Settle down for some top telly this week as Paul Whitelaw recommends a new series examining the rise of the Nazis. Also on his radar: This Is Going to Hurt and woodwork at its best in Loggerheads.
Rise of the Nazis: Dictators at War – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm
This engrossing new series examines the psychology of homicidal dictators and the morality of those who empower them. The rise and fall of Adolf Hitler is the ultimate example of how dictatorships always crumble in the end. They’re founded on hubris, corruption and paranoia; an inherently unstable power structure commandeered by ruthless megalomaniacs who cannot accept reality. The series begins in 1940, with Hitler plotting his invasion of the Soviet Union. He fully believed that global domination was within his grasp, and woe betide anyone who suggested otherwise. Fate had ordained that he would be victorious. Solidly compiled using archive footage, dialogue-free dramatic reconstructions, contemporary reports and contributions from esteemed historians, it’s an acute study of sanctioned insanity.
The Millionairess and Me – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm
Former model Amanda Cronin is apparently one of the UK’s richest women. You’ve probably never heard of her, and Cronin isn’t happy about that. She’s got everything she could possibly want apart from celebrity. Hence why she agreed to star in this potentially brand-building programme from documentary filmmaker Martin Read, a man whose life experience couldn’t be more at odds with that of his glamorous subject. He’s been homeless and once served a prison sentence. It’s a sly, wry film about obscene class divisions. Read and Cronin have an obvious rapport, they like each other, but he never loses sight of his fundamental point. These shallow, selfish, oblivious fools will never understand what it’s like to be poor.
Imagine… Labi Siffre: This Is My Song – Monday, BBC One, 10:35pm
Labi Siffre is perhaps best known for his indelible anti-Apartheid anthem Something Inside So Strong. He also wrote the Madness hit It Must Be Love. Fine achievements both, but this poignant profile places him front and centre: a brilliant, iconoclastic singer-songwriter who has never quite received the respect he deserves. A gay black man, Siffre endured prejudice for most of his early life. Twice widowed, he retired from music several years ago. But now he’s back, his warm, soulful voice undimmed. He comes across as a lovely fella – a bright beacon of integrity – who is modestly proud of his entirely natural hybrid of folk, soul and funk. One particular new performance brought tears to my eyes.
This Is Going to Hurt – Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm
In the second episode of this commendably brutal comedy drama about an exhausted NHS surgeon, Adam (Ben Whishaw) continues to juggle some sort of personal life with the endless, sleepless pressures of his job. This Is Going to Hurt is never self-pitying, it understands that gallows humour and self-deprecation/laceration naturally coexist with genuinely-felt trauma. A coping mechanism. Writer Adam Kay, who span this series off from his own bitterly experienced memoir, is presumably a fan of M*A*S*H: the smart-aleck asides never undermine the fundamentally stark point he’s making. It’s a direct political statement on behalf of the overworked, understaffed and underfunded NHS. But, you know, with jokes.
24 Hours in A&E – Tuesday, Channel 4, 9pm
Our hospital rounds continue with the latest chapter of this peerless observational series. Emergency patients this week include a 15-year-old boy who has been stabbed in the thigh while on his way to school. His doting mother reflects upon her own childhood in Ghana and the way it compares with the often violent nature of south London culture. Elsewhere on the ward, a sports commentator with an inflamed ankle talks about the highs and lows of his career thus far, and an 11-year-old girl shares her unique philosophy while being treated for a broken finger. As always, you will count your blessings and marvel, quietly, at the wit, warmth and resilience of the human spirit.
Loggerheads – Thursday, BBC Scotland, 8:30pm
Davy Crockett hats off to whoever came up with the punning title of this genial new series in which woodworking artisans compete for splinter-fingered glory. I would’ve gone for ‘Tree Amigos’, but what do I know? Nothing. Each episode is based in a woodland enclave – the leisurely race begins in Glenlude in the Scottish Borders – but the competitive aspect is basically irrelevant. It’s just a nicely convenient angle, an easy-access way of providing some insight into how these rather groovy people (one of whom looks like Jerry Garcia on a promotional visit to Endor) devote themselves to reconstituting timber while causing no harm to surrounding wildlife and the ecosystem generally. An entirely benign endeavour.
Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig – Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm
Series two of this vicarious weekend break begins with Toksvig trundling around Devon with the comedian Sarah Millican. Yes, it’s a cosy and rather twee confection in which our hosts enjoy bespoke holiday residences situated in the beauteous wilds of Britain, but you’d really have to go out of your way to take umbrage at a programme in which naturally amusing and affable people look at pebbles and ponies. Speaking of whom, I daresay comedy nerds (not a pejorative term, I’m as nerdy as they come) will have something in their eye when Toksvig names one of the ponies after her late great friend Jeremy Hardy. It’s what he would’ve wanted. This is a genuinely pleasant little distraction.
