What to watch on TV this week: Cunk on Shakespeare, Billions, Upstart Crow (May 9)

The BBC’s Shakespeare celebrations continue and the latest Showtime drama comes to Sky Atlantic
History lesson: Philomena Cunk, of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, investigates the world of Shakespeare
BBC/House of Tomorrow
Toby Earle10 May 2016

Perplexed by the sheer amount of choice on the TV guide? Don’t worry – Toby Earle has once again picked the best of the box.

This week discover what Philomena Cunk knows about Shakespeare, see Kevin Bishop turn vigilante in a UK premiere on London Live, and enter the playpen of billionaires in Damian Lewis’s Billions, where money is no object, nor the methods to make it.

Oh, and if you’ve ever wanted to see Peep Show’s David Mitchell as the Bard, here’s your chance.

Upstart Crow, Monday, BBC2, 10pm

Over 400 years ago Shakespeare wrote, ‘"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players’, and this explains the massive backlog in the applications of Equity cards. There are billions of applications for those guys to wade through. Please be patient if you’ve submitted yours.

Lines like those irritated more than Equity, a contemporary of Shakespeare’s branding him an ‘upstart crow’. This insult has been adopted for the title of Ben Elton’s new Shakes-com Upstart Crow, which proves how we live in weird times.

Leicester win the league and then, even unlikelier than that, Elton marks a return to Blackadder-grade quality gag writing in this frequently hilarious sitcom. This was written prior to the weekend’s sun, so this isn’t a dehydrated brain scratching at the keys, blisters infecting judgment; rediscovering Elton’s lost touch is a quest of Indiana Jones proportions and here it is, railing against pork mutilated by toffs and sending up Shakespearean conventions. He is abetted by a fabulous David Mitchell, who dials the script up a notch even further, his exasperation at being the smartest man in the room and the century the perfect vehicle for a man chasing success.

Cunk on Shakespeare, Wednesday, BBC2, 10pm

The greatest English imagineer and language buccaneer turns her attention to a man who continues to hold our respect, despite what he inflicted upon us at school.

Stratford’s gobbiest maker-upper is a topic too large to be contained in a standard Cunk slot, this full-length excursion allowing for multiple moments of wonder as she seeks to grasp why the brother of someone in a Smiths song is so revered. To do so, Cunk meets Shakespeare experts and Simon Russell Beale, all of whom are left dumbfounded by her interview technique, her interest in the subject often perishing before she's ended her own question. Many would pay handsomely for the pleasure of a solo recital of Hamlet by Russell Beale; Cunk instead introduces us to soliloquy fruit, to aid stamina when listening to all those words.

What this also skewers is the ‘Gosh, I'm no expert but I'm keen’ genre of documentary and its conventions. That faux-naivety of a layperson presenter and their wide-eyed wonder, like someone hearing their beloved Edwardian butler whip is worth thousands on Antiques Roadshow.

Funnier than a typewriter factory staffed by monkeys, this must be the start of further Cunk investigations.

Billions, Thursday, 10pm Sky Atlantic/Now TV

There’s a group so powerful, so ambitious, so lacerated with money, it would be easy to dismiss them as outright villains. Hedge fund managers and other financial contortionists are an obvious target; and rightly so. You wouldn’t trust one as far as you could personally bail one out.

Those financial high-rollers, who gambled with entire economies like a rube at a casino betting his shirt on hitting 22 on the blackjack table, are the target of Billions, the entire box set also available for a hostile takeover from 12th May.

Damian Lewis is one such billionaire, Bobby Axelrod a self-made numbers whiz with the inconspicuous charisma of a high-class concierge, but the wits of an alley tomcat. Axelrod might like pizza, like those Ninja Turtles, but he’s no hero, and US attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) knows it, his desire to expose Axelrod’s ill-gotten empire the engine to this slick conflict.

Life for billionaires is extraordinary and that even extends to what motivates their decision making; here, a castrated German Shepherd prompts the purchase of a £60 million dollar home. Rather than a couple of bags of peas.

UK premiere: May I Kill U?, Thursday, London Live, 10pm

A theme horror aficionados may recall from works such as Maniac Cop, Maniac Cop II, or even Maniac Cop III is what happens when an officer of the law turns rogue. Very, very rogue.

In the UK premiere of this black comedy, Kevin Bishop plays decent, law-abiding cycle copper Barry Vartis, who could only be accused of being a Dirty Harry if his mudguard was broken. This all changes during the riots of 2011, his personality morphing into an angrier killing machine than when Robocop runs out of baby food.

Despite this massive shift in character what clings on, like a whelk glued to a spider, is Barry’s inherent Britishness which prevents him from not politely enquiring with his victims, ‘May I kill you?’, before doling out his punishment. That is some reassurance for those criminals who befall his two-wheeled wrath, that their lives haven’t been claimed by a complete monster.

After this, whenever you meet a cycle copper, you’ll never spoke out of turn.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in