I It is from a generation that grew up believing that Robert Powell was yes. This is because Easter was rounding the corner due to the spreading line of cream egg bastards that are invading supermarkets (white chocolate? Caramel? Coming!), but the TV schedule is suddenly filled with true revival-based programming. Powell played the Messiah and others who were no one in 1977 (Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quinn, Ernest Borgnin, Rod Steiger, Peter Ustinov, Michael York, you gave it a name). Part of the season was about as much as building palm crossings at school and egg hunting in the garden.
If you want to excavate from under the secular wreckage at the right moment, it could still be available somewhere in the world of fragmentary streaming. But that’s not the same as when featured in terrestrial television’s regular scheduled seasonal programming.
Faced with it, the Pilgrimage: the road through the Alps appears to be a tinsel attempt by the BBC to satisfy the embarrassing clauses remaining in the authority of public services. Seven celebrities of different faiths are not sent for walks and buses on 190 miles of Austria’s Camino, a medieval Catholic route that ends in the hilly areas of the Swiss Alps. Together they see that they can learn about themselves, their faith, and the fortitude of medieval Catholicism.
But – a miracle! The pilgrimage quickly reveals that it’s not too bad, and before the three episodes are up, it’s moved to call it very good, and it can be acknowledged that every experience is pretty uplifting against all odds and expectations.
Most of the time, this depends on the fact that all pilgrims take it seriously. There is no artificial timeline imposed on trekking. This is not an unsightly race from Innsbruck in Austria to Ainsdern Abbey in Switzerland, but is genuine (yes, yes, still within programme constraints) that the group has the opportunity to get to know each other and is reflected in their past and present experiences. And there are no conflicts designed. In fact, there are no disputes worthy of name. It’s impressive and pretty amazing.
Wanted Jay McGuinness was raised as a Catholic, but now describes himself as an agnostic. He says he is still looking for the cathartic faith he once gave him. And he is still saddened by bandmate Tom Parker, who died of a brain tumor three years ago.
Harry Clark (former soldier, second winner of the traitor, and according to his mother, “The wisest man… I’m just wired behind”) is a fellow Catholic who still believes. However, he appears to be almost fascinated by being in the company of people talking about history and ideas, rather than the possibility of the existence of God in the various ancient monasteries and monasteries they visit.
Comedian Helen Rader feels the pull of her father’s Jewish heritage and the implicit grief carried by her family. “But you don’t want to overclaim it,” she says. Again, it is a rare subtlety in such a show, and overrelation is effectively a requirement.
Paralympian Stefanie Reid has a powerful Christian faith born from an accident that nearly killed her and led to her becoming an amputee in her teens. Comedian Daliso Chaponda, who grew up in 14 countries as the son of a refugee (instead of a ruthless joke seeker and teller, who marks documentaries from herds, naturally funny and thoughtfully, by marking documentaries from herds), samples many Christian denominations and hopes to feel truly home.
The Muslim family of journalist Nelfer Hedayat came to the UK as a refugee from Afghanistan when she was seven years old. She struggles with the anger she feels towards Islam, and the ways in which she unleashes religion from its cultural expression and enforcement, for example, by people who force women to silence in their homeland.
By the end of the three episodes there are the most gorgeous and scenic episodes. If everyone is listening, if they are listening to actual growth and learning, they also take travelogues. As a dedicated atheist, it didn’t approach me with God, but it may just renew my belief in celebrity documentaries.
