of this doco produced by fellow Canadian Ryan Reynolds and directed by Colin Hanks.
Candy’s hilarious but touching portrayal of shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffin seems all the more poignant after watching co-star Steve Martin and a host of friends and actors including Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara and Tom Hanks pay tribute not just to Candy’s gifts as a comedian, but also address his vulnerability, generosity, demons and fear of death.
From losing his father as a child, to becoming a huge star, to his death aged just 43, Candy emerges as a complicated but immensely loveable character.
ALWAYS LADY LONDON
FRIDAY, TUBI
On the back of her new single Won’t Let You Down and ahead of the release of her album To Whom It May Concern, comes this three-part documentary on rising American hip-hop star Lady London. Erika Bryant, best known for her work on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, traces the unconventional path to stardom from the former medical student with two degrees, whose career was kickstarted thanks to a 2018 Instagram video that went viral and clocked up more than 8 million views. London (born Zaire Stewart), says making the documentary has been even scarier than her rapid upwards trajectory and having the cameras in the studio and on standby as she opens up about her music, influences, ambitions and family, it’s easy to see why.
SAM PANG TONIGHT
MONDAY, 8.40PM, CHANNEL 10
With a slightly uneven tone and some rather random guests, it took a while for the first season of comedian Sam Pang’s chat show to hit its stride earlier this year. But after scoring a Logie nomination for Best Comedy Entertainment Program – and another sterling job hosting the event – expect Pang to hit the ground running this time. Pang’s first guest is the outspoken Rosie McDonnell, whose one-woman Australian tour kicks off next week. No doubt the Emmy and Tony Award winning US comedian, actor and talk show host will have plenty to say on her ongoing feud with Donald Trump and why she relocated to Ireland after he was re-elected last year.
NCIS SYDNEY
TUESDAY, PARAMOUNT+
After their traumatic adventures in Darwin to close out season two, the NCIS gang are back in the Harbour City, with Mackey (Olivia Swann) trying to convince the shrink she’s fit to resume duties and JD (Todd Lasance) getting his life back in order by moving out of his mate’s garage and hitting the dating apps. And it’s straight back to work when a couple of long-missing American pilots are found on a fishing vessel with no recollection of how they got there. The US top brass wants to celebrate their miraculous recovery but the team smells a rat as a Manchurian Candidate style terror plot unfolds that will let tech-guru newcomer Trigger (Claude Jabbour) prove his worth and test Rosie’s (William McInnes) medical skills to the limit.
KIRK CAMERON
ONE ON ONE WITH KIRK CAMERON
Streaming, Tubi
It’s hard to believe but teen heart-throb Kirk Cameron turns 55 this week. Catapulted to fame in the 1980s as the dimwitted rebel Mike Seaver on Growing Pains, Cameron’s life today looks very different to his TV alter-ego’s wild ways. In fact, Cameron insisted on toning down his womanising storylines when he became an evangelical Christian during the show’s run. Now a minister and married to his Growing Pains co-star Chelsea Noble, this reality series takes fans inside Cameron’s new life where he shares more about his faith journey. In one episode he is joined by his younger sister Candace Cameron Bure. The actress made headlines in September with a Full House reunion at her daughter’s wedding, expressing her delight at seeing disgraced co-star Lori Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade Giannuli serving as a bridesmaid.