Episode 233

Crime, Canines, and Jerry Springer

Ian and Hannah review the biggest new films and bingeable shows on UK streaming services for the week beginning Friday 10th Jan 2025, including:

A talented autistic archivist enters an unpredictable world when detective Bea spots her unique crime-solving skills. Intriguing crime drama Patience stars Laura Fraser and Ella Maisy Purvis on Channel 4.

Reality star turned podcaster Pete Wicks meets the four-legged friends that call the UK's leading dog welfare charity, Dogs Trust, home in Pete Wicks: For Dogs' Sake on U.

A rookie and a veteran officer patrol duo in Long Beach, California, face the morality of protecting and serving a community in Prime Video series On Call.

Featuring behind-the-scenes footage of America's most controversial talk show to expose its scandals, both on and off-camera in Netflix documentary Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action

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Transcript
Ian:

Foreign.

Hannah:

Hello and Happy New Year and welcome to Binge Watch, the podcast where we take a look at the hottest new TV and film releases on streaming television platforms.

Hannah:

I'm Hannah Fernando, the group editor of Woman and Woman and Home magazine.

Ian:

And I'm Ian McKeown, writer on TV and satellite week, TV times and what's on TV magazines and happy New Year.

Ian:

th January:

Hannah:

Yes, and we'll also be looking back at America's most infamous talk show in Jerry Springer Fights Camera Action, which is on Netflix.

Hannah:

And patrolling the mean streets of Long Beach, California in prime video cop drama On Call.

Hannah:

But Ian, what is in the news?

Ian:

We had the gentleman last year, didn't we?

Ian:

Now Paramount plus have an as yet untitled Guy Ritchie drama.

Ian:

It's going to star Tom Hardy as a fixer for a London based Irish gang boss played by Pierce Brosnan.

Ian:

Yes, what else is in the news, Hannah?

Hannah:

Oh, I do love Pierce Brosnan.

Hannah:

Yes, please.

Hannah:

Right, enough of that.

Hannah:

Well, in Prime Videos psychological thriller Silent River, John Krasinski and Matthew Reese will play men whose worlds collide when a serial killer terrorizes a small town in America.

Ian:

It's the old, old story.

Ian:

Well, I think a very varied selection for you.

Ian:

To kick off our New year binge watch offerings, we're going to start on Channel 4.

Ian:

This has been heavily trailed.

Ian:

It landed on Wednesday 8th January as a box set on Channel 4 streaming.

Ian:

It's called Patience and here's a clip.

Hannah:

Soldier, keep on marching on the young woman.

Hannah:

She brought a file I didn't request.

Hannah:

Name's Patience.

Ian:

Patience is autistic.

Hannah:

I need to find out and solve the case.

Hannah:

Patience, you shouldn't be here.

Hannah:

I just have a quick question.

Hannah:

Found links to other cases.

Hannah:

The only things that interest me are forensics and criminology.

Hannah:

It's actually why I like pool so much.

Ian:

So, crime drama Hannah set in York.

Ian:

Yes, it's about time we had a crime drama set in York, isn't it?

Ian:

It's very beautiful city.

Ian:

It's a six parter and well, it stars one of my favorites, Laura Fraser, who was.

Ian:

She was in the Bay and many other things.

Ian:

She plays DI B Metcalf.

Ian:

It also features Ella Maisie Purvis as Patience Evans who is a young autistic woman who works in the Criminal Records Office.

Ian:

Yeah.

Ian:

So it's very much about neurodivergence.

Ian:

I was thinking about, what other shows have we had of a similar ilk?

Ian:

I suppose there's Ludwig with David Mitchell, the Scandi Noir crime drama the Bridge, and of course, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night.

Ian:

So Purvis is very good as Patience, who, because of the way her mind works, she's really good at spotting patterns and.

Ian:

And solving puzzles.

Ian:

So she's looking at all these records in the office and kind of making links that no one else has made between cases.

Ian:

So, of course, DI Metcalfe thinks, wow, she could be an asset.

Ian:

But what's really good about it is they also show the side of autism, which is all about kind of feeling overwhelmed by too much kind of input, if you like too much stimulus, whether it's noise or people or.

Ian:

Or unfamiliar situations.

Ian:

And we learn a little bit about Patience's backstory, flashback to her childhood, and we meet her godfather and we see her going to a sort of support group for people with autism.

Ian:

So the case itself that it starts with is also fascinating.

Ian:

So it's a man.

Ian:

Spoiler alert.

Ian:

A man takes some money out from the cash point, chucks it in a bin.

Ian:

I mean, this is right at the very beginning, so I'm not really spoiling anything.

Ian:

And then sets fire to himself.

Ian:

So it's like, what.

Ian:

What's.

Ian:

What the hell has happened here?

Ian:

Very mysterious case.

Ian:

And Patience finds a link to another case.

Ian:

I won't say any more because lots of interesting stuff starts to unfold.

Ian:

It's actually adapted from a French crime drama called Astrid and.

Ian:

And Raphael.

Ian:

You got Mark Benton in there as B's boss, DCI Calvin Baxter.

Ian:

It's good to see him in a straight role.

Ian:

He's very good.

Ian:

And they've made a point of casting neurodivergent actors in this.

Ian:

So it's filmed in York and Belgium.

Ian:

Also, Bea's son, Bea is not.

Ian:

Not a very good mum.

Ian:

She didn't get custody of her son, who is 11.

Ian:

And, yeah, you notice quite early on that her son looks as if he could have ADHD or autism.

Ian:

Anyway, I really liked it.

Ian:

I think both the female leads are extremely strong and I immediately went straight onto episode two.

Ian:

Did you like this, Hannah?

Hannah:

You know what?

Hannah:

I did.

Hannah:

It's a bit different, isn't it?

Hannah:

I mean, I suppose in some degree it's really hard to make crime dramas particularly different to another one, but there is a real appetite, I think, for.

Hannah:

For this kind of genre.

Hannah:

At the moment.

Hannah:

And I think the kind of neurodivergency part of it is really interesting, particularly around women.

Hannah:

And, I mean, obviously editing women's lifestyle magazines, we see this and hear this.

Hannah:

A lot of women kind of being pushed into or, you know, trying to be fitted into a mold that doesn't really work, which is society.

Hannah:

And women are really good at covering that up and many aren't being sort of diagnosed till later in life.

Hannah:

And I think that's.

Hannah:

That's quite an interesting twist on this.

Hannah:

I also like the way, sort of, perhaps it is down to the neurodivergency.

Hannah:

I don't know, different way of coming into things, different way of looking things, her ability to recognize patterns of a criminal which someone else might not see.

Hannah:

So I do think in a.

Hannah:

In a kind of a genre that is really bursting at the seams at the moment, it's a bit different.

Ian:

We're moving across to the streaming service you for our next offering, which arrives as a box set on Tuesday 7th January.

Ian:

It's Pete Wicks, for dog's sake.

Ian:

And here's a clip.

Ian:

I'm Pete Wicks.

Ian:

You may have seen me on Strictly.

Ian:

Yep.

Ian:

Now that puppies.

Ian:

It's not dancing that's my biggest passion.

Ian:

It's dogs.

Ian:

And it always has been.

Ian:

Hello, how are you?

Ian:

These are my two, Eric and Peggy.

Ian:

Throughout my life, dogs have always been there for me.

Hannah:

Well, of course, you Strictly fans out there will have enjoyed Pete dancing on the brilliant Strictly Come Dancing.

Hannah:

And here he is in Peat Wicks, as you say, for dog's sake.

Hannah:

And I've got to be honest with you, when you're going to watch this, please do make sure that you bring a box of tissues to the coffee table, because honestly, I was absolutely streaming and not just the show, my eyes.

Hannah:

And it's just it.

Hannah:

We all know that there's a real issue with dog trafficking, with dogs being dumped over breeding, cost of living, crisis, people having to give up dogs.

Hannah:

I mean, we all know, we're abundantly aware of it.

Hannah:

If you're on social media, you can see it all the time.

Hannah:

But this just brings all of that to life.

Hannah:

It's incredible viewing because.

Hannah:

Or compulsive viewing, I would say, because you just want to keep watching it, even though you know you're streaming and.

Hannah:

And you just want to help.

Hannah:

Or if you're like me, you just want to help.

Hannah:

I've already got three dogs.

Hannah:

I can't help anymore.

Hannah:

But, you know, you just want to help.

Hannah:

And Pete is actually really quite good in this.

Hannah:

He doesn't sort of bring a.

Hannah:

He's sort of a character that I'd imagine you don't think would break or sort of break down.

Hannah:

And you see a real soft side to him.

Hannah:

And in the first episode you meet Murphy and Mel and twist.

Hannah:

Now, Mel is a really sad story and I learned quite a lot from this, actually, because she was.

Hannah:

She's a rescue poodle and she was seized at the border and she went on to have 10 puppies.

Hannah:

Now, apparently this is a thing where the dog is brought over to have the puppies and then the puppies are taken and sold.

Hannah:

About five weeks later, the female dog is shipped back to where it came from and bred again.

Hannah:

And this dog is just, oh, she's just adorable.

Hannah:

But over a certain period of time, which comes so scared and over time, you know, more trusting and you just think, gosh, what humans are doing to these animals, we're not really worthy of them.

Hannah:

But I.

Hannah:

I think it works really well.

Hannah:

It feels like a real community.

Hannah:

You see how these.

Hannah:

I mean, this one's quite well.

Hannah:

Well, very well resourced.

Hannah:

The kennels look amazing.

Hannah:

60 odd kennels, I think they have.

Hannah:

But you also see the sad side of things where dogs don't quite make it, and also when owners are having to give up their animals when they just really don't want to.

Hannah:

And this is all about rehoming them, making them sure.

Hannah:

Making sure that these animals, once they've kind of passed their quarantine, that they're safe, that they're well, that they can go out and be rehomed.

Hannah:

So it's really touching.

Hannah:

I think Pete as a.

Hannah:

I mean, I guess he is the presenter to a degree, although he shares it along with a lot of other people.

Hannah:

But he is kind of the key person.

Hannah:

I think he does really quite a good job of it, actually.

Hannah:

And he shows a real.

Hannah:

A real side of him that perhaps we haven't seen before.

Hannah:

What do you think?

Hannah:

Him?

Ian:

I really enjoyed it and it's very similar to the Paul O'Grady series, for the Love of Dogs.

Ian:

In fact, initially I thought, oh, Pete Wicks is taken over that show.

Ian:

But no, it's.

Ian:

Different title, different show, but very similar subject matter.

Ian:

I.

Ian:

I didn't particularly warm to Pete Wicks on Strictly, I have to admit, but in this.

Ian:

I mean, I do think kind of the way people interact with pets kind of tells you a lot about them.

Ian:

And it's often people that don't connect particularly well with humans that have a really special bond with animals.

Ian:

And yet you, as you said, you see a different side of him in this.

Ian:

He's an absolute softie.

Ian:

And yeah, it's, I mean, anything to do with kids and animals, I mean, in trouble or in pain, is it, you know, just gets the tears flowing, doesn't it?

Ian:

And there's one great moment in this which just totally, totally triggered me where one of the dogs is having an operation and I think it's the anesthetist is saying, he's, he's dying, he's dying.

Ian:

And the vet who's operating saying, no, he's not.

Ian:

As if, like, not today, not this dog, not today.

Ian:

And it's just, oh, my God, I was in floods.

Ian:

But yeah, it's, yeah, if you, if you like dogs, I mean, it's, it really is, it's a delight.

Ian:

But it's also, you know, it's quite upsetting in places, but it's, you know, really heartwarming as well.

Ian:

Over on Prime Video, arriving on Thursday 9th January, we have another new crime drama called On Call and here's a clip.

Ian:

He's my new trainee.

Hannah:

Is he cool?

Ian:

Jeremy's still out.

Ian:

I've got some people gunning for me.

Ian:

I don't want that coming off on you.

Hannah:

What they say about Harmon.

Hannah:

Can't trust her.

Ian:

You are either 100% with me or not.

Ian:

There's no question.

Hannah:

Sooner or later, God puts you down.

Hannah:

I'm 100% with you.

Ian:

Yeah, I guess you might think.

Ian:

Hannah.

Ian:

Oh, another American crime drama about uniformed cops.

Ian:

Oh, no.

Ian:

But let me say this is well worth checking out because it is quite different.

Ian:

So, you know, the kind of Training Day trope of, you know, the rookie with the veteran, that's what we're working on here.

Ian:

So the Good Doctors.

Ian:

Brandon Larcuenti plays Alex Diaz, who is a rookie joining the force and he's going to go out on patrol and his mentor is going to be the officer, Tracy Harmon, and she is played by Pretty Little Liars actor Troian Bellisario.

Ian:

So, yeah, they're going on on patrol in Long Beach, California.

Ian:

It's an eight parter.

Ian:

So right from the off we, we kind of get the impression that Harmon's fellow officers don't have great things to say about her.

Ian:

So she's a little bit isolated within the force and, you know, she's quite sort of hard taskmaster with this young guy who's like, very keen, but he's got a lot to learn and so he has to kind of decide, well, am I going to be, am I going to commit to my mentor or am I going to believe what I'm being told by the other officers?

Ian:

Anyway, what's quite different about it is they use body cam because obviously police officers wear body cams these days.

Ian:

And so that's used to give it a really kind of immersive feel when there are like foot chases and so on.

Ian:

And it starts in very dramatic style where a female officer pulls a car over and yeah, is, is shot dead and it's a shocking scene and then that's kind of the case that starts, it's the search for the people who carried out that crime.

Ian:

So yeah, I, I wasn't expecting to really get into it but yeah, I thought it was action packed.

Ian:

Good characters, good dialogue and filled in a slightly new way which makes it feeling almost like a documentary style feel.

Ian:

So yeah, I really like this one.

Ian:

What did you think, Hannah?

Hannah:

It was.

Hannah:

It is different, isn't it?

Hannah:

Going back to what we said at the beginning of the pod, it is different because it does feel much more like a kind of documentary.

Hannah:

And that's really down to the body cam.

Hannah:

And that I think is like you say about that opening scene being really dramatic.

Hannah:

I think that's because of the way it's been literally been shot.

Hannah:

It's completely different to many things that have gone before.

Hannah:

I really enjoyed it.

Hannah:

But I also like it when two people are kind of coupled up if you like or partnered up and then one of them doesn't really trust the other person.

Hannah:

So you can see some really interesting relationship kind of relationships coming between them all which.

Hannah:

Which I think is really, is so must be so true to life because you might not be partnered with the person you want to be or with somebody whose morals and ethics that you agree with.

Hannah:

But you would imagine in this world, in this area you would be sort of governed by the law to a degree.

Hannah:

But of course, you know, how far are they working inside the law, to the edge of the law or outside of the law?

Hannah:

And I think it's.

Hannah:

Yeah, it's really, it's good and it is different but the whole body cam stuff is just a really interesting way of coming at it.

Ian:

We're going to finish over on Netflix with a two part documentary which arrived on Tuesday 7th January.

Ian:

It's called Jerry Springer Fights, Camera Action.

Ian:

And here's a clip nothing like Jerry Springer had ever been to see before.

Ian:

We wanted to create a new genre.

Hannah:

Of talk show like this.

Ian:

Let's turn it upside Down.

Ian:

It was the inception of American shock culture.

Ian:

Our show was chaos.

Hannah:

I hate you.

Hannah:

I hate you.

Ian:

It was genius.

Ian:

The modern version of the Roman Coliseum.

Hannah:

Yeah.

Hannah:

So when I saw this and I was reviewing this, it kind of made me think of like the whole Jeremy Kyle stuff that came out because of course, Jeremy Kyle was the British version, I guess, to a degree, of the Jerry Springer Show.

Hannah:

Now some of our younger listeners might not remember the Jerry Springer Show.

Hannah:

I do the latter years of it.

Hannah:

And it was just that kind of tabloid television, I suppose is the best way to describe it.

Hannah:

And it just brought on all kind of people from society who had troubles, some of them arguably not well at all.

Hannah:

And brought out in front of a camera and questioned.

Hannah:

And so Jerry Springer played the host and they argued it might be an affair or it might be, you know, just think of Jeremy Kyle show on steroids is probably the best way to think of it.

Hannah:

But this was something that they took a massive risk on.

Hannah:

And it worked.

Hannah:

It absolutely worked.

Hannah:

I think it was the first show that really rivaled and outperformed Oprah, which was, you know, pretty incredible.

Hannah:

And it was, it was outrageous.

Hannah:

And this is a documentary of which there are two episodes.

Hannah:

And it delves into what happened backstage, it delves into how they managed to get that sort of content for the stage.

Hannah:

And perhaps it's not quite as glamorous as.

Hannah:

Well, it didn't look very glamorous at the time, to be fair, but you know, perhaps it's not quite as it seems.

Hannah:

And as I say, I referred to Jeremy Kyle.

Hannah:

You know, there were lots of news reports about that show.

Hannah:

It eventually got taken off air.

Hannah:

And in a similar vein, you've got first hand interviews with people that were on the show who could tell, who, who can tell you exactly what happened.

Hannah:

And it's not, not for the faint hearted really, is it, Ian?

Hannah:

It's pretty, it's, it's pretty awful in places.

Hannah:

And the lengths that companies might go to for entertainment and I'm just not sure it would.

Hannah:

It could, or perhaps it does happen in its own way now, but, but, but it doesn't.

Hannah:

Those kind of shows don't exist in quite the same way anymore.

Hannah:

Maybe we're slightly more careful.

Hannah:

I think there's a lot more work personally that needs to be done.

Hannah:

But it was just a.

Hannah:

It's just a massive circus and the, the, those people, however difficult their lives were, however, you know them enough situation, you're watching them, they were, they are human, they are people and they have feelings and it's left quite a few people pretty devastated.

Hannah:

It's really, really interesting.

Hannah:

I think documentaries like this, seeing, seeing behind the curtain, I guess.

Hannah:

What do you think, Ian?

Ian:

Yeah, it's good to look back on these things because I don't think at the time, I think people just loved the Jerry Springer Show.

Ian:

episodes between:

Ian:

But it really was like kind of zoo TV.

Ian:

It was sort of like a bare pit with all the audience all chanting and then bringing on like episode one.

Ian:

They.

Ian:

It's always, you know, they have the subtitle up, you know, I married a horse.

Ian:

And they bring on this guy who has married a horse and he's French kissing the horse.

Ian:

It's kind of a race to the bottom, really.

Ian:

But it was hugely popular.

Ian:

But they, they also mentioned that, that a couple who appeared on it died shortly after appearing on the show.

Ian:

So it's a dangerous game.

Ian:

And of course it had Jerry Spring as the host, who was a former mayor and had also been a news anchor.

Ian:

And he had this very kind of amiable, laid back kind of presenting style which.

Ian:

Which kind of contrasted with the outrageous content of the show and the brawls, you know, the onstage brawls and you've got the security guys having to jump, you know, they wanted people to fight, basically, that that was for them, that that was pushing the ratings on.

Ian:

And I must admit, quite a few of the people who are evolved behind the scenes come across as quite seedy characters to me and they're very unapologetic about the whole thing, you know, so.

Ian:

But I remember it very well and it's ironic that some.

Ian:

There was a musical called Jerry the Opera, which was all about Jerry Springer and that drew more complaints than the Jerry Springer Show.

Ian:

Just goes to show, doesn't it?

Ian:

Anyway, yeah, very entertaining.

Ian:

Whether you remember Jerry Springer or not, it's a good watch.

Ian:

Well, there are a few other highlights to pick out before we finish Hannah this week.

Ian:

We have on Now TV arriving on Saturday the 4th of January.

Ian:

Well, it's all about the darts at the moment, isn't it?

Ian:

And it's a documentary series called Dart Kings, featuring legendary players, including Bobby George.

Ian:

Remember him with all the jewelry?

Ian:

Also arriving on Saturday the 4th on ITVX as a box set, you have North Shore, which is a crime drama set in Sydney, Australia, starring Joanne Froggatt.

Ian:

k at the terrorist attacks of:

Ian:

It also arrived on Sunday the 5th of January as a box set.

Ian:

The James Norton thriller playing Nice about babies mixed up at birth.

Ian:

Also on ITVX.

Ian:

Arriving on Wednesday 8th January as a box set.

Ian:

Robson Green is back in a new series of Grantchester on Netflix, arriving on Thursday 9th January.

Ian:

There's a Western called American Primeval in which a mother and her son trek across the wilderness in search of her husband that stars Taylor Kitsch and yes, Betty Gilpin.

Ian:

Again, also on Netflix.

Ian:

Arriving on Friday 10th January, we have bank of Dave 2 the Lone Ranger.

Ian:

Yes, that's a sequel to the:

Ian:

It's a true story because Dave set up his own bank, basically took on the payday loan industry and won.

Ian:

And finally listeners, you'll be pleased to hear arriving on Now TV on Thursday 9 January, far north, which is a fact based comedy drama set in New Zealand about a couple who were caught up in a drugs bust.

Ian:

Yes.

Ian:

So those are all the things we didn't have time to preview but are well worth taking a look at.

Ian:

because It's the first pod of:

Ian:

So for my part I really enjoyed Ripley, which starred the brilliant Andrew Scott and was, yeah, a take on Patricia Highsmith's the Talented Mr.

Ian:

Ripley.

Ian:

That was very, very good.

Ian:

And Anna Maxwell Martin, the brilliant Anna Maxwell Martin.

Ian:

And Sean Evans in the true crime drama Until I Kill you on ITVX I thought was also an outstanding piece of work.

Ian:

What were your favorites from last year, Hannah?

Hannah:

Well, I've got to say Gavin and Stacey, I mean that Christmas episode I just utterly loved and it has sparked a binge on all of the originals going right back to the beginning for some real classic Nessa comments.

Hannah:

So that's absolutely brilliant.

Hannah:

Also baby reindeer, of course, you know, a lot of headlines came from that, some good viewing there.

Hannah:

And Yellowstone was:

Ian:

It was.

Ian:

And, and before yet:

Ian:

Well, yes, and baby reindeer I think just won a Golden Globe, didn't it, for the lead actor actress in that dead.

Ian:

Well, we've just got time, Hannah, to look ahead to what we're going to be talking about on next week week's pod.

Ian:

So what's on the agenda, Brenda?

Hannah:

Ah, well, Adam Scott returns in a second run of the Ben Stiller directed workplace thriller Severance, which is on Apple tv.

Ian:

Plus, and a team of crime fighters search for a terrifying serial killer in Paramount.

Ian:

Plus, crime drama the Crow Girl, starring Eve Miles.

Ian:

So we look forward to those and much, much more.

Ian:

But in the meantime, listeners, happy New Year and.

Hannah:

Washington.

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