成人快手

Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.

This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan join Naga Munchetty to review new Netflix miniseries Senna.

It follows the life and career of one of Formula One’s most loved icons - Brazilian Ayrton Senna.

Born in São Paulo in 1960, Senna would go on to win three World Drivers Championships before his career was tragically cut short at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994 - the same weekend Austrian driver, Roland Ratzenberger also died on track.

After his death, the Brazilian government called three days of national mourning whilst his funeral was attended by the great and the good of Formula One past and present.

Naga: "Is it a Must Watch?"

Scott: "It isn't. Having said that, this is extremely watchable. I mean, of course, you don't really need to be a big Formula One fan to be sucked in. It's of course about one of the most famous Formula One drivers of all time, who broke countless records [and is] regarded a hero years after his death.

“The drama starts with his death in 1994, where his car hit a concrete wall due to a mechanical failure at more than 130 mph. And then we head back to when he was a kid growing up in Brazil.

“He was fascinated by cars from a young age, and he's constantly imitating a car humming as a kid and running around the driveway. He then got given the opportunity to go into go-kart racing [which he] built from a lawnmower. And then he does really well at the go-kart championships and his ambition is to move up to Formula One so you see that journey as the episodes go on”.

Scott continues: “Now, he is the best bit. His character is the best bit about this. I think they captured the nuances of his character in all of its complexity. The scenes in the Formula One car are great because sometimes when you see Formula One on TV, when there's a camera from a fixed position, it can feel quite far removed or you don't really get the sense that they are travelling at such a fast speed. But here it feels as if your face is nearly planted against the concrete on the floor because you feel the adrenaline for the turns and for the rivalry.

“The reason why it's not a Must Watch is that whilst his character's great, all of the other characters are quite one dimensional - shockingly one dimensional. His wife in episode one, all she says in the whole of the first episode is something like, 'I want children' and nothing else.

“At one moment, he [Senna] has to ask for his dad's permission to go and take part in Formula Ford. And his dad goes from, 'I am against you doing it' to 'I am all for it and please take my watch and wear it whilst you're driving and be thinking of me, but set it to Brazilian time' in the same scene in the same minute! How can you have [such a] massive character switch?

“And it's the same with his mum, who goes from, 'I'm against you taking part in this' to 'go on - win it for me!' and it's like, where is their emotional complexity? I found it remarkably flat, but extremely watchable".

Hayley: "This isn't a Must Watch for me. It's a very straight biopic, which is not objectively a bad thing, it's just not that exciting a thing unless you're deeply interested in the guy or unless the characters are so full that you've got a full story, but they're not, like Scott says.

“What this reminded me of most was Michael Mann's movie about Enzo Ferrari. Not because it's the same story, because it's not, but it's the way Michael Mann filmed the race cars.

“So it's also quite funny that the main actor in this also played quite a crucial role in that film too, because he's now weirdly pigeonholed as an incredible race car driver. Fine, you know, get jobs however you can!

“The best bits in this, like you said, are when you feel like you're actually in the car with him, because they've basically copied what Michael Mann did on Ferrari. It's like your face is on the floor of the car and you're seeing him use the pedals and the gear stick and you can feel the roar of the engine - it's a great bit, but it’s not an original thing".

Naga: *sighs*

Hayley: "Uh oh..."

Naga: “I'm such a massive Formula One fan, I love it.

“I saw Drive To Survive, I've watched most of the series and I love the stories. They're a privileged bunch of people, generally, bar Lewis Hamilton. Their determination, their grit, the risks they took, particularly in that age of Senna.

“So I know quite a bit. I'm not an expert, but I know and I've had an interest. I watched Formula One when I was a little girl. I've been to Formula 1 races and I love everything about it.

“This was the flattest thing! You don't have to like the character - I say this all the time. You never have to like the central character. And you're not supposed to like someone who's so competitive and combatant and unscrupulous as well, to a certain extent.
“I've watched four episodes of this. The lack of loyalty doesn't come through. I thought Alain Prost's character interested me just because he was like the dastardly villain. You know, the French racing driver who had a reputation.

“For anyone who watches Formula One, you'd kind of be comparing Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna's relationship to Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

“But [Senna’s] family was flat. Then the girlfriend, the second girlfriend, that's just ridiculous 80s nonsense as far as I could see.

“It's also cliched. I thought that the person playing Senna was flat. No facial expressions, no asides, nothing. And I thought the sex scene was the flattest thing I'd ever seen, I didn't even care".

Scott: "It's not a Must Watch from Naga..."

Naga: "Ok, I'll stop".

Hayley: "You'd think something with race car drivers in it would have some oomph and it didn't have any".

Naga: "When you've got a great story like this, I just think it was a real shame. Drive to Survive on Netflix - fantastic. Those are the brilliant stories at this moment in time.

“There have been some great stories and great Formula One characters [and] films that have been made".

Scott: "And there's also obviously the 2010 film on Senna as well..."

Naga: "Which is fantastic…

Naga: "So Must Watch - yay or nay?"

Together: "No!"

Hayley: "We're not doing well this week".

Scott: "Some weeks you win some. Some weeks you lose some. It's just the way it all happens".

You can watch all episodes of Senna now on Netflix.

But before all that, why not contact Scott and Hayley with the shows you’ve been loving, loathing or both on mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.

This week, the team reviewed The Listeners and Cruel Intentions.

Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening on 成人快手 Sounds.