What to watch on TV: Better Call Saul, The Walking Dead and Inside the Commons

Toby Earle takes you through this week's must watch TV
S'all good man: Bob Odenkirk in the much anticipated Better Call Saul
Allstar/SONY PICTURES TELEVISION
Toby Earle9 February 2015
The Weekender

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There are two things you probably don’t expect from Better Call Saul – for there to be as much skateboarding as there is, or for it to be so good. Other unexpectedness this week includes the levels of romance in The Fried Chicken Shop and what the Houses of Parliament are searched for every year in Inside the Commons.

Better Call Saul, Netflix

Saul Goodman: Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul (Picture: Allstar/Sony pictures television)

For the next two days social media is less than your best friend, unless you’ve set the alarm so that you can watch the 7am release of the next episode of the Breaking Bad spin-off on Tuesday morning.

What can be said without sparking enraged teeth-gnashing and howls of spoiled pleasure is that the bent lawyer inhabits a top class series to continue Breaking Bad’s commitment to every beat of a butterfly wing gathering hurricane force. Vince Gilligan must be a heck of a drummer – and he does look a bit like Dave Grohl – because this debut doesn’t miss a beat. It's style, tone and writing transition from Breaking Bad to establish its own seamless tragi-comic rhythm.

You can watch our interview with Bob Odenkirk – Saul himself – at londonlive.co.uk later this week.

Fried Chicken Shop, Monday London Live 10pm

Branching out: the Fried Chicken Shop is looking to expand

For some, it’s roses advertising they’re up for a bit of insect fiddling, for others, it’s a melted Milky Way ready for smearing, but for the customers at Roosters Spot it’s the whiff of chicken relaxing in a hot, bubbly oil bath which trigger their hormones to accelerate into lusty overdrive.

Love at first bite is what the patrons feel when presented with the array of hot bird parts, but actual true love also wafts through the air, along with the heady scent of chips and wholesale tomato ketchup, as tonight’s diners are all on the hunt for someone finger lickin’ good.

The Walking Dead, Monday Fox 9pm

Zombification: Sheriff Rick in The Walking Dead (Picture: AMC)

The reason to stay off social media, part two – prior knowledge of the events in this continuation of the excellent fifth series will disrupt your viewing pleasure, with the unexpected death of Beth a coda to a rip-roaring first half.

There’s more of an introspective mood on re-joining the newly united survivors, which is understandable given Eugene, the man who they believed might save the world, admitted his pants were on fire and no zombification vaccine exists. Andrew Lincoln's beard continues its development into a beard of first-class stature, while the script smartly increases the value of its characters by holding several back and limiting their presence to noises, rather than cram them in and constrict the space needed for grieving.

Inside the Commons, Tuesday BBC2 9pm

Parliament: BBC's Inside the Commons (Picture: BBC)

Politicians were right to be nervous about cameras documenting how our taxes are spent and the quality of representation we receive, as David Cameron, the actual British Prime Minister, described the Palace of Westminster as, "half museum, half church, and half school". Number Eleven won’t be beckoning any time soon, with that arithmetic. Presumably the PM won’t be asked to aid in one arcane habit performed before State Opening, when the rooms are searched for barrels of gunpowder, in case he miscounts how many there might be.

Basement, London Live Thursday 10pm

Trapped: Danny Dyer in Basement

What Danny Dyer, Jimi Mistry and Kierston Wareing should have done before climbing down a hidden hatch in a forest is ask if any of them remembered what happened in Lost when they found a hatch, and how well that turned out. Of course, this being a film (and part of the Danny Dyer season), they clamber into a subterranean space that’s so damp even the most aggressive of London property developers would blanch. Even if the place was a bit drier, what else is down there would deter any bids…

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