MEDIA
lISTINGS
All programme times are subject to change due to the extensive coverage of the Gull War. '
FRIDAY 22
I 1 Believe In You (Channel 4)
2.30—4. 15pm. This probation officer drama is in the social realism tradition of films like The Blue Lamp (ie realistic for the quaint early 50s) and features Cecil Parker as an old-fashioned version of the Hackney social worker struggling to cope with his charges. ()ne of the miscreants is teenager Joan Collins. so you can tell how old this one is.
I Sumo (Channel 4) 5.3()-—6pm. More lumbering lumps of lard from the Far East. Makes a change from Scotland‘s equivalents. Jocky Wilson and Derek Johnstone. i suppose.
I Surprise Surprise (Scottish) 8—9pm. Lorra lorra nausea as Cilla hotfoots it across from the Blind Date studios. and returns with a new series ofthe programme that has come closest to matching the BBC‘s Hearts ()fGo/d in the emetic stakes.
I Travelog (Channel 4) 8.3il—9pm. Susan Marling heads for the Canadian wilderness in her ongoing attempt to escape forever from presenter Robert Elms.
I Cheers (Channel 4) 9-9.3llpm. Sam becomes embroiled in a dispute with the owner of the upstairs restaurant, and the regulars start a book on how long it will take before he loses his temper.
I The Boys From The Bush (BBCI) 9.30-1i).2()pm. Reg and Dennis stumble on plans for a million dollar industrial espionage deal. and the two main suspects are the typical Aussies Bruce and Sydney. I Roseanne (Channel 4) l()—l().3()pm. Dan (the very wonderful John Goodman) lends his pal Arnie a large sum ofmoney. much to Roseanne’s annoyance.
I Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Channel 4) 10.3(l—11pm. Clive Anderson is joined by Mike McShane. Josie Lawrence. Sandi Toksvig and. a new one on me. Dcnalda Williams
I The Funny Farm (Scottish)
11.10—1 1 .40pm. Guest Paul Merton certainly lives up to the adjective inthe programme title as he regularly proves on Whose Line Is ltArtyway. Other performers include Philip McGrade. the Comedy Store Players. and the liumpff Family.
SATURDAY 23 _ —
j 22 l J.-" . .
I it Should Happen To You (Channel 4) l—2.35pm. Judy llolliday plays a daffy model (we call them bimbos nowadays. but they were more charitable in 1954) who achieves overnight fame by plastering her name on billboards all over New York. She rapidly falls for Jack Lemmon who makes his screen debut as a filmmaker in this amusing. iflightweight, romantic comedy.
I Columho: Murder. Smoke And Shadows (Scottish) 7.40—9.30pm. Return ofthe man in the mac. a kind of cross between Inspector Morse and a wino. in the first of three TV movies. A corpse is washed up on Malibu Beach. with the only clue being a book found nearby.
I The Land 01 Europe: trio and Heino(Channei 4) 8-9pm. lrja and Heino are a middle-aged Finnish couple living 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland. This film follows their struggles to maintain their reindeer farm in the face of violent seasonal changes (cold. very cold, and bloody freezing).
I Push The Boat Out (BBCI)
9.25— 10.05pm. A new music series filmed on the Renfrew Ferry at last year's Mayfest. See panel.
I 4-Play: Itch (Channel 4) 10—1 1 .05pm. The first in a new series ofinnovative video dramas features Alexei Sayle as a compulsive hitch-hiker. Unfortunately, while heading for Colchester. he gets dropped off at an out-of-the-way roundabout. and fails to get picked up— for over a year.
I The Godfather (BBCZ) 10pm— 12.50am. With number three opening this week. BBC2 offers the first in Coppola‘s saga with plenty of tips for mobsters who want to get ahead (preferably a horse‘s).
Marlon Brando is Don Corleone presiding I
over a diverse family. Al Pacino isthe cerebral ultimate heir Michael. with James Caan as the ill-fated hothead Sonny.
IThe FullWax (BBCl) 11.05—11.4(lpm. In which Ruby is joined by fellow American comedienne/loudmouth Joan Rivers. She also gets to go on a blind date and go ice-skating with Christopher ‘Plod‘ Dean. I After Dark (Channel 4) 11.35pm—7. More topical open-ended debate with six guests sipping the Yugoslavian white and trying not to be too rude to each other.
ITwin Peaks (BBCZ) 12.5()—1.4()am. Repeated from previous Tuesday. just in case you still haven‘t heard whodunnit. Mysterious Facts From Twin Peaks #1: Eric ‘Leo Johnson‘ Da Re is the son ofthe casting director.
SUNDAY 24
I Viv On Sunday (Scottish) 3—4pm. Viv Lumsden presents another in the chatshow programme with a difference. I Scotsport (Scottish) 4—5 .OSpm. Featuring top ice-hockey action from Scotland and soccer from England. Given the current state of the weather down south. it might be a problem tellingthe difference.
I Citizen 2000 (Channel 4). 4.30—5pm. The series following the progress of children born (with Channel 4) in 1982 returns. This film tracks the progress of Alexander from his comfortable home in Scotland to the rigours ofthe posh Dragon School in Oxford.
I Scottish Eye (Channel 4) 5—5 .30pm. The investigative series looks at how Scotland is becoming a major training ground for British and NATO armed forces. The programme raises the question of whether there has been adequate public debate about the implications of frequent military
I Songs For Oscar (Scottish) 6-6.30pm. Another chance to see the programme about the recording of the tribute album to photographer Oscar Manaroli. Performers include Deacon Blue. Wet Wet Wet and Hue And Cry.
I Trouble In Mind (Scottish)7.15-7.45pm. What is it about psychiatrists? First Shrinks. now this, a rather dire-looking sitcom about a successful head doctor called Adam Charlesworth. Expect lots of cheap Freudian jokes.
I Halted Hollywood (BBC2) 8.05-8.55pm. A new series that seeks to reveal the mysteries of what only showbiz hacks call Tinseltown. Producer Nicolas Kent attempts to get inside the wheeler~dea1ing and artifice of a multi-billion dollar industry.
I Screen Two: A Private Lite (BBCZ) 9—10.35pm. Andrew Davies’ love story is set in South Africa in 1950. at the beginning of apartheid. A young white policeman falls in love with a coloured waitress. and the couple are forced to face up to the harsh laws that attempt to segregate the population.
I The Media Show: How The West Was Lost (Channel 4) 9—9.45pm. With Kevin Costner‘s Dances With Wolves receiving twelve Oscar nominations. the Media Show takes a topical look at how Hollywood is changing its approach to the Red Indian question. The film includes interviews with Costner. and with members of the Red Indian community to gauge their reaction to this rathertardy change of heart.
I The Hotel New Hampshire (Channel 4) 9.45-11.50pm. Tony Richardson tries to pack in as much as possible ofJohn lrving‘s helter-skelter novel. and the result is something of a disappointment. with the tragic bits — rape. suicide and incest — getting much the same treatment as the comedy. Rob Lowe is a little too clean-cut as the boy with the hots for his sister Jodie Foster although Nastassja Kinski is surprisingly good as Susie the Bear.
I Twelve Angry Men (BBCZ) 10.45pm—12. 15am. The first in ashort Sidney Lumet season is his classic courtroom psychological thriller. A jury in a murder case seems convinced ofthe defendant‘s guilt — except for one man who has his doubts. Henry Fonda stars as Juror 8.
MONDAY 25
I Three Smart Girls (Channel 4) 2.15—3.50pm. Deanna Durbin's first feature is a musical comedy about the attempts of three sisters to rescue their father from the clutches cfaseheming gold-digger.
I Roseanne (Channel 4) 6—6.30pm. Another repeat from the classic first series. in this episode. Roseanne‘s parents arrive on an unexpected visit. and receive plenty of imaginative invective from their daughter.
I Shrinks (Scottish) 9—10pm. Bill Paterson stars in another episode of the drama series about six psychiatrists and their patients at the Maximillian Clinic.
I The Manageress (Channel 4) 10—1 ipm. Cherie Lunghi‘s boys are invited to appear on The Match. an excuse to wheel on special guest. sports presenter Jim Rosenthal.
I Sport In duestlon (Scottish)
10.45—1 1.45pm. More topical sporting debate hosted by Archie MacPherson. An impressive panel comprises English soccer star Gary Lineker. former champion jockey John Francome. llugh Mcllvanney ofthe Observer and Allan Alstead ofthe Scottish Sports Council.
I Fathom (Scottish) 1.05—3am. A light-hearted Bond parody stars Raquel Welch as an amateur sky-diver who turns into a secret agent in an attempt to recover a nuclear trigger mechanism. Bubbly and witty with a faintly ludicrous plot. '
TUESDAY 26
I The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (Channel 4) 2—3.30pm. Not about a chap in a hooded parka with a fondness for diesel locos. Claude ‘Casablanca' Rains plays a Dutch clerk who accidentally causes the death of his boss. impersonates the dead man. and flees to Paris with his stolen money.
I Boom (Channel 4) 5—5.3llpm. The magazine programme for children and young people with special needs visits a youth theatre group. Chicken Shed.
I Same Difference (Channel 4) 5.3(l-6pm. The programme which takes a topical look at life for Britain‘s 5 million disabled people starts a new series. presented by Libby Cross.
I The Black Bag: Frontier Justice (Channel 4) 8—8.30pm. The investigative documentary team looks at how far airlines go to avoid paying fines for passengers travelling to Britain without valid documentation.
I J'Accuse: Benjamin Britten (Channel 4) 9—9.30pm. Opera critic Tom Sutcliffe gets stuck into the reputation ofcomposer Benjamin Britten. claiming that he fell victim to a craving for respectability and was ‘emotionally anorexic‘. Britten.of course. has been dead for over a decade. so won‘t be defending himself.
The List 22 February— 7 March 199169