Adrian
27th October 2008, 03:40 AM
This a collection of Lewis-Smith's television reviews from the '80s and '90s. He's an astute writer of TV and these are all excellent writing, even when he's reviewing a programme I've never watched.
I can't quite put my finger on Thora Hird. When Alan Bennet provides the script she can give a genuinely moving performance yet, when playing herself, her demeanour is that of a mawkish WRVS lady hovering over a bedside, the sort who offers you a cup of hot sweet tea and says. "You've an accident dear." From the way she hosted the first in the new series of Praise Be!, she clearly assumed that her typical viewer was either a dim five year-old or a confused inmate of a geriatric ward. And having watched the programme, I think she's probably right.
I can't quite put my finger on Thora Hird. When Alan Bennet provides the script she can give a genuinely moving performance yet, when playing herself, her demeanour is that of a mawkish WRVS lady hovering over a bedside, the sort who offers you a cup of hot sweet tea and says. "You've an accident dear." From the way she hosted the first in the new series of Praise Be!, she clearly assumed that her typical viewer was either a dim five year-old or a confused inmate of a geriatric ward. And having watched the programme, I think she's probably right.