When I recently reviewed The Firm, a profile of Scottish solicitor Aamer Anwar (still available on iPlayer), I could not for the life of me work out what the deal was with tight skirts, high heels and slo-mo walking.
The camera seemed obsessed with following the women solicitors in the firm, shooting them from their red Christian Louboutin soles upwards as they walked to the office across Blythswood Square. Sometimes Anwar walked between them, a dapper Don in a bespoke suit.
All was revealed later on when he said one of his favourite programmes, the one that steered him toward the law as an interesting career, was Suits. Knowing it only as the American TV show that made a star out of Meghan Markle, I checked it out.
Sure enough, it was all there, from the bodycon dresses to the fancy furnishings. It seemed like someone on The Firm had thought it would be a laugh to reference Suits, not appreciating that it was a little-known show outwith the US. That’s the only excuse I can think of for a naff editorial decision that holed the series below the waterline.
Now terrestrial viewers can check out the hit American law show themselves Suits (BBC1, Friday, from 10.40pm). Be warned, though: like a certain brand of crisped snack, it is hard to stop once you start Suits. I popped in for a look and 134 episodes later I emerged out of the rabbit hole. I wasn’t alone. After first airing in the US in 2011, Suits began trending on Netflix during lockdown and set up home in the number one spot.
Set in New York, Suits revolves around Harvey Specter, a partner in a Manhattan law firm. Harvey thinks of himself as a hustler, a deal-maker supreme. So when a young job candidate in the same mould turns up for an interview, Harvey is determined to sign him. From that decision, a multitude of legal and other shenanigans follow.
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Suits is a legal soap opera, one that increasingly chances its arm as time goes on, but the characters are great, from Donna the super secretary to Louis the senior partner and Harvey’s number one fan.
Suits was a product of the noughties. Holidaying in the 70s: Wish You Were Here (Channel 5, Tuesday, 9pm) takes us back further to the decade taste forgot. As this two-parter argues, the 1970s was the start of a travel revolution that would have an impact on everything from the food we ate to the TV we watched.
Narrated by Pooky Quesnel in a jaunty style (“Nowadays we can book a holiday from anywhere, even while we’re on the toilet), it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet of nostalgia.
At the start of the decade, 40 million people took their holidays in the UK. One in five went caravanning. Then the government lifted price controls and suddenly flying became affordable to the average family. Travel agents sprang up on high streets to satisfy demand. As one contributor marvels, agents would provide you with actual paper tickets. Many a tree was sacrificed to produce all those thick brochures packed with photos of women in bikinis.
The 70s holiday began with the flight. “People loved the glamour and excitement of the airport,” recalls travel journalist supreme Simon Calder, who used to go on day trips to airports just to watch the planes.
A plane of the time is recreated, complete with ashtrays in the seat arms and champagne from the pre-flight drinks menu at 65 pence a glass. And yes, there was more legroom.
Television soon got in on the act, with ITV newcomer Wish You Were Here, with Judith Chalmers, taking on the stuffier Holiday programme on the BBC. Chalmers, the queen of holiday programmes says Anthea Turner, who would later host the programme, had audiences of 20 million a show. She also changed presenting, says Turner, with her have-a-go style. From now on, presenters could not just sit behind a desk, they had to do things.
Exposure to “abroad” meant trying new food, which did not always go down well. Other moans included half-built hotels. But once the exodus started, there was no turning back for British holidaymakers. Indeed, as the second part shows, they became more adventurous.
Channel 5 does these light, bright and fun documentaries so well. Amaze the kids with how things used to be.
It took a long while for The Young Offenders (BBC1, Friday, 9.30pm) to grow on me. Set in Cork, the characters were loutish, the set-up depressing and the humour edging on revolting. But eventually shell-suited teens Conor and Jock (Alex Murphy and Chris Walley) were revealed to be more daft laddies doing their best than menaces to society (though they were still that).
Now back for a fourth series after a four-year gap, the boys are not boys any more. And if the leisurely first episode is any guide, it’s going to take a while to fall for their charms once more. I’ll keep the faith.
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