Brendan O’Regan
‘Fascinating’, ‘puzzling’ and ‘disturbing’ viewing ‘on the crime front’ this week, writes Brendan O’Regan
A podcast has been described as ‘radio on demand’ or ‘essentially a radio show that you can get on the internet’. Serial is one of the most popular podcasts in the world and last week I listened to it from my phone, through my car radio, with the help of Bluetooth. Talk about media lines being blurred!
Week by week, Serial tells yet another story of a possible miscarriage of justice in Baltimore USA. Yes, it has similarities with the Netflix original Making a Murderer, reviewed here recently, but it differs in many ways too.
Apart from the fact that it’s radio rather than TV, in this case there’s a very prominent narrator, Sarah Koenig, who guides us through the puzzling evidence, and fills us in when original recordings aren’t very clear.
Although season two has kicked off with the case of US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, updates on season one’s case of Adnan Syed continue to follow recent developments.
The point of view is more objective than in the Netflix show, and frequently Koenig struggles with her own outlook on the guilt or innocence of Adnan Syed, who has been jailed for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.
The show is fascinating on so many levels, a real life thriller with an array of three-dimensional characters. The social background is intriguing also – Adnan tries to be a devout Muslim, but has been involved in casual dope smoking, as most of his friends seem to be, and had been in a sexual relationship with Hae when she was his girlfriend.
There is an amount of disturbing crime detail and a smattering of bad language (unnecessarily so on the part of the narrator at least), but for the mature listener it’s hugely thought provoking and an important reflection on justice and justice systems. It’s an ongoing story on serialpodcast.org, iTunes and other podcast providers.
Also on the crime front, but safely fictional this time, Grantchester returned to UTV Ireland for a second series last Wednesday. Sidney Chambers (James Norton) is like the Anglican version of Fr Brown – crime solving clergyman complete with opinionated housekeeper and testy relationship with local police.
It is well made, nuanced and very character-driven, with Chambers going through some personal crises that Fr Brown never had to face. In last week’s episode he was wrongly accused of the sexual assault of a minor. Issues of truth, justice and confidentiality between clergy and parishioners were teased out but I thought the central crime plot was more than a bit ropey – likely suspects not guilty, unlikely suspects guilty and a new clerical character brought in just to be a suspect.
There were positive messages about looking after each other more thoroughly, especially in Rev. Chambers’ final sermon, and the obligatory gay subplot, handled subtly and sensitively. It certainly wasn’t family viewing, with crude language and an unsettling DIY abortion scene.
As regards the botched abortion – pro-lifers would be horrified at the very idea, while pro-choicers would see it as an argument for allegedly ‘safe’ abortion in clinics or hospitals.
I don’t think the inclusion of this scene was pushing any agenda, but I couldn’t say the same about the appearance of Colm O’Gorman of Amnesty International Ireland on last Friday morning’s Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk.
He also used the term “safe abortion” as he outlined the results of an Amnesty poll on the subject, as that once-admirable human rights organisation continues its relentless campaign against the human rights of the most vulnerable.
Based on the poll he has come to the bizarre conclusion that abortion is no longer a divisive issue in Ireland! And he complimented Newstalk on their “exemplary” and “objective” coverage of the issue. Reality deficit or what!
Just to show how ‘objective’ the coverage was (NOT!) there was no pro-life spokesperson to challenge or respond to the survey. I thought Kenny’s challenges were limp, asking O’Gorman why Amnesty was involved in this issue and raising the issue of the human rights of the baby – important points but not pursued. Interestingly the text response afterwards was almost entirely unsupportive O’Gorman’s views.
Now, in case we didn’t get O’Gorman’s points Newstalk had him back on Sunday Morning’s Colette Fitzpatrick Show, making the same dodgy arguments, and this time he was totally unchallenged. Instead he was supported by the pro-choice views of journalist Carol Hunt. Yep, that’s Newstalk objectivity for you!
Pick of the Week
Exodus: A Would You Believe? Special
RTĖ One, Sunday, March 13, 10.40pm
Journalist Valerie Cox and family join a small army of volunteers heading to the Greek islands to help the tide of refugee families.
St Patricks Day Morning Movie: The Secret Of Kells
RTĖ 2, St Patrick’s Day, 11.40am
(2008, Animation) In early Christian Ireland a young boy meets a master illuminator who arrives with an ancient book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers.
The Journey Home
EWTN, Tuesday, March 15, 8pm and Friday, 10am
Writer and former atheist Jennifer Fulwiler returns to talk about her ongoing faith journey with Marcus Grodi.