Television
The Hard Stuff
By CLIFFORD HAN LEY EXPERIENCE has made me sus- picious of the wild swings 10
my old love-hate passion for television, especially when .1 keep forgetting what I said I've been meaning for some time, in any case, to declare my sentiments for Granada's World in Action, which displays a tough, tireless noseY- ness in the best traditions of good journalism. I can't remember one uninteresting piece in this series, and last week's inquiry into branded petrol was top stuff. Cheeky, you know what I mean. The big oil companies tend to sell on their in- dividual magic, and motorists like me are fairly sure there must be something in it. It takes television to snoop around the docks and shoW one of the 'pirate' cut-price companies filling up from the same tanker as Super Whatsitsname lorries. The value of this hard jab is not its effect on Shell or Regent, but on us, the idiots who thought we knew a thing or two.
Another shot of good hard stuff is being served up in the BBC's This Nation Tomorrow; different flavour, but just as strong. On SundaY it discussed the shortcomings of the Welfare State; nothing fancy, merely a group in the studio arguing. But how stimulating to be given panellists who are all absolutely crammed, with hard facts, who disagree in the quietest, sanest way and who actually move the subject forward. The best play of the week was also served up neat and scorching. I don't know Arden Winch's previous work, but on the strength of Return to the Regiment, I'll be looking out for more. The theme was familiar, an exposure of the great heroics swindle of the First World War, and, on that subject, you can write all sorts of garbage. Mr. Winch's play made its point because it was beautifully balanced, the regimental atmosphere was so real you could smell the starch, and Nigel Davenport performed the notable feat of matching the skill of Michael Redgrave and bringing off a hard-fought dray/.
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