Krondas Kriticises Kemp

A good friend of mine came up with an idea for an hour-long episode of Eastenders where Albert Square is besieged by terrorists and Grant and Phil Mitchell must free their neighbours from this terrorist threat. I think it would be fantastic, unfortunately Ross Kemp doesn't seem to want to go back to the Square anytime soon. He's far more interested in becoming a documentary maker. And, well fair enough, because Ross Kemp On Gangs (Sky 1) was actually not that bad. The tone was mixed, certainly, but it was a worthwhile exercise and good old fashioned "lads television" both at the same time. His newest project; Ross Kemp in Afghanistan began this week on Sky 1, and is probably the closest we'll get to see Grant Mitchell fight terrorists.

Only, it's not. It's another worthwhile exercise, as he brings us closer to the war, and closer to the alarmingly young soldiers fighting it. The first episode follows the training exercises leading up to the deployment of the Royal Anglians to Afghanistan, allowing us to get to know the soldiers we'll be watching for the next few weeks.
Unfortunately it's let down by the title sequence and red button Ross Kemp extras which serve to portray the programme as a misjudged reality show. The strange 'nodding head' segments from Gangs are back, and still hamper the seriousness of the programme. For instance, an interview with an 18 year old about the fact it's likely he's going to have to kill a man.

It's also a long hour, and quite slow moving, and I'm not entirely sure Ross Kemp is able to carry the programme for the runtime. Still, it's an interesting programme, and the moment where genuine amputees are used in a training exercise is a troubling image, of which there are surely more to come. I think I'll stick with it for another week, to see how these soldiers we get to know fare in Afghanistan, and, indeed how Kemp himself gets on.

So well done to Ross, though I do wonder where he'll turn his eye to next. Gangs and Afghanistan appeal to a similar audience, but if Kemp is to really make a go of documentary making, he'll need to maybe branch out. Attenborough's last full series In Cold Blood begins in a couple of weeks, maybe he could take over from Sir Dave? Ross Kemp on Butterflies anyone?

Incidentally, I was looking for a picture for this blog and searched for "Ross Kemp Gurning" on Google Image Search, and it came up with two Madeleine McCann newspaper front pages, a picture of Ghandi, and a picture of Heidi Klum. Oh, and Nicola from Girls Aloud. I think this brings up questions over how exactly Google searches for the term you're looking for.

Until next time True Believers...