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Sharpe like you’ve never seen before

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SO it’s back to reality this week. The Olympic torch is winging its way to Rio and the fuzzy glow of all that goodwill and tears will soon be just a fading memory. It can only mean one thing – the telly is going to start getting good again after its almost three week hiatus of wall-to-wall sport.

 

Not that I minded, I was, in fact, an Olympics addict, so it’s probably as well that it ended when it did and I could start living again, rather than spending my days in front of the box willing someone or something over a line, a bar or a hoop or to punch, throw or kick the other guy really, really hard.

There has been one undeniable advantage to the Games – it managed to crowd out all the usual dismal tidings regarding banking crisis number 133, double double dip recessions or melting icecaps. Instead the world was in (relative) joyous unison on how great our athletes were.

There was little joy however to be found in Accused (BBC1, Tuesday). The first in the second series of Jimmy McGovern’s brilliant dramas, each episode focuses on crime and punishment in an absorbing narrative. There is very little mentioned of the crime itself, it focuses more on the people involved and the events leading up to the incident.

The people here are gay transvestite English teacher Simon Gaskell/Tracie (Sean Bean as you’ve never seen him before) and Tony (Stephen Graham – Boardwalk Empire, This Is England), the everyday man who becomes embroiled in an affair with Tracie, despite the fact he is married for 12 years.

At the outset all you know is that it ends in court, as Simon is shown handcuffed at the beginning being led to the dock. The mystery is set in needing to find out how he got there and will justice be served.

I never thought I’d see the day Sean Bean (yes, Ed Stark, Sharpe, Boromir and any other manly character you can think of) would be supporting a blond wig, heels and sequined mini skirt. To be honest, he didn’t make for an attractive woman; as Tony points out he’s not quite Cheryl Cole but that made it all the more tragic.

Simon is so utterly lonely. By daytime, he does his best to try instilling some interest of Wordsworth, Tennyson and the like into his apathetic students, who are far more interested in their mobile phones to care. By night, the more feisty Tracie Tremarco takes over, trawling the bars of Manchester in six inch heels.

Falling foul of some rowdy locals, Tracie is offered a lift home by the shy Tony. Correctly guessing that Tony is a closested gay man, they start a relationship but you just know trouble is looming, especially as there is a judge and jury looming somewhere in the future. That trouble starts when Simon spots Tony in the street and follows him to a beauty salon where his wife works, the wife Tony had told Tracie was dead. If she wasn’t dead before, she soon would be!

There was some genius behind casting Bean and Graham in the title roles – two more hard core males and least likely lovers you could not find, yet they were both perfectly in tune with their roles. McGovern has struck gold again. Accused continues for three more weeks with three new stories.
There has been an influx of American sitcoms over the past few months, all of which are as rubbish as the next one – I’m looking at you New Girl, Don’t Trust the B**** in Apartment 2B, 2 Broke Girls, Perfect Couples…

One of the better varities, but not by much, is Suburgatory (RTE Two, E4). The series takes its title from Suburgatory: Twisted Tales from Darkest Suburbia, a book by former CNN senior producer Linda Keenan, based in part on her experiences after she moved from New York City to three affluent suburbs, the first of which was in Westchester County.

The series itself follows George Altman, a single father who decides to move out from The Big Apple to the suburbs so he can give teenage daughter, Tessa, a better life. Tessa on the other hand didn’t think there was too much wrong with her old life and the move leaves her with the impression they have just entered the world of The Stepford Wives.

Tessa reminds me of Emma Stone’s character Olive in Easy A – the same smart aleck opinions that are way above that of most 15-year-olds with a very open, adult-like relationship with those in authority. Completely unbelievable but easily passes a half hour if you have nothing else to do.

One to watch: She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer… Yes it’s that time of year again when some lovely girls don sashes from around the world and offer talents such as dancing a jig and bag pipe playing (apparently one girl is an avid player this year) in a bid to be crowned the Rose of Tralee. Kerryman Daithí O Sé will chat to the girls live from the Festival Dome from 8pm on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 on RTÉ One.

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