In short
Pilot Plus discusses ITV’s miniseries Cold Water (written by David Ireland, starring Andrew Lincoln) and focuses on its opening shock scene and themes of cowardice/bravery, masculinity, and trauma following a violent playground incident. The episode also includes a “post bag” segment about family-friendly TV recommendations and listener feedback.
Guests
No guest interviewees are featured in this episode. The hosts discuss the show and reference prior Q&A/interviews with writer David Ireland and star Andrew Lincoln.
Key claims
The opening scene is deliberately shocking and breaks stereotypes by showing a man who doesn’t intervene, then runs off and forgets his child. The show is a “roller coaster” of tonal shifts (horror, comedy, menace). Andrew Lincoln’s role is unusually vulnerable, portraying a “terrible husband/terrible parent” wrestling with PTSD and self-judgment. Ewan Bremner’s preacher character Tommy embodies sinister, escalating toxic masculinity.
Notable examples
London playground assault; the Scottish village move; shower scene; counseling/therapist described as “bonkers”; Philip Roth conversation; Tommy’s Bible-based manipulation and serial-killer book details.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOExploring Cold Water's Plot and Themes
0:45 to 4:27
Discussion about the storyline of Cold Water, focusing on Andrew Lincoln's character and the shocking beginning.
“ends up living next to, shall we say, a challenging preacher in the form of Ewan Bremner's Tommy.”
Analyzing Masculinity and Cowardice
4:27 to 7:27
In-depth exploration of themes of masculinity and cowardice present in Cold Water.
The Shocking Opening Scene
7:27 to 9:39
Discussion about the gripping opening scene and its implications on the main character.
The Roller Coaster of Tones
9:39 to 12:07
Analysis of the tonal shifts within the series and their impact on storytelling.
“And I'm so happy David Ireland has gone there because as you say, it's unusual for a leading male actor to be in that position.”
Character Interactions and Development
12:07 to 14:00
Exploration of character dynamics, especially between Andrew Lincoln's character and others.
“He's like, it's this sinister, quite sinister undertone.”
Cold Water Show Details
14:00 to 14:30
Learn about the upcoming ITV series 'Cold Water' and its schedule.
Listener Interaction Begins
14:30 to 14:48
The hosts transition to discuss listener feedback and suggestions.
“it's on Sunday and Monday for the next three weeks basically oh sorry just start when this goes out when does this go out?”
Family-Friendly Show Recommendations
14:48 to 16:30
Listeners share family-friendly shows to watch with kids.
Debate on Suitable Content
16:30 to 18:40
Hosts debate the appropriateness of various shows for younger audiences.
“I don't think Schitt's Creek is too, you know, obviously it has some sexual content.”
More Listener Suggestions
18:40 to 21:07
Further listener recommendations for suitable TV shows are discussed.
“We didn't have time, unfortunately, Lucy, but we said what we would do is, because a lot of our listeners couldn't make it, that we would do it on one of the Pilot Pluses.”
Show all 20 chapters
Reflections on TV Content Evolution
21:07 to 23:09
Discussion on the changing landscape of kid-friendly television shows.
“She goes on to say, I'm going to age myself here, but growing up, channels like Nickelodeon and Disney had a plethora of...”
Engaging with Classic and New Shows
23:09 to 26:07
Exploration of classic shows and modern series suitable for family viewing.
The Future of Family Television
26:07 to 28:00
Speculation on the future of family-friendly television content.
“So yeah, I was laughing at that rather than the actual show, which is a really good show.”
Debating Game Shows
28:00 to 30:46
Exploring the appeal and personal preferences surrounding game shows.
“No one gets chased, apparently, which defeats the purpose to me.”
Listener Feedback on Game Shows
30:46 to 31:28
Discussing listener feedback about game shows and upcoming shows.
“We've got some what we've been watching feedback.”
Lazarus Project Discussion
31:28 to 32:40
Analyzing the Lazarus Project and its reception from viewers.
Comedy and Movie References
32:40 to 35:08
Discussing comedy influences and recent movie experiences.
“He's gone from hating comedy to being in one-man stand-up.”
Listener Requests and Ideas
35:08 to 36:39
Engaging with listener suggestions for future segments on the podcast.
“I mean, I can handle your emails as well.”
Exploring Star Trek Discovery
36:39 to 42:00
Analyzing the characters and issues within Star Trek Discovery.
“and was a formative memory for me, getting home from watching Henry and...”
Discussion on Discovery Characters
42:00 to 42:40
The hosts debate the strengths and weaknesses of characters in Star Trek: Discovery.
“What we're establishing is James has to give in his Trekkie badge now.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:07Kay:Welcome to Pilot Plus, your extended guide to every show that matters. And this week we are in not hot water, but cold water with a show that was originally announced as cold water, but then retitled cold water. One word. So I think the emphasis there is an important one. But this is written by David Ireland. It is a miniseries starring Andrew Lincoln as a kind of slightly unhappy. I think it's fairly safe to say a middle-aged man who moves up to a Scottish village after an incident in a playground. A quite shocking incident in a playground, it has to be said. And he has all kinds of PTSD from that.
0:41Kay:However, as with all such things, he goes from the frying pan into the fire and ends up living next to, shall we say, a challenging preacher in the form of Ewan Bremner's Tommy. It is mad. I think it's fairly safe to say. it's it's completely mad but i want to talk about the beginning of this one guys so so this begins with andrew lincoln parent of the year not uh in a playground with his kids uh and then he gets in an altercation with shall we say a ruffian an uncouth father uh with an uncouth son and it all goes a bit downhill from there i was like one of the characters in this kind of flawed by this sequence um and didn't really know what to make of it and then had to double check that i was
1:24Boydy:watching itv am i the only one who was doing this i was not checking itv because i'm not that way inclined james um but i equally was stunned but i thought it was brilliant because it stops you in your in your tracks and i'm gonna just say what happens because it is within the first few minutes and you know it's not a spoiler andrew lincoln is in a london playground with his two kids um a guy punches you know hits his kid and andrew lincoln doesn't say anything but a woman who's nearby on a on a nearby swing confronts him and then is brutally beaten by this man while andrew lincoln looks on and not only looks on then scarpers with one kid he forgets one of his kids right and it's so shocking obviously the act of violence is shocking to see it play out um um but for me it was like it was so interesting because it took me a couple of minutes to process it what i was seeing and i realized it's because it's sort of it shatters our the stereotypes and the moral code if you like of what you expect that would happen in that situation right so stereotypically and this is like how we've been programmed you know the man who's nearby um surely he would step in and do something and defend this woman or person whoever right but the fact that he doesn't was so sort of like shocking that was stunned you know shocking to me and it's Andrew Lincoln good guy Andrew Lincoln but more than that I think it's because my instinct would be to my instinct is to help right to run towards something and not away so the idea that anyone whatever their gender nearby would see something unfolding and I know it's like flight fight that's kicked in but it's so staggering to see it play out and and then that be the first scene you see so yeah i was completely as you say floored by it yeah it's it's a really interesting
3:22Kay:i mean not just that beginning but this whole first episode in particular it's kind of like a low-key exploration of the idea of cowardice isn't it like what is cowardice what is bravery how do you react in these situations and you know what does society expect of you and what does it do to your sense of self and your mental health if you feel you fall short in a situation like that
3:40Boydy:Yeah, but I think particularly masculinity. There's so much around this of this man who's middle-aged, this middle-aged Malay, and he's questioning himself anyway and then this thing happens that's really a definitive moment where you step up to the plate or you don't. He didn't, in inverted commas, failed in that regard. I think he judges himself for it and it follows him. like he him and his family they moved to scotland for a fresh start to cold water cold water um and um it's not the fresh start he needs because it just follows he cannot get past it yeah 100 % that
4:20Kay:yeah it's it's but then obviously we talk about this and the themes and this idea of you know what it looks at masculinity and the casting of andrew lincoln is obviously genius because he's a kind of heroic leading man it's rick grimes off the walking dead so you don't expect him to you know not be able to make eye contact with this guy in the park and then to kind of run away when this poor woman gets punched in the face and i think i mean the itv comment wasn't wasn't really like a quality comment on my part it's more i didn't expect to see because it is a very shocking i think in part because it's male on female violence very early on in a show with kind of you know with the kind of people who are in this you think this is going to be quite mainstream and and and you know what it's going to be going in and then you're like oh i really don't know what this is and tonally i don't know what this is and then you go straight from that incident to the title sequence and look i know i sometimes get hung up on weird little things like the title sequence i did in department queue but the title sequence of this is strange as well like it's it's him like running with sort of jaunty music and i was like tonally that weirded me out ever
5:19Andrew Lincoln:so slightly it is i really like the title sequence but it is it is um it is highly stylized shall we say it's just him running it's him running in various um kind of anim with animated effects on it but i think but the the it is really it is really unusual for itv in fact the um so it's completely fair point because that opening sequence i i i am in in in the pocket of big cold water as we know because i hosted the q a and i interviewed you've taken a cold plunge yeah i've taken cold plunge into cold water and i and i interviewed andrew and david island for this very podcast what the point was made quite quite firmly particularly in the in the q a with um like the producers and stuff that they absolutely knew how far they were going with the opening scene and just how shocking it is for effectively you know it's going to go out one minute past nine on a sunday night you know when that slot is often taken by you know some kind of cozy crime show um but isn't i mean this could not be further from cozy could it in any way whatsoever i think it's it's it's brilliant that itv gave them go ahead effectively for that level of shocking violence in that first scene because it really hits home.
6:31Andrew Lincoln:I think the masterstroke of that scene as well is that he does leave the daughter behind. I thought that was so good because it adds shock upon shock. Yeah. Like you've got the shock of the incident, his reaction to it, his, let's face it, cowardice really, and then the incredible forgetting the kid, leaving the other kid behind, and him kind of realising and telling himself it's got to go back. and I just thought that was so layered full of horrible horrific ideas and played out in such a terrifying way I thought that was really really clever and then for it to happen to him again effectively when he in this shop in the Scottish village where they've moved to be confronted by another incarnation of toxic masculinity really to your point Kay is bad luck right?
7:24Andrew Lincoln:It's bad luck.
7:25Boydy:Well do you know what is that that point i i that actually was quite jarring to me because i was like oh come on again like yeah would this happen again but then when i like sat with it i thought actually it's not like he's processed this trauma or you know he's at the other side of it it is likely to happen again because you know it's so ingrained in him and yeah yeah his natural instinct yeah it's
7:47Kay:it's so unusual though to see a kind of leading man yes in that very negative cast of masculinity and I don't mean sort of like as a counterpoint to toxic masculinity as a kind of like a you know a sensitive male lead that's absolutely fine but the fact that they forefront the fact that he deals with cowardice and it's destroying him like it's tearing him up inside that he knows he's a coward
8:09Andrew Lincoln:and it's tearing up his marriage as well because he's I thought the stuff I tell you what I loved about this whole show more than anything is it's tonal shifts and honestly it goes from that horrific scene then they then they've moved to the Scottish could not be further from London Scottish village in the Highlands then you meet you see him the very first scene again I hope this is not a spoiler is he's having a jostle in the shower right and you're like oh my god I must admit there was more I didn't expect to be watching Andrew Lincoln have a wank in the shower this morning but you know
8:46Boydy:let's hope it's not really cold water exactly steady very good then you've got his wife
8:53Andrew Lincoln:brilliantly played by the great indira varma yes trying to join in fantastic and their relationship is so well drawn as well i think this sort of elevates this this particular series above the norm of you know this type of thing if you like a crime drama you know in which some things bad things happen violent things happen and people have to deal with it that that portrait of a marriage is better than i thought was more authentic and believable than many a show about a marriage you know falling apart because it's not caricature they're both trying to kind of deal with you know their issues he's gone to counseling and by the way the counselor right the therapist is mad yeah completely bonkers but and funny as well really funny like that's out of a comedy and i said this to david island the writer i was like that's like a sitcom you know in it and he's like yeah i really like writing that's how i write my stuff he writes to play you know he's got play right to play this is i always write of trying to be funny and then at the same time i'm trying to be horrendously shocking at the same time and i think he pulls it off brilliantly i think the shifts between the scenes some of which are funny others which are menacing and particularly when you meet the couple um played by jordan bremner and eve miles the weird freaky couple um particularly him obviously but she's also bonkers right they're
10:10Boydy:mad vicars yeah you mean the um the atheist vicar yeah this vicar exactly then again you're back in
10:16Andrew Lincoln:the realms of like almost like a domestic comedy with these two couples the awkwardness between them and then stuff happens it's just it's just it's i think the roller coaster of tones is is almost what the whole that his writing style is about and i think he pulls it off spectacularly i really really i think it's a really strong show in many ways yeah i i know what you mean because
10:38Kay:you do go because the scenes where he's dealing with this cowardice they're quite as an audience it's quite visceral because it it puts you in an incredibly uncomfortable situation you know where you're like well how would i react you you know you very much feel the kind of the internal conflict that he's going through and it makes i know i found those sequences incredibly hard to watch and then you go to these mad comedic sequences and then sort of like flat out almost horror sequences and where it goes at the end you're just like i don't know what this show is of what is happening.
11:09Boydy:I tell you what it is. I tell you exactly what it is. It's a roller coaster. And do you know what? I'm here for it. And I'm so happy David Ireland has gone there because as you say, it's unusual for a leading male actor to be in that position. You know?
11:23Andrew Lincoln:It's extraordinary. Yeah, he's very vulnerable. And I think that's in the end why he took the role. Because it was so unusual and such a challenge to kind of play. He's also a dick, right? Yeah. Terrible husband, terrible parent. Terrible husband He has this conversation Really great The conversation he has in bed I think it's in this episode It may be in episode It is yeah When he talks about Philip Roth He has that really patronising Oh my god
11:47Boydy:Oh my god That moment Yeah Dude He's a complete He is a great A dick He's a bellend Yeah absolutely bellend And he's massively Passive aggressive as well Yeah completely He's horrible to his wife And she deals with it Very brilliantly
12:00Andrew Lincoln:I think She does yeah I read one criticism One review of this Or one article about this Where it described her as being like really I don't know controlling and all these things I'm like she's fine I think she's long suffering she's the well adjusted one in the relationship that might say quite a lot about the writer in that particular interview because she actually asks him to do basic household tasks oh no the temerity yeah exactly and he insists on going out for a run at whatever 3 in the morning
12:26Boydy:we should give props to Ewan Bremner who is fantastic in this role as this sort of as you say odd but he's like unnerving and quietly persuasive. That's the thing about him. He's like, it's this sinister, quite sinister undertone. Yeah, there's no way that led badly. I think what's really interesting is that, you know, like at first, you know, the wife, so in Duravama, she's like, just instantly calls him out when they get home as like an oddball. God, don't want to see him again. But John's been like lured in. And what's interesting is that this guy, Tommy, sort of like, he comforts an initially resistant John with words from the Bible.
13:06Boydy:And you can see the specific moment he preys on his vulnerability. And as a viewer, you're just like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And then by the end, obviously, it's completely escalated. You're like, okay, we're in it now. Good luck to you, sir. You know, you're very much in a bind. And he drops little things in, like there are books everywhere about serial killers. I know. Just to add to it. And there's kind of maybe some kind of serial killing case going on, maybe. It's not, I would say, a super subtle show. No. Okay, I've got a question for you guys, right? So we obviously won't spoil how this pans out, but by the end of it, I was left thinking, okay, so my brain thinks it knows where this is going, but surely not because there's significant signposting.
13:54Boydy:Is it a red herring, do we think? Well, we can't really discuss that, can we?
13:58Andrew Lincoln:No, but I think there will be red herrings along the way. yeah absolutely more than one okay i think there'll be loads of that's not as clear cut as we think no no i hope yeah okay lots of things aren't as clear cut as you think i think in this show
14:12Kay:um yeah will the preacher turn out to be dodgy will andrew lincoln ever get the chance to have a wank uninterrupted all these questions will be answered in the full series of cold water which comes to itv when boydy um it comes to itv on sunday the 14th of september 2025 nine o 'clock
14:29Andrew Lincoln:ITV1 and continues on it's on Sunday and Monday for the next three weeks basically oh sorry just start when this goes out when does this go out? No this Thursday no it will start on the Sunday I'm confused it's on Sunday and Monday for the next three weeks basically fabulous, cold water then
14:47Kay:time I think for the post bag ladies and gentlemen it's Miss K versus the post bag
15:07Boydy:yes okay so now as you will recall um uh i was gonna say caller no our listener last week got in touch brad he's got two sons 10 and 13 and was sort of talking about the lack of shows that um they can all watch as a family that will be entertaining but isn't too sweary and and sexy and nudie um really nudie so we did a shout out to our listeners and can i just tell you this has probably been one of the most popular shout outs we've done because they have replied in their millions yeah we've got a million listeners guys that's where i'm breaking the news to you what cake do we get for that oh mate we do you know what if that ever happens i'll tell you what i'm getting a road trip going and we're going to go and see the factory where patvale cakes are made okay excellent done something exciting the bakery okay let's start with steven who says hello three amigos cough there are some great shows to watch with kids though mine are now in their late teens so these are a little bit older um obviously it depends on how much you mind exposing them to like cursing slash sexy talk but anyway this is his list he says the good place brooklyn 99 ghost the uk version but also yonderland from the same guys taskmaster that's a good shout pox and wreck and stranger things and that's steven from cambridge any thoughts guys uh
16:28Kay:stranger things i think definitely the older end because that's quite gnarly at times but yeah other than that good shout you could probably get away with some like some things i think like shits creek and friends and stuff it's fine because i think i think as long as you stay network territory, it's never that raunchy. Yeah. Schitt's Creek Network? Is it not network? I thought that was a network show. It's not too bad. I don't think Schitt's Creek is too, you know, obviously it has some sexual content. I think it's slightly ruder, yeah, slightly ruder, I would say, than the others.
16:55Boydy:Although, as a lot of people who got in touch said, they sort of hear stuff and see, you know, in the playground, so it's kind of like... Oh, hey, if you're a liberal enough parent, you know, I mean, fine, go for it, yeah. But I'm just, you know... Right, rivals, all of it, come on, let's do this. Cold water Watch cold water With your Absolutely not No Absolutely not No Yeah He's just getting himself Very clean kids That's all he's doing Just a good scrubbing It's good to be thorough Yeah Very good God James Right Okay Lucy concurs With a lot of Stephen's suggestions But also adds Doctor Who Which I think was originally mentioned Ted Lasso Friday night dinner Which I'm 100 % on board with I'm not yeah but you've got no sense humor um taskmaster which is a really good shout actually i think so too yeah taskmaster there's a version with the swearing taken out yes that's right this there's
17:50Andrew Lincoln:a sanitized taskmaster because they show it they repeat it early early doors on like channel 4 does and i think on when it's on dave they'll show it you know um pre-watershed and stuff and i have edits of it yeah to take out yeah i did not know that yeah the rude stuff yeah
18:06Boydy:they're so good um WandaVision Race Across the World another good shout I think I think that's a fun one to watch the family The Mandalorian one for you James Only Murder in the Building Only Murder in the Building another one for James I have to say I disagree with that because purely because my interest waned in one of the series but I guess it's kind of like endstayment I mean like the new series
18:29Andrew Lincoln:we reviewed it last week
18:30Boydy:yeah but I mean the kids will be starting from series one right oh kids will watch any old rubbish they'll be fine it's still fine yeah Okay Gossip Girl also Gossip Girl Gossip Girl Which one as well Because the most recent one Is basically porn I think the original The most recent one Is Raunchfest Yeah That's what I'm talking about Teen 18 dramas now They've gone completely Over the edge Yeah They have It's a whole different world Lucy by the way Also I mean You know what I said to you No one's gonna notice It's fine Lucy mentioned as a PS What happened to the Would I Lie to You At the live event Yeah Yeah, what happened, Jane?
19:06Oh, yeah, what happened to that?
19:08Boydy:We didn't have time, unfortunately, Lucy, but we said what we would do is, because a lot of our listeners couldn't make it, that we would do it on one of the Pilot Pluses. We did.
19:17Kay:We did say we would do a Would I Lie to You on Pilot Plus. We must make this happen. Yeah. I've forgotten about that. All right, we will. James, you could do it at the Empire Live event that's happening. Yeah, I don't imagine Chris would let me get away with that. Okay.
19:29Boydy:No, only the fun on this podcast, please.
19:31Kay:Hey, look, I've given the listeners what they want already. you'll notice the alien earth spoiler specials are in the pilot tv feed now oh yeah so i did not involving me but yeah no but me and chris revisited the custody agreement for tv shows
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19:44Boydy:i would love to have been in that discussion it was a thing uh but i put forward our listeners
19:50Kay:feelings on the matter and actually he was surprisingly accommodating about putting uh i don't know that we're going to get marvel and star wars stuff on the pilot plus feed but i think for sort of other ones there that stuff's fine but alien pushed it over anything that falls into to the kind of pilot empire, let's say, custodial hinterland. I think that will end up on both feeds.
20:08Andrew Lincoln:Custodial hinterland?
20:08Kay:Wow.
20:09Boydy:Do you know what, James, right? Rather than running away like Andrew Lincoln's character, you've stepped up on the plate there and I think you should be commended. That's it. I went up to the bully and I kicked him in the nuts. Wow. Let's face it, it was the shins, but it's all good. Right, now for someone who, James, he's very much a man off your own heart. That's Graham. And he says, over the past few years, I've watched quite a few shows of my now 13-year-old. as I have him trained to appreciate high production, premium narrative TV going from the MCU shows to hard sci-fi on Apple TV. We started out with the likes of WandaVision, Loki and Hawkeye, never could get him into the Star Wars shows.
20:46Boydy:And we enjoyed the tragically cancelled Lockwood and co. He watched and enjoyed some stuff on his own Wednesday, Percy Jackson, et cetera. James, you're gonna be happy. Recently, we have watched Severance and Silo and have just started, sorry for the swear word, foundation together um shows like these have been good training for the christopher nolan films as well as june which went down well um he also recommends oh no he says he's also watched stranger things and squid games not at all suitable but they permeated pop culture thanks mr beast and there was no getting away from it with every kid at school when they've all seen it
21:21Kay:this is actually a thing i think lots of quite a bit younger teenagers have all watched squid game and some of those episodes are horrific so like that that does that does worry me ever slightly
21:34Boydy:yeah nice awful i mean i haven't watched them and i'm a grown adult well squid game damaging young people everywhere that's right yeah hot take yeah um jill says now i don't have kids myself but i think both boyd and brad who's our uh caller listener have a very valid point and i don't think it's pearl clutching to use James's phrasing to want to avoid swearing and sex while having a shared TV moment with a younger child. Right. She goes on to say, I'm going to age myself here, but growing up, channels like Nickelodeon and Disney had a plethora of... Plethora? Plethora, yeah. Plethora. Plethora.
22:09Boydy:Plethora. Plethora. Plethora. Plethora. Plethora. Plethora. Plethora. Stop saying plethora when you know it's something very different. The plethora. god reading that out loud was really hard um of shows specifically targeted uh to this demographic i think anything the olsen twins were involved in sister sisters brina sabrina the teenage witch saved by the bell etc cheesy shows yes but totally harmless and well written so kids and parents could comfortably enjoy together um mind you i was also watching buffy at this age which in hindsight was not all age appropriate these kid focused shows seems to have vanished with y18 shows cough euphoria cough there's a lot of coughing going on now being made for an older slash more mature audience and then she ends by saying if the insane popularity of wednesday and k-pop demon hunters tells us anything is that the children they yearn for the content seems to me there is a real gap in the market and a huge opportunity for streamers slash production companies to tap into a new audience it'll be fascinating to see how this plays out with the new harry potter series oh and then also jill says i dare you to pick some irish place names for james to have a go with and i'm like absolutely yeah but k has to say them first no a plethora of irish place names actually plethora sounds irish doesn't it does it does oh my plethora oh wow um okay james i've known james god i've got you on my brain now john says dk and the pipe part-timers surely the band name you should have had um at least until james ditches you become a celebrity influencer fair everyone recognizes this james and he goes on to say um we've been watching tv shows together with our kids for years and honestly it's the best kids today are so much smarter than we were at their age and they appreciate great tv as much as us grown-ups if not more so i i recommend finding tv shows that you want to watch yourself and which you think your kids would also enjoy and ideally from which they might also take something away whether it's about friendship family or life experiences etc don't get too hung up about swearing or adult content within reason of course we're not watching dexter or euphoria and then he goes on to suggest um good wholesome sitcom like the goldbergs of either yeah yeah yeah um and of course modern family and then says or you could try a light-hearted detective show like high potential which we watched on k's recommendation high potential
24:36Kay:was a good shout actually for a family watch i think that's a good one because you learn quite
24:40Boydy:a lot from that show as well yeah um nothing about cleaning unfortunately the gold boat stars jeff from um coping enthusiasm by the way and he's yeah yeah okay and then well yeah high potential as and also obviously he says house which is essentially sherlock holmes in an american hospital um he sums up he's saying in short why keep all the premium tv for the grown-ups kids can also appreciate good storytelling and character development and there are so many great life lessons to be learned from the right program never a truer word john um and last of all on this note is maybe a message from lee yes who says it's okay boyd and james if he's there i love that you got this reputation now james for being um always on holiday they're sometimes mostly not lee said mentally mentally spiritually he's absent he suggests um a series of unfortunate events on netflix and he says it's a very good shout yeah and he says i think it's an under appreciated series following three orphan children trying to solve the mystery of their parents deaths while trying to avoid the murderous villain count olaf uh played by neil patrick harris he's very clever and hopefully inspire kids to read the original books and also adds um i'd add richard osmond's house of games on the bbc slash iplayer richard osmond boyd richard osmond is a witty and inviting host of this unique game show fun for all the ages oh hey fun richard richard osmond's
26:12Andrew Lincoln:house of games is a great show don't get me wrong i often find myself watching it at six o 'clock of an evening on uh bbc2 and i repeat old episodes of dave i laugh because of the idea of james even knowing what the hell that show is, let alone acknowledging its position in the pantheon of TV viewing, would be remote. So yeah, I was laughing at that rather than the actual show, which is a really good show. It's a brilliant format, which also Channel 5 recently tried to ape, but they had their own early tea time quiz show involving celebrities format, which was absolutely nowhere near as good as House of Games.
26:47Boydy:Just top line, tell us what it is, House of Games.
26:49Andrew Lincoln:House of Games, for celebrities... gather to answer a series of different to take part in a series of rounds all of which have a different approach to general knowledge and trivia and so for example and then every they compete for a week of weeks worth of shows and by the end of it they crown the winner and they get a silly Richard Osman themed item like a Richard Osman suitcase or something like that his face on or something yeah you're not selling this well well it's because no it doesn't matter they're not you know they're celebrities so they don't get big money prizes or anything they get
27:28Boydy:do you think this is getting the butterfly treatment where boyd's butchery it might be i
27:32Kay:don't know what's happening so is it only celebrities on house of games no actual like normies no only celebrities is a purely celebrity based game show i like that he's repeating it as
27:41Boydy:if he's just cannot get his head around that i can't i can't get my head around it it's a bit
27:45Andrew Lincoln:like thinking like taskmaster but but not but with just kind of general knowledge general knowledge questions final rounds yeah and and different different approach different quite creative inventive approaches to general knowledge and trivia and all of that at the same time yeah um it's it's a fun they're fun um you know you have to see one episode you'll get that yeah i
28:04Boydy:don't love a game show don't you actually i don't understand the appeal of game shows i love game
28:07Kay:shows of course you don't yeah game shows out comedy out yeah but i like beyond the fact that you might learn some things which obviously would be good for that because you you learn some of
28:16Boydy:the answers but i i don't i don't see the appeal learning good entertainment bad right yeah basically that i don't i don't understand the appeal at all that's brilliant yeah um i mean question yes if you could go on one game show which would be the chase no oh okay let's take out the chase because you're you know obsessed with the chase yeah that's your again again a show i don't understand or really know what it is or understand the concept of chase is a show that It looks much more complicated than it really is, but it does feel complicated. No one gets chased, apparently, which defeats the purpose to me.
28:50Boydy:No, other than that, go on, choose one. Other than the chase, what quiz show would I like to be on? 3-2-1. 3-2-1 was classic. Oh, do you know Blockbusters? Yeah, Blockbusters is good. Blockbusters would be good. Yeah. I'd like to see you on the Generation game. The Gen game. Just dealing with that conveyor belt. The Gen game, I just know. Boy Diversity Challenge. I quite like Antidex Limited Winners a good format.
29:15Andrew Lincoln:Do you have watched any of that?
29:17Boydy:Oh, I think I didn't get on board with that.
29:18Andrew Lincoln:No, it's actually a good format, because you can win a fucking shit ton of money in that format.
29:23Boydy:And you'd obviously just donate that to charity, right? You wouldn't need to add it to your bullion. No, I would absolutely take the money, yeah. He would buy things for us, Kay. Oh, yes. For me, it would be a TV bigger than a postage stamp.
29:37Andrew Lincoln:But you know Ali Plum, who is formerly of the Empire Podcast, and he's now Radio one film critic right um he he's done i'm pretty sure he's been on house of games and he's definitely if not he's definitely been on celebrity in quotes mastermind right so he's only like one he's kind of one level of fame above me effectively so he's been on a couple of other things right yeah he's kind of like yeah he's kind of he is doing those things those shows i want you to be
30:07Boydy:on mastermind talking about curb your enthusiasm and i think you'd be bloody brilliant someone someone I believe someone did do curb as a specialist subject yeah I don't know I think Boyd's memory would let him down in the same way yeah my memory is terrible for names oh you know oh you know what's his that him like you know the one with the face him you're right and they'd be like no my dementia would kick in and I would not be able to mention no I would not be able to
30:31Andrew Lincoln:remember the names of anyone yeah I can't do it that's really frustrating because do you know
30:35Boydy:In a pressurized situation, he would be calm, cool. He would not beat a sweat like Prince Andrew would cross your brow. Compared to Prince Andrew. Right. On that note, I'm going to move on. Indistinguishable. We've got some what we've been watching feedback. So this correspondent, Henry, says... Feedback. Yeah, it's feedback. Boy, you're going to be happy with this. Well, okay. Okay. So join the debate about whether you should talk about upcoming shows that are not out yet in the What You've Been Watching segment. I personally really enjoy listening to them. For me, they act as a bit of a preview of upcoming shows for future pods that we can look forward to.
31:13Boydy:As Boyd says, as long as you don't fully review them at that point, I think they are often very interesting and there should be more of them, not less.
31:21Andrew Lincoln:Who is this genius correspondent?
31:23Boydy:Well, love the pod, my wife Charlotte and I, of course, plus subscribers, Henry. Henry, yeah. Hero. Henry the hero. Not Henry Kelly. that is a game show reference quiz show reference that's a random insight to your mind I think wow a legend hello a legend okay a message about Lazarus the TV show the biblical figure or the Lazarus project the TV series I thought it was in keeping with cold water yeah just Lazarus Jen says I remember you all loving the Lazarus project when it first aired in England but I couldn't watch it here in america at the time now that it's on netflix here i'm wondering if it's worth a watch knowing it was cancelled after season two yes did season two james hold your horses did season two end even a little bit tied up or will i get annoyed by the end because the story is too
32:18Kay:incomplete thanks no i think i think like season one has a kind of an arc but then the end of season one kind of dangles something season two obviously addresses that and has its own arc and yes there is a kind of a tee off to season three at the end of season two but it's and i was disappointed it won't be back but actually i don't think it ruins your enjoyment at all i think there's there's there's loads i would definitely recommend it yeah 100 yeah agreed it's such a good watch
32:40Andrew Lincoln:the new harlan coben show is called just lazarus it's just lazarus yeah so yeah there's this it's literally called it's called lazarus no no no it's called lazarus oh it's called lazarus see i
32:52Boydy:thought you meant it's called just lazarus i was joking james yeah no i was serious i was called Just Lazarus. Okay, just Lazarus. And it's on now. What now, you say? No, not now. It's not come out yet. It's on now, right? God, this is like comedy skits. It goes full Abbott and Costello. Yeah. He's gone from hating comedy to being in one-man stand-up. Perhaps it's because I watched This Is Final... This Is Final? This Is Final Tap. This Is Spinal Tap. I watched this movie for the very first time. I had never seen it before. Yes. And I went straight from that into a screening of Spinal Hat. Spinal Hat?
33:21Spinal Hat. Spinal Hat 2. See, I'm still feeling out the actual names of these films but uh is this what breakdown looks like it might be it might be i've had i've had uh comedy injected into my eyeballs this week and frankly i have not enjoyed
33:33Andrew Lincoln:the process i cannot wait to hear your review of spinal tap to the end continues um yeah i'm
33:40Boydy:very excited about that i'm hopeful for looking forward to it on friday's i think that's the smile of an evil man but you know oh dear two stars empire anyway i hope you went into it and opened your mind when you're watching it. Of course I did. Nothing but open minds here. Okay now for a request. Okay so open your minds and your hearts with this one please. The person says, the person's name is Matt. Hey there gang. Despite your Herculean efforts to separate a televisual wheat from chaff every week for which I heartily thank you I do have a favour to ask do you think at the end of every month you could this sounds good no no no it's fine you could do a top 10 shows out at the moment sort of thing i'm nominating boyd for this so what he's saying is he wants us to do his basic admin for him is basically what we're saying here
34:33Kay:anything else can i can i help you with your shopping list perhaps can i pick the kids up from school you know just let me know anything you need i'm like i listen matt i think it's a
34:43Boydy:great idea but i just personally can't do it but i am thinking maybe boyd or james will be available anyway now matt continues and says i know you do your twice yearly charts and that's a great listen but speaking as a harried father of two i do lose track of what's out there from time to time and i'm too busy to make lists but but james or boyd aren't that's right yeah our time clearly worth a lot less no they genuinely do have time matt so i would recommend it sure we'll just I mean, I can handle your emails as well. If you just give me a login, it's fine. I think it would benefit the listeners and it would be fun with new entries and new number ones, et cetera.
35:20Boydy:You could even put urgent pumping 80s chart countdown music behind it for extra levels of excitement. And you could put it on plus so more people sign up. Just a thought. Thanks for all the excellent work, Matt. I think I speak for all three of us to saying that the agony that goes into those sort of bi-annual lists. If we did that every month, we wouldn't be talking, ever. And at least one of us would be dead. Just the agony of what goes into each of these podcast episodes. I mean, that's fair. That is fair. And the hard work. But, yeah, like I said, it's not definitely a no from Boyd, but we'll have to wait and see.
35:55Sounds like a top of the pops for TV shows. It's quite a good format. Countdown. What is our show in the box? Yeah. Like Alan Freeman. Fluff Freeman. Go through it. yeah uh maybe we'll see yeah it's my answer to that now matt i'm just telling you for my 20 years
36:13Boydy:of knowing boy when he says we'll see it's a no i'm gonna do two more okay one's from dan this is an old message because um it's a thank you to steph and he says hi pod congrats on the live show that probably dates it sorry i couldn't be there especially because i think asking russell about doctor who the television movie would have opened a new can of worms he said i loved hearing steph to give Monk some love on last week's pod, as it's a vastly underrated show and was a formative memory for me, getting home from watching Henry and... Now, how are we saying this? P-I-R-E-S. No, Henry and... P-I-R-E-S.
36:52Boydy:Pires? P-I-R-E-S. Robert Pires, the Arsenal player. Oh, but you said Henry and... Thierry Henry and Robert Pires. Oh, right. God, you can tell someone who doesn't watch a lot of football. Okay. Henry and Pires is good, though. Henry and Pires. Believe in all this. Diary and Robert. Well, this is why I got confused. Anyway, so getting home from watching those football players destroy us at Main Road. Boyd, where is that? And then watching Monkleby's The Two on Saturday evenings. Okay. Yes. I see. I see. Good job we got you here to translate, Boydy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was confused there for a minute, but then - Henry and Pires.
37:34That's a new band. It could be, it's an ITV, 8 o 'clock Sunday night, cozy crime drama. It's a detective drama, isn't it? Solve crimes.
37:42Boydy:You shitbags, right? All I would say is... You shitbags. Wow. If you put an S in front of that, it would be Spires. So how am I going to know it's Perez? And if you put an S in front of that, it would be Shenry. I'm not sure what the point is. How would you know it's... If you put an S in front of it, this is your new... But all I'm saying is, I don't think it's common. If you said to anyone else, P-I-R-E-S, not everyone's going to say, oh yeah, Perez. oh okay i couldn't be more on your side in this i have no idea who either of these people are you know you were sticking a boot in no no no no it's just funny it's funny okay henry and pyre henry and pyres i'm gonna work up a treatment for it i really am all right i'm a buffoon anyway so he continues and says and this is dan by the way as someone who suffers from ocd it's one of the few representations on tv which shows the genuine mental health implications when most people seem to just consider OCD to be organising shells anyway keep up the great work and could I suggest a northern live show for Pilot 400 a what show a northern live show oh a northern head up beyond the wall this is how out of Boyd's comfort zone that is he's like what is that I don't understand where is that I mean he's going to pay for expenses I'll travel oh in a hotel and some cake yeah I can't see our overlords financing that somehow.
39:04But yeah.
39:06Boydy:Yeah, it's not like bullseye, you get your bus fare. No. Be another cultural reference in the 80s. Was it 80s? You're nailing it with these quizzes. Thank you. And finally, the last one is, oh yeah, I like this last one because it's putting James to the test. Oh God. No, you'll like it. Stephen says, I was wondering if you could ask James a question on behalf of the pilot audience. If a gun was put to his head, that's it. That's it. That's the question. Okay. No. I'm imagining it. If a gun was put to his head, would he be able to name the members of the Star Trek Discovery bridge crew?
39:41Kay:Oh, God.
39:41Boydy:Inquiring minds demand to know, Stephen.
39:43Kay:I mean, definitely not. I mean, genuinely definitely. I've said this many times because they're incredibly homogenous characters. I have no idea who half of them are. Do you want to try?
39:52Boydy:Have a little one up.
39:53Kay:Obviously, Michael Burnham, currently in the captain's chair. You've got Mr. Saru. Obviously, we know him. Book, technically not a member of the bridge crew, but he'd be hanging around there just being a pain in the ass. And then you've got the one with the kind of cyborg eye and the kind of slightly shaved head. Detner? Is it Detner? I think it might be Detner. And then there's the androidy one. Don't know. Never knew that one's name. There's a helm officer again. Helmet officer. Yes, there's a helmet officer. The helm officer. Again, don't know. Don't know who that one is. Yeah, I'm struggling.
40:30Kay:I'm struggling. Wow. But I've often said this, the problem with Discovery, so many... I mean, Lorca, which was Jason Isaacs in season one, he was fantastic. He was the captain in that one, and he was great. But he only lasted that one season. Spoiler. But the thing with Discovery is so many of the characters are quite bland and homogenous. Obviously, Tilly would be up there. Tilly's fascinating to me. So Tilly is an ensign, and yet at one point is in command of the ship. And I'm like, how many people have to fucking die before Ensign Tilly gets command of the ship? the command structure discovery was all over the shop like genuinely where is the chain of command on this vessel what's happened to Starfleet to make this happen
41:08Boydy:are you being elitist to poor Tilly possibly possibly I mean Tilly's competence
41:12Kay:there's a big question mark there but genuinely a lot of the characters I found them quite bland and generic like say what you want about the original series and it's not very good but you know having the kind of mad racial stereotypes that they had made those characters sort of imprint in your mind like Scotty very very Scottish Chekov very very Russian you know mr sula like they had very distinctive looks next generation like data's an android wolf is a klingon like they have distinct personalities whereas everyone on discovery just felt a bit bland to me and i think part of it was they didn't get a lot they didn't get time in the sun that you didn't get loads of like big episodes for these characters so they just
41:48Boydy:titted about in the background maybe they need name badges possibly possibly i certainly don't know their names so that might have assisted me in some fashion yeah a lanyard a lanyard would be good i mean christ i remember that david cronenberg is in it though i can't remember
42:05Kay:his character's name either uh but uh but yeah i don't i don't know half the discovery bridge this is a bust yeah no but this is what i said all along i've literally claimed all along that i cannot name the discovery bridge crew so gun or no gun why is steven baiting you like this then
42:18Boydy:i don't know maybe he just wants you to say again he's a baiter he is he's a baiter um Like Angelina's later. Oh, no. What we're establishing is James has to give in his Trekkie badge now.
42:31Kay:Or Discovery needs to have better characters. It's one or the other.
42:35Boydy:Yeah. Actually, no, I'm plumping for the second. The latter. That is it. So endeth the postbag.
42:41Kay:So endeth the postbag. All right, that's it. We are done for this particular episode of Pilot Plus. Enjoy the Alien Earth spoiler specials. There will be another one coming along. I think the sixth episode has just aired. so when the final one airs, you'll get the final finale one. In fact, in fact, I'm speaking to Noah Hawley this very afternoon for a big spoiler special interview, which will go on the Empire Spoiler Special, which will also appear on the pilot feed. So you'll get to hear me talking to Noah about all of the finale shenanigans. So that'll be very exciting. Thank you very much for subscribing.
43:13Kay:Obviously, we do really appreciate it. We'll be back in your ears on Monday with the regular Pilot TV podcast when Andrew Lincoln, fully clothed, not in the shower, will be on this particular podcast to talk about Cold Water along with David Ireland, the writer. We're going to be watching Gen V Season 2 on Prime. We're going to be watching Juice Season 2 on BBC3. What else are we watching? Black Rabbit on Netflix. The morning show is in Barguts. We'll be doing that on next week's Pilot Plus. Exciting times, eh? Thrilling. Very. Yeah, very much so. Now, in the meantime, feel free to go and watch the latest instalment of Henry and Pyers on Alibi.
43:50Kay:And we'll see you on Monday. This is such a death. Pilot out.
From the publisher
Andrew Lincoln takes a step back from his usual heroic roles in ITV’s Coldwater, as a man wrestling with cowardice, marital woes and a pair of deranged vicars in the form of Eve Myles and Ewen Bremner. Despite Boydy being in the pocket of Big Lincoln, we take a look at ITV’s new thriller, plus Kay invents a new detective procedural where two footballers solve crimes. Must watch.
