We'll Take Manhattan Review (2/5)

Earlier this month, I made the bold claim that the BBC would rule this year in the world of television. I stand by that to this day, and I imagine it will be the case in viewers' minds by Christmas, but sadly We'll Take Manhattan won't be one of the contributing factors if this is indeed the case. Karen Gillian's turn as 1960s supermodel Jean Shrimpton was admittedly fabulous, emotional and layered, undoubtedly a world apart from her role as Amy Pond and all the better for it. However, the return of Doctor Who's female companion to the small screen seemed to be just about everything this weak drama had going for it. Aside from Gillan, we were presented with a bunch of stereotypical artists, portrayed as selfish, money-driven fools by the likes of Aneurin Benard (David Bailey) and on the other end of spectrum, we had Helen McRory in a fully-blown pantomime antagonist performance that did her no favours in comparison to her work in the past. The direction of the piece was credible at best, instantly percievable as a blatant rip-off of the 60s black-and-white camera style, yet faring no stronger for the close resemblance due to the aged feeling that pervaded the episode in its entirety as a result. What was perhaps most disheartening, though, was the plotline- whether adapting the story of a famous celebrity to screen or penning a tale from scratch, television writers have a duty to provide a compelling and thought-provoking narrative for viewers to indulge in, especially in such a day and age where we get shows like Sherlock and Birdsong airing in the same month. These are golden times for the television industry, and We'll Take Manhattan's utter unwillingness to move past the boundaries of predictable bio-pictures holds it back in the long run every bit as much as Shrimpton's family tried to keep her from acheiving her dreams.