National Treasure

I was disappointed by the second in the series.  It all became rather formulaic typifying modern drama: the wife Marie played by Julie Walters exemplifies the tough woman who accepts her husband’s philandering and holds the situation together , In the interests  of diversity some of the acting is weak and the plot line becomes depressingly searing.  I was always hoping the series would examine the issues of charging someone with a crime committed in the past : recollection, different mores , victims becoming so before due process.   Instead the plot swerved to the disturbed daughter Dee with flashbacks to her and the baby sitter who introduced her to drugs and a more permissive life style. It also strongly hinted that the baby sitter was ‘ up for it’ with the celebrity comedian. .  The baby sitter is one of seven alleging rape . Grown  up with children in a private estate, Dee stalks her in her home .

There is an inherent  problem in maintaining  the level of viewer engagement in a  six parter.  The Night Manager did so brilliantly  , this less so. There were too many tortured looks and scenes with Dee, too many of Marie as the forceful   woman and too few of an investigation unfurling.  The dramatic tension of whether Paul Fielding ( Robbie Coltrane) committed the crimes or not was not apparent.

I alwasy get irritated too by a message after the credits that if you have suffered abuse , please contact x.  It’s a drama not a documentary on abuse and this gives the impression where the sympathies of the programme makers lie.  Of course I’m not defending the abusers in a any shape or form but I am concerned that a decent man and brilliant broadcaster like Paul  Gambaccini could be on bail for year and have to sell his comic collection to defend himself against  charges that ultimately were dropped. The role of the BBC  in the Cliff Richard case is also one that should concern us. In Nationla Treaure the scene that carried the most  impact for me was the radio interview when Fielding said he cannot carry out his job, cannot see his grandchildren , his family life is media induced hell but he has not even been charged.