Dean Ipaviz has gone from being one of several presenters of Escape from the City (iview) to now hosting The Repair Shop Australia (Tuesday on Foxtel). The builder and sustainability expert now heads up a team of craftspeople fixing family heirlooms.
The Repair Shop
This is a timely series, given we now live in an age of disposables, and it’s no surprise family members tear up when they see the finished product on The Repair Shop. In the first episode, a train obsessed boy gets his grandfather’s model Flying Scotsman train restored to its former glory, and Dean Ipaviz dons a conductor’s hat and brings in some more rail memorabilia. Lovely.
Of the two American political dramas streaming right now, one is a must-see and the other is a hot mess. Gaslit (Stan) is about the Watergate scandal, with an unrecognisable Sean Penn as President Richard Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell. Having an absolute hoot as his Southern socialite wife is Julia Roberts, and the first episode suggests political thriller Gaslit is also going to be fun.
Sean Penn and Julia Roberts in Gaslit
Meanwhile, there is no fun in The First Lady (Paramount+), a dreary look at three President’s wives. It bounces around from one era to the next, with no rhyme or reason, and with childhood flashbacks thrown in, there are sometimes six scenarios to keep track of.
Gillian Anderson, who is out to beat Meryl Streep with how many historical figures she can play, dons false teeth to play Eleanor Roosevelt, but it verges on parody. Meanwhile, Viola Davis is being dragged on social media for constantly pursing her lips as Michelle Obama.
Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford in The First Lady
The storyline that really resonates in The First Lady is that of Betty Ford, wonderfully played by Michelle Pfeiffer. Her descent into alcoholism, and her path in establishing the Betty Ford clinic, is a story worth telling. What a shame the series isn’t just about her.
First it was Netflix, then Amazon Prime, and now 10Play is on my Foxtel IQ, so I decided to have a look at what was new. Given 10 and America’s CBS are now casting for reality spin-off The Real Love Boat, the original Love Boat (also on 10Bold) seems an obvious cross-promotion, but this is not as real as it could be.
Having just seen The Andy Warhol Diaries (Netflix), his Love Boat episode with fashion designer Halston (also on Netflix) seemed an obvious choice, particularly since it happened during the show’s disastrous final season, when they got Dionne Warwick to re-record the classic theme song.
Andy Warhol and Gavin Macleod in The Love Boat
After checking IMDB, I clicked on Series 9, Episode 3, but there was no Warhol. I then realised that not only is 10Play incorrectly labelling its Love Boat episodes, but with only 221 to watch, that means 29 are missing. Not happy, Jan.