Episode 231
Elton John: Never Too Late | No Good Deed | The Secret Lives of Animals | Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones
Ian and Hannah review the biggest new films and bingeable shows on UK streaming services for the week beginning Friday 13th December 2024, including:
As he prepares for his final concert in North America at Dodger Stadium, Elton recounts his life, his struggles, and shares how he overcame them to become the icon he is today in Disney Plus original rockumentary Elton John: Never Too Late.
Emma Willis and Matt Willis join forces with The Stanway School in Colchester as they challenge a group of Year Eight pupils, and themselves, to give up their smartphones for 21 days in Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphone on Channel 4.
The Secret Lives of Animals is a 10-part Apple TV series featuring incredible never-before-seen footage of rare and remarkable animal behaviors, highlighting the brilliant intelligence of the natural world, narrated by Hugh Bonneville.
Three very different families compete to buy the same 1920s Spanish-style villa, which they believe will solve all their problems, in Netflix original comedy No Good Deed, starring Lisa Kudrow (Friends) and Linda Cardellini.
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Transcript
And welcome to Binge Watch, the podcast where we take a look at the hottest new TV and film
Speaker:releases on streaming television platforms. I'm Hannah Fernando, the group editor of Woman
Speaker:and Woman Home Magazine. And I'm Ian McEwan, writer on TV satellite, TV Times. on TV magazines
Speaker:and today we're looking at new releases that would be available on Friday the 13th of December
Speaker:2024 including Elton John on the highs and lows of his sparkling career in the documentary.
Speaker:Elton John never too late on Disney Plus and Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano as a couple tried
Speaker:to sell their Los Angeles home in the Netflix comedy series No Good Deed. And we'll also
Speaker:be checking out Emma and Matt Willis' Channel 4 documentary, Swiped, the school that banned
Speaker:smartphones. I've a lot to say about that. And discovering the secret lives of animals in
Speaker:a new wildlife series on Apple TV. But first, Ian, what is in the news? Saoirse Grounsull
Speaker:will lead the cast of the BBC's Gaelic drama, The Island, about the investigation of a brutal
Speaker:murder at a remote island mansion. What else is in the news, Hannah? Well, now TV's The
Speaker:Death of Bunny Monroe will star Matt Smith as a sex-obsessed salesman who takes a road trip
Speaker:with his young son after the death of his wife. Pretty decent selection for you this week.
Speaker:Starting with, wow, arriving on Disney Plus on Friday the 13th of December, this is a new
Speaker:rockumentary called Elton John, Never Too Late. And here's a clip. When I was very young. It
Speaker:was all consumed by music. I just wanted to become a songwriter. The album went soaring
Speaker:up in the charts. Did you know that you'd nailed it? Yeah.
Speaker:You don't have to hit back to here. The acclaim grew and the audiences grew. You're the most
Speaker:famous pop star in the world. This is a one-off documentary about Elton. It's co-directed by
Speaker:his husband, David Furnish, and a chap called R.J. Cutler, who is a very well-respected documentary
Speaker:maker from America who previously, he's done quite a lot of political documentaries, but
Speaker:he also did a film about Billie Eilish. This is looking back, focusing on the 1970s, this
Speaker:period in the 1970s when Elton shot to fame and just released a string of albums that went
Speaker:to number one. And then you've also got interviews with him today. Yeah, looking back on it and
Speaker:talking about his life, very candid interviews. He talks about his drug addiction, when he
Speaker:was very unhappy, even though he was really successful, he was desperately unhappy. He
Speaker:was groundbreaking in that he came out, well, initially he came out as bisexual. in an interview
Speaker:in Rolling Stone magazine, which was unheard of back in those days. I remember back in the
Speaker:seventies, Hannah, before your time, my sister bought the album Captain Fantastic and the
Speaker:Brown Dirt Cowboy, which got this brilliant cover. It's a bit like a Hieronymus Bosch painting.
Speaker:I remember listening to that. And that is one of these albums that was at the point where
Speaker:Elton was becoming a megastar. Ever since then, I've been a massive Elton John fan. So we see
Speaker:I mean, people who've watched Rocketman, a lot of that, they'll recognise a lot of these things.
Speaker:So yeah, he talks about his unhappy home life, of course. We see that famous residency at
Speaker:the Troubadour Club in LA, which kind of started to break him in America and it got really good
Speaker:reviews. We see the Dodgers Stadium gig that he played. While he's been interviewed for
Speaker:this, he's on his farewell tour, which includes a return to the Dodgers Stadium. So... Yeah,
Speaker:he was famous for his, you know, his live shows, very flamboyant stage outfits, of course. And
Speaker:he talks about his family life and we see his boys, his boys come on stage at the Dodger
Speaker:Stadium. And it's really about, I mean, as well as celebrating that great, I mean, you know,
Speaker:probably after Lennon and McCartney, John and Torpin, the second greatest songwriting partnership,
Speaker:I would say, British rock and pop. Yeah, so as well as celebrating his wonderful music
Speaker:and incredible performance, and also opening up about his private life, he's kind of saying,
Speaker:and the title is Never Too Late, which is also, I think, a new track that he's released that
Speaker:plays over the closing credits. More important than any of the success was the fact that he
Speaker:was able to kind of find out who he really was, express that. and have a family and find happiness.
Speaker:I was already sold on this because I love Elton John. And I had a chat with RJ Cutler, the
Speaker:co-director, and he, there's one section in the film which is really interesting. John
Speaker:Lennon and Elton John hooked up at a point when John was estranged from Yoko. Elton sang backing
Speaker:vocals on a John Lennon single and said, he said, this is gonna get to number one. And
Speaker:John Lennon said, no, it isn't. and Elton said, well, I bet it does. And if it does, you've
Speaker:got to agree to come on stage with me at one of my concerts. And it did go to number one,
Speaker:and he did go on stage and at Madison Square Garden. And we see that, that moment when he
Speaker:comes out. And R.J. Cutler was a very, very young lad. And he was at that gig. So he saw
Speaker:John Lennon and Elton John playing together. So yeah, it's definitely a labor of love, a
Speaker:passion project. It is really well done. It's really well put together. highly recommended.
Speaker:Hannah, did you like this? Yeah, do you know what Ian, I think you're right, this is a total
Speaker:passion project, isn't it? And both of us really like these kind of music documentaries, but
Speaker:with Elton, I mean, you know, you'd have to live under rock not to know one of his songs
Speaker:or to be moved by something that he's done or sung. And he seems to be sort of... a real
Speaker:survivor in this industry in many ways hasn't he because it was against all the odds he's
Speaker:made it but really it's just an absolutely true talent he's incredibly generous with his time
Speaker:with his money and seems very well liked in the industry really and I think the fact that
Speaker:you sort of see his life how difficult it's become well how difficult it was and how I
Speaker:suppose it's become easier once you say is he as he came out and he was comfortable being
Speaker:gay and kind of admitting that. That was such a massive thing for somebody at that time.
Speaker:But also I think it's hitting at a time where Elton is struggling, isn't he? He's struggling
Speaker:at the moment. He's struggling with his eyesight. He's quite a different man that's on the stage
Speaker:than all these years ago. And so for a lot of people, it will, I suppose tug at the heartstrings
Speaker:because you see his journey and where he is today. just, I think it's great. I mean, it's
Speaker:just so honest. Well, it feels very honest. It feels very authentic. I'm sure, I mean,
Speaker:it does document the highs and the lows. Of course it does. And of course it will have
Speaker:absolutely his spin and what he wants us to see, but it feels very, very thorough. I think
Speaker:people enjoy it. Next up, very much something that's in your wheelhouse, Hannah, on Channel
Speaker:4, a new two-part documentary. showing on Wednesday the 11th and Thursday the 12th of December.
Speaker:You'll be able to watch it on Channel 4 streaming as well. It's swiped the school that banned
Speaker:smartphones. And here's a clip. Say goodbye to your Snapchat street. Join us as we lock
Speaker:away our smartphones for 21 days. It's going to be like the olden days. To see how much
Speaker:damage our devices could be doing to us. Since the dawn of time, kids didn't have phones.
Speaker:I don't know how they coped. Swiped. The school that bans smartphones on channel 4 starts Wednesday
Speaker:the 11th of December. This is something really close to my heart actually because I have children
Speaker:of the age that are into phones and well who isn't into phones you see two year olds in
Speaker:prams with phones don't you swiping and being able to use that smartphone probably better
Speaker:than I can and I'm not that old but they just it's second nature to these kids and this works
Speaker:really well in my opinion because not only is a subject matter very important, but it's also
Speaker:presented by two people who I think their daughter is 14, I think their eldest daughter is 14
Speaker:or around that age, a real pivotal moment in most children's lives, hormones raging, and
Speaker:of course, they are beginning to get into that social media and sort of everything that you
Speaker:perhaps ideally don't want them to. And this is a two-part documentary and it really examines
Speaker:the impact of this technology. on children's wellbeing and I didn't think I was shockable
Speaker:but actually from what I've seen so far it brings a tear to my eye because I think any parent
Speaker:that and actually even yourself if you're not a parent you can recognise it in yourself how
Speaker:addicted you become to these smartphones and it's not your fault the technology is there
Speaker:to addict you it's there to get that dopamine hit for you to want to go back and back and
Speaker:back and back and then of course the really sad part of social media which is just so awful
Speaker:where we all become little lemmings, we all want to follow each other and the very dark
Speaker:side where you measure yourself against things that are just you can't do that, it's immeasurable
Speaker:and the sad stories that come from that. So you know for me this is something really close
Speaker:to my heart because it's really hard to navigate and this is really massively unregulated at
Speaker:the moment and we've seen in other countries, Australia now banning them in schools. In this
Speaker:documentary, they team up with the Stanbury School, which is in Colchester in Essex, and
Speaker:it's a group of year eight pupils, so year eight's what, 12 to 13 age group, and they get rid
Speaker:of their devices for 21 days, and it's just an experiment really. And you can see straight
Speaker:away these children, I can't imagine being without it, the withdrawal symptoms. are absolutely
Speaker:huge but they wanted to check their behaviour, their cognitive abilities, attention reaction
Speaker:times, memory, sleep because of course that blue light, anxiety, mood, loneliness, all
Speaker:the things that I do, in fact I took my child's phone away from her for three weeks and I can
Speaker:absolutely tell you there's a correlation between poor behaviour, poor attention span, upset,
Speaker:and that being taken away is quite a different child. Now I'm not saying you can take it away
Speaker:forever because you have to navigate these times, but I completely am on board with this and
Speaker:I can see it. And I saw Matt Willis' interview today actually, and he welled up, he was almost
Speaker:on the verge of tears at what this does to children. And the come down, when you've got that addiction,
Speaker:it's just the same as taking drugs, and I always use this analogy, it's just the same as taking
Speaker:drugs. you take it away, you go cold turkey, you have to go through that awful period of
Speaker:low before you can find yourself again. And it's so hard as a parent, how long do you keep
Speaker:that phone away? You know, will they find another way? Do they find a burner phone? Do they use
Speaker:someone else's account and use their Snapchat details to get into that or TikTok or whatever
Speaker:their chosen social media is, you know, and then compromise other things? Yes, possibly.
Speaker:So you're juggling this all the time. So this is an experiment that is just so... pertinent
Speaker:and so important at this moment in time when there is no regulation at all and which there
Speaker:needs to be and I think that it's just absolutely fascinating and people need to sit up and listen
Speaker:and if I could turn back the clock I'm not sure I would have given my children smartphones
Speaker:for secondary school I think the old brick might have just done the trick and but you've got
Speaker:to be fairly strong-willed to let that happen because of course your children are going to
Speaker:go through a bit of bullying probably on the way for having that phone. So it's a really
Speaker:tricky one, no judgment, just I think it's an amazing documentary shining some light on some
Speaker:really serious topics that would never seem to be a priority because frankly they probably
Speaker:make too much money. It's a real Pandora's box isn't it and so you know pornography of course,
Speaker:they
Speaker:Material about how to kill yourself and the lack of regulation as you say Hannah say getting
Speaker:Matt and Emma to front it Works really well. It makes it very kind of very digestible and
Speaker:very kind of approachable and they go into school and they talk about their own experiences with
Speaker:their kids and I can I say can I say I Think Matt's landed on his feet there really to be
Speaker:honest because she seems to be the one who's got her head screwed on, like she says, and
Speaker:you did do all the security stuff on the kids' phones, didn't you, to stop them? And he said,
Speaker:no. But yeah, they get into the spirit of it and they're just nice people, aren't they?
Speaker:So yeah, super topical. Interesting to see the kids reacting. Initially, some of them are
Speaker:quite up for it, but very quickly, they're not happy. Although you do see these two lads quite
Speaker:soon after giving up their phones. they're outside playing and one saying to the other, I can't
Speaker:believe you're getting so much enjoyment just from a stick. But you think, yeah, kids playing
Speaker:outside. This is good. This is positive. So yeah, very timely. Very interesting. Over on
Speaker:Apple TV Plus. Now you're going to have to wait a little while for this one because it doesn't
Speaker:land till Wednesday the 18th of December. It's a new wildlife series called The Secret Lives
Speaker:of Animals. And here's a clip. Experience a world beyond imagination.
Speaker:Lizards walk on water. Apes master tools. frogs disappear in plain sight. This has a stamp
Speaker:of quality because it's made by BBC Studios' Natural History Unit. And it's narrated by
Speaker:Hugh Bonneville, yes. So we're kind of spoiled with the incredible wildlife shows that we
Speaker:get to see. I think it's always a bit of a challenge finding new ways to kind of theme them or kind
Speaker:of divide them up or... but what they've done in this is sort of pivotal moments in life
Speaker:cycles. So the first one is, the first episode is about leaving home. Okay, that's what all
Speaker:these stories have in common. But we do see some interesting stuff. There's this lizard
Speaker:that is colloquially known as the Jesus Lizard. It can literally walk on water. It's quite
Speaker:a remarkable sight. Another lizard is coming, sort of moving in on its territory and it needs
Speaker:to escape and it just runs across this expanse of water. with its incredibly large feet. So
Speaker:that was great. Then there's a fish that can kind of come on land and sort of jump by using
Speaker:its tail almost, it's like a spring. There's amazing footage of an elephant crossing a sort
Speaker:of raging river. And all you can see is the very tip of the trunk, just above the surface
Speaker:of the water in this very fast moving river. That's astonishing. So yeah, it's all high
Speaker:quality filmmaking. And also you get, which is commonplace at the end now, you get a look
Speaker:at the making of, and they're actually looking at how they captured the astonishing pictures
Speaker:of this elephant doing a river crossing. So yeah, it's also a wood mouse. So there's this
Speaker:wood mouse that is in fear of being preyed on by an owl, and it's sort of running about in
Speaker:vegetation. but so that it can very quickly find its way back to its burrow, it literally
Speaker:leaves almost like a sort of trail of breadcrumbs so that it can follow its path back really
Speaker:quickly and get below ground. So yeah, there's lots of great stuff coming up and I enjoyed
Speaker:it. What did you think, Anna? I love things like this because the animal world is just...
Speaker:unbelievably intriguing. We could learn so much from them. They're just, it's so simple isn't
Speaker:it really? Yet the stuff they do is so intricate. I mean like you say about the leaves, who yeah,
Speaker:how they thought that? I often think that about ants. If you ever see ants in the garden and
Speaker:they kind of all got their own jobs, same with bees, they've all got their own work and what
Speaker:they've got to do and yet somehow they're just in this animal kingdom. It is survival of the
Speaker:fittest. with their roles, just like we are when we go to work and we take our role on.
Speaker:They're all going about it. And what's interesting about this is some of the animals that you
Speaker:kind of didn't know, some unusual, extraordinary animals that you didn't know, like the fish.
Speaker:And I don't know, I just feel like we have so much to learn from animals and seeing them.
Speaker:they're leaving home you kind of you kind of but that they flee the nest if you like and
Speaker:they move on it just makes you feel really sad you humanize these creatures don't you but
Speaker:actually no it's the animal world okay if anyone's ever been on Safari they'll know what that
Speaker:feels like because I remember once was on honeymoon went Safari and we saw this pack of lions and
Speaker:I didn't want them to kill the impala it was just awful I didn't want to see that but then
Speaker:after five days of not getting any food for her young we'd been schlepping after them and
Speaker:tracking them. And suddenly you wanted her to, suddenly you became part of an understanding
Speaker:of what they needed and what they required in being a survivor of the fittest. So yeah, I
Speaker:really liked it. And Hugh Bonneville did a good job. We're going to finish over on Netflix
Speaker:with a new comedy series that arrives on Thursday the 12th of December. It's called No Good Deed.
Speaker:And here's a clip. BOOM
Speaker:Good morning, house huntees. Wow. Look at Margo. She looks like an AI-generated bitch. What
Speaker:do you like, Margo? Because I can't tell. If you're serious about making an offer, think
Speaker:about a number and then go way above that. You look like a nice couple. Just make sure we
Speaker:find the right buyers. Yes, fans of Lisa Kudrow, who anyone who doesn't know her is the Friends
Speaker:actor, will enjoy this because this is her play a part that's a little bit different. It's
Speaker:quite a comedy, but it's pretty creepy in places and essentially it sees her and her husband
Speaker:trying to sell their very beautiful, I'm going to tell you that now, very, very beautiful,
Speaker:lovely home. It's kind of... Spanish style Los Angeles villa. It's massive, let's be clear.
Speaker:But they want to sell it but they're trying to hide all the dark secrets and so you can
Speaker:see these real estate agents coming around showing people around and they're looking through these
Speaker:cracks in the walls and they're looking to see who they want, they've got kind of cameras
Speaker:everywhere to see who they want to buy it. And there's I think it's three or four couples
Speaker:that are vying to buy this house. they want to do it before the secret's out in the house
Speaker:and I'm not going to say what's gone on in this house but it's pretty creepy and as it goes
Speaker:on you can see these couples that want to buy it are so determined and you know what it's
Speaker:like when you can't have something or you don't think you're going to get something you want
Speaker:it even more and that's exactly what happens here so you know Lisa Cadro and her husband
Speaker:have some really funny together actually they work really well together you kind of see their
Speaker:marriage, they're brought together because of what's happened and what they're essentially
Speaker:they're trying to do but it goes from being quite comedic but I think at the beginning
Speaker:to suddenly taking quite a dark turn a couple of places and suddenly like oh actually this
Speaker:is a bit creepy in places and these kind of say these quite dangerous secrets that they're
Speaker:trying to cover up but I'm not going to say what any of that is because it will just give
Speaker:the whole thing away. It's fun, it's a bit different. If you like Lisa Cadro you'll like this. There
Speaker:are some good names in here, really good cast. There's rescue me's Dennis Leary who plays
Speaker:scary ex-con Mikey and Luke Wilson plays the depressed soap star JD. For me, Lisa Cadro
Speaker:and Romano, they're such main characters in this. and they work really well together. And
Speaker:I think if they didn't work really well together, you'd have a real problem in this, but it's
Speaker:good fun. I think you'll enjoy it. It's not too serious, but it is a little bit creepy
Speaker:in places. What do you think, Ian? Well, I certainly was looking forward to it because yeah, Lisa
Speaker:Cutter obviously from Friends, which is still shown a lot. I still watch it. And I think
Speaker:she had the most challenging role in Friends, to be honest, and she was absolutely superb
Speaker:in it. Also an old sitcom that is regularly shown on Channel 4 most days, Everybody Loves
Speaker:Raymond, which was created by and stars Ray Romano, kind of based on his own life really.
Speaker:And that's worth a look if you've never seen it, it's hilarious, a domestic sitcom. So yeah,
Speaker:I thought, oh well this sounds promising. I will flag out that I, because I thought it
Speaker:was going to be quite sort of light, I wasn't particularly paying attention. I was watching
Speaker:it. I felt tonally it was a slightly odd because it's supposedly a comedy but then when Dennis
Speaker:Leary's character turns up it's violent and then also the secret which I always say I won't
Speaker:reveal about the house is a really tragic and depressing one so I thought it was tonally
Speaker:quite odd. It has got some good people in it. At its best there's good chemistry between
Speaker:Kudrow and Romano. They're funny together, but there's quite a lot of clunky exposition about,
Speaker:oh, this is why A, we have to sell the house, but B, why it's so important to us who gets
Speaker:it. And this doesn't, you know, it didn't really add up. Then there's these high stakes added
Speaker:by Leary's character, again, didn't really add up. So I sort of found, as it went on, I mean,
Speaker:I only watched episode one. I didn't really care whether they sold the house or not. and
Speaker:I didn't really care who bought it. But I did enjoy seeing them playing off each other. And
Speaker:perhaps if I'd given it my undivided attention, perhaps I'd be giving it a slightly more favorable
Speaker:review. But yeah, I mean, if you like those two great comic actors, worth a look. Well,
Speaker:Hannah, time for a quick roundup of the other good stuff that is on this week. So arriving
Speaker:on Paramount Plus on Friday the 13th, we wanted to preview it, but we didn't get a screener.
Speaker:Dexter Original Sin, which is a sort of backstory of Dexter Morgan played by Patrick Gibson.
Speaker:Another Netflix offering arriving on Friday the 13th December. Carry On, which is a thriller
Speaker:starring Taran Edgerton, speaking of Elton John, as an airport security officer. And it's already
Speaker:been billed as the new Die Hard, a classic Christmas movie, isn't it Hannah? So yes, and a couple
Speaker:of things. Oh, I tell you what. I wish we could have done this Hannah, you would have loved
Speaker:to preview this. It arrived on Netflix on Tuesday the 10th of December, in fact I'm going to
Speaker:watch it tonight. Prince Harry's documentary about Polo. Wow, I cannot wait. You'll be captivated
Speaker:Ian I'm sure. Finally after me rambling on about all that stuff, we're going to find out what
Speaker:you've been binge watching on Hannah. Well, we talked about it last week. Jack in time.
Speaker:Oh, yeah. Great. Love it. And also, I'm not sure if it's just because of everything that's
Speaker:going on in the press about Greg Wallace at the moment, but MasterChef just seemed to be
Speaker:on everywhere I looked. And I just kept seeing him everywhere. So I just tuned in and watched
Speaker:that for a bit. Just because, well, just because. I do like MasterChef anyway, but it does seem
Speaker:to be absolutely everywhere. Yeah, I agree. I've been watching it. as well. I've loved
Speaker:this series. It is almost a shock when Greg suddenly appears. You think oh why haven't
Speaker:they edited him out? Anyway, we've just got time to look ahead to... Oh it's a big one
Speaker:next week Anna. What's happening? Well it is the, drum roll please, bumper Christmas and
Speaker:New Year binge watch podcast and we'll be rounding up all the festive treats on streaming. and
Speaker:so-called normal TV, including the return of Gavin and Stacey. Yes, Stacey is on the cover
Speaker:of A Woman Home, just saying, putting it out there. Joanna Page is there. Amazing. She looks
Speaker:great. And the new Wallace and Gromit adventure too. Plus the latest Harlan Coban adaptation
Speaker:on Netflix, Missing You, featuring Rosalind Eliezer, Lenny Henry, Ashley Walters and Richard
Speaker:Armitage. The Strictly Christmas Special, of course. And I should add, Hannah, that the
Speaker:Christmas double issues of What's on TV, TV and Satellite Week and TV Times are all in
Speaker:the shops now with everything you need for your festive viewing. Anyway, we look forward to
Speaker:all of that and much more, but in the meantime, listeners... Keep watching!
