Critic's view - Thursday, March 4
The Age
Thursday February 25, 2010
ContactABC1, 9.25pmIN 1964, a small group of nomadic women and children belonging to the Martu tribe emerged from the Western Desert. It was their first contact with white people; "the rock has come alive ... it's rolling around our camp", is how one of the women, decades later, remembers the first sight of the vehicle that approached the camp. Her allusion to the supernatural scenario of a sci-fi film is apt. At that time, two government officers were clearing a section of the desert in readiness for space rocket tests at Woomera and it was they who captured this remarkable "contact" on 16mm film. We see that footage several times over the course of this documentary by Martin Butler and Bentley Dean; each time, however, the nuances shift subtly as each of the parties to this rare moment in time reflects upon it from their perspective. Yuwali was 17 at the time; now a vivacious 62-year-old, her recollections are a window into traditional Aboriginal life and its aftermath €” Yuwali and the others were delivered to a mission. Bound by his professional duty and sobering observations about the women, native welfare officer Terry Long is equally astute in his assessment of this historic moment. Laced with unexpected humour and a sense of wonderment, this is both fascinating and compelling.Peep ShowABC2, 10pmTHOUGH it's essentially a retooling of The Odd Couple, there's much to enjoy in this racy British comedy about a pair of laddish flat mates and their universal quest to misbehave and pull chicks. In the Felix role is uptight neurotic Mark (David Mitchell). Oscar here is Jeremy (Robert Webb), a lazy, wannabe musician and chancer with a circle of dodgy friends. Mitchell and Webb, who co-wrote and co-created the show, are graduates of the comedy of embarrassment school, and their credentials are well displayed tonight when their pregnant friend Sophie discovers which of Mark or Jeremy is the father of her unborn child. Both, however, are in pursuit of other girls, and if that's not enough, a malicious lie catapults this into cringe-making farce.Cougar TownChannel Seven, 8.30pmTO PARAPHRASE Gore Vidal, the two saddest words in the language right now are Cougar Town. The comedy evolves around a middle-aged divorcee who returns to the dating scene. The show is purportedly risque and emancipated, yet its orbit is a desultory and relentlessly unattractive place, where size-8 cougar Jules (Courteney Cox-Arquette) frets about the size of her tush and beats herself up for succumbing to sweet treats, neighbour Ellie placates her randy husband with "free sex cards" and best friend Laurie, a younger version of Jules, is an object of poisonous envy. The feel-good comedy is meant to be about empowerment and the double standards by which males and females "of a certain age" are judged. But whatever it's hoping to say is all but smothered by the uniformly unlikeable, self-loathing characters, shrill performances and a flimsy premise.Gourmet FarmerSBS One, 7.30pmCLOSE to one year down the track, former city slicker and food critic Matthew Evans appears a lot more confident in his Green Acres-inspired lifestyle switch. Tonight, on a quest to bake bread using only locally sourced ingredients, he seeks out a seventh-generation Tasmanian who mills his own flour. The flour is less than ideal for making bread, so he decides to make cakes and put them to the ultimate test; the tough-as-nails critics of Tasmania's Country Women's Association.
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