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Murder on the Victorian Railway; Walking Wounded: Return to the Frontline – TV review Murder on the Victorian Railway; Walking Wounded: Return to the Frontline – TV review
(7 months later)
Maybe British Rail was offering a Groupon deal to anyone working in TV. Or a bunch of commissioning editors on a management "Think the Unthinkable" business class away-day collectively channelled railways. If not, I can only assume dozens of documentary film-makers woke up on the same day with the same idea. How else do you explain why the TV schedules have been OD-ing with trains over the past few weeks? We've had Dan Snow shouting about the history of the railway in Britain. We've had yet more of Michael Portillo's whimsical train journeys – though it is possible these might have been repeats; it's rather hard to tell. We've even had the history of model railways. And we are currently stuck in the middle of a railway fly-on-the-wall reality series.Maybe British Rail was offering a Groupon deal to anyone working in TV. Or a bunch of commissioning editors on a management "Think the Unthinkable" business class away-day collectively channelled railways. If not, I can only assume dozens of documentary film-makers woke up on the same day with the same idea. How else do you explain why the TV schedules have been OD-ing with trains over the past few weeks? We've had Dan Snow shouting about the history of the railway in Britain. We've had yet more of Michael Portillo's whimsical train journeys – though it is possible these might have been repeats; it's rather hard to tell. We've even had the history of model railways. And we are currently stuck in the middle of a railway fly-on-the-wall reality series.
I'm not complaining; I quite like watching programmes about trains. But everyone who worked on Murder on the Victorian Railway (BBC 2) might be, as rather too much of their thunder had already been stolen. In July 1864, the body of a 70-year-old banker, Thomas Briggs, was found by the railway track in Hackney. Briggs had apparently been assaulted and robbed before being pushed from the first-class carriage of a moving train, thus gaining the unwanted distinction of becoming the first person to be murdered while travelling by railway. So you can see why adapting Kate Colquhoun's Mr Briggs' Hat, which took a Suspicions of Mr Whicher-type lens to Victorian society through a single act of violence, had its attractions.I'm not complaining; I quite like watching programmes about trains. But everyone who worked on Murder on the Victorian Railway (BBC 2) might be, as rather too much of their thunder had already been stolen. In July 1864, the body of a 70-year-old banker, Thomas Briggs, was found by the railway track in Hackney. Briggs had apparently been assaulted and robbed before being pushed from the first-class carriage of a moving train, thus gaining the unwanted distinction of becoming the first person to be murdered while travelling by railway. So you can see why adapting Kate Colquhoun's Mr Briggs' Hat, which took a Suspicions of Mr Whicher-type lens to Victorian society through a single act of violence, had its attractions.
Had this been shown before Christmas, it would have been far more interesting to discover both how the Victorians feared the expansion of the railways might make local communities vulnerable by opening up them to strangers – plus ça change – and how the rail network helped democratise knowledge by making daily newspapers available throughout the country. As it was, I knew most of this already – I consider myself a rail expert now – having been told it in at least two, if not three, separate documentaries this year. All of which appeared to use much the same archive footage. With the social commentary largely reduced to filler, the film had to rely more than was probably intended on the murder investigation to make its impact.Had this been shown before Christmas, it would have been far more interesting to discover both how the Victorians feared the expansion of the railways might make local communities vulnerable by opening up them to strangers – plus ça change – and how the rail network helped democratise knowledge by making daily newspapers available throughout the country. As it was, I knew most of this already – I consider myself a rail expert now – having been told it in at least two, if not three, separate documentaries this year. All of which appeared to use much the same archive footage. With the social commentary largely reduced to filler, the film had to rely more than was probably intended on the murder investigation to make its impact.
Here, it laboured rather. There were some nice moments – the suspect travelled to the US by sailboat, thereby allowing the police to overtake him on a steamer and arrest him in New York on his arrival – and there were plenty of inconsistencies in the evidence; much as you might expect in a case this old. Even Trevor Eve in Waking the Dead would have struggled. Yet, despite the film's repeated suggestions that the wrong man, a German called Franz Muller, – how UKIP must love that – might have been fingered for the murder, what was not on offer was any serious alternative suspect, which fatally weakened the narrative suspense. Right at the end, it was even reported that Muller's last words were: "I did it." Muller was hanged and his body buried in Newgate prison. With a bit of luck, one of the many film crews that are hanging around recording the building of Crossrail will be on hand to witness him being dug up.Here, it laboured rather. There were some nice moments – the suspect travelled to the US by sailboat, thereby allowing the police to overtake him on a steamer and arrest him in New York on his arrival – and there were plenty of inconsistencies in the evidence; much as you might expect in a case this old. Even Trevor Eve in Waking the Dead would have struggled. Yet, despite the film's repeated suggestions that the wrong man, a German called Franz Muller, – how UKIP must love that – might have been fingered for the murder, what was not on offer was any serious alternative suspect, which fatally weakened the narrative suspense. Right at the end, it was even reported that Muller's last words were: "I did it." Muller was hanged and his body buried in Newgate prison. With a bit of luck, one of the many film crews that are hanging around recording the building of Crossrail will be on hand to witness him being dug up.
Someone undoubtedly fortunate to be still living is the photographer Giles Duley, who lost both legs and an arm when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan in February 2011, but Walking Wounded: Return to the Frontline (Channel 4) was all the better for the absence of any triumphant heroics that so often accompany such stories. Rather, Duley went out of his way to make it plain that his survival is a daily battle: from the moment he drags himself out of bed to go to the toilet in the morning, his life is a constant struggle. He doesn't even need to look in a mirror to remember what he's lost; he can see it reflected in the eyes of everyone he meets. Even sleep is no guarantee of respite.Someone undoubtedly fortunate to be still living is the photographer Giles Duley, who lost both legs and an arm when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan in February 2011, but Walking Wounded: Return to the Frontline (Channel 4) was all the better for the absence of any triumphant heroics that so often accompany such stories. Rather, Duley went out of his way to make it plain that his survival is a daily battle: from the moment he drags himself out of bed to go to the toilet in the morning, his life is a constant struggle. He doesn't even need to look in a mirror to remember what he's lost; he can see it reflected in the eyes of everyone he meets. Even sleep is no guarantee of respite.
Before he was blown up, Duley's next job was to document the plight of the local victims of the war and, after 18 months' hard rehab, he decided he wanted to return to Kabul to complete what he had set out to do. What made this such a hard watch was not the obvious inequality in Afghan healthcare or the sight of so many disfigured limbs – it's surprising how quickly one can get used to that; it was the growing realisation that whatever circle Duley had hoped his return would square was remaining resolutely round. Being with others in a similar or worse situation only appeared to offer passing respite; when the cameras were off and he was back in London, the terrors and difficulties would still be with him. I don't know if it's possible ever to get real closure after such traumatic destruction; but if it is, I hope he finds it one day.Before he was blown up, Duley's next job was to document the plight of the local victims of the war and, after 18 months' hard rehab, he decided he wanted to return to Kabul to complete what he had set out to do. What made this such a hard watch was not the obvious inequality in Afghan healthcare or the sight of so many disfigured limbs – it's surprising how quickly one can get used to that; it was the growing realisation that whatever circle Duley had hoped his return would square was remaining resolutely round. Being with others in a similar or worse situation only appeared to offer passing respite; when the cameras were off and he was back in London, the terrors and difficulties would still be with him. I don't know if it's possible ever to get real closure after such traumatic destruction; but if it is, I hope he finds it one day.
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