Merry + Bright's Lockdown TV Guide

Well, here we are again. It’s February. It’s cold, it’s dark and we can’t really go anywhere. In such times, TV is friend! With that in mind, here’s a list of things we’ve been watching (and enjoying, obvs, we’ll not be wasting your time on the duds) through the dark winter evenings. Perhaps there might be something you haven’t seen yet!

The Queen’s Gambit

This Netflix show about an orphaned girl - who also happens to be a chess prodigy - growing up and discovering herself in 50’s and 60’s America is one of Anthony’s favourite shows of the year so far. It’s so stylishly made and absolutely gorgeous to look at, with a brilliant central performance from Anna Taylor-Joy. You don’t really need to understand or even like chess to get a lot out of this, but when the climactic scenes of its 7 episodes roll around, we guarantee you’ll be gripped by every move. You might even shed a tear (Anthony can neither confirm or deny that he was All Cried Out by the end.) Check out the trailer here.

Poirot

No, we’re not talking John Malkovich’s recent dark outing, and definitely not Kenneth Branagh and his ludicrous moustache. In our book, the definitive Poirot will always be David Suchet. It’s been proven (by science) that there is no greater accompaniment to a mid-afternoon cup of tea and a Twirl than an episode of Poirot from the late 1980s / early 1990s. Those episodes may lack the gloss and all-star casts of the more recent Agatha Christie adaptations, but Suchet solving crimes, together with Hugh Fraser as the charming Captain Hastings (Anthony’s new icon in style and general life outlook) and Pauline Moran as the ever-reliable Miss Lemon, truly is a joy to watch. It’s also an interesting view of the period between the world wars, feeling at once modern and distant, with the growing threat of Hitler’s Germany often looming just out of shot. Here’s a clip to whet your appetite.

The Great Pottery Throwdown

No, the format is not new: get a dozen talented amateurs and pit them against one another for our entertainment. But there’s something about pottery, right? About watching people use their hands to form something useful and beautiful. About the mystical process of throwing and drying and glazing and firing. About the fact that resident judge Keith Brymer-Jones literally can not stop himself from crying whenever he finds a potter expressing the very essence of who they are through clay… It’s a great show, bursting with creativity and heart and humour. If you haven’t seen it, the current series is on channel 4 and the previous series is also available to stream on All4. In the meantime, here’s a montage of Keith crying :)

The Mandalorian

This one rather depends on how you feel about Star Wars. If you’re not into it then I wouldn’t bother, but if you’re a fan then it’s definitely worth a watch. Baby Yoda (very cute) seems to be the breakout star of this series, but I was also struck by how effectively they make you care about the lead character (the Mandalorian of the title) even though you never see his face (well, okay, once or twice you do). It’s a western in space, and if that appeals to you then I’d give it a shot. Here’s the trailer.

time team

Clare loves Time Team. Like, really loves Time Team. She has a Time Team T-shirt, as well as an encyclopedic knowledge of the names of all the archaeological experts who have appeared on it over the years. From your big hitters - Mick Aston, Phil Harding, Carenza Lewis - to the occasional visiting bods like Robert Howard (Dendrochronologist) or Jackie McKinley (Osteoarchaeologist), she knows them all. Enjoying Time Team depends, of course, on your interest in history and archaeology, but there’s also something really heart-warming and compelling about watching a bunch of people all working together on something that they so clearly, passionately, earnestly care about. Seeing that cameraderie is rather - dare I say it - moving just now, when so many of us have been forced to stop doing the group activities we love, that bring us together with our people. Here’s a classic episode.