Robin Hood, James Garfield, and Girlbands

Ian MacEwan: 00:00:00

Foreign.

Hannah Fernando: 00:00:06

Hello, and welcome to Bingewatch, the podcast, where we take a look at the hottest new TV and film releases on streaming television platforms. I'm Hannah Fernando, the group editor of Woman and Woman and Home magazine.

Ian MacEwan: 00:00:16

And I'm Ian McEwan, writer on TV and Satellite Week, TV Times and watched on TV magazines.

th November,: 2025

Hannah Fernando: 00:00:46

We'll also be checking out a music documentary series Girl bounds forever on BBC iPlayer. And Matthew McFadyen playing an unhinged assassin in period political drama Struck by Lightning on Netflix. But first, Ian, what is in the news?

Ian MacEwan: 00:01:00

Jack Thorne has adapted Lord of the Flies for a new BBC production of the classic William Golding novel. What else is in the news, Hannah?

Hannah Fernando: 00:01:10

rican political family in the: 1930

Ian MacEwan: 00:01:22

Okay. To period dramas, one rockumentary and one sci fi. Decent lineup, I think.

And we're going to start on Netflix with a new series called Death by Lightning. And here's a clip. President James Garfield. All I want is to be a part of it.

Hannah Fernando: 00:01:47

My name is Charles Guiteau. What line of work are you in politics, Jim? You're their leader. Your job is to inspire hope.

Ian MacEwan: 00:02:02

Perhaps I can't change anything.

Hannah Fernando: 00:02:05

You will not run from the battle. Go show those bastards who we are.

Ian MacEwan: 00:02:10

Four episodes to this one. It comes from a couple of Game of Thrones producers, if you're interested in that kind of thing.

And it's the story of the 20th President of the United States, James Garfield.

I've got to admit, although we've got all our kings and queens who are endlessly revisited in dramas and documentaries, but certainly my knowledge of US Presidents going back, you know, over the centuries is pretty poor. Anyway, Garfield, for those who don't know, he was assassinated.

n elected. So it's set in the: 1880

Then he is endorsing a candidate at the Republican convention, and he gives such a brilliant speech that people start saying, we want Garfield instead.

Meanwhile, and this is the good bit you have Matthew McFaddy from Succession and many other things plays this guy called Charles Guiteau who basically is a real kind of grifter. He's always trying to borrow money off people. First of all, we see him being thrown in jail. He's just.

And MacFadyen is so gifted, good at playing these kind of shifty, desperate, slippery characters. And he is, he's fantastic in this. You can't take your eyes off him as he's spinning his skeeves. He goes to the bank to try and get money.

He lies to his family. You know, he's just a real. He's. He's kind of a fantasist really.

Anyway, he decides independently that he's going to endorse Garfield's candidacy, you know, and, well, things move on from there. We got Nick Offerman from Parks and Recreation. He plays Vice President Chester Arthur. And you also have Betty Gilpin as First Lady Lucretia Garfield.

So, yeah, this is a part of American political history that I was completely unaware of. And I mean, normally that kind of thing I would think am I going to enjoy the story of a 19th century American president?

But because McFadden is in it and his character is just so outlandish and compelling, I really enjoyed it. What did you think, Hannah?

Hannah Fernando: 00:04:58

I thought it was really good too.

I have to say, if someone sort of spoke about this and kind of tried to tell me a bit, like we are now trying to get people to watch it or suggesting why they' might want to watch it. It's actually really hard to explain it really.

But suffice to say I did enjoy it primarily because I learned something that I didn't know that I needed to learn about, if that makes sense. This is a part of history that, as you say quite rightly, that we wouldn't necessarily know about.

It's a small time of history as well that probably gets a little bit lost in the way. And the bit that I really like specifically is, I mean a. The cast is very, very good.

There's some outlandish characters there, but also the idea of the what ifs. What if that presidency had been longer? What would have been the changes?

Because he was really quite, from what it seems and what I've seen here, quite a remarkable character, somebody really left field, who's come in and probably could have shaken up the system, which historically could have made a significant difference perhaps even to this day. So that's what I find very interesting. When polit politics is increasingly making headlines, increasingly affecting everybody on the ground.

I think this is a moment in time that people will find this very interesting.

Ian MacEwan: 00:06:20

Meanwhile, over in old England, we rewind the clock all the way back to the 12th century for a new drama series called Robin Hood on mgm. And here's a clip. Everything I had is gone.

Hannah Fernando: 00:06:38

And you blame the Sheriff?

Ian MacEwan: 00:06:40

Who else? They rob us of our coin and call it the law. They kill our people and call it.

Hannah Fernando: 00:06:47

Justice and yet they call us thieves. Then let us be thieves with a purpose. Yes. So this is a 10 part series and when I started to watch it, it almost felt like a film.

It's got that kind of significance, I'd say, in the kind of the way that the scenes are set and the way it's played. But it's a 10 part series and it stars a chap called Jack Pal as Robert of Locksley. So a complete newcomer as this young Saxon in the 12th century.

And he is. We all know the story of Robin Hood, or we probably think we do. This is slightly different because you actually get to see Robin as a child.

So you go, you go back a bit further.

You see the opening scenes of him with his father, you see the close relationship that he has with his father as he teaches him to shoot the bow and arrow. So there's a kind of a snapshot shot into something that we perhaps haven't seen elsewhere before.

But he is driven to seek vengeance after his family's home is seized. And, you know, it's pretty gruesome in places. There are some executions, you can see it completely, but your imagination kind of runs riot.

And whilst he is a newcomer and I think actually really very good, there's some quite sort of steamy scenes between him and a girl that comes from a different background. You know, she's the rich one, he's the poor one, they shouldn't fall in love, they do. The story is old.

But you also have some really big names in this, of course, because you have Sean Bean who plays the Sheriff of Nottingham, and I'm a bit of a fan of Sean Bean. This sort of character works really, really well for him.

He's cross, he's angry, he's, you know, as you'd imagine a sheriff to be, you know, and kind of pompous and arrogant and all of that. And he plays his part incredibly, incredibly well. So for me it was, it's a.

It's a little bit, it's a little bit different to everything we've seen before. So if you tell Robin Hood, you know, you might think, well, I've seen That why would I want to see a remake of that? What would be the point?

This, I think, goes a little bit deeper. It modernizes it to a degree as well, I think, with some of the sort of more sexy scenes.

The Lauren McQueen who plays Marion, I think she does a really good job as well. I think the chemistry between her and Robin Hood is very, very good. And so, yeah, I think I really quite enjoyed what I've seen so far.

What do you think, Ian?

Ian MacEwan: 00:09:23

Well, we've had many incarnations of Robin Hood, haven't we, From Errol Flynn to Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, of course, the Robin Hood in Shrek. And.

And then we had the Jonas Armstrong reboot quite a few years ago that was trying to be quite a bit more trendy and modern and everyone was wearing hoodies, weren't they? I think this is a really good, good version, I must say, because I did think, oh, another Robin Hood, really? But it's. I think it's great.

And yeah, as you say, we get the sort of backstory of Robin and his dad, basically, because it's. It's after the. The Norman Conquest, so the sack, a lot of the Saxons nobles have been.

Their lands and homes have been seized and that's what's happened to the Locksleys.

And yes, as you say, Sean Bean is in it as the Sheriff of Nottingham, but he's not playing the Sheriff of Nottingham as an out and out baddie like Alan Rickman. Absolutely camped it up and stole the show, didn't he? In the Costner version, he's just a man who is carrying out the King's orders, basically.

But the nasty piece of work, the Earl of Huntington, who. Who has Loxley's home and land, is played by Stephen Waddington and who is very good at this sort of thing. It's like falling off a log for him.

So, yeah, we get the backstory of how that. How the dad kind of falls foul of the Sheriff and the Earl of Huntington and comes to a sticky end. And so it's kind of.

Yeah, it's fired by revenge, this story. And yes, I mean, it is. Some of it's quite sexy, I would say, quite steamy. Yeah, I think it's a really good cast. And you're gonna see all your.

Your familiars like Little John and Friar Tuck. We also have Richard Linton who was in Silent Witness for quite a long time, and he crops up as the Bishop of Hereford.

Gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised. And it's. It's not easy to put on these Period dramas from hundreds of years ago and convincingly. I think they've done a great job over on Apple tv.

Yes, that's what it's called these days. Not Apple TV plus anymore. We have a new sci fi called Pluribus and here's a clip. Can I ask a question?

Hannah Fernando: 00:11:56

Certainly. What would you like to know? How do I reverse all this? Rest assured, Carol, we will figure out what makes you different.

Ian MacEwan: 00:12:16

Figure it out?

Hannah Fernando: 00:12:17

Why? So you can join us.

Ian MacEwan: 00:12:20

Okay, just so you know, Pluribus means out of many, one that should be helpful as we move forward.

So of course Breaking Bad and its spin off, Better Call Saul, well known as two of the greatest TV dramas on streaming television platforms or indeed any platform. Absolutely superb. And Vince Gilligan, of course was the man behind them. And now he's created this nine parter.

You get your first two episodes, then they drop weekly, as is usual with Apple.

And it stars Rhea Seehorn, who, I mean, she was opposite Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul, which I mean, I'm sure everyone knows, but it was a spin off from Breaking Bad. And Saul was the lawyer who basically we actually the lawyer to Walter White, wasn't he? And the drug dealer and played by Bryan Cranston, of course.

And she was just as good as Odenkirk, if not better. And you know, to stand your ground against such a charismatic actor as him. She was as Kim. She was fantastic in that.

So it is great to see her in this. It's set in Albuquerque and she is playing. I love the opening. She's at a book signing and she writes these romances.

She's a novelist called Carol Sterka. She writes these quite trashy kind of fantasy romances, period romances that are very popular, but she. She just thinks they're garbage.

She doesn't value them. And she really wants to write the novel that she's always wanted to write. So that's kind of just setting up her character and her world.

Meanwhile, these astronomers. It's a classic opening to a sci fi, isn't it? There's a radio signal coming from outer space and no one knows what it is. What could it.

Well, it turns out it is. It's almost like a virus really. It's a bit. And when it hits you, you kind of collapse and you start convulsing.

And when it strikes where she is, she's in a bar with a sort of band playing. And yeah, it's really well done. Like everyone's just kind of shaking as if they're having a Fit.

And the singer's just kind of moaning into the microphone, the singer of the band. So it's very well done. And oddly, Carol is unaffected, but her wife Helen, played by Miriam Shaw, is. It's difficult not to give too much away here.

But, yes, essentially, yes, she does discover what's happening and it's a bit like. It's almost like a collective consciousness and everyone almost becomes one sort of consciousness. And everyone's bit Stepford Wives happy.

Everyone's just very happy and they want her to join them because she's unaffected. So, yeah, it's. It's a great idea. It's very alarming, but it's also very funny. And apparently there are.

Around the world, there are just a handful of people who are unaffected. And then you've got. We're following Carol, who's this really kind of cynical author. It's just a. It's a really interesting mix of tones, but it.

It just works. I mean, it's.

It's highly original and it's referencing some of those classic sci fi that kind of contain a message either about, you know, that, you know, some of them were about kind of the rise of communism, or they could be about sort of people conforming, you know, the danger of conformity. So, yeah, great to see her back. She's great in this. It's, of course, being by Vince Gilligan. It's very well written. So. Yeah. What a delight. Love it.

What do you think, Hannah?

Hannah Fernando: 00:16:29

Well, you know how I feel about sci fi, but this is just a bit different, isn't it? This is just a bit bonkers on absolutely every single level.

And as you say, it's kind of hard to explain what's going on without giving lots of it away. But this virus is scary. It's unsettling for absolutely everybody. It's not out of our brains, the virus that locked us all down either.

So this will be sort of play on lots of people's kind of nerves, I would think, anyway, as you say. Very well. I think it's quite rare when you can get something that makes you laugh and be sad and emotional as well.

And this kind of has all of that wrapped up, doesn't it, really?

And this virus, the fact that it doesn't affect her, but it affects her wife, Helen, I think that's really interesting and scary and that's the bit that's really sad and seeing what. What happens there. But this virus, essentially, after convulsing, makes you happy. But what is that definition? What is everyone's happiness?

Happiness is different for every person, isn't it? So it's quite deep in lots of places as well. So, as I say, if you read this script, you'd think someone had gone gone mad, wouldn't you?

But actually it works incredibly well. And the people playing the part, I don't know, they just capture the essence of it, I think, really well.

Ian MacEwan: 00:17:47

Well, happiness for me can be summed up in two words, Hannah. Girl power. And that's why we're going over to BBC iPlayer for a new rockumentary series called Girl Bands Forever. And here's a clip.

Hannah Fernando: 00:18:03

What made you different from other girl bands? Oh, my God. Just the most electric feeling. Young, rich, famous. The era of young women suddenly having a voice. But it was a small window.

You become a sisterhood. You can't survive that unless you do. We battle the social media trolls together by being so successful that you cannot say no to.

Well, of course, we had Boy Bands Forever, didn't we? The Louis Theroux series. And now we've got Girl Bands Forever. It probably wasn't going to be long before, before this happened.

And this really looks at exactly what it says on the Tin Girl Band and the girl power that came with that. So you're talking sort of in the 90s, I suppose. The Spice Girls were the originals, weren't they, really? They were the ones that really kind of.

Shut up. Shaped the playing field, I suppose for everybody else that was coming through. We also had, you've got the Sugar Babes, Atomic Kitten, All Saints.

And lots of these people are involved and spoken to throughout this. And they'll all be familiar.

Well, some of them will be really familiar faces because some of them have been tabloid fodder for years, ever since they've been in these bands and kind of made a name for themselves, if you like. And some of them have been more successful independently or doing something quite different. Reality shows, sidelines separate from.

From the girl bands. But I think what's really interesting, and we talk about this a lot, is obviously press get a bit of a bashing.

You know, lots, Lots of people get a bashing over this about the kind of the protection and how these kids, I suppose, are looked after when. When they go into the bands.

And I think this is something that we seem to struggle to learn from, actually, with bands still coming through, youngsters still coming through, the protection around them, being shoved into that limelight, that serious fame overnight and what that means. So I think it's eye opening.

I'm not sure it tells you anything more than you probably already know about the reality of young bands and kind of making it. But it is still very interesting to see their journey. And of course, they're all older now, all older, wiser, making different decisions.

And how would they do it?

Be interesting to see if one of these band members, I always think, became a manager or became a PR to actually know how you needed to protect some of these youngsters.

I think that would be an interesting dynamic because, like, you see football players becoming football managers, don't you, and being able to sort of understand the trade, so to speak. And I. And I do feel like when we're not learning quickly enough, really, particularly when you watch this.

But if you like these bands, you'll enjoy this. You will learn something. It is interesting. What do you think, Ian?

Ian MacEwan: 00:21:00

I really enjoyed it. I binged the whole lot straight away. And then it automatically went on to Boy Bands Forever, which I rewatched.

So, yeah, it's fascinating because even though, let's say in the 60s that we had. The Motown, girl bands have been very successful, there was a reluctance to sign and promote girl bands, really.

And especially black girl bands, as we learn from this. And although kind of girl power is a bit of a theme, as with the boy bands, often they're put together by old white men.

And, yeah, a lot of them were treated really badly. Very controlling, like, controlling what they eat.

Even in the case of, you see, All Saints, Melanie Blatt saying that two of them fell pregnant and that they were being told to abort the babies. Astonishing. And you see her performing on stage with her big pregnant belly. And that is quite shocking in a way.

I mean, of course, it should be the most natural thing in the world, but it just shows you. Yes, it was all about image, of course, isn't it? And there are some sad stories as well. Of course.

You got Kerry Katona, you've got a couple of girls who left the girl bands and then the bands suddenly had massive hits. Yeah, you got Louise Redknapp, It's. And they're all very eloquent and articulate, I must say. And.

And, you know, of course, some of the singles are absolute corkers, you know, Though I. I must admit, I still struggle to see the appeal of Atomic Kitten, but that's just me. But, yeah, this.

I mean, you're going to see all your favorite tracks, some absolute bangers and, yeah, some really good interviews and great archive footage, so. And just hearing the backstory of kind of how they did. They did sort of come from different musical backgrounds. You know, some sort of.

Some from kind of church or some from a more sort of underground garage band vibe. You know, some of them just purely put together sometimes on a talent, TV talent show. So, yeah, I mean, if. If you like.

If you like your rock and pot, you're just going to absolutely burn through this. We've got to that time, young Hanima lads, where we find out what the hell you've been binge watching this week.

Hannah Fernando: 00:23:23

Well, of course I've been watching the Traitors and Strictly. I told you, I'm very, very dull. Actually. I need to.

I need to extend my repertoire once these Christmas doubles are out the way and I've got more time. What have you been watching?

Ian MacEwan: 00:23:37

Yes, it's very amusing that certain sections of the press who don't like the BBC are saying, oh, this is the end for Strictly. It's got to be. Why would it be the end for the biggest show on television, you know? Anyway, people have their agendas, don't they? And I have mine.

I've been. Well, I'm going to surprise you now, Hannah.

I've been watching the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Disney plus because we got sent some screeners and I have to say, it's not at all what I expected. Yeah, it's onto its third season now, so take a look at that. Now we've just got time to look ahead to next week's offering.

So what is on the binge watch menu, Hannah?

Hannah Fernando: 00:24:18

Well, David Duchovny and Jack Whitehall. Wow, what a powerhouse team up for prime video thriller Malice.

Ian MacEwan: 00:24:24

Yes, apparently that's about a manny. Have you heard of what a manny is?

Hannah Fernando: 00:24:28

Oh, I do like a manny. Yeah. It's a safer bet than a nanny.

Ian MacEwan: 00:24:32

I didn't know that. Also on a more serious note, the tragic death of TV presenter Caroline Flack is explored in a new Disney plus documentary.

So we look forward to those and much, much more. But in the meantime, dear listener, watch.