Moving Wallpaper Returns to ITV1 with Series 2
The Hapless Production Team get another Shot at TV
Last year ITV aired a new tacky soap set in Cornwall called Echo Beach featuring Neighbours alumni Jason Donovan and Martine McCutcheon. Moving Wallpaper was the show behind the show, a sort of faux making of populated by characters even more over the top than the people they are writing. Comedian Al Murray however has a much more entertaining way of explaining it.
This new series comes with the announcement that Echo Beach, the focus for series 1, has been axed but a clause in Jonathon Pope’s (Ben Miller) contract means that he has the chance to make a pilot for another TV venture that he hopes will revitalise his career. Cue zombies and dedicated actress Kelly Brook starring opposite another former Neighbour Alan “Don’t call me Jim” Dale. No, really.
Moving Wallpaper Attempts to break the Fourth Wall
For those out of the loop follows the day to day lives of Pope and his team of egotistic writers and actors as they try to make their own television show. So if something happens on their creation (let’s say Echo Beach) you see the decisions that went into them, as well as glimpse at a fictionalised production room.
It goes without saying that the almost fourth-wall demolishing concept for Moving Wallpaper is fascinating. Everyone knows TV is fake (except when it’s real) but they still talk about the characters and the situations as if they have really happened. Moving Wallpaper takes this notion one step further to the point that the actors are now characters. It’s not the first time this has been done but it’s very rare for mainstream TV to try something out of the ordinary and it should happen more often.
The original cast from the first series are back including Raquel Cassidy (Lead Balloon), James Lance (Teachers, I’m Alan Partridge), Elizabeth Berrington (The Dinner Party, The Office), Lucy Liemann, Dave Lamb (The voice over guy from Come Dine With Me) and Sinead Keenan (Trouble With Sex).
A Zombie TV Show so soon after Dead Set
The show this year is an apocalyptic zombie TV film called Renaissance featuring Kelly Brook (known for appearing out of her clothes than any good films) and Alan Dale (currently guest starring as the unscrupulous Charles Widmore in Lost). Renaissance sounds so bad that it could turn out to be perfect car crash television, whether or not you’re supposed to take it seriously.
The problem with the zombie TV show is that Charlie Brooker’s Dead Set, shown on E4 in November last year, already beat them and had a perfectly decent stab at the genre too basing it on Big Brother. Even writer Tony Jordon admits it is unfortunate timing saying: “We thought it was really clever and really great and then some six months later I saw Dead Set come out and I was gutted because I thought we had something unique. I think it still is unique but obviously Dead Set put a slight spanner in the works!”
Then again they could make Renaissance look like shameless exploitation which would really work with the dynamic of Moving Wallpaper.
Series 2 of Moving Wallpaper kicks off on ITV1 on Friday, February 27 at 9pm.
What do you think about this article?
More in Film & TV
Latest Articles