Television: Revelations | On Thin Ice | The Best Job in the World

Published on Wednesday 24 June 2009 14:53

Revelations Sunday, Channel 4, 7pm On Thin Ice Sunday, BBC2, 9pm The Best Job in the World Thursday, BBC1, 9pm

WHAT WOULD COMPEL AN AGNOSTIC to take part in a course designed to transform them into a devout Christian? Wouldn't they be better off learning how to windsurf or something? In part one of Revelations, a new eight-week series looking at the impact of religion on British believers and non-believers alike, journalist Jon Ronson attempts to answer at least one of these questions by gaining access to an Alpha course run from an Anglican church in Oxford.

The brainchild of evangelical Reverend Nicky Gumbel (no, honestly), the Alpha course is a non-profit, tightly structured ten-week initiative consisting of coercive lectures, carefully monitored roundtable discussion groups and helpful pamphlets with titles such as: "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" (answer: we don't know). Popular worldwide, it has attracted luminaries such as Bear Grylls, Geri Halliwell and Rhydian.

As someone who has spent years chasing crazy fringe groups and extremists, its not surprising that Ronson was attracted to the course. Although he has previously written an in-depth article about it, and therefore knows what to expect, he initially seems excited by the prospect of uncovering a brainwashing cult. He revels in the sinister implications of the climactic weekend away and the preponderance of attractive young women serving the cause of their benign Blairite leader. Yet he is surprised and perhaps even slightly disappointed by what he finds. It may be emotionally manipulative and didactic, and the outlandish demands of the weekend away are understandably too much for most, but short of conjuring up the spectre of Christ himself for a friendly chat over tea and biscuits, I don't see how else they'd expect to convert people in such a short space of time.

Ronson follows a small group of uniformly middle-class hopefuls each searching for that indefinable something. Most interesting is Ed, a cheerfully sceptical, unemployed man in his sixties who, in a peculiar twist typical of Ronson's investigations, habitually rummages through supermarket skips in search of discarded food packets. Ed was encouraged to attend the course after his brother and sister-in-law warned him that otherwise he's going to hell. I'm touched by their concern, he says. Ed's brother is a Christian missionary.

Although Ronson's tongue is never far from his cheek, his approach is typically non-judgemental. He'd make a terrible Christian evangelist. His ability to find humour in otherwise straight-faced circumstances never fails to humanise unusualness, and while he never gets to the root of what these people are looking for, its clear that vulnerability and unhappiness remain vital cogs in the spiritual recruitment drive.

Following their rowing trip across the Atlantic, bloody good blokes James Cracknell and Ben Fogle partake in an epic South Pole expedition in On Thin Ice. Billed as the first race to the Pole since Amundsen pipped Scott in 1911, it pits the pair against hotshot teams from around the globe. Will they prevail? A quick internet search reveals that, yes, they're still alive, so bang goes that particular seam of suspense.

The story begins in late 2007 as the Olympic gold medallist and erstwhile Crufts presenter embark upon a year of rigorous training. Adding to the pressure is their search for a third team member. Naturally, their shortlist consists of two celebrities. Disappointed to learn that Gordon Ramsay is unavailable until after Christmas 2008 (yeah, right chicken!) they eventually opt for actor and keen marathon runner, Jonny Lee Miller, presumably because Ewan McGregor was too busy motorcycling around the moon for Unicef.

You know what to expect. A bombastic voiceover, male bonding, gratuitous images of frostbitten toes, plentiful talk of pushing things to the limit and schoolboy jokes about shrivelled willies, which Cracknell and Fogle find unreasonably hilarious. The latter barely stops guffawing and its a wonder nobody shoved a ski mask down his braying gob. If watching two dreary posh blokes and a clearly reticent actor trudging through the snow sounds like your idea of fun, then knock yourself out.

One-off documentary, The Best Job in the World, supplies further proof that people will make appalling arses of themselves on the promise of loads of money and a modicum of fame. Earlier this year Tourism Queensland instigated a cynical marketing campaign to find a caretaker for a stunning Great Barrier Reef island: 34,000 people applied, 50 were shortlisted, four of them Brits (sporty, young and confident – I hate them on principle). This unsubtly mocking programme follows them throughout their desperate publicity campaigns, replete with embarrassing stunts and cringe-making videos. It offers a mortifying vision of the world as a twittering, blogging, facebooking hell. It's enough to drive you to the Alpha course.