Brexit: A Very British Civil War review - All's fair in Gove and war, it seems, but it won't raise your opinion of politicians
Given the state of political discourse at the moment, it would not be surprising if you had a low opinion of politicians. And new documentary series Brexit: A Very British Civil War (BBC2, Mon, 9pm) will do little to raise your hopes.
Ten years on from the referendum which saw Britain eventually, sort of, leave the European Union, this series purports to tell the inside story, “from the people who were there”.
And here they come, this rogues gallery, full of people you'd forgotten about, see too much of, or would rather you didn't see again.
Here's Michael Gove waiting to see which way the wind was blowing before turning his back on pal 'Dave' Cameron and joining the leave camp.
And here's arch-Eurosceptic Steve Baker, ferrying Tory MPs to sign up to the leave campaign, blasting Colonel Bogey through his car speaker system.
There's Arron Banks, resentful at Dominic Cummings telling him how to run the Leave campaign and there's Remainer Peter Mandelson, about the whom the less the said, the better.
And that's before you get to Boris Johnson, naughty schoolboy smirk tattooed on his face, or Nigel Farage, whose smile is careful to completely hide his eyes so you can't see the panic of a man who has finally realised his career dream and now doesn't know what to do with it.
They tell you about the arguments, the rows, twists and turns of the year before the referendum on June 23, 2016.
From the talking heads – almost all male, by the by – you get the sense of the 'civil war' of the title, with talk of allies and betrayals, of coups and kings.
To these people, it implies, the whole process was game of soldiers, each side, Leave and Remain, marching around the parliamentary playground, arms around shoulders, chanting 'who wants to play war' and hoping to pick up a Kate Hoey here, or a Bernard Jenkin there.
There are moments of bathos too, as former MP Baker tells of “the moment of joy” at getting four senior Tory MPs to come out for the Leave campaign, as the VT shows prison book-banner Chris 'Failing' Grayling walk into the room.
Meanwhile, you also get a sense of how Johnson's vaulting ambitions trumped political thought at every turn.
Even his sister, Rachel, says he “thought it was his turn to be world king, before Cameron”, and details an enmity lasting from their days at Eton to tennis matches at the US ambassador's residence.
When Cameron offers Johnson a 'top five' job in return for his support for the Remain side, even Johnson admits he was “interested and excited”.
Not sufficiently, however, to actually keep his word.
It's all fun, in a knockabout kind of way, and if you ignore the 10 years of economic difficulties, divisive politics, the lurch against minorities of all types.
What you don't get is any idea of a motivating force, of what drove these men – and it is mostly men – to take part in a process which has proved so deleterious to the country.
Where does it come from, Farage's virulent hatred of Europe, and Britain's part in it? Why did Cameron promise an EU referendum in the first place? What did either side think made their argument the stronger and why do they think it succeeded or failed?
Much like the referendum campaigns themselves, Brexit: A Very British Civil War skips analysis and favours the people who can either shout the loudest or have interesting turn of phrase and best command of Latin.
It started with the title and works backwards from there. And lowers your opinion of both the programme and the politicians soundbite by bloviating soundbite.