Pick of the Week: Monday 17th November
CLONE: BBC THREE, Monday 17 November 8:30pm
Jonathan Pryce, Mark Gatiss and Stuart McLoughlin star in BBC Three’s fish-out-of-water comedy about the world’s first human clone, an innocent being that is seeing and experiencing our world for the first time.
PRINCE JOHN- THE WINDSORS’ TRAGIC SECRET: Channel 4,Tuesday 18th 9:00pm
The Windsors’ Tragic Secret reveals the truth about epileptic Prince John, one of the most mysterious members of the Royal Family.
ENGLAND V GERMANY, ITV, Wednesday 19th November 19.30
Steve Rider introduces live coverage from the Olympic Stadium in Berlin of England’s international against Germany.Fabio Capello’s England team go into this match having won their opening four World Cup qualifiers and will be looking to continue their winning streak against a German side who are also at the top of their qualifying group.
Weekend Picks: 15/16th November
T4: 101 CHALLENGES
Channel 4, Saturday 15th November, 12:55pm Alert me
A brand new series following two brothers, Lindsay and Lee, as they embark on a journey around Asia for a year. What’s so different about this particular travel show? The brothers must complete 101 challenges, given to them by members of the public via their website. Said challenges have, so far, been described as ‘vomit inducing, painful, weird, disgusting, exhilarating, fluffy, nice, awe inspiring, charitable, stupid and some are just plain outright dangerous’. First stop, India.
THE FALLEN
BBC2, Saturday 15th November, 9:05pm Alert me
Families and friends of those who have died fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq talk openly about their loved ones and their grief. Spanning seven years of war, this epic three-hour film by filmmaker Morgan Matthews gives a rare insight into the personal impact and legacy of their loss. Not to be missed.
New series: I’M A CELEBRITY… GET ME OUT OF HERE!
ITV, Sunday 16th November, 9:00pm Alert me
Those jungle drums are a-beating again, setting off the part of our brain that releases chemicals that draw us to watching trash. Ten new celebrities brave the jungle adventures. Surprises come thick and fast as they face a vaguely terrifying journey before being allowed to settle into the camp they will call home for the next three weeks. Ant and Dec preside as one celebrity undergoes the first of the dreaded Bushtucker Trials.
FIGHT CLUB
Channel 4, Sunday 16th November, 10:45pm Alert me
Our screens positively welcome this anarchic, nihilistic satire on modern life in which a disenchanted office worker (Ed Norton), emotionally deadened by his empty, consumerist lifestyle, has a chance encounter with a rather charismatic fellow, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Finding that they are kindred spirits, the two men start up a no-holds-barred bare-knuckle fighting club, with the aim of making its members feel alive once again. The perfect way to end the weekend.
Critic’s Choice: Films on TV this Week
RENAISSANCE– Saturday, 10.50pm, FilmFour Alert Me
Paris, the year 2054 – Karas, ‘un célèbre capitaine de police’, sets out to find missing scientist Ilona, cop off with her sister, and save the world. In a rather knowing piece of casting, James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, voices the main character of this stylish French animated film. Sitting (quite possibly on a barstool) between A Scanner Darkly and Sin City in the visual stakes, Renaissance is gorgeous. Super hot. It’ll seduce you, with its stark black and white, contrasty charms, and then leave you wondering ‘would I still be with you, Renaissance, if you weren’t so goddamn pretty?’
Appropriately, the film’s plot concerns a conspiracy stemming from an omnipresent beauty company. There are clear nods to Blade Runner and Minority Report, but unlike those films, Renaissance’s hazy plotting tends to evoke a mate’s tipsy mumblings – you get the main gist of the story, but, what was that bit about your uncle and… the doctor… who, umm… ? This isn’t to say that Renaissance can’t be tremendous fun, though. Read more
Pick of the Week: Saturday 8th October
Final Episode: JOHN ADAMS
More 4, Saturday 8th November, 5:30pm Alert Me
The Emmy-winning epic historical series concludes its UK premiere on More4. Old age and retirement sees John Adams write his memoirs as his daughter and wife pass way. He also lives to see his son, John Quincy Adams, get elected President.
FILM: THE FULL MONTY
Film Four, Sunday 9th November, 9:00pm Alert Me
Unemployed friends Gaz (Robert Carlyle), a bitter but devoted divorced father, and Dave (Mark Addy), an overweight but dedicated husband, stumble upon a local Chippendales-style show. They decide to start their own strip act in order to make some quick cash, and to take their minds off the dole. They pick up new recruits Gerald (Tom Wilkinson), Guy (Hugo Speer), Lomper (Steve Huison) and Horse (Paul Barber) along the way, and several dance lessons (and a now famous practice in a dole office queue) later they are ready to perform, helped by advance publicity that they will do “the full monty” for their audience. …More picks of the week
Pick of the Week: Monday 27th October
SPOOKS
BBC 1, Monday 27th October, 9pm
A magnifcent start to the new season, tonight sees Adam fight to save a soldier who has been kidnapped by al-Quaeda. A new father, the soldier is threatened with death unless the government agrees to cancel rememberance day. Jo struggles to get back to work after their traumatic ordeal at the end of last season and Harry gets a protege back, but will he be the same? Richard Armitage joins the cast as a mysterious spy that has been locked in a Russian prison for 8 years.
DEAD SET
E4, Monday 27th October, 10pm
Acclaimed writer and critic Charlie Brooker is more known for his witty reviews and blogs than for his screenplays, but he penned the dark zombie horror which premiere’s tonight on E4 and continues every night until Friday. A gory, brilliant take on the Zombie genre, this sees the Big Brother House (Davina included) attacked by the walking dead. With cameos aplenty, Brooker manages to create something even scarier than the Big Brother we know and loathe.
Film: HERO
Film4, Tuesday 28 October, 9pm
Zhang Yimou’s stunning all-action film is set during the time of China’s warring states, before the country was unified. To the court of the King of Qin (Chen Dao Ming), who seeks to rule the united country, comes Nameless (Jet Li), who claims to have killed three deadly assassins (Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung and Donnie Yen) who were all determined to kill the King. As Nameless recounts his exploits in flashback, each time the wily King responds with his version. Is Nameless a true servant of Qin or does he have a secret agenda?
THE RESTAURANT
BBC 2, Wednesday 29th October, 8pm
After seven exhausting weeks running their restaurants, the two surviving couples go head-to-head in Raymond Blanc’s final challenge. Afterwards, Raymond will hand the winners a once-in-a-lifetime prize: the chance to join him in a brand-new restaurant business venture. In this ultimate challenge the couples set off on a surprise journey and find themselves having to cook for, serve and delight 40 discerning guests aboard one of the world’s most exclusive and romantic trains. After the train shudders to a halt, Raymond must decide which couple will go home with nothing and whose dream has finally come true.
LIFE
ITV 3, Thursday 30th October, 10pm
After spending twelve years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis) rejoins the force with a shiny new Detective badge. Crews, accompanied by his new partner Dani Reese (Sarah Shahi), works to solve the inexplicable murder of a young boy. Crews’ unconventional tactics put Reese on edge causing both Reese and Lt. Karen Davis (Robin Weigert) to question his motives for rejoining the force. Adam Arkin, Brooke Langton and Brent Sexton also star.
Pick of the Week: Monday 13th October
THE SHOOTING OF THOMAS HURNDALL
Channel 4, Monday 13th October, 9pm Alert Me
A feature-length drama that tells the moving story of a British family’s fight to discover what happened to their son Tom, a 21-year-old photography student fatally wounded by an Israeli Defence Forces sniper while attempting to rescue a group of terrified Palestinian children, whom he believed to be coming under Israeli fire. In their search for the facts about their son’s shooting, they took on the state’s most powerful institution: the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF); and in doing so found themselves caught up in one of the world’s most complex and intractable conflicts.
BLUE PETER 50TH BIRTHDAY SPECIAL
BBC 1 Thursday 16th October, 5:15pm Alert Me
On its 50th birthday, Blue Peter hijacks BBC One for a special, one-off, live, extended edition of the show. Jam-packed with delights for fans, the centrepiece of the 50th birthday show is a unique tea party at Buckingham Palace. Her Majesty The Queen has invited current presenters, key production staff and a selection of the longest-serving presenters from each of the show’s five decades to the Palace to celebrate. Her Majesty also recognises four very special Blue Peter viewers, who are given the surprise of their lives when current Blue Peter presenters Helen Skelton, Joel Defries and Andy Akinwolere turn up and invite them to take tea with The Queen. They are presented with a Jubilee edition of the programme’s highest award, the Gold Blue Peter Badge.
UNREPORTED WORLD: South Africa: Body Parts for Sale
Channel 4, Friday 17th October, 7:35pm Alert me
Channel 4’s acclaimed foreign affairs strand returns with an eye-opening, and horrifying, investigation into “Muti Murder” in South Africa. While the country is modernising fast, Unreported World reveals how hundreds of people, including children, have been killed for body parts destined for the booming practise of traditional medicine and talks to a “healer” who claims he tortures and kills people for his trade.
HARRY HILL’S TV BURP
ITV 1, Saturday 18th October 6:55pm, Alert Me
The multi-award winning Harry Hill’s TV Burp will return for an eighth extended series this autumn. This year has already seen the show scoop three Bafta Awards (two UK and one US) pick up a Royal Television Society Award, and be nominated for the forthcoming National Television Awards. As it’s totally up-to-date there’s no way of telling what will feature, but all the major soaps are sure to be there, along with the big reality shows and whichever quirky telly gems catch Harry’s eagle eye. Who will join a very exclusive club and follow in the footsteps of Born Survivor: Bear Grylls and American Inventor as TV Burp cult classics? Not to mention which of our favourite soap stars will be on the receiving end of Harry’s trademark rib-ticklings? There’s only one way to find out….
FILM: AMELIE
Film Four, Saturday 18th October, 1:05am Alert Me
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s award-winning, Oscar-nominated comedy-romance stars the entrancing Audrey Tautou as the eponymous Amelie, a waitress in a Montmartre caf? whose mission in life is to ensure people’s happiness. But she herself is without love until she glimpses Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz), whose hobby is collecting discarded photo-booth pictures. She chases him with clues and messages, he pursues her and true love prevails in this fairy-tale filled with beautiful images and wonderful moments.
Pick of the Week: Monday 6th October
BBC 1, SUNSHINE, Tuesday 7th October,9pm
Steve Coogan (I’m Alan Partridge, Saxondale), Bernard Hill (Lord Of The Rings) and Lisa Millett (Drop Dead Gorgeous, Blackpool), star in Sunshine, a new, three-part drama co-written by Craig Cash and Phil Mealey, the team behind the BBC’s hit comedy Early Doors and co-writers of the Bafta award-winning The Royle Family – Queen Of Sheba. Sunshine is a bittersweet story of three generations of the Crosby family. Bob (Bing) Crosby grew up to be one of the most likeable people around, and his natural wit and optimism were infectious to those around him. The only negative trait in Bing’s life was his inability to resist gambling a few quid on the occasional bet.
BBC 3, JACK: A SOLDIER’S STORY, Tuesday 7th October, 9pm
When award-winning reporter Ben Anderson spent two months with a unit of Grenadier Guards in the Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan in 2007, he met some extraordinary men. One of them was Lance Corporal Jack Mizon, a brave 24-year-old who has seen and experienced more than most men of his age. On his journey, Ben accompanies Jack as he faces an eight-hour battle with the Taliban. This one-off documentary also follows Jack as he returns to the UK.
ITV 4, SANCTUARY, Wednesday 8th October, 9pm
Forensic psychiatrist Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) investigates a disturbing case in which two officers from his precinct are killed. Although they have a suspect in custody and the case is considered closed, something doesn’t add up for Zimmerman who takes it upon himself to investigate further and follow his keen instinct.While at the crime scene, he sees a young boy leaving the building in a rather unusual way. Will follows him through an alley, but his pursuit is abruptly halted when he is struck by a car, landing him in the hospital with an aching body and more questions than answers.
Film Four: AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, Thursday 9th October 9pm
Richard Gere plays Zack Mayo, a would-be navy pilot whose uptight attitude at training camp makes him the butt of drill sergeant Emil Foley’s (Oscar-winner Lou Gossett Jr) attentions. Similarly, Mayo’s relationship with Paula Pokrifi (Debra Winger) is equally compromised because of his indifference, until the unexpected and tragic suicide of his best friend Sid Worsley (David Keith) becomes the catalyst for both his professional and personal maturity.
Programme Information
BBC 2, THE AMERICAN FUTURE – A HISTORY: AMERICAN PLENTY, Friday 10th October, 9pm
Shot against the backdrop of the presidential campaign, Simon Schama travels through America to dig deep into the conflicts of its history to understand what is at stake right now. In the first episode, American Plenty, Simon explores how American optimism about the infinite possibilities of its land and resources is in danger of coming to a grinding halt. Nowhere is this more evident than the American West, which has always been a symbol of opportunity and freedom. Oil at $4 a gallon may be dominating the headlines, but here it’s the lack of water that’s an even bigger threat to the American future. The West is in the grip of a nine-year drought.
Pick of the Week: Monday 29th September
FILM: THE ICE STORM
Film Four, Monday 29th September, 9pm Alert Me
Ang Lee’s BAFTA and Cannes-winning drama follows the stories of two families, Ben and Elena Hood (Kevin Kline and Joan Allen) and Jim and Janey Carver (Jamey Sheridan and Sigourney Weaver) and their adolescent children, including Christina Ricci and Elijah Wood. Set in Connecticut in the early ’70s, it follows their casual affairs, breakdowns, juvenile sexual experimentation and bad parenting, all of which leads to a dramatic climax of dysfunction during an ice storm that blankets the area with a frozen glaze. Read Review…
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
BBC 2, Thursday 2nd October, 9:30pm Alert Me
Olivia Colman, Meera Syal, Aidan McArdle, Layton Williams, Samuel Burnett and Luke Ward-Wilkinson star in Beautiful People, a comic memoir based on the story of Simon Doonan, who was born in Reading but is now creative director of the swankiest store in New York, Barneys. Each week, the narrative moves between New York City, “now”, and Reading, “then”. In this first episode, Simon is creating a window in the New York store when his assistant, Sacha, knocks over a vase. Memories come flooding back of how he got the vase; of how his mum, Debbie, drank too much of his dad’s homemade wine; of how his sister, Ashlene, was desperate to “hang with the crew in the hood”; of how his mum’s blind best friend, Hayley, betrayed a trust; and of how he came to be wearing a dress that belonged to his best friend, Kylie’s, mum.
DAWN PORTER: FREE LOVER
Channel 4, Tuesday 30th September, 10pm Alert Me
Dawn Porter is 29, gorgeous and single. She’s had plenty of boyfriends, but no one she can imagine settling down with. Dawn is keen to look at the different ways it can be done. From polygamy and polyamory to mail order brides and geisha, in this new four-part series Dawn travels the world to look at the most extreme ways women find love, and live, with men. In this first episode, Dawn immerses herself in the world of polyamory, or free love. Her investigation takes in a free love school in California, and a polyamorous utopian commune in Germany.
HEROES- THE SECOND COMING: VOLUME 3
BBC 2, Wednesday 1st October, 9pm Alert Me
The hit American drama returns with revelations that redefine familiar characters and shake the series to its core. The first chapter of Volume 3 kicks off moments after shots ring out, as the shocking identity of Nathan’s assassin and the reasons why the Texas press conference had to be cut short are revealed. Peter and Matt are immediately thrown into unexpected and uncharted territory. With his powers partially restored, Sylar decides that a visit to Claire could give him a boost. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Hiro and Ando are charged with safeguarding a family secret that could split the planet apart. They discover that the path to a grim future starts with shady speedster Daphne. In New York City, thanks to Maya, Suresh makes a startling breakthrough that could change the world – or just destroy his. And who is Tracy Strauss?
NATURAL BORN SELLERS
ITV 1, Thursday 2nd October, 9pm Alert Me
They are pushy, they are ambitious and they think they can sell anything to anyone – whatever it takes, and whatever the cost. Eight salespeople have put their careers on hold, their reputations on the line, and are risking it all over six weeks for the ultimate buzz - to close the biggest deal of their lives. The harder each salesperson works, the more they earn, the more they earn, the greater the prize. Each week, for one of the bottom two performers it will be the end of the road, as their fate lies solely in the hands of that week’s highest grossing salesman. By the final week, three salespeople will be left but only one will be able to be ‘top dog’.
Pick of The Week: Monday 22nd September
THE SECRET MILLIONAIRE CHANGED MY LIFE
Channel 4, Tuesday 23rd September, 10pm Alert Me
Over three award-winning series, 19 of Britain’s richest people have taken on an extraordinary challenge: leaving behind their luxurious lives to live and work undercover in some of the most deprived parts of the country; each on a personal mission to give something back. Now a special one-off programme sees six of the millionaires return to find out the difference made by their donations. The programme is preceded by the last in the current series of The Secret Millionaire.
SUPERNANNY
Channel 4, Wednesday 24th September, 8pm Alert Me!
Naughty children beware! Supernanny is back! Her first port of call is Liverpool, home to the Hancox Smith family. Parents Jenny and Simon are fighting a losing battle with all three of their children. The baby of the family, Madison (3), still demands breast milk on tap, morning, noon and night. Cameron (8) and Flynn (5) have declared a state of constant war. They’ve been kicking, punching and swearing their way into mum and dad’s bad books for years. Sleepless and worn down, this family are at breaking point. Enter Jo Frost. Supernanny: Beyond the Naughty Step follows on E4.
LOST IN AUSTEN
Wednesday, 24th September 2008, 9pm Alert Me!
Darcy (Elliot Cowan) announces his engagement to Caroline Bingley (Christina Cole), leaving Amanda (Jemima Rooper) feeling utterly bereft. This is coupled with the news that Bingley (Tom Mison) has run off with Lydia (Perdita Weeks). This is all wrong - in the book Lydia runs away with Wickham.
The party rush to London where Bingley and Lydia are found staying at an inn in Hammersmith. In an attempt to defend the honour of his daughter, Mr Bennet (Hugh Bonneville) charges Bingley to a duel and is left critically injured.
As panic breaks out with the need to find Mr Bennet a doctor, Amanda rushes through a door and finds herself back in modern day London.
ANN WIDDECOMBE VERSUS THE DIET INDUSTRY
Thursday, 25th September 2008, 9pm Alert Me!
Britons spend billions of pounds a year on trying to slim but studies have shown that more than four out of five people who start a diet end up piling the weight back on – and some put on even more besides.
Ann Widdecombe is no stranger to trying to lose weight, but she is adamant the best way to shift the pounds and stay slim is to eat less and move more.
She tells the programme: “At London fashion week…the girls with bodies to diet for are everywhere. But let’s face it – 99 per cent of us have no chance of looking like this.
“So why do we spend billions of pounds a year trying to achieve it? Why do we put our health, happiness and sense of well being at risk?
“And why – when it all fails – do we try it all over again?
“Never before has the nation been so obsessed by slimming. It’s the one subject guaranteed to keep tills ringing, and the sales of glossy magazines soaring.
“The message is loud and clear - to fit in, we must be thin.”
TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE
Film Four, Friday 26th September, 9pm, Alert Me!
Trey Parker’s film (co-written with Matt Stone) moves on from the animation of South Park to marionette puppets playing characters who save the world. Team America: World Police, led by Spottswoode (voiced by Daran Norris), recruit actor Gary Johnston (Trey Parker) to join their team and use his thespian skills to infiltrate a terrorist group led by North Korean leader Kim Jong II. Can TAWP save the world without destroying national monuments, killing innocent bystanders and getting distracted by the chance of kinky sex?
Pick of the Week: Monday 15th September
AMAZON
BBC 2 Mon 15th Sept 9pm Alert Me
Bruce Parry (Tribe) returns for his most ambitious series yet as he journeys from the source of the mighty Amazon river to its mouth in Amazon. His epic journey takes him along the world’s greatest river, starting high up on the Peruvian mountain Nevado Mismi. He travels through the world’s largest forest – the most bio-diverse habitat on the planet, and home to some of the last uncontacted tribes left on Earth – and finally to the port of Belem, where the tiny trickle that started as glacial melt water finally meets the Atlantic Ocean.
THE FAMILY
Channel 4, Wed 17th Sept, 9pm Alert Me
A British family opens its doors to viewers in a major new eight-part observational series, documenting universal themes of family life. For nearly four months the Hughes family was filmed around the clock: dad Simon, 44; mum Jane, about to turn 40, and their four children: Jessica, 22, who lives nearby with her fianc? Pat and 10 month-old baby Ruby; Emily, 19; Charlotte, 17; and the youngest, 14-year-old Tom. In this week’s episode, Jane’s 40th birthday is approaching and the tension is building in the Hughes household.
NO HEROICS
ITV 2, Thurs 18th Sept, 10:30PM Alert Me
This six-part series is brand new for 2008 and sees a group of British off-duty superheroes living their day to day life, which for supposed saviours of the world is actually rather normal – as they just can’t be arsed. Instead this group of b-listers would rather get drunk in their local superheroes-only pub The Fortress and commiserate at their lack of superiority.
RICKY GERVAIS FAME
Channel 4, Fri 19th Sept, 10pm Alert Me
Ricky Gervais’s stand-up show tackles the weird world of fame, blurring the line between the acceptable and the outrageous, with a balancing act that had audiences across the country in stitches in what was the fastest-selling live comedy tour in UK history.
ALIEN
Film Four, Sat 20th Sept, 9pm Alert Me
One of cinema’s all-time sci-fi horror classics, Ridley Scott’s film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt and Ian Holm as the crew of the Nostromo, a deep-space tow-craft that intercepts a distress call from a deserted planet. On landing, they find a crashed spaceship and some strange eggs. And then John Hurt leans over one… Spellbinding, edge-of-seat horror follows as the alien begins to hunt down the crew until there’s just one survivor (and a cat) left to face its terrible appetite.
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