Russell T Davies new series ‘Tip Toe’ is brilliant and chilling
Russell T Davies’ latest show Tip Toe has arrived on Foxtel, with the first two episodes available to watch now. Starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey as neighbours whose lives become increasingly intertwined and conflicted, the series opens with a jaw-dropping scene that immediately sets the tone.
The heart-stopping, slow-moving opening sequence feels like an oil painting by a great Italian master coming to life. It is filled with trauma, tragedy, intrigue and a solid injection of fear. For some viewers, it may be the moment they check out of the show less than 60 seconds after it begins.
What follows, however, is one of Britain’s best television writers working at the top of his game. The performances from Cumming, Morrissey and the rest of the cast are superb. In a story where tension is allowed to build gradually, Davies captures the moment with confidence and control.
Bar owner Leo, played by Cumming, at one point converses with camp barfly Melba, played by Paul Rhys, about a changing world.
“I used to walk into a room and just go ‘Ta-da’,” Melba says. “Now I just tip toe.”
The series shines a spotlight on the rapid rise of opposition to people who are transgender or gender non-conforming, and how this is now beginning to more on to other members of the LGBTIQ+ communities, it shines a light on populist politics and conservative radicalisation.
Across the first two episodes, the rising tension is carefully balanced with a generous dose of humour. I cannot wait for the next episodes to arrive this week, but the fear at the centre of Tip Toe already feels very real. Russell T Davies is telling us we should be scared, it’s time to fight, and it’s a powerful and foreboding warning.
Euphoria comes to an end with odd final series
HBO’s third season of Euphoria has come to an end with a movie-length final episode that takes the series into unexpected territory. If you have not watched the episode, scroll on to the next story, as major spoilers follow.
The first two seasons of Euphoria followed a group of teenagers navigating sex, drugs, and lives guided by algorithms during the final years of high school. It was often tense viewing, frequently verging on trauma-tainment.
We followed the life of recovering teenage lesbian drug user Rue Bennett, played by Zendaya, and her relationship with transgender teen Jules, portrayed by Hunter Schafer. There were also chalk-and-cheese sisters Lexi, played by Maud Apatow, and Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, one seeking success, the other chasing fame. A central storyline revolved around a love triangle involving abusive football jock Nate, played by Jacob Elordi, popular cheerleader Maddy Perez, played by Alexa Demie, and Cassie.
There were major delays between filming the show’s first and second seasons, followed by another lengthy gap before the third season arrived. This necessitated a five-year time jump, with the story picking up after high school as the characters struggle to make it in the world.
Rue has become a drug mule for her supplier Laurie before being passed on to underworld strip-club owner Alamo Brown. Nate is now a property developer who has fallen into serious trouble with loan sharks, who repeatedly turn up to beat him up and gradually begin to remove extremities. Cassie is preparing to marry Nate and has launched a side business on OnlyFans, while Maddy and Lexi both find themselves working at the lower rungs of Hollywood.
Week by week, viewers watched each character’s situation deteriorate. Along the way, the season was filled with references to classic westerns and a liberal dash of biblical imagery. The final episode sees Maddy and Cassie supporting one another after discovering Nate’s corpse in the previous episode. Rue is poisoned with fentanyl by Alamo and dies halfway through the finale. Laurie dies by suicide, while Jules is barely present, having been relegated to a secondary role throughout the season.
The series ends with a western-style shootout at the strip club, where Ali Muhammad, played by Colman Domingo, kills Alamo. For most of the series, Domingo’s character has been little more than a cameo presence, making it an unexpected narrative turn when he carries the final moments of the show. The closing scenes see him visiting a deeply religious family that Rue spent time with in the opening episode of this season.
The final season feels detached from the storylines that defined Euphoria’s earlier years. The lingering question is whether the series ultimately lands on a bleak moral message: avoid sex and drugs, reject non-traditional gender roles, do not be gay, embrace religion, and fly the American flag proudly outside your rural compound. Is that really where Euphoria ends up?
A powerful two-part documentary charts to case against child-sex offender Rolf Harris
If you grew up in the 1970s or 1980s, entertainer Rolf Harris was everywhere. We sang his songs at school, watched The Rolf Harris Show on television, and saw him front advertisements for a well-known paint company. I even met him in my teenage years, bumping into him at the Scout Jamboree in Sydney in early 1988.
Harris later enjoyed a second wind in his career after appearing on Andrew Denton’s ABC program The Money or the Gun, where he performed Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven. Each week, a different artist took on the song. Harris soon began covering a range of rock tunes and went on to perform at Glastonbury. His song The Court of King Caractacus also became a staple for drag performers around the world.
Only years later did the world learn that Harris was a sexual predator who targeted young girls. In 2014, he was convicted of 12 counts of historic indecent assault involving four underage girls and sentenced to five years and nine months in prison. He was released after serving three years. Further allegations emerged later, resulting in additional charges, though these did not lead to convictions. In 2017, one of the charges on which he had been convicted was ruled unsafe on appeal. Harris lived the remainder of his life as a recluse and died in 2023 aged 93.
Now screening on the ABC, the two-part documentary Rolf Harris: Primetime Predator charts the entertainer’s rise to fame and features interviews with many of his victims, including some who have come forward since his death. The documentary raises troubling questions about how many people within the entertainment industry were aware of his behaviour and failed to intervene. It examines how the power of celebrity can distort judgment and documents the processes through which Harris was eventually brought to justice.
The documentary is difficult viewing and contains stark descriptions of sexual assault against children, so viewer discretion is advised. Ultimately, however, it is a story of resilience, documenting the strength and determination of victims who refused to remain silent.
Rolf Harris: Primetime Predator airs on ABC-TV and ABC iView on Tuesday 9 June at 8:30pm, and continues the following week.
