LISTINGS TELEVISION
‘3'.
I Beyond Ealing: Two-Way Stretch (Channel4) 10—1 1 .40pm. Another vintage British comedy. with Peter Sellers as the leader of a group of criminals. breaking out ofjail. committing a daringjewel robbery and returning to prison to establish an unassailable alibi. A terrific cast includes Lionel Jeffries. Maurice Denham. Irene Handl. Liz Fraser. Beryl Reid and the late great Wilfred Hyde White.
WEDNESDAY 22
I Excess (BBCl ) 7.35—8.20pm. Richard Jobson presents another show from the Glasgow Mayfest.
I Blrthrights (BBC2) 7.40—8. 10pm. ‘What does it mean to be British?‘ asks this series of documentaries exploring culture. identity and citizenship from a black perspective. This edition looks at the Satanic Verses controversy in Bradford.
I Billy Graham- Man With AMission (BBC1)8.()5—8.35pm. On the eve ofthe evangelist‘s visit to Britain. some ofthe converts he made in Glasgow 36 years ago discuss their experiences.
I The Beer Hunter (Channel 4) 9.30—10pm. Michael Jackson visits California in search of an American beer that isn‘t thin and bland. He isn‘t disappointed.
I The Paper Man (BBC2) 925—1020me Our hero Cromwell needs respectability. so launches a quality Sunday paper. but soon gets into trouble for interfering with editorial policy. Don‘t you get the feeling that this all sounds eerily familiar?
I Inside Story: The Missing (BBCl) 9.30—1().2()pm. An emotional portrait of Kuwait in the aftermath of war seen through the eyes of Kuwaiti and Palestinian families.
Iiosie (Channel 4) 10.30—1 1pm. Josie Lawrence continues her melange of
humour. song. parody and impersonation.
this week posing as East End gangstress
RitaTufnell. 3 I Manhattan Cable (.Channel 4) ; 11-1 1 .45pm. Another trawl through the
scum and detritus of New York‘s public
access cable TV network.
‘1 I Jana-Aranya-The Middleman (Channel
: Calcutta through the ideas of a young graduate entering the amoral and corrupt
4) 11.45pm—2. 15am. The Satyajit Ray season continues with this powerful and
perceptive portrait ofcontemporary
world of small business
I Masquerade (Scottish) 11pm—12.40am. Rob Lowe stars as smooth yachtsman Tim . Whalan ingratiating himself into the Hampton Islands social set. and setting hearts a-flutter. Part social satire. part high-rent soap. but intermittently entertaining. , IManne(BBC2) 11pm—12.30am. Burt f Reynolds is the burnt-out CIA hit man of ' the title, hiding up in a small-town and . becoming involved in a campaign to save 3 the town from a‘para-military millionaire i looking for a headquarters. An uneven but original thriller. l
THURSDAY 23
I The Time Tunnel (Channel 4) 6—7pm. Hang on a minute. our heroes manage to end up in the middle of the Trojan War. which I thought was a figment of Homer's imagination. Ofcourse. Tony comes up with the bright idea of building a wooden horse.
I Relatively Speaking (BBC2) 7.3(l-8pm. Mavis Nicholson speaks to ballerina Dame Alicia Markova. and her showgirl sister Doris Barry.
I Floyd On 01: The Outback (BBC2) 8—8.30pm. Floyd becomes a jolly swagman. manages to avoid getting bitten by a snake. and cooks a steak by wrapping it round an exhaust pipe and driving around for an hour or two.
I On The Line (BBC2) 8.30—9pm. Mark Whittaker reports on the political and social importance of cricket in the West Indies. where it goes beyond a mere game to become a symbol ofblack liberation.
I Poetry In Motion (Channel 4) 9.30—10pm. Alan Bennett introducesa repeat run of poetry appreciation programmes. this week focusing on Louis MaeNeice.
I Divorce: Past Loves, Past Lives (BBC2) 9.35—10. 15pm. Roger Lee Brown. vicar and historian. introduces an irreverent journey through the history ofBritish divorce laws. with rare archive film. and personal stories.
I The Nature 01 the Beast (Channel 4) 10—11.50pm. A story of a Lancashire mill-town under threat from redundancies and a mysterious creature prowling the moors. An uneasy mixture of grim realism and fantasy. directed by Franco Rosso (not the guy in Status Quo).
I NB (Scottish) 10.45—1 1 . 15pm. Arts and entertainments previewed by Allan Campbell. Janice Forsyth and Bryan Burnett.
I Scottish Books (Scottish) 11.15-11.45pm. Jenny Brown introduces the book review programme. covering Andrew Sinclair‘s The Far Corners OfIhe Earth, and Alison Gold‘s The Clairvoyanr.
FRIDAY 24
I Short Stories: a Pair Of One (Channel 4) 8.30—9pm. The intriguing story ofGreta and Freda Chaplin. identical twins who dress alike. speak in unison and walk in step. They‘ve been doing it for 48 years and can‘t be separated.
I The Real McCoy (BBC2) 9—9.30pm. More sketches. skits and songs from the young black performers.
I A Perfect Hero (Scottish) 9— l()pm. Not-so-perfect now. Hugh Fleming languishes in an RAF hospital with terrible injuries.
I Cheers (Channel 4) 9—9.30pm. Woody‘s chilli causes a stir at the Boston bar.
I The Sharp End (BBCl ) 9.30—10.2(lpm. Gwen Taylor stars as the no-nonsense debt collector. this week having trouble with her teenage daughter. who has suffered one banal Yorkshire cliche too many. poor girl.
I Roseanne (Channel 4) l()—1().3()pm. Becky decides she has had enough. and leaves home to live with Aunt Jackie.
IAbsqutely (Channel 4) 10.30-1 1 .(JSpm. Frank Hovis. TV‘s most disgusting man is the highlight of this episode ofthe anarchic comedy series. See preview.
I Friday Al The Dome (Channel 4)
llpm—12. 15am. Andrew Roachford previews his upcoming second album.
while Aaron Neville and Dr John duet on
a wild creole version of ‘Danny Boy‘.
I Hunger(BBC2) ll.20pm—l.15am. First TV showing for a Scandinavian 605 film about a starving young writer forced to write TV list . . . er hold on, applying fora string of unsuitable jobs. and hallucinating due to gradual starvation. Bleak and unsettling. but overlong. l
SATURDAY 25
I Sound Stun: Beyond The Maypole (Channel 4) 7—8pm. In a welcome role reversal. Zimbabwean star Biggie Tembo goes in search of traditional English music. He encounters The Barley Works. The Oyster Band and Billy Bragg among others.
I thirtysomething (Channel 4) 9—10pm. More caring and sharing experiences from the young professionals.
I The Wolvis Family (BBC2) 9.35—1().05pm. The fourth episode ofthe family counselling comedy series.
I The World OlApu (Channel 4) 1()pm—12am. The concluding part ofthe Satyajit Ray trilogy shows the hero Apu grown to manhood.
I Paramount City (880) 10.25—1 1 .(l5pm. Double-act Curtis and Ishmael introduce a new series of the comedy and music show. See panel.
I Video Diaries: Au Bevoir Stepney (BBC2)
10.25—11.25pm. Loveable Cockneys from Stepney decide to start a new life on a remote farmhouse in Northern France. The scarcity ofjellied eels proves to be the least of their problems.
SUNDAY 26
I A Day Out With Dana (Scottish) 6.40—7.10pm. A new series in which the Irish singer goes for a stroll. this week visiting a schooner on the Firth ofClyde. I Tonight At 8.30: Still Lite (BBCI) 8.35—9.05pm. Joan Collins stars in another in the series of adaptations ofNoel Coward plays. this one being the play that would become Brief Encounter.
I Vamp (BBC2) 9.50—1 1.25pm. Grace Jones plays a nightclub dancer with vampiric tendencies in this admirably silly horror/thriller. A bunch ofcollege guys get more than they bargained for when they engage her to perform at their fraternity party.
I Spitting Image (Scottish) 10.05-10.35pm. Wonderful puppets and weak scripts from the crude satire team. I Film 0n Four: The Dressmaker(Channel 4) 1().1()pm—ll.5()pm. John McGrath adapted Beryl Bainbridge‘s tense novel about pent-up emotions. starring Jane Horrocks (recently seen in Life Is Sweet) as Rita. a young girl strictly raised by her two aunts (Billie Whitelaw andJoan Plowright).
MONDAY 27
,/
I Creature Comforts (Channel 4) 7—8pm. Nick Park‘s Oscar-winning animation gets a welcome repeat together with his longer filmA Grand Day Out.
I Dragnet(BBC1 ) 925-1 1 . 15pm. Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd star in the not-so-loving retread of the classic 50s TV series. with Aykroyd amusing enough as the ever-so-proper Sergeant. but the plot a preposterous excuse for contrived gags.
I ENG (Channel4) 1()pm—1 1pm. Electronic News Gathering from the thrill-a-minute Canadian newsroom drama serial.-
I Scottish Women (Scottish) 10.45—11.15pm. Sheena McDonald introduces another topical discussion with 100 guests providing the opinions.
TUESDAY 28
I Listening Eye (Channel 4) 5.30—6pm. The award-winning magazine programme for the deaf. presented by Rachell Bastikar and Clark Denmark. I Eikon (Scottish) 6.30—7pm. More religious. social and moral issuestaekled in an innovative fashion. I Chalkiace (BBC2) 8.30—9pm. Further goings-on at David Lloyd George Comprehensive in the school drama series. I All Good Things (BBCl ) 9.30—10.20pm. Warren Clarke stars in this comedy/drama series playing husband to Brenda Blethyn. I A Secret World Of Sex (BBC2) 9.5(l—1().2()pm. The harrowing personal stories continue in Steve Humphries‘ enlightening documentary series. this week looking at the scourge of sexually-transmitted disease. I Beyond Ealing: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (Channel 4) 10—11.50pm. A hapless farce that attempts to graft zany New York Jewish humour and Stephen Sondheim songs onto a daft Ancient Rome storyline. Directed by Richard Lester. who really has made a lot of mediocre films.
WEDNESDAY 29
I Despatches (Channel 4) 8.30—10pm. The first showing of uncensored film emerging from Saddam Hussein‘s Iraq.
I Fire! (Scottish) 9—9.30pm. First in a seven-part ‘fly-on-the-wall‘ documentary. following firefighters going about theirjob in Hackney.
I The Paper Man (BBC2)9.25—10.15pm. Tribulations for media tycoon Philip Cromwell (John Bach).
I The Beerhunter (Channel 4) 9.30—10pm. Ale-related adventures with professional guzzler Michael Jackson.
Iiosie (Channel 4) 1030—1 1pm. Fun. frolics and generally easy-going entertainment from Ms Lawrence. ifnot a lot of laughs.
I Manhattan Cable (Channel 4) 11—11.45pm. A sordid trail ofpublic access TV in New York has still to uncover anything as awesomely awful asJim Davidson 's Big Break.
THURSDAY 30
I LA Law (Scottish) 9—10pm. Stuart Markowitz makes a pass at Gwen. his new secretary. and the firm are asked to represent a client who has contracted lung cancer from passive smoking.
I Clive James: A Postcard From Sydney (BBCl)9.25—l(). 15pm. Witty comments on Australian society from
native-speaking Clive.
I Poetry In Motion 9.30—10pm. Alan Bennett investigates the appeal ofthe late Philip Larkin. a bit ofan old grouch. ifhis poems are anything to go by.
I Divorce (BBC2) 9.35—10. 15pm. The documentary series looking at the implications and effects ofmarriage breakdowns on families and children as ‘ well as the main parties.
I Mona Lisa (Channel 4) Ill—l 1.55pm. Neil Jordan’s excellent thriller has Bob lloskins as the jailbird with a heart ofgold falling for high-class hooker Cathy Tyson. Needless to say gangland boss Michael (Taine does not approve. The sleazy backdrop of hoods. pimps and underage junkie hookers is powerfully conveyed. I NB (Scottish) 10.45—1 1.15. The ' threesome go out once more in search of i arts events around the country.
The List 17—30May 199185