Storyville – Three Minutes: A Lengthening – Tuesday, BBC Four, 10pm
On Thursday August 4 1938, photographer David Kurtz captured some informal silent film footage of the Jewish community based in the small Polish town of Nasielsk. Those haunting three minutes form the basis of this documentary. Nasielsk had 7,000 inhabitants in 1938, 3,000 of whom were Jewish. Fewer than a hundred of them survived the Holocaust. The only voices we hear throughout the film belong to narrator Helena Bonham Carter, Kurtz’s eloquent grandson, an actor quoting from contemporary accounts, and, remarkably, a survivor who grew up in Nasielsk before it was decimated by the Nazis. He’s able to put names to faces. This fragment of film brings ghosts back to life, it preserves their memories. They existed.
Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes – Monday to Friday, BBC Two, 6:30pm
In this cosy new series, TV’s most affable man visits various picturesque outdoor spots in the North East of England. He’s not alone, of course, each leg of his rural journey is enjoyed in the company of a celebrity chum. That’s how these shows must always operate. Guests this week include footballers Les Ferdinand and Jill Scott, actor Mark Benton and comedian Lost Voice Guy. However, in a shocking break from standard TV rules, he’s joined on Friday by members of his actual family. Weekend Escapes fulfils its unpretentious M.O. without any fuss. This is comfort viewing incarnate, an animated tapestry of pretty pictures populated by pleasant people indulging in mild banter. It’s winter, it’s freezing, it’ll do for now.
Everyone Else Burns – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm
Simon Bird stars in this new sitcom as the uptight patriarch of a puritanically religious family who believe the end times are a‐coming. They’ll be saved by the Rapture. I wasn’t impressed by the first two episodes, both of which go out on Monday. It’s fundamentally sympathetic towards the brainwashed followers of self‐defeating doomsday cults, that much is clear, but it falls short of its potential as a piece of social satire. The performances are fine, but the script is limp and obvious. Every attempted joke falls flat. It’s frustrating, and I can’t help thinking how this bleak subject matter would be handled by Chris Morris, who once made a very funny, thoughtful film, Four Lions, about suicide bombers.
Sort Your Life Out – Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm
The delightful Stacey Solomon has returned for another series of friendly life hacks. In episode one, we meet yet another family whose home is cluttered with unnecessary detritus. Solomon and co come to the rescue. Now, I’m instinctively suspicious of most programmes along these ‘life‐changing’ makeover lines, as they tend to judge people harshly. They sneer, poke, mock and belittle. But that’s not the Solomon way. It would appear that she actually gets to know these families, she sympathetically engages with the parents and children, so in the end you get the impression that everyone is genuinely satisfied. You’d hope so anyway. Such a misleadingly aggressive title, though. It sounds like something Dirty Den would bark at Angie.
My Kind of Town – Thursday, BBC Scotland, 8pm
I’m aware that this week’s column is preoccupied with travelogues, but I hope these outdoorsy recommendations provide you with some vicarious forms of escape from the January blues. If you haven’t seen this lovely little show before, it’s worth checking up on. The latest episode finds Ian Hamilton and his guide dog Major exploring the Scottish Borders town of Hawick. “The people of Hawick are aware where their communities’ challenges lie,” says Hamilton, “and that the key is to provide opportunity for people to stay and make a life here. The town has always punched above its weight with sport and ceremony. They don’t want to let go of their tradition, but they are moving forward to secure their future.”
Iain Robertson Rambles – Thursday, BBC Scotland, 8:30pm
And the walks just keep on comin’. In this episode, the Scottish actor Iain Robertson concludes his epic 200 mile trek along The Hebdridean Way. He’s occasionally accompanied by a film crew, but for the most part it’s all filmed via Robertson’s light self‐affixed camera. We’re in the intimate presence of a ruminative man and his faithful dog friend, Mollie, both of them miles from anywhere while in the centre of something meaningful. As Robertson points out, communing with nature can do wonders for one’s mental health. Yes, there are some celebrity cameos ‐ actors Kevin McKidd and Alex Norton in this case ‐ but they bolster Robertson’s message: solitude and company exist in therapeutic tandem.
Travel Man: 48 Hours in Salzburg – Friday, Channel 4, 8:30pm
Joe Lycett’s travelling companion this week is fellow comedian Roisin Conaty. They are, as you’ve doubtless already gathered from the title, in the Austrian city of Salzburg. Food‐wise, they devour some schnitzel, strudel and Salzburg’s signature dark chocolate, marzipan and nougat sweet: Mozartkulgen, which translates into English as Mozart’s Balls. Salzburg’s most famous son would presumably see the funny side of that irreverent tribute. The Mozart theme continues during a visit to an imaginative art installation. Lycett and Conaty also check in to a luxury art‐filled hotel, visit a forest‐bathing workshop, and have the all‐singing time of their lives on Fraulein Maria’s Bicycle Tour, which takes in various locations from The Sound of Music.
