Other Doctor Lives: W1A: Series 3, Episode 2 (2017)

*Spoilers from episode 1*

I liked this episode. Does it help that I know I only need to wait one or two episodes between Joel Fry appearances? Maybe, but it’s a good episode regardless, building on the plots from the season premiere.

The execs had hoped that giving Ryan a trial appearance on Match of the Day would be enough to show that he wasn’t hired because he’s a “crap presenter,” not because of his crossdressing. But it backfired—while the football fans hated Ryan’s dull, choppy commentary, he (and the outfit he wore) have blown up on Twitter. “#SexyFootball” is trending, and the papers are asking if the BBC is “brave” enough to hire a crossdressing TV presenter. He’s due to come in to discuss his future at the BBC on the same day that a civil servant is visiting the building. Fiona will be in charge of the charter renewal negotiations, so they want to put their best foot forward as they navigate this delicate situation. Elsewhere, Jack has gone full steam ahead on coopting Will’s idea for On Your Bike, with Will’s somewhat unwitting help.

Ryan Chelford is our character of the week. He’s played by Ben Batt—I knew he looked familiar, and after checking his IMDb, I realized I know him from the U.K. version of Shameless, where he played Joe. He’s entertaining, in an awkward way, as the painful un-insightful former footballer. Whether he’s in front of the camera or just talking to one of the execs, it’s immediately clear that his wardrobe is much more interesting than his personality or conversation.

The execs already have enough on their plates, trying to placate Ryan while Fiona is watching. But matters are even more difficult for Lucy. Ahead of their charter renewal, the BBC is reducing the number of executive positions, and the Head of Inclusivity/Head of Diversity posts are going to be rolled into one. Lucy’s been the one trying to sort things out between Ryan and BBC Football, and it’s her idea they’re going to be offering him in the meeting. But after he arrives, they’re met by Faiza, the Head of Diversity. Despite not having met any of the people involved, she’s eager to take over the whole show, and as she jockeys for clout over Lucy, it threatens to blow everything up.

(Note: having both a Head of Diversity and a Head of Inclusivity indeed feels like overkill from clueless cishet white men who are desperate to avoid getting called racist/sexist/etc. But now that they’re downsizing the roles, the end result is pitting two women of color against each other.)

Last episode, the “hello present” from Fun Media to the BBC wound up being BBC Me, an online platform for user-generated content to “give the BBC back to the people” (Siobhan’s team were not the brain children behind this idea.) And that’s what may become the fate of On Your Bike. Will’s original idea, further developed by Izzy, is a take on a classic talk-show but set on bikes, with the host and the guest chatting while riding around different places in the UK. But now the BBC is hungry for content to feed BBC Me, and Jack has reinvisioned the concept as users taking short “video selfies” of themselves on bikes. Izzy is really angry on Will’s behalf, but he doesn’t seem to fully realize the implications of what’s going on here. And while it still doesn’t help On Your Bike, Jack does get a taste of his own medicine when he finds out David has already run off to one of the execs with his work. Doesn’t feel so good, does it, Jack?

David Tennant had some good bits in his narration today. Here are my favorites:

• Great phrasing/delivery throughout here – “As part of the BBC’s new More of Less initiative, junior executives Ben and Jerry have discovered that they’re going to be given the opportunity to apply for their own jobs. The total of which has been revised downwards going forward from the current figure of two to a new total of one.”
• Ian has been a bike guy since the start of Twenty Twelve, coming to work on a foldable bike, though it wasn’t until series 2 of W1A that he got the hang of consistently folding it without smashing his fingers. Anna’s latest unspoken attempt to get closer to Ian involves a new bike of her own – “Not only has Director of Better, Anna Rampton, apparently decided to join Ian on two wheels, but, like him, she’s gone for wheels that are theoretically at least foldable, if you were listening to the person in the shop who explained how to do it.”
• I like this description of Fiona’s arrival at the BBC, which is just a revolving door of introductions and handshakes with various executives – “Given the potential significance of the charter renewal process, for the future of the BBC and everyone currently inside it, it’s important that the visiting delegation feel as comprehensively met and greeted as possible.”

 

Y tu Luna también: Pan y circo: Season 1, Episode 3 – “The Failure of Prohibition: Drug Legalization” (2020)

After seeing Diego Luna’s tremendous work as Félix in Narcos: Mexico and watching some of the promotion he did for that series, it’s no surprise that this was a topic Pan y circo. The drug war in Mexico is a subject that he’s very invested in, and it showed in his hosting duties in this episode.

At today’s table, we had, not one, but two folks in politics: a former secretary of state and a former president of Colombia(!) We also had a drug researcher and two people who’ve attained a rare “legal remedy” to grow/consume marijuana for medicinal purposes—one a political scientist/activist and one an actor (it was Gael García Bernal!)

Before the guests could get down to discussing the nitty-gritty of legalization, they had to examine the exact nature of the drug problem in Mexico. As with Colombia, they’re more of a producing country than a consuming country, with narcos primarily growing/making drugs, then transporting them out of the country. But even though Mexico doesn’t have a major problem with drug consumption, the narco/gang activity and their clashes with the government have put them on the frontlines of the drug war, with over 250,000 violent deaths in the country since 2006.

Despite the reality of the state of affairs, the law still strictly restricts drug consumption. Those legal remedies I mentioned? Only eleven people in the entire country have been approved for one. Meanwhile, 60% of inmates in Mexican federal prisons are there on drug-related convictions. That’s where the topic of legalization came in. The president of Colombia noted, “The world declared a war on drugs almost 50 years ago. And that war hasn’t been won, which means it has been lost.” The political scientist remarked on the fact that there were three different kinds of alcohol on the table, a state-altering substance that no one bats an eyelash at.

Like I said, I couldn’t help but think of Narcos: Mexico as I watched Luna preside over the discussion. After having a more hands-off approach last week, he was eager to dig in here. His love and care for his country shone through, and he acknowledged how the drug war has hurt Mexico right along with the drug traffickers. He pointed out, “They tell us: ‘You have to keep drugs away from your kids,’ and I say: ‘But I’d also like to keep the military away from my kids.’”

I really enjoy him hanging out in the kitchen with the chef in the pre-dinner clips during the episode. After following the chef’s instructions on how to chop the onions, he exclaimed, “Damn! I’ve been doing it wrong my whole life.” His enthusiasm to learn and easy willingness to make fun of himself is endearing. 

Other Doctor Lives / Joel Fry-days: W1A: Series 3, Episode 1 (2017)

Onto the third and final series of W1A. Joel Fry is in half the episodes of this season, which obviously makes me happy!

It’s the year of the BBC’s charter renewal, and all the executives are on the lookout for fires that need putting out before then. Their latest crisis concerns Ryan Chelford, a former footballer who’s alleging that the BBC refused to hire him as a commentator because they found out he likes to crossdress. Siobhan’s PR firm has been bought out by a company called Fun Media, and she and her team acclimate on their first day. Izzy’s been developing On Your Bike, an idea Will had for a show, but she’s concerned when David gets his hands on it.

Our character of the week is Tracey Pritchard, Senior BBC Communications Officer. Played by Monica Dolan, Tracey is present at all the big meetings, and her go-to thing is being Welsh and no-nonsense. She tends to preface her dialogue with, “I’m not being funny or anything, but…” Here, she and Lucy are both working with Clive, the head of BBC football. Clive explains that they’d had no idea about the crossdressing—Ryan was just a really bad commentator in his audition. Working together to dispel the discrimination allegations, they hope that giving Ryan a test run following a little-watched match will prove their point for them.

It’s an entertaining plot in general, and things get further complicated when the execs realize someone will have to go out to the BBC studio in the Manchester area. They play hot potato with the unwanted trip—Simon has a particular talent for placing things outside his purview when he doesn’t want to do them—and it ultimately becomes another awkward Lucy/Ian/Anna thing. I don’t know exactly how much time passed between seasons, but for sure some has, and I still don’t know what the actual situation is between Ian, Lucy, and Anna. It looks like Ian and Lucy are still sort of circling each other and Anna is trying to block them without saying anything about it, but like, are Ian and Anna dating? Has she made any romantic overtures toward him, or just prevented anything from starting between him and Lucy? For like a year? It’s a little frustrating that we’re not seeing any progression here.

Now that David doesn’t have Lucy in development to leech off her creativity, he’s glommed onto Izzy instead. As usual, David is chasing credit/clout but doesn’t have any real ideas of his own, so he’s shared On Your Bike with Matt. Because Izzy does want to give credit where credit is due, she makes sure she and Will are both involved at the next meeting with Matt about the show. Unfortunately, Matt is doing his usual thing too, and despite Izzy’s best efforts to keep her hands on the wheel, it quickly becomes clear that the show he has in mind is nothing like Will’s idea or what Izzy has been working on.

Some fun David Tennant narration lines today! Here are my favorites:

• This made me smile – “By 9:00, Ian is chairing a special meeting of the Way Ahead group, in his role as someone whose job it is to steer the organization confidently towards whatever it is that’s going to happen next.”
• Entertaining descriptions here – “Later in the day, it’s the afternoon, and assistant of some kind Will Humphries is hard at work.”
• This does a nice job capturing Matt’s MO – “Such is the sudden buzz around the idea of BBC Me as a possible future for the BBC, that Matt is keen to have been developing ideas in that area for as long as possible.”

We get two scenes with Joel Fry/Karl today, although he only has a few lines between the two of them. The dynamic here has changed up, since the PR folks are under new leadership. Siobhan is now the co-CEO of Fun Media, heading up its London office, and the company’s president has flown in from the Netherlands to greet her and her team. His friendly “happy people are creative people!” welcome speech is hampered by Siobhan’s habit of talking over whoever’s in charge, acting like she’s running the meeting by echoing their words in a confident voice.

During the welcome speech, none of Siobhan’s team say much besides the occasional “yay!”, so Karl mostly just stands listening to that, looking alternately apprehensive and encouraged. He’s wearing a very small cross-body bag that may or may not be a fanny pack, and he’s intrigued by the headphones given to all employees to facilitate a periodic “silent disco” to celebrate good ideas or boost energy/morale.

The second scene at Fun features a twist on the usual pitch session. Siobhan’s team has been asked for ideas for giving the BBC (one of their biggest clients) a “hello present,” but this time they’re pitching, not to Siobhan, but to the president. And Barney and Coco find that he’s not as easy to please as Siobhan. He quickly runs down the line, cutting them off as each of their ideas falls flat. I’d wondered if the new environment might flip the script and let Karl come into his own, but that’s not to be, at least not yet. His isn’t so much a pitch as it is an overly literal interpretation of the notion of a “hello present.” Oh, Karl!