Parts of this episode work for me and are really funny, but I think it devolves in the second half. It leans too heavily on the idea of “diversity appointments” in a way that’s more annoying than funny.
The commission needs to hire a new curator for the Cultural Olympiad, spearheading a series of artistic exhibits, performances, and events around the country ahead of the Olympics. Although no one on the commission is exactly sure what the Cultural Olympiad really ought to be, they take their best stab at it as they conduct interviews.
Our character of the week is Nick Jowett, head of contracts. He’s played by Vincent Franklin, who I really liked as Stewart on The Thick of It. But while Stewart is the epitome of pointless corporate buzzwords and synergizing, Nick is plain-spoken and has no time to waste on useless fluff. Throughout this episode, he repeatedly cautions the others that the Cultural Olympiad always winds up being nothing but “guys on stilts.”
The interviews themselves are a hoot. There’s the incredibly dry but keen business type, the nepo baby who’s prepared nothing, and the director who says that what art and sports have in common is “the human body,” which is worrying given his history of staging naked flash mobs. The commission doesn’t quite know what to do with any of these people.
But when it comes to picking the best candidate, that’s where the episode falls flat for me. The story is set up in such a way that there’s only one logical choice, but meddling from upstairs suddenly means the commission’s hands are tied. Essentially, they’re pressed multiple times to make a diversity appointment, reinforcing the notion that affirmative action-type policies are about unqualified BIPOC candidates taking away jobs from qualified white candidates, rather than ensuring that qualified BIPOC candidates get the opportunities they should. The commission, especially Ian, deals with it in their usual feckless way, but the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
What this episode does have is some delightful narration from David Tennant. He’s really good at conveying the very slight absurdity of these lines within his very measured, mellow delivery. Here are my favorites:
- “The main item on this week’s agenda is the appointment of a new curator of the Cultural Olympiad, following the departure of the previous incumbent after what were described at the time as ‘uncreative differences of vision.’”
- “As the interview continues, it’s becoming clear that for Roshanara Khan, the Cultural Olympiad is much more about questions than it is about answering those questions.”
- “More recently, he hit the headlines when violence broke out following a performance of his all-male stage version of Little Women in Venice.”
