TV Blog: The best (and worst) of the week's telly
I had high hopes for Small Island (BBC1, Sunday), the adaptation of Andrea Levy's novel about the relationship between Londoners and Jamaican soldiers during and after World War II. Its broadcast is a timely reminder of the contribution made by non-white people to Britain’s war effort, especially in the light of the BNP’s recent usurping of imagery from that era. Though illuminating this overlooked piece of 20th century history, the first episode was frustrating to watch.
While Sunday night is the natural home for period drama, its output tends toward woolly, cosy affairs. Small Island is filled with racial violence and explicit love scenes and it seems that, in order to make these moments palatable for old ladies, someone had the bright idea of adding a voiceover to spell out each and every story point as if in EXTRA LARGE PRINT. While the dialogue and visuals presented a subtle, nuanced story, these were constantly squandered by a narrator butting in to patronise viewers and, more seriously, the show’s Jamaican characters. While a narrative voice is central to a novel, it badly let down this adaptation (as well as being unintentionally hilarious; at one point ruminating about love that is “solid and enduring” over a sex scene.)
Despite being over sentimental, Small Island held my interest and by tuning out the schmaltz I found much of it to be an interesting and moving exploration of the era. Sugar coating or not, at a time when the far right is making gains across the country, any primetime drama celebrating the lives of those who have made a new start in Britain and changed this country for the better is a positive presence on our screens.
Small Island is available to rewatch on the iplayer.