The Aftermath

On a cold dark October eve, armed with a cuppa and feet up, I was ready for a rare creature on the box. A Wales-set drama shown across the UK. No, not the one with Eve Myles and the irritating soundtrack. Rather, an emotionally charged four-parter about a community coming to terms with an industrial accident, and the families cry for justice as per Aber-fan, Zeebrugge, Grenfell. I had already written a mostly positive piece about The Accident to the Welsh-language weekly Golwg and urged my friends and colleagues to tune in. Half an hour later, my tea was still untouched. I felt uneasy. Baffled. This wasn’t the same drama I saw at the London preview. My WhatsApp jingled: “Hmmm. Not feeling it so far, Dyl!!” Others were conspicuous in their silence. I was embarrassed. Had I recommended a turkey?

On second viewing, the quibbles that niggled me at the première became clearer. The google-translated banner at the St David’s Day Fun Run (Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant – Rhedeg). The wince-inducing “boyo” spoken by Kai Owen’s character. The rescuers venturing into the ruins with a sparking grinder despite fears of a gas leak. The solemn crowd’s “Abide with Me”, whereas the clichéd Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer would’ve rung truer. And the accents. Mowredd, those accents. The twitteratis were tamping.

@TomosWilliams1 

#TheAccident 15 mins in and looks like @Channel4 have done everything they can to combine Skins, Happy Valley & Casualty into one show with the dodgiest South Walian accents

Rewind to the end of September, and to the official launch in Soho (free coffee and croissants obligatory, air kisses not). Most of the cast in situ (Sarah Lancashire! Sidse Babett Knudsen of Borgen fame!) the camera made good use of the Rhondda Fach, Blaengarw and Fochriw locations, the CGI explosion racking up the tension, that shocking domestic violence scene, the crew’s obvious warmth towards the locals. As the Executive Producer George Ormond said:

‘This is our second production based in Wales – our first was Kiri, also by Jack Thorne... Jack is also half Welsh and we knew from the off that The Accident would be set in a small valleys town.’

Jack Thorne, the Bristolian behind the Channel 4 trilogy examining the themes of guilt, blame, responsibility and culpability in modern Britain. I was eagerly awaiting a series in which my country didn’t pretend to be Holby city, planet Gallifrey or something or other with dӕmons. It’s a crying shame that The Accident consists of outsiders pretending to be Welsh plus a plethora of English lawyers from the Alun Cairns school of casting. BAFTA-laden Sarah Lancashire from Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax confessed that the accent was testing:

'I did a lot of work on it. A lot. It was really challenging. It was awful. In fact, we started filming this in April and just to give you an indication of how long it took me, I had my Christmas dinner speaking in a Welsh accent as I started last November.'

Not that she had much say in the matter, as Jack Thorne explained ‘... I wrote it with her in mind and once it was finished I sent it to her and held my breath and thankfully she said yes.’

It could have been worse. As in a Monica Dolan kind-of-worse, with her comedy Leanne Wood-cum-Indian accent in W1A or Tom Hardy’s baffling Locke. And lest we forget the Irish American How Green Was My Valley (1941).

But it could and should have been so, so much better. The scenes between Harriet Paulsen (Sidse Babett) and her wooden PR toyboy are pretty excruciating. And it’s not as if we’re a dearth of actors. S4C has just celebrated its 37th year, and many of its alumnus have found worldwide fame. Less ‘praise the lord! we are a musical nation’, more of a nation of fantastic bilingual performers. Think Iwan Rheon (Game of Throne), Erin Richards (Gotham City), Rhys Ifans (Official Secrets) and Matthew Rhys (The Americans and the new Perry Mason for HBO) who surprised his US fans last year after accepting his Emmy award in his native accent.

And yet, here we are in 2019, with London drama commissioners (or soon-to-be-Leeds in Channel 4’s case) ignoring our homegrown talent, apart from the excellent Jade Croot of Merthyr. Eiry Thomas has been criminally underused as the grieving single mam too. Despite all its faults, I’m still watching, along with 2 million others. Mostly mesmerized by the performances of deaf actress Genevieve Barr and Lancashire, and seeing how the court scenes plays out.

On the whole, a disappointing case of nid da lle gellir gwell.

Losing Faith

“A critical acclaim and social media buzz” – The Times 

“A TV trailblazer… a delight to watch” – Grazia 

“Big Little Lies relocated to rural Wales” – The Guardian 

“A tale of organized crime and domestic strife” – The New York Times

She’s back!

"She" being our yellow mac’d mam-slash-sleuthing solicitor, who spent much of the first series driving back and forth along the stunning Carmarthenshire (and Southerndown) coast in search of errant hubby Evan, whilst singalonging with her kids, downing prosecco with the girls, being pursued by a dodgy cop straight outta Line of Duty and lapswchin’ with Mark Lewis-Jones. The rest of Britain know her as Faith Howells off Keeping Faith from last summer’s network hit (and smashed iPlayer as the 5th most popular TV programme of 2018) now with an added duck egg blue coat and killer heels.

We, however, are more familiar with Faith from Un Bore Mercher (One Wednesday Morning) on S4C starring a plethora of familiar faces like Rhian Morgan and Aneurin Hughes – just as Danish viewers are well-accustomed with the same actors popping up in more than one serial over there. Since then, Faith has travelled to far-flung places like the US, New Zealand, Israel and Sweden. Here’s hoping Talacharn is ready for an influx of square-eyed foreign fans and journos.

Torchwood

Eve Myles is a fairly familiar face in the UK after appearing in Torchwood, the less well received Broadchurch 2 and the HTV/BBC Wales soapies Nuts and Bolts (2000) plus the hugely popular Belonging (2000-2009). Un Bore Mercher is her first starring rôle in Welsh, and a coup for someone who wasn’t bought up in the language despite hailing from Ystradgynlais, a Cymraeg stronghold in the upper Swansea Valley. She learned with gusto, throwing herself into Anwen Huws’ adaptation of Mathew Hall’s original scripts, and sounds like a natural. Having a Welsh-speaking hubby (on TV and real-life) and fellow cast members helped no doubt. 

Ardderchog!

And here we are, S4C viewers, getting the second series on Sunday nights a few months before the rest of monolingual Blighty. Hardened fans can easily watch live with on-screen subtitles, or via S4C Clic’s excellent catch up service with the options of Cymraeg or English subtitles. Beat that, iPlayer!

So why am I not as enthralled as the world and his wife and the Radio Times cover?

Steve Baldini aka Mark Lewis Jones

Firstly, as a native speaker, the translated Welsh dialogue isn’t entirely credible this time round. It sounds just like that – a literal translation peppered with English idioms – instead of a free flowing interpretation of the original script. Which is a crying shame, as I found myself grinding my teeth rather than enjoying the dramatics. Other jarring elements included Alex Harries’ daft wig as Arthur the criminal-turned-childminder, the reincarnation of Gael the Oirish moll (the less effective Anastasia Hille, last seen in Baptiste) and DI Williams (Eiry Thomas) suddenly acting Nice Cop after a decidedly Bad Cop in season one.

On the plus side, Faith’s relationship with her children is a complete joy to watch as is her tension/headbutting-filled scenes with Evan, now a resident of HMP Swansea. And yes, the cameraman succeeds in showcasing Carmarthen Bay at its best, with a little help from sun-kissed 2018.

But that soundtrack. Oh! that bloody soundtrack. Usually accompanied with flashbacks of Faith and Evan in happier times, rolling in daisy fields like some Timotei ads of old. Ela Hughes (daughter of show’s actor Aneurin Hughes and show’s director Pip Broughton – c’mon, this is Cymru Fach after all) has a beautiful voice, but these sporadic ballads are at odds with the rest of the programme; more akin to a cheesy Channel 5 film on a damp Monday afternoon than a passable law drama. As for the translated words, some would put Eurovision lyricists to shame:

“Troi pob craith mewn i ffaith 

Er mwyn i bawb sy’n dod cael gweld dy daith”

“Mi fydda i yn ddim byd...”

Where’s that mute button again?

Its roaring success as Keeping Faith remains a bit of a mystery to me, especially as an avid viewer of far superior dramas over the years from S4C. Here are my personal highlights as noted in Nation.Cymru earlier this year, that could easily be sold to Netflix et al:

• Tair Chwaer (1997-1999) about a trio of country singing sisters from Cwm Gwendraeth.
• Talcen Caled (1999-2005) following a Porthmadog family struggling post-bankruptcy with a Cob-ful of dark humour.
• Con Passionate (2005-2008) about a Carmarthenshire male voice choir shaken to its core by sassy new conductor Davina Roberts (classical singer Shan Cothi) and the first ever Welsh language programme to win a prestigious european Rose d'Or award in 2007.
• Alys (2011-2012) about a single mum (BAFTA award-winning Sara Lloyd-Gregory) who left London under a cloud with dreams of starting afresh in wild western Wales.
• Parch (2015-2018) - my all time favourite - a richly dark Six Feet Under-esque dramedy starring Myfanwy (Carys Eleri) a middle aged mum, wife and parish priest questioning her faith after a shocking diagnosis. Written by lecturer and songstress Fflur Dafydd, the finale me in a flood of tears as we said goodbye to one of the most original dramas ever shown in any language.

Carys Eleri of "Parch" fame

If you’re looking for something edgier from a wholly original Welsh script today, then give Merched Parchus (Respectable Women) a go. Originally shown as a bingeworthy 
boxset of 8x15’ on Clic, it features the (mis)adventures of newly dumped Carys (excellent actress and writer Hanna Jarman) and her three friends, weaving their way around the tequila-soaked streets of the capital, broken and newfound relationships, insta-bitching, awful media parties and book launches, and the perils of returning home to live with mam. The episode of Carys’ time on a creative writing course in a gothic mansion with other odd bods, certainly rang true here as someone often plagued with writers block and a blank computer screen. With a mixture of pitch black humour, blue language, Cymraeg pop culture references (Mr Urdd! Catrin Beard! Clwb Ifor!), podcasts of American serial killers, and empathy laden characters, you will – trust me – be well and truly hooked. It looks and sounds unlike anything shown on S4C in recent times, and should appeal to fans of Fleabag, Girls and more.

And that shocking but inevitable ending is screaming for another series.

Here’s hoping S4C sells this fantastic series in its original format, like the excellent Bang (about Port Talbot siblings on either side of the law, repeated on BBC One Wales, 10.20pm Saturday 25th May onwards) rather than another back-to-back production where the Welsh version plays a frustrating second fiddle to the English.

Mwynhewch/Enjoy!

Fantastic Four - Mari Beard, Sion Ifan, Hanna Jarman, Mali Ann Rees

Merched Parchus

cynyrchiadau ieie productions

main cast:

Carys – Hanna Jarman

Lowri – Mari Beard

Siriol – Mali Ann Rees

Dan – Siôn Ifan

Menna – Nia Caron

Ben – Berwyn Pearce

Cai – Emily Burnett

Emyr – Gruffudd Glyn

Phil – Iestyn Arwel

Tom – Tom Rhys Harries

written by: Hanna Jarman + Mari Beard
producer: Alice Lusher
director: Claire Fowler

                                         S4C outside Wales:                                          

Virgin TV - 166

Freesat - 120

Sky - 134

Watch S4C online on:

S4C website

S4C app for iPhone

Clic app for iPad

Aussie Noir

Min Gud!

I’m starting to worry. Having a wobble. 

After years of stalking everything Scandi (fictionally that is), I’m slowly wavering. 

There was much anticipation to Adam Price’s (no, not Mr Plaid Cymru – the brains behind Borgen and a celebrity chef in his homeland) latest offering on Walter Presents about a København priest battling god, a drinking problem and family strives. Two episodes in, and I found myself looking at my watch rather than enjoying time fly by, and deleted Herrens veje (Ride upon the Storm) from the skybox. Life’s too short, and I’m too impatient. These are barren times for BBC Four as well, and I can’t believe it's nearly a year since we said farväl to the wonderfully eccentric Saga Norén.

Nowadays, the Southern Hemisphere is my destination of choice. Talk about going from one frozen extreme to a sweltering another.

Novels and series set in worn-out outback towns or sun-kissed suburbia. I’ve already devoured two Jane Harper novels, The Dry and Force of Nature starring Federal Agent Aaron Faulke – and hyper excited to learn that Hollywood star and Melburnian Eric Bana will take the reins of the film version. Gripping stories of old feuds and lies threatening to explode like an Ute in a bushfire. You can almost taste the fear and dust jumping from the pages.

These days, I’m hooked on Scrublands by Chris Hammer, about a Sydney journo returning to an outback town shaken to its core a year after a priest shot five locals to death one scorching Sunday. Dark secrets also run deep in Mystery Road film and mini-series starring the stunning Aborigine actor Aaron Pedersen as troubled (aren’t they all?) detective Jay Swan on BBC Four last year. Set a universe away from shiny happy Ramsay Street, these dramas portray a modern day Australia troubled with an omnipresent racism and inequality. Pedersen also stars as Guy ‘Mike from Neighbours’ Pearce’s sidekick in Jack Irish, about a world-weary former lawyer turned debt collector/troubleshooter. A hit back home, this was sporadically shown on Fox (UK) channel in the past and deserves a far more mainstream slot.

Themes which also arose in Safe Harbour (SBS/BBC Four) about a sailing trip gone horribly wrong for a gang of Brisbane well-to-doers who comes across a drifting boat of refugees in the Timor sea. A series that posed the question “what would you do?”, mirroring the Brits’ uncomfortable relationship with those seeking sanctuary across the Channel. One of the main actors is the constantly excellent Ewen Leslie from The Cry and Top of the Lake fame. Over on netflix, I bingewatched Secret City during a trip to Stockholm last year. This thrilling series is set amongst the power corridors of Canberra, after a protesting student sets herself on fire leading to an almighty diplomatic row between Australia and China, plus a high body count on the way.

Not that I’ve completely chucked my thermals in favour of the Factor Fifty. The tad cooler Northern Hemisphere still packs a few punches, with a welcome return to Shetland for the fifth time on BBC One on Tuesdays. The combo of the moody Scottish subarctic archipelago, surely the most lethal isle after Sandhamn, and the moodier DI Jeremy Perez (Indy-loving Douglas Henshall) makes a riveting viewing based on Ann Cleeves’ novels. And over Christmas, I shunned bad telly in favour of Will Dean’s gripping Tuva Moodyson mysteries – Red Snow, after the first chillingly good Dark Pines. There’s a whiff of Twin Peaks in this claustophobic liquorice-producing town of Gavrik in central Sweden, plus nearby Utgard forest with its bears, bull elks, psychotic taxi drivers and troll-making sisters. Journalist Tuva’s constant battle with her beeping hearing aid batteries adds an extra element of fear and anxiety during the constant snowstorms, and certainly rings true to a semi-deaf person as myself. Another unique character ripe for a TV adaptation. 

Are you listening SVT?

Cometh the Awr

Sorry Vera and Les Mis. There’s a spanking brand new exciting Welsh language kid on the block to occupy our Sunday nights. Set in a bland courtroom and an eerie hotel in Bridgend County, 35 Awr (35 Hours, 8x60’, S4C) works its way back following the trials (boom! boom!) and tribulations of a jury thrown together to decide the fate of a troubled young man accused of killing his neighbour. Personally, the case itself plays second fiddle to the delicious mixture of members of the jury - an OCD librarian, randy accountant,  scarily silent fireman, gay travel agent, a student with a fuck y’all attitude - who wouldn’t normally look twice at each other, but who are forced to cooperate in Her Maj’s name. Here’s hoping that the wonderfully blunt Val (Gillian Elisa) Taz (Iestyn Arwel) and Moira (the evergreen Christine Pritchard) get their own spin-off show. Fflur Dafydd’s dialogue is utterly believable, flows like the Taff after a storm, and peppered with knowingly cultural references and jokes (Glan-llyn! Dodoma!) that only Cymry Cymraeg would appreciate. A rare series that isn’t constrained by the recent de rigueur in Anglo-Welsh collaboration, where English scripts are translated into Welsh and therefore more awkward and less natural to native speakers. But more about that in the future.

The beauty of 35 Awr is its format. We open with a body and rewind our way with the ticking clock to the dirty bloody deed, weaving our way through a myriad murderers-elect. This is the fourth instalment of the hugely original and popular series, with minor amendment this time, as all the action happens within 35 hours, whereas previous series were set over 35 days. The first (and best in my humble ol' opinion) 35 Diwrnod was set in a swank cul-de-sac in Anywheresville, the second (less successful – I jibbed quarter way through) in a Cardiff high rise office block of an insurance firm, and the third (starring Siân Reese Williams of Craith/Hidden amongst others) surrounds a feuding farming clan in Carmarthenshire.

The humour is as dark as the set’s diffused lighting, the characters intriguing and utterly believable, flaws and all, and it also has a fantastically atmospheric opening music and credits – a rarity in modern dramas. Another hit from the author of Parch, easily my best TV drama of 2018 in any lingo. Beat that, Bodyguard!

Cymru Noir is on a roll and its high time S4C sells this Welsh language only drama and more to other nations, Walter Presents et al. 

After all, bendigedig subtitled dramas knows no bounds.

Sundays 9pm, S4C - catch up on S4C Clic or iPlayer with English subtitles

Norway calling!

Baby its cold outside

I’d be completely utterly stupendously lost without Walter Presents. All4s on demand service is 3 years old, and has been a lifeline for me these gloomy winter eves since the Christmas lights came down, especially when terrestrial telly is as barren as a Brexit economic policy. Plus the fact that a high percentage of its contents are from the Euro nations, which is perfect for a Scandi obsessive like yours truly. Not that everything appeals, like the cliché-a-munite Franco-German production The Crimson Rivers (Les Rivières Pourpres) shown on More4 every Friday nights.

However, another water-based drama is a new hit in my house. River (8x60’) aka Elven set on the Norwegian-Russian border high up in the Arctic Circle where the remnants of the Cold War still lingers on. A local girl disappears after finding a severed foot in a local river, before ending up frozen to death herself on an army no-gone zone. The Authorities are desperate to keep it hush-hush, but local politi officer Thomas Lønnhøiden must have missed the memo, as he and army officer and all round action gal Mia Holt are firmly on the dangerous case.

I’m two episodes in so far, which slowly (too slow for some maybe?) but surely sucks you in with its atmospheric views of the frozen falls, spooky isolated farmhouses, empty highways and vaguely spoken locals with Something to Hide.

Tusen takk, Walter.

But what about some other Norwegian highlights? Despite not as numerous as their Danish-Swedish cousins, they are available. Another firm favourite of mine was Acquitted (Frikjent) about a wronged businessman returning to his roots to save a local solar factory, twenty years after being accussed of killing his beau. The  fjords scenery and the cast are stunning, and are available as two series courtesy of Walter.

Yeah, but still not a patch on Snowdonia

As with Welsh language telly, I had fun ‘spotting the same actors’ in a fantastic Netflix series from the same neck of the woods. Borderliner (Grenseland), described as a Norwegian Line of Duty, utterly gripped me on a trip to Oslo (bien sûr) last year – stars a towering Tobias Santelmann as moody detective Nikolai Andreassen forsaking the bright lights of the capital to investigate a murder in his hometown – one which his cop brother and father are murkily involved. 

Only one series was produced, despite the open-ended last episode that’s screaming for a sequel. 

C’mon TV2 Norge!