Desert Island Discs' 70th birthday spawned a fascinating programme about its first castaway
Vic Oliver: The First Castaway Remembered (R4) | iPlayer
Friends Through Thick and Thin (R4) | iPlayer
Woman's Hour (R4) | iPlayer
Mr and Mrs Smith (R4) | iPlayer
It's Desert Island Discs' 70th birthday today, as if anyone who listens to Radio 4 doesn't know. In honour of this significant anniversary, Sir David Attenborough has been strapped into the castaway chair. For the fourth time. Even us Attenborough fanatics can't really justify picking through his life three times more than most other DID guests, but the programme is one of the BBC jewels and the corporation can't resist pumping itself up. Attenborough is the most loved of BBC names. No way would the 70th have featured Jonathan Ross, for instance. Even though (whisper it) he'd be a lot more interesting.
Anyhow, Attenborough's previous appearances were in 1957, 1979 and 1998, when his luxuries were a piano, some binoculars and a guitar. I'm hoping he'll go the whole hog this time and ask for some varifocals attached to a mouth organ and back cymbal, all worked by his left foot. Admittedly, the full one-man band might hamper Sir David sneaking up on island species to observe their mating habits. But it would give the parrots a laugh.
The first ever castaway, back in 1942, to what was then Roy Plomley's island was an entertainer called Vic Oliver. As part of the 70th celebrations, David Baddiel examined his life in Vic Oliver: the First Castaway Remembered, a programme that left you feeling rather sad. Oliver was one of those old-time pros that could not only rattle off jokes but play the violin and piano beautifully. He had an accent ? Austrian-American ? that you rarely hear any more. And like many comedians who can play straight but are never allowed to, he felt under-appreciated. He married Winston Churchill's daughter. When Churchill was asked which politician he most admired, he replied, "Mussolini. Because he had the good sense to shoot his son-in-law." Vic worshipped Churchill. Poor Vic.
On Wednesday, Radio 4 celebrated female friendship with Friends Through Thick and Thin, a sweet programme that interwove the stories of three pairs of BFFs (best friends forever). The oldest were June and Jean, friends for 65 years, who met at work and then lived in a commune together. Wa-hey, you thought, but it wasn't that sort of commune. June's husband and son lived there too, as did Jean's mum, "in an apartment". When they all died, apart from June and Jean, Jean helped June through her grief of losing her husband and son, without allowing her to become too dependent. "It wouldn't have done either of us any good if we'd become a couple," she said firmly, and June agreed.
The other two stories were more dramatic: one pair of friends fell out and didn't talk for 10 years; another woman gave her best pal her kidney, to stop her dying. But I liked Jean and June best. The programme triggered a Woman's Hour special about friendship the following day. Chaired by Jane Garvey, it was interesting, but sometimes descended into gender cliche. There were some nice touches (I liked the school kids from Hornsey and the revelation that in Elizabethan times, friendship contracts were actually written down) but I wanted more examination of how modern life has changed friendship and a little less of the "men talk about football, women bang on about relationships" stuff.
Mr and Mrs Smith, a new comedy about a bickering couple, began with a petty argument and continued like that until the end of the show. Rather like Arthur Smith's last Radio 4 series, confusingly. This Smith, though, was Will Smith. There were some nice lines and I liked the horrendous friend of Mrs Smith. Could be a grower.
And, oh, did you hear the Murray v Djokovic match on 5live on Friday? I thought I was going to pop!
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/jan/29/desert-island-discs-70th-birthday
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