The West Wing
While Armando Iannucci’s Veep continues, in its third series, to paint a thoroughly unflattering portrait of American politics on Sky Atlantic, over on Sky Go you can find all seven seasons of Aaron Sorkin’s vastly more optimistic portrayal of White House goings-on. The West Wing was, at times, hopelessly earnest and, yes, a bit smug, but few shows have matched the rousing quality of its peak years. It’s likely to make you want to run for political office, or at the very least walk down a corridor while talking very fast, in the manner of the show’s political powerbrokers Toby Ziegler and Josh Lyman.
At The End Of Death Row
In the wake of some high-profile botched executions, this World Service documentary examines the current state of the death penalty in America, revealing the contrasting feelings of an ex-death row inmate and a murder victim’s family. Via some sobering interviews, we’re encouraged to consider both the emotional and practical arguments in a debate unlikely to be resolved any time soon. Stream or download the podcast from the BBC or iTunes.
Sound Advice With Janessa Slater
Resembling in its premise the sublime cringe comedy Nathan For You, this webseries sees intensely irritating media coach Janessa Slater (AKA Saturday Night Live star Vanessa Bayer) deliver some awful career advice to musicians high-profile enough to not really need it. Victims include Haim, Bastille and Drake, who Slater advises to get on Jewish singles site JDate. Catch up with the entire series at aboveaverage.com.
The Bros Of Fracking
This Vice doc travels to Dakota to profile the lives of directional drillers, in particular Colin Bennett, who makes more than $250,000 a year through industrial fracking. Yet Bennett’s life isn’t all plain drilling: he comes across here as an intensely lonely individual; his mother died when he was a child, and his only daughter lives thousands of miles away in Germany. Despite this, the lucrative nature of the industry continues to draw Bennett into a solitary, controversy-filled lifestyle.
Horrible Histories: Frightful First World War
Certainly the most irreverent of all the programmes commissioned for the BBC’s first world war commemorations, this Horrible Histories one-off is also one of the best, getting across the gravity and grimness of the conflict without compromising on comedy. Expect MasterChef parodies and songs. Lots of songs. Available on iPlayer until Monday.
