5 movies and TV shows to watch while wondering what we’ve done to the planet

Everything’s on fire. Metaphorically that’s been the case for a while now, but now it’s literally the case as well. We’ve really done a number on this place. Earth is about four-and-a-half billion years old, and in the last 200 or so, we’ve really bollocksed it up. Enormous, all-encompassing, systemic change is what is needed to sustain life on the planet and undo some of the damage we’ve caused. Detailed plans need to be drawn up, and if you want to stick something on while doing so, go for it…

You can’t not love GWAR. Even if you don’t like GWAR, you have to appreciate the sheer fucking going-for-it-ness of them, spending almost four decades in codpieces and painted-on abs throughout umpteen line-up changes and fairly minimal commercial success. Dave Brockie, the frontman and centre of the project – it’s more than a band, really – died in 2014, but GWAR plough on, as cheerfully daft and over-the-top as ever. This in-depth documentary takes a look at every element of the band, from the surprising amount of work they put in to their monstrous appearance to the numerous backstage troubles they’ve had over the decades, with input from members past and present, as well as luminaries like Alex Winter and 'Weird Al Yankovic. Magnificent.

Available now on Shudder

This tense three-part BBC thriller follows emergency call handler Gabe (Iain De Caestecker from Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D) who takes a message from someone who claim not only to have just killed someone, but also to recognise Gabe’s voice and have known him since childhood. Who needs protecting from whom? Dark backstories, betrayals and blackmailing ensue, as it somehow manages to be as much about grief and loneliness as it does about what big-ass twist is coming next.

Available now on iPlayer

Whatever the opposite of a barrel of laughs is, this short but incredibly powerful piece of drama about violence against women, and the cavalier attitude of the police towards it, is essential viewing. Adapted from a stage play and starring Zawe Ashton and Hayley Squires, it is furious, anxious, dramatic and, for far too many viewers, familiar. When two women, both named Mary, are attacked by the same man, what do the police do? What do they ever do? Brutally, mirthlessly funny in places – with a metaphor about Maltesers, of all things, providing an unforgettable answer to “not all men” – and utterly savage in others, this is a tragically necessary 25-minute masterpiece.

Available now on iPlayer

Created by Roger Black and Waco O’Guin, the creators of Brickleberry and Paradise PD, this is another f-bomb-laden cartoon, this time in a sci-fi vein. Lance Reddick (from John Wick and the new Resident evil series) voices Renzo, a human warrior who frees the planet FARZAR from aliens and becomes its leader. Decades later, Renzo’s son Fichael discovers that all is not necessarily how it seems, and his dad might actually be… the baddie? It’s pretty much an excuse for a lot of swearing and reasonably grotesque sex gags. You don’t have to be extremely high to enjoy FARZAR, but it wouldn’t hurt.

Available now on Netflix

Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones stars in this adaptation of Delia Owens’ monstrously successful 2018 book. Outrageously earnest and a bit twee, fans of the book (and there’s a lot of them about) will enjoy it, while everyone else can just, like, enjoy the experience of visiting the cinema? Honestly, it’s just not a big week for entertainment releases. It’s the end of term, the summer holidays aren’t quite here yet, and it’s all a bit in-betweeny at the moment. There’s good stuff on its way, promise! Or just watch that GWAR doc three or four times, it’s really good.

In cinemas now