Jim Moir (much better called his funny change ego Vic Reeves) appears to have a good relationship with Sky Arts, having actually formerly completed in the star variations of Portrait and Landscape Artist of the Year. His latest endeavor with the channel, Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir, includes him visiting the nation’s most attractive areas (consisting of Cornwall, Northumberland and Lancashire) accompanied by his spouse Nancy.
Together they go bird-watching, intending to find one specific types in each location, beginning with curlews in seaside Northumberland. And on each exploration, they meet a star friend. Afterwards, Jim retires to his garden studio in Kent to paint his latest feathered friend, Nancy providing him with tea and biscuits.
If that all noises as if Jim has actually been influenced by enjoying the massive success that his funny partner Bob Mortimer in Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, then that is absolutely not the case. We have Jim’s word for it. He just recently informed a recruiter that “It’s a different show. They get put up for comedy awards. I hope this doesn’t.”
His desires will most likely be understood. The series is pleasant enough without being award-bothering and any funny is limited to some light marital small talk twixt Jim and Nancy. Anyone utilized to the more acerbically amusing exchanges in between Jon Richardson and spouse Lucy Beaumont on Meet the Richardsons may discover the repartee good-humoured however rather harmless.
In reality, this series has more in typical with his 2022 Sky Arts program The Prince’s Master Crafters in which Jim hosted a competitors for heritage crafters. A long-lasting painter of birds, he takes his art seriously — although how major is his art, that’s for others to state. The work looks respectable to me, evaluating by that Northumberland curlew.
Jim and Nancy are signed up with on this opening jaunt by their friend, the star Mark Benton. The suspicion that this may be among those practical showbiz “friendships” is resolved when Nancy hugs Benton and calls him “Beno”. There’s real familiarity here.
Jim establishes Nancy and Beno behind easels in a windy and rather chilly-looking field and provides an unscripted lesson on how to paint the landscape. “You’re no Bob Ross,” jibes Benton, which is undoubtedly real. On the other hand, Jim is useful and even rather motivating. He would have made a rather good secondary school art instructor in another life.
Teenagers would definitely enjoy his sense of humour, and Jim hasn’t totally exorcised Vic Reeves to evaluate by the method he gets Benton and Nancy to use ridiculous hats as they paint the view. But if he’s no longer Vic Reeves (and not Bob Ross), then this is the most genuine peek yet of the genuine Jim Moir — a man, says Nancy, who had little interest in anything however ornithology when they fulfilled. She had no option however to do the same.
Nancy is probably the making of this program. The previous design and existing businesswoman (she has her own makeup variety) brings a robust heat to what may otherwise have actually been a lot of late middle-aged male lovers getting delighted by wigeons and eider ducks. Not that there’s anything incorrect with that, however programs like this require an additional human measurement.
The title music, by the method, is thanks to Jools Holland, a future visitor on the program together with Chris Packham.
Next week Jim and Nancy are off to Cornwall looking for choughs. You can well think it when Jim says that this is “the best job I’ve ever had because it combines everything I love: art, birds and,” he takes a look at Nancy. “You.”
