TV Preview: Women | Undercover Princesses | Wonders of the Solar System

Published on Friday 5 March 2010 13:29

Directed by documentary filmmaker Vanessa Engle, Women is a new series exploring the rise of feminism and its impact on the lives of contemporary ladyfolk.

Part one focuses on some of the leading lights from the women's liberation movement in the 1960s and 1970s, a relatively recent period in history which, in this context, looks as remote as the dawn of creation. It's easy to forget that women were once regarded as second-class citizens tethered to an absurdly restrictive set of societal expectations. How we've moved on.

Courtesy of some funny/appalling archive footage (eg pipe-smoking male interviewers regarding confident women with a mixture of condescension and bafflement) and candid interviews with eight veteran libbers, Engle's fascinating account frames the emerging feminist movement in crystalline perspective.

Her interviewees include renowned feminist author Marilyn French, whose persecuted fury is visibly undimmed, and a characteristically caustic and pragmatic Germaine Greer, who dismisses protest marches as counterproductive (and boring) and mocks the whole concept of gender solidarity.

Engle rightly portrays these women as heroic freedom fighters on a pioneering mission towards that greatest of revolutionary goals: to overhaul society itself. And yet there is nothing po-faced about them or Engle's general approach. Frank, inquisitive and good-humoured, the programme assumes a well-balanced tone of reverence and wry hindsight.

A product of 1960s political radicalism, feminism was devised by educated, middle-class white women, some more militant and visceral than others. Adopting lesbianism as a political statement? Literally removing the menstrual cycle using a medical process similar to that used in abortions? These ideas crop up throughout the programme, and though they may now sound comically extreme, they serve to highlight the fervent idealism and wide-ranging implications of the movement.

Yet although feminism effected significant changes with regards to the way women are treated in western society, Engle asks whether the movement went far enough. "It was useless," argues French. "It was a joke, but I did it. We thought we were changing the world, it was so great. But it ended."

Unfortunately, Engle stumbles slightly in her efforts to suggest that some feminist icons paid a price for their cause. In particular she presents Kate Millett, once cruelly dubbed the Mao Tse-tung of feminism, as a forlorn and lonely figure. That may well be true, but Engle can't resist cutting back and forth between Millett in her vibrant 1970s pomp and the aged, stooped, chain-smoking woman sitting alone in her country kitchen. She even asks her whether the movement drove her insane. In striving to make a point Engle skirts with tastelessness. Otherwise, her witty and revealing film never puts a foot wrong.

Three regal ambassadors for the universal sisterhood go looking for love in Undercover Princesses, a tepid reality-cum-dating show for viewers of absolutely no discernment whatsoever. You may recall that last year BBC 3 aired a programme called Undercover Princes, in which unattached foreign monarchs came to the UK to find a wife. If so, you have my sympathies. It doesn't take a genius to work out that this is more of the same, only with women, and it's just as vapid and tedious as before.

Collectively searching for an Englishman embodying the refined qualities of Hugh Grant, Robbie Williams and Prince Philip (what, caddish, bonkers and racist?), the Princesses must live and work together in Essex for three weeks under assumed identities. Then and only then will they find a partner who loves them for themselves rather than their repulsive wealth.

Their highnesses are about as interesting as wet cement. The producers were obviously hoping that sparks might fly between them, but they're far too amenable to inspire any friction. What's more, the programme's one and only joke – that the cosseted Princesses are totally out of their depth in the real world – palls within seconds. Ha ha, they have to carry their own bags and can't pronounce Chelmsford properly. How do you switch the oven on? What's a jacket potato? You get the idea.

Predictably, the episode climaxes with the Princesses in a karaoke bar ogling a strip-o-gram dressed as a policeman. It's hard to imagine a more life-affirming snapshot of modern Britain. Undercover Princesses does provide one useful function though: when future generations ask about BBC3's contribution to culture, we can show them this and hopefully move on towards a more enlightened dawn.

Speaking of which, Professor Brian Cox journeys into the beating heart of the sun in the first part of Wonders of the Solar System. Eschewing the bombast of most modern science documentaries, Cox has a diffident yet enthusiastic style which serves his subject well.

His basic, accessible lecture on the life-shaping properties of the sun finds him sweltering in Death Valley, awestruck by the Northern Lights in the Arctic Circle, and best of all, enjoying a total solar eclipse in India. It's an impressive sight, humbling even. "That's the solar system coming down and grabbing you by the throat!" beams Cox, who declares it the most amazing thing he's ever seen. And he used to be in D:Ream, so you can imagine.

Women

Monday, BBC 4, 9pm

Undercover Princesses

Sunday, BBC 3, 9pm

Wonders of the Solar System

Sunday, BBC2, 9pm

This article was first published in the Scotsman Magazine on Saturday, 6 March, 2010