LISTINGS TELEVISION
TELEVISION mam-
A selection of television highlights, listed by day, in chronological order. Television Listings compiled by Tom Lappin.
FRIDAY 13
I Europe Express (Channel 4) 8.30—9pm. llalfquirky/halfserious reporting from the continental team.
I Casualty (BBCl ) 9.3()—1().2()pm. Another bloody episode from Holby General. with a guest appearance from the excellent Tom Georgeson. last seen as a sinister M15 man in GBH.
I Dream On (Channel 4) ii}— 10.35pm. More TV-related adventures ofhapless publisher Martin. in the raunchy sitcom. I Omnibus: Peter Greenaway(BBC1) 1020—] l . 10pm. A new series opens with a profile ofone of Britain‘s leading film directors. who makes few concessions to commercial considerations. This first full-length examination of his work ties in with the release of his latest film
Pros pero '5 Books .
I Packet Of Three (Channel 4)
10.30-1 1.15pm. Jenny Eclair. Frank Skinner and Henry Normal. introduce guests. the Reduced Shakespeare Company.
I Festival Focus (Scottish)
1 1.1(l—l 1.40pm. Nothing to do withthat Edinburgh nonsense. this is a concert recorded at Queen‘s University last year featuring Texas new country singer Lyle Lovett. who blends aspects ofcountry. jazz and folk into his offbeat songs.
SATURDAY 14
I The Big 8 (Channel 4) 6.30—7pm. Wheelchair basketball featuring semi-final action from Sheffield's Pond's Forge arena.
I The Generation Game (BBCI) 6.35-7.3(ipm. ‘Nice to see you. to see you. . .‘ well not that great actually. Brucie returns with a new series of the ludicrously popular game-show. Cuddly toy. anyone? I The World This Week (Channel 4) 7—8pm. Sheena McDonald and Nik Gowing present up~to~the-minute news and views from around the world.
I A Night In Japan (Channel 4) 8pm—6am. Ten hours of programming to please Nipponophiles everywhere. as a part of the Japan Festival that seems to have the entire country in its grip at the moment. Channel 4‘s epic offering includes a Japanese Blind Date-style game with plenty of opportunities for humiliation. a documentary on social issues affecting Japan. Pete McCarthy presenting As It Happens live on the streets of Tokyo and Nicholas Parsons introducing a version of Japan‘s top-rated quiz game. Plus much much more. as they always say down Osaka way.
I Birds OM Feather(BBC1)8. lS—8.45pm. Linda Robson and Pauline Quirke star as the Chigwell sisters Tracey and Sharon. Sharon bumps into an old flame. and tries to rekindle the passion.
I The House Of Eilolt (BBC1)8—8.55pm. The third episode of the costume drama sees the Eliott sisters attempting to fight offthe claims of an illegitimate half-brother. Ooh what a bastard!
IThe Pop Show (BBCZ) 8.35—10.35pm. A two-hour special from the clever-dicks at The Late Show. this previews a major new Pop Art retrospective at London’s Royal Academy. and includes newly shot interviews and archive material on artists including Lichtenstein. Warhol. Oldenburg and Hockney. To conclude. there is a complete screening of Ken Russell‘s 1962 documentary Pop Goes The Easel '
I Sportscene (BBC1)9.50pm—12.30am. Dougie Donnelly introduces highlights of one of the big Premier League clashes.
I The Blues Brothers (Scottish)
10.55pm— 1 .20am. The film that launched a thousand Tartan Special ads. Despite that. it‘s worth your attention as it‘sa hilarious comedy chase movie with great music. Dan Aykroyd and the late great John Belushi star. ‘Madcap‘ is the appropriate adjective here. lam advised.
SUNDAY 15
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I Equinox: Junk Mail (Channel 4) 7—8pm. - American writer Erik Larson trailed his junk mail back to its source and discovered an intelligence network with surprising knowledge about his private life. What do the direct mail companies have in store for us in Britain?
-I Trainer (BBCI) 8. 15—9.05pm. The plush racecourse drama continues with problems for Mike Hardy (Mark Greenstreet) when he is caught up in a doping scandal.
I Timewatch Special: LBJ-Beautiful Texas (BBCZ) 8.35—9.35pm. A major reassessment of the Texan Presidentstill best-known for his part in the Vietnam conflict and the chant ‘Hey, hey. LBJ, How many kids did you kill today?’ Using archive film and interviews. this documentary traces the origins of a political maverick. See panel.
I Screen One: Filipino Oreamglrls(BBC1) 9.25—11pm. On paper this looks decidedly dodgy. Charlie Drake. Bill Maynard and Geoffrey Hutchins star as three Welsh would-be Romeos flying off to the Philippines in search of mail-order brides. A script by Andrew Davies (House Of Cards, Mother Love. A Very Peculiar Practice) however, promises much more than menopausal fantasies.
I Povier (BBCZ) 10—11.55pm. Richard Gere stars in this tired political drama asa cynical PR consultant who is forced to re-examine his scruples when he is employed in an Ohio election race. A strong supporting cast including Denzel Washington. Julie Christie and Gene Hackman fails to raise this above the humdrum.
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I Film On Four The Dive (Channel 4) 10-11.50pm. Not about a seedy nightclub. but a rather weird Anglo-Norwegian adventure tale about two divers (Bjorn Nordqvist and Eindride Eidsvold) who dive to 110 metres on a routine mission to re-open a blocked valve. Something goes wrong. however. and the two men are trapped below the surface. It‘s an understated thriller with fine characterisation.
I The South Bank Shotv (Scottish) 10.20-11.20pm. Melvyn Bragg returns with the arts series. starting promisingly with a profile of Private Eye. interviewing past and present contributors, including Richard lngrams, Barry Humphries. Peter Cook. John Wells and Nigel Dempstcr.
MONDAY 16
I Standing Room Only (BBC2) 7.15—7.45pm. An excellent idea for a new series looking at football from an irreverent fanzine perspective. Presented by Simon O‘Brien (remember Damon in Brookside), it starts off looking at an experimental game with changed rules. and a typical armchair spectating session when O‘Brien joins Glenn Hoddle on the sofa to watch a match with the aid of aslab of tinnies and a Chinese takeaway. See panel
I Cine Memo: Getting Away (BBCZ) 7.45—8.30pm. More archive footage giving an insight into life before the war. tonight following the rise of the motor car.
I Inherit The Wind (BBCZ) 8.30—10pm. A TV premiere for a remake of the classic Stanley Kramer movie. It’s based on a real-life case brought against a Tennessee schoolteacher in 1925 for teaching Darwin‘s theory of evolution. Kirk Douglas and Jason Robards play the opposing attorneys.
I The ‘Savage’ Strikes Back: Follothhe Rainbow (Channel 4) 9—10pm. The final programme in the series offers the Ho tribe in southern Bihar (in India). whose lands and culture are in danger ofbeing swept away by the building of two massive dams. The construction work has been funded by the World Bank, whose role has become increasingly controversial.
I Harry Enfieid's Television Programme (BBCZ) 10—10.30pm. A repeat runfor Harry Enfield’s uneven first series featuring a host of characters, including The Scousers and The Slobs.
I Vietnam Cinema: The Wild Field (Channel4) llpm—12.50am. A prize-winning film from director Nguyen Hong Sen, exploring the effects of the war on a North Vietnamese peasant couple who live in the Mekong Delta. and run errands for the Viet Cong.
I Sport In Ouestlon (Scottish) 11.30pm-12.30am. Archie MacPherson introduces a discussion on the international football scene with guests
Billy McNeill and Ray Clemence.
TUESDAY 17
I Lawyers (Channel 4) 8.3(i—9pm. A new six-part series taking a fly-on-the-wall approach to covering the varied working lives of a group of lawyers and their clients. Tonight. solicitor Geoffrey Forrester is called out at 10.30pm to attend to a client apprehended inside a factory. and Barry Spcker helps the family ofa woman found dead in a Portuguese holiday home.
I 2Poinl4 Children ( BBCI ) 8.3(l—9pm. Early episodes suggest this is a feeble attempt to translate Roseanne fora British audience. We suggest you stick to the original.
I Titmuss Regained (Scottish) 9-— 10pm. in the final episode of the John Mortimer trilogy. Leslie Titmuss finds his public and private lives in jeopardy.
I Rear Window: Imagined Communities (Channel 4) 9—9.45pm. The arts and culture series examines the nation state. using Benedict Anderson‘s Imagined Communities book.
I Bottom (BBC’Z) 9—9.3()pm. What do you expect from Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson'.’ Subtlety"? From the synopsis. this looks like it was written over a drunken weekend. The lads play a couple of unemployed dweebs on the scrapheap. Mayall reprising his moronic. pretentious virgin. and Edmondson playing an amoral small-time entrepreneur. The first episode seesthem experimenting with pheromones in an attempt to get a sex life.
I The Dreaded Lurgi: Death Is An Optional Extra (BBCZ) 9.30—10. lilpm. An admirably informal title for a new medical documentary series. opening with an investigation of the American system of financing health care.
I The Secret Of My Success ( B 13(‘1 )
9.30—1 1.20pm. Michael J. Fox stars in a lightweight comedy about a Country boy making it big in his uncle‘s New York multi-national. It‘s a lazy idea with one or two decent lines. and yes. Mikey does get the girl in the end. (No need to spoil iifor everyone eLre — Ed. )
I The Game Of Love (Channel 4) 10—11.50pm. A British premiere for this lightweight comedy-drama about the lives and loves of a group of middle~aged people who meet in a singles bar run by Ken thiriysomeihing Olin. One of those embarrassing films where. hey. everyone finds out about themselves before the end credits mercifully roll.
I Legacy (Scottish) 10.40—11.4(lpm. Michael Wood continues his trawl ofthe world's greatest civilisations by looking at the Maya and Aztec peoples ofCentral America.
WEDNESDAY 18
I slxthirtysomething (Channel 4) 6.30—7pm. Ann Bryson and Maria McErlane introduce the irreverent arts and entertainment strand.
The List 13— 26 September l99l 65
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