The charmingly bonkers Peacemaker (Sky Max) is a superhero show for people who don’t like superheroes.
As someone who does like superheroes, but finds the reverence with which they’re often held rather silly, Peacemaker acts as the perfect antidote.
The opening credit sequence – where all the main characters (heroes and villains alike) do a stupid dance to 1980s hair metal anthem Do You Want to Taste It? – sets the tone for the series: Utterly absurd and delightfully dopey.
Peacemaker (John Cena) was introduced in last year’s Suicide Squad film and this eight-part series feels like an extension of that – but don’t think you need to have seen it in order to make sense of this.
Actually, the character of Peacemaker in this TV series is quite a bit softer than the frequently antagonistic and murderous avenger from the film.
That said, he’s certainly still “a douchebag Captain America” (as series’ creator James Gunn accurately describes him) and probably still has a few MAGA caps in a drawer at home, even if the theme of the series is his desire to become a better man.
In the first episode, a hospital orderly takes him to task for killing so many people of colour and he promises to kill more white people going forward, so that’s a start, right?
Even though the series is sometimes bracingly violent, foul-mouthed and childish – his best friend is an eagle called Eagly – it’s probably the most consistently funny show on television right now and certainly one of the sweetest.
So if you’re the kind of person who rolls your eyes at superheroes and their dominance in the cultural landscape right now, you’ll probably appreciate the healthy disdain for them in Peacemaker.
The funny thing is, Gunn clearly adores superheroes, which is why he seems to take such pleasure dismantling their machismo and presenting us with characters who don’t just battle baddies but also fall victim to petty jealousy, insecurities and terrible dancing.
Is it a TV show? You bet it is!
The Great British Bake Off returned to our screens this week for a celebrity special, although if you’re looking for a baking show with real star quality, look no further than Is It Cake? on Netflix.
I don’t even care that a corporate Goliath like Netflix has shamelessly stolen the concept for the show from social media because the finished product is so silly and fun.
It’s a competitive cooking show where the aim of the game isn’t to create a taste sensation but to confound the judges with hyper-realistic cakes that look like household objects.
Identify the cake. That’s it. That’s the whole show.
Utterly pointless but very entertaining.
Sobering look at knife crime
Despite the sensationalist title, Killed By A Rich Kid (Channel 4) was a sobering look at knife crime and also the gulf that exists between the haves and have-nots in our justice system.
The victim in this case was Yousef Makki – a gifted teen from a council estate who won a scholarship to one of Manchester’s most prestigious private schools and was stabbed to death by a friend in the affluent suburb of Hale Barns.
One thing I did wonder about after watching was whether Channel 4 would have bothered to make a documentary about this if it hadn’t involved two middle-class private school kids.
Why does this crime get special attention but not the hundreds of other knife-related deaths?
Simpler isn’t always better
Am I the only one who’s getting a whiff of deja vu with Channel 4’s new reality show – sorry, “social experiment”, The Simpler Life?
I could swear that I watched an entire series about folk who give up the trappings of modern life to live with the Amish about 20 years ago.
To be honest – I wasn’t going to give this series too much of my time but then I heard the tantalising rumours that it went terribly for most of the participants, so now I’m intrigued and want to see how bad it gets.
Film of the week: CODA (Apple TV+)
There’s a very good chance that feelgood family drama CODA is going to grab the top prize at the Oscars tomorrow night and thus become the most under-seen best picture winner in Academy Awards history.
Even though it’s not what I would have picked to win – I’m firmly on Team Licorice Pizza – it is lot better than the wildly over-praised Power Of The Dog and it’s by far the biggest crowd-pleaser of all the nominees.
Emilia Jones – daughter of Aled! – plays Ruby Rossi, the only hearing person in her deaf family (CODA stands for “child of deaf adults”) who has to put dreams of going to music school on hold in order to help the family’s struggling fishing business.
You’ll know exactly where it’s heading from almost the first frame, but if you give in to its heartwarming charms, you way well manage to squeeze out a tear by the time the credits roll.