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I like learning about science and technology. Tomorrow’s World was a weekly favourite, although thirty five years later tomorrow has truly been and gone and we’re still waiting for most of the products featured in prototype on that programme.

By today’s standards it was a pedestrian show and was, inevitably, rather superficial in explaining the workings of some new device. But for people who – like me – are fascinated by gadgets and want to know what they look like inside it was an exciting half-hour treat.

Modern documentaries are mostly big-budget productions sprinkled with CGI and featuring glamorous all-too-prominent presenters. Often they seem like documentaries about the presenters. Sober explanations and descriptions have given way to comments of the ‘Oh wow! That’s amazing’ variety.

There is however, a series which exemplifies how an educational programme should be put together. The Canadian produced How It’s Made has one simple, clear objective. To show how everyday objects are manufactured.

I know, I know. For many people that sounds like a yawn fest. For them there are plenty of TV singing competitions and ballroom dancing shows. Me? I want to know exactly how contact lenses, violins and garage doors are produced.

Not just me, clearly, for over 230 episodes have been made so far and shown around the world. A key feature of the format is the absence of an on-screen presenter or any talking heads so that it can easily be adapted for different countries simply by changing the narration voiceover. In the UK it’s done by soap actor Tony Hirst.

What’s also missing are any other sounds – apart from a selection of rather cheesy background music tracks which become comfortingly familiar the more you watch the series. In fact the rigid adherence to a predictable, simple format is a major part of How It’s Made‘s appeal.

A brief introduction tells the viewer which four items will be featured. The finished products are somewhat bizarrely shown on a rotating display stand against an unrelated background such as an old warehouse or unidentified urban scene.

Then we’re straight into the first item with a gently throbbing bass guitar riff. Fifty tonne presses might come down on steel blanks with a shower of sparks, but the viewer is spared all the heat, smells and noise of the factory as Tony’s soothing explanation and that hypnotic background music provide a soothing buffer.

At the end of each episode we are reminded of the four products featured – usually with a weak pun or two. And that’s it! Classic nerdy entertainment in a structured no-frills format.

The David Fincher version is of course a remake of Niels Arden Oplev’s original 2009 version in Swedish, which I saw first. I couldn’t remember much about it, except for one grisly scene, but that says more about my memory than the quality of the original. Both are excellent films, and if anything the Fincher version has the edge. Each scene is infused with a richness of detail and both Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara turn in powerful, convincing performances.

There’s the odd plot-hole, but these are easily forgiven in a movie which although not always easy to watch is excellently made and eminently enjoyable.

Davies creates rich, sepia scenes of ’50′s Britain at least as evocative and depressing as those in 10 Rillington Place. Rachel Weisz does an outstanding job – in more than one sense. For whilst her performance is convincing as the camera lingers on her beautiful tortured expression, the film’s backdrop is an array of caricatures sprinkled with scenes of ludicrous sentimentality with an often intrusive soundtrack. I’m thinking of the sing-song in the boozer, and the London underground during the Blitz both of which are almost pastiche.

Weisz’s lover is supposed to be a self-centred cad, but is too one-dimensional to be either a convincing villain or the object of her lust. Simon Russell Beale has a better time of it as the pained and repressed cuckold.

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Annoying wobbly camerawork
Messy plot with too much thrown in
Like a film school project but with big name actors
Very annoying characters
Too much Charlotte Gainsbourg (as Kirsten Dunst’s sister!?)
Overly long

The clientele were well-groomed theatregoing types. We didn’t fill the auditorium either, so the compere had to work especially hard to warm us all up for the four stand-up comedy acts which followed.

The first three were amusing, but the headline act Steve Shanyaski possesses a star quality which had me wheezing with uncontrolled laughter. He’s talented, insightful, self-assured, and definitely worth seeking out. Just remember your inhaler.

Strange idea in the 21st century, really. Television broadcast by satellite from the other side of the globe has become commonplace. So what was it like paying £15 to watch something that wasn’t quite a film, and wasn’t quite like being at a live performance?

It did feel a bit detached – almost voyeuristic. We in Manchester were witnessing something, more than directly engaging in the performance. The audience in London applauded but we did not. There was raucous laughter at the NT – and a few muffled guffaws in Manchester.

We had a better view than those in the theatre’s cheap seats. The camerawork was sophisticated, mixing close-ups with wide angle views and audience shots. It was not just a static projection of the entire stage as I had feared it might be. We also got a backstage tour in the interval, conducted by Emma Freud.

And what of the play itself? A five-star performance from the truly talented James Corden, supported by a very strong cast – including a skiffle band. It’s a farce based on Goldoni’s Servant of Two Masters written in 1743, brought up-to-date (actually to 1963) by Richard Bean. The script is sparkling, the slapstick comedy timed to perfection.

I’m really glad I went, and just a bit sorry that I didn’t clap at the end. It transfers to the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End from 8 November, with the original cast. Go and see it!

However, my fear that this would be In the Heat of The Night played for cheap laughs was entirely misplaced. It is a light, whimsical film with an outstanding performance by Brendan Gleeson as the eponymous policeman who has a touch of the Lieutenant Columbo about him – outwardly simple with an underlying depth and intelligence.

The villains too are multi-dimensional. Whilst undoubtably ruthless they are also capable of discussing the writings of various philosophers as they drive through the night, and in this I was reminded of some of Vincent and Jules’ conversations in Pulp Fiction.

It’s a fantastic, funny debut by writer and director John Michael McDonagh and I look forward to seeing more from him soon.