1,829 words, 10 minutes read time
This week’s selections shine a light on visual imagination, artistic legacy, and dramatic storytelling.
You might find yourself escaping into the dream logic of Annihilation. Or you could revisit the enduring sweep of Lawrence of Arabia. There’s a wealth of viewing to challenge, delight, and provoke. Our picks this week range from the speculative future to Britain’s legal past. They prove that television and film remain some of the richest canvases for cultural engagement.
We’re especially drawn to the bold and the beautiful this week. Alex Garland’s Annihilation stuns with psychedelic strangeness, while Tuesday’s immersive Hockney retrospective reminds us that great artists never stop reinventing. Midweek, Mads Mikkelsen faces the elements in Arctic. Jimmy McGovern stars in the searing drama Common and offers his reflections on it.
Whether you’re in the mood for noir, nostalgia, or narrative risk-taking, there’s something here for every discerning viewer. As ever, all selections have been handpicked by Pat Harrington, with original music on our video version from Tim Bragg.
🌟 Highlights this week:
Annihilation brings visual and psychological brilliance to your Saturday night.
Lawrence of Arabia remains an unmatched cinematic epic on Sunday afternoon.
A David Hockney night on Tuesday offers layered artistic insight.
📅 Saturday, 3 May
Annihilation (2018) – Great Movies, 9:00 PM 🌟
Alex Garland’s sci-fi mystery dazzles with strange beauty and creeping dread. Natalie Portman leads a team of scientists into “The Shimmer,” a mysterious zone where the laws of nature seem suspended. What begins as an expedition quickly unravels into a psychological and existential journey.
Garland weaves a hypnotic atmosphere, enriched by eerie visuals and an unnerving score. The film examines grief, transformation, and the unknown, with echoes of Tarkovsky and Cronenberg. It’s a cerebral experience as much as a visceral one.
Though its abstract nature divided audiences, Annihilation remains one of the boldest science fiction films of the past decade. Ideal for viewers who prefer their thrills slow-burning and their questions unresolved.
📅 Sunday, 4 May
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – Film4, 12:50 PM 🌟
Lawrence of Arabia is one of those rare films. It transcends mere historical drama. It becomes something far more intricate—a meditation on identity, power, and ambition.
It’s visually stunning, of course. The desert cinematography, the sweeping scale, and Maurice Jarre’s haunting score all contribute to its legendary status. But beneath all that grandeur, there’s something deeply unsettling about the man at its center.
Lawrence, played with mesmerizing intensity by Peter O’Toole, is a man caught between worlds. He’s fiercely drawn to Arab culture. He takes up their cause in the struggle against the Ottomans. At the same time, he is undeniably a product of British imperialism. The film doesn’t shy away from showing his shifting loyalties. It reveals how he wrestles with the idea of belonging.
The British establishment ultimately manipulates his idealism. There’s a bitter irony. His passion for Arab unity is undercut by the very forces he’s working for. He’s both a visionary and a pawn—a man who dreams big but is powerless against the machinery of empire.
Then there’s the question of Lawrence’s sexuality. The film doesn’t make explicit statements, but it certainly hints at something beyond traditional masculinity. O’Toole’s striking, almost ethereal appearance makes him stand out among the hardened soldiers around him. He’s not driven by the same bravado. His relationships, whether with the Arab tribes or his British compatriots, have a certain emotional ambiguity.
One of the most unsettling scenes is his capture and torture by the Turks. This scene is often read as containing elements of sexual violence. The film seems keen to explore Lawrence as a man fundamentally out of place. He is out of place not just politically but personally. Whether or not this aligns with historical accounts remains uncertain.
It’s this elusive quality that keeps Lawrence of Arabia so compelling. It’s a film about war. Yes, it’s also a film about one man’s inner battle. He battles with his allegiances, his desires, and his very sense of self. That ambiguity, that refusal to fit neatly into one box, is what makes it endure.
Even after more than sixty years, it remains unmatched in its depth and grandeur.
📅 Monday, 5 May
A Quiet Place (2018) – Great Movies, 9:00 PM
Creatures that hunt by sound overrun the world. In this world, silence becomes survival. John Krasinski directs and stars alongside Emily Blunt in this tense and innovative horror-thriller.
What sets A Quiet Place apart is its economy—both in dialogue and spectacle. Every sound carries weight, every silence amplifies dread. The family dynamic at its core adds emotional stakes that feel earned.
It’s rare to find a genre piece that balances innovation, emotion, and tension so deftly. This one does, and it lingers.
📅 Tuesday, 6 May
David Hockney: A Life in Art – The Interview – BBC Four, 10:00 PM 🌟
The programme is an intimate exchange. It reveals much about one of Britain’s most influential living artists. Hockney reflects on fame, creativity, and the shifting art world with clarity and wit. The programme offers not just biography, but insight into process. Hockney’s reflections are accompanied by a rich visual tour of his work. This makes it an aesthetic treat. It is also an intellectual one. It is a must-see for art lovers. It also appeals to anyone curious about continuing to create with joy and vision into their 80s.
Imagine – David Hockney: A Bigger Picture – BBC Four, 10:25 PM
This companion piece delves into Hockney’s Yorkshire landscapes. Focused on his late-career work, it’s both painterly and philosophical. The film captures how Hockney reinvents himself through colour, light, and technique. It also addresses the changes brought by age and technology. A beautiful meditation on reinvention and legacy.
Hockney: Double Portrait – BBC Four, 11:20 PM
This is a documentary exploring one of Hockney’s most iconic paintings. It delves into the personal relationships behind it. Revealing and sensitive. The portrait becomes a lens through which to examine the intersection of intimacy and creativity. Archival footage and modern interviews bring it to life. Essential for anyone fascinated by the emotional stakes of visual art.
Face to Face with David Hockney – BBC Four, 12:15 AM
A candid one-on-one interview that strips away pretense. Hockney’s humour and insight shine through. The intimacy of this late-night slot suits the tone—quiet, personal, sincere. A quiet gem in a packed night of programming.
📅 Wednesday, 7 May
Arctic (2018) – Great Movies, 11:35 PM
Mads Mikkelsen is the lead in a survival story. He plays a man stranded in a frozen wilderness. With almost no dialogue, it relies on visual storytelling and raw performance. The harsh environment becomes both enemy and backdrop for existential meditation. Every decision matters; every failure is fatal. Sparse but powerful, Arctic is about resilience when hope is almost gone.
Gogglebox: 10 Year Anniversary Special – Channel 4, 10:00 PM
A decade of watching ordinary Brits watching telly has provided more insights than expected. The show has revealed more than we anticipated. It reflects our identity, emotions, and reactions to the world around us.
This special celebrates ten years of laughter, tears, and heated debates from UK living rooms. It blends nostalgia with the wit and charm that have made it a cultural staple. It’s one of my favourite programmes.
Beyond the entertainment, Gogglebox offers something deeper—a quiet but powerful reminder of how much we have in common. No matter our class, ethnicity, or background, we all gather around the TV. We laugh at the same absurdities. We feel the same emotions.
We find connection in the everyday. We feel collective joy over gripping dramas. We share outrage at political scandals. We experience mutual fascination with the bizarre corners of reality television. The programme showcases the threads that unite us.
This anniversary special promises to be warm and funny. It also provides a surprisingly insightful reflection on how we consume culture. Just as importantly, it examines how we consume each other’s perspectives. A decade on, Gogglebox remains a rare gem. It is a programme that entertains. It quietly reinforces the fundamental truth that we’re more alike than we are different.
Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row – Channel 5, 9:00 PM
Journalist Dan Walker examines capital punishment. He does this through a series of interviews and case studies. The personal stories are haunting. The documentary avoids easy answers, focusing instead on moral complexity and judicial fallibility. A sobering, necessary watch.
Jimmy McGovern Remembers Common – BBC Four, 10:00 PM
The acclaimed writer looks back on his hard-hitting legal drama. It is about joint enterprise laws. Personal and political, McGovern’s reflection sheds light on the motivations behind his work. A timely revisit in light of ongoing legal reform debates.
Common – BBC Four, 10:15 PM
A young man faces murder charges under the controversial joint enterprise doctrine. Sean Bean co-stars in this tense, issue-driven drama. Common is not just a legal story—it’s a moral indictment. Powerful, affecting, and still deeply relevant.
📅 Thursday, 8 May
Baby Done (2020) – BBC Three, 10:05 PM
A refreshingly honest comedy about a couple struggling with impending parenthood. Stars Rose Matafeo in a standout performance. Funny without being flippant, it captures the ambivalence of growing up. Whip-smart and heartwarming in equal measure.
The Invisible Woman (2013) – BBC Four, 10:10 PM
Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in this tale. It is about Charles Dickens’s secret love affair with actress Nelly Ternan. The film is restrained, elegant, and quietly heartbreaking. Felicity Jones excels as Ternan. A literary biopic with emotional weight and visual grace.
The Real Adolescents: Our Killer Kids – Channel 5, 10:00 PM
A provocative documentary exploring extreme youth violence. Harrowing but responsibly handled. Raises difficult questions about justice, rehabilitation, and society’s role. Not easy viewing—but important.
📅 Friday, 9 May
The Shape of Water (2017) – Film4, 11:35 PM
Guillermo del Toro’s lush, genre-defying romance captivates audiences. A mute cleaner falls in love with a sea creature. This unique story won Best Picture for a reason. Part fairy tale, part political allegory, it’s visually sumptuous and deeply humane. A film that embraces the outsider and dares to dream.
Michael Portillo’s Travel Diaries: In Prague (Ep. 1 of 3) – Channel 5, 9:00 PM
The colourful traveller swaps train for footnotes in this personal tour of Prague. Less formal than his railway shows, this series reveals more of Portillo the man. Gentle, informative, and quietly engaging.
📺 Streaming Choices
Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld – Disney+, all six episodes available from Sunday, 4 May
Criminal syndicates and bounty hunters in a gritty galaxy far, far away.
The Handmaid’s Tale (Season 6) – Prime Video, new episodes weekly from Saturday, 3 May
Resistance continues in Gilead.
Longer reviews and expanded commentary on many of the films and programmes featured this week are available on the Counter Culture website. For example, Tony Green has written in-depth critiques of the first three episodes of the current season of Doctor Who, examining their themes, structure, and resonance in greater detail.
We hope this issue of Culture Vulture has offered not only guidance but inspiration.
Until next week, stay curious.
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