Why did you try to murder me?

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's Top 50 TV Shows of 2022.  

#34 : Navalny

By some distance the most jaw-dropping TV moment of the year, this staggering documentary that played out like a wild spy story showed Putin’s nemesis, Alexei Navalny, team up with investigative journalists, phone up the people who poisoned him with novichok – then ask them one by one why they tried to kill him. Unforgettable.


I've heard this is quite incredible and meant to watch it but never got round to it, so am pleased to be forced to do so.

And it is indeed a wild story - we follow Alexei through various scrapes and japes, most of which make me very glad for my uneventful life!  He comes across as a nice guy with a very understanding family - I imagine he must be pretty charismatic to achieve the following he has, but I'd have to say that doesn't really come across in this documentary.

It's a well-enough put together documentary but unfortunately there's not really enough of a story to fill the 90 minutes they give it.  The high points of the story (one of which is at the end) do just about carry you through - they really are quite eye-opening.   It's also very depressing how people trying to be good (and I'm sure he's no saint, but it's all relative) stand little chance when up against the machinery of the state.  But you have to admire him for trying, despite the fact that all he's got out of it currently is a twenty year stretch in what is probably not the most comfortable of institutions.

And well - that's about all I have to say about it really.  If you need some confirmation that Putin isn't the nicest guy ever (amusingly, he won't refer to Alexei by name, calling him "that person" or something similar) then this will certainly provide it.  To be fair, most people probably don't need that confirmed to them - but it's still an interesting enough watch and does, as The Guardian says, provide a jaw-dropping moment of TV.  Whether it's the most jaw-dropping I wouldn't like to say, but they have a bit more experience than me in such matters. 

At time of writing, unusually (particularly since this was made by the BBC), this is only available to rent - any of the usual places will do so, but I'm not sure I can whole-heartedly recommend it.

#33 - As beautiful as you'd expect
#35 - I really liked this

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