CAMPING, SKY ATLANTIC, 10pm
This new comedy from Julia Davis is brilliantly slow and agonising. You might cringe as you watch the sour and snappy Fi (Vicki Pepperdine), as with comedies like The Office where you wince at David Brent’s lack of social awareness.
Fi is a brittle, neurotic woman, dressed permanently in beige, who refers to her kind and timid husband, Robin (Steve Pemberton), as “stupid idiot.”
She has organised a camping weekend for Robin’s birthday and has planned everything with terrifying precision, so when things start to unravel so does Fi’s temper.
“This isn’t really going to work for me” she seethes on viewing the sleeping arrangements and on hearing new visitors arrive unannounced. Even the use of the campsite kettle infuriates her: “It’s for an emergency situation only which we would have to define in the moment!”
So when Tom turns up with his frisky new girlfriend who’s clad in leopard-skin, the tension is nearly unbearable. With such rough guests, how can Fi possibly police her son’s mealtimes and make sure he doesn’t eat anything “vaguely homosexual”, like sun-dried tomatoes or baguettes?
EUROPE: THEM OR US? BBC2, 9pm
Glasgow comedian Limmy seemed to capture most people’s view of the upcoming referendum when he tweeted about his own lack of certainty. He said he had a vague impression we should stay in the EU as it was good for business, though he couldn't quite say how or why.
Perhaps that tweet was one of his jokes and I’m missing the point, but I still think he summed up the view of the majority: being in Europe is good for trade and stuff but don’t press us further. We’ll look into it a bit more nearer the time…
The independence referendum captured everyone’s heart and mind but not so the EU vote. It’s almost impossible to get inflamed about trade barriers and border control – unless you bring immigration into the mix, but then the debate threatens to turn into something ugly and entirely different.
So this two-part series on the history of Britain’s relationship with Europe is a good place to start in seeking to find out more about the benefits and hindrances of being in the EU. However, you will need to endure the sight of Tony Blair, Nigel Farage and Norman Tebbit giving their tuppenceworth.
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