Much of Sicily Unpacked's charm comes from the ability of its presenters Andrew Graham-Dixon and Giorgio Locatelli to forget the camera
Just when we thought there was no life left in the TV travelogue, along comes one that is so good it could revive the whole genre. Sicily Unpacked ? BBC2's Friday-night road-trip starring art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon and Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli ? might have looked like another celebrity-led vehicle, but it has proved to be inspirational.
Succeeding where many travelogues fail, the programme has introduced us to the food, art and culture of Sicily in a manner entirely different from the hyperbolic exclamations and stereotypical views so infuriatingly common in other travel shows. In Locatelli and Graham-Dixon the BBC has found two intelligent guides who generously share their knowledge, painting a vivid image of centuries of life on the island.
When Locatelli says Giacomo Serpotta's stucco decorations in Palermo's Oratorio del Rosario di Santa Cita make him feel like he's in a cake, and Graham-Dixon compares the taste of freshly-made ricotta to the smell of a barn, it makes those of us who aren't in the room with them feel as though we might have been. That is the whole point of a travelogue ? but still a trick many others are unable to pull off, instead resorting to superlative-laden soliloquies that add little to the viewers' experience or knowledge.
It's also to the presenters' credit that Sicily Unpacked doesn't shy away from the island's darker side. The circumstances that gave rise to the Cosa Nostra are dissected, from its roots in the abject poverty during Spanish rule to the assassination of prosecutor Giovanni Falcone in 1992 and the birth of the anti-racket movement Addiopizzo in 2004. "Life was cheap here," Locatelli states matter-of-factly towards the end of the second episode. "You could get killed and disappear and nobody knew where you were."
Much of Sicily Unpacked's charm derives from its presenters' seeming ability to forget the camera: keeping voice-over to a minimum, Graham-Dixon and Locatelli discuss what they see between themselves. It reminds me a little of The Trip, only this time the protagonists actually like each other.
It was touching to see the pair transformed from near-strangers to friends in the space of the first episode, during which they bonded over paintings and plates of food. The fact there is two of them is essential to Sicily Unpacked's charm: even Charley Boorman ? who quickly turned into a bore when left to his own devices in By Any Means ? was OK as long as Ewan McGregor was around, and it would certainly be interesting to see how Joanna Lumley would work with a properly knowledgeable sidekick.
Whether Graham-Dixon and Locatelli continue to be a dream team as they move on from Sicily remains to be seen, but I hope the BBC commissions a second journey before this one ends.
? Sicily Unpacked: Friday 9pm BBC2. Catch up on iPlayer
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/jan/18/sicily-unpacked-travelogue-bbc2
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