Submerged
I was making a list in my head of the Top TV Shows of the last five years (because that’s what guys do). I thought of The Bear (because I’m watching the second season now), Succession, C. B. Strike, Gentleman Jack, Detectorists, W1A, White Lotus, Mrs. Maisel (the final season), Slow Horses, Veep, The Crown (the first two seasons), Babylon Berlin… then my mind jumped to other subjects. Like the recent wedding party that a friend told me about. All the young people there – most of whom were straight – danced only with someone of their own sex. Weird and sad. In MY day, we weren’t afraid to dance with everyone, sometimes in groups, sometimes in, yes, heterosexual couples.
There’s a theme here, I think.
We’re afraid to feel or to express our emotions. None of the best-written, best-acted TV shows I’ve named are deeply political. Except maybe Babylon Berlin. Somehow, that’s not allowed. But what’s equally disturbing, none of the shows I’ve named are deeply moving. Yes, they’re cleverly done, especially the British ones (which tend to dominate). But they don’t shake you profoundly.
Some recent movies have. The closing scenes of The Last Black Man in San Francisco moved me to tears. (I’m not saying that because my son made the movie.)
C. B. Strike, by contrast, is smart entertainment. But I’m so tired of the detective who is too emotionally damaged to show his true feelings. What a worn-out cliché that’s become. Tom Burke is a superb actor. But, for god’s sake, at long last kiss Holliday Grainger! J. K. Rowland, the author of the novels on which the TV series is based, is supposed to be all about REAL men and women. So let her lead characters act that way.
Yes, the British are not good at being expressive. But it’s become cool throughout the entertainment industry --- maybe throughout the world – for people to be shut down. In Hollywood, you can only show your true passion when you’re killing someone. It’s more in vogue there to blow someone away, instead of blowing them.
I’m for feeling. I’m for fucking. Call me old-fashioned.
Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger in C. B. Strike