LISTINGS TELEVISION
TELEVISION
A selection oi television highlights,
listed by day, in chronological order.
glevision listings compiled by Eddie b.
FRIDAY 30
I We South (BBC 1) 8—8.50pm. Fraser is left holding a baby which is discovered abandoned in his police partner's car in this Canadian comedy drama.
I Bah C. Nesoitt 9—9.30pm. (BBCI) The Nesbitts find themselves the subject of a Social Services investigation after Gash and Burney try to get themselves taken into care.
I Ellen (Channel 4) 9—9.3()pm. Second series of the yuppie American sitcom starring comedian Ellen DeGeneres as a dippy single woman who is perpetually juggling friends. flatmates and short-lived lovers. In tonight’s episode, a spot of intellectual self-improvement does wonders for her love life.
I The All New Alexei Sayle Show 2 (BBC2) 9.30—IOpm. More bizarre comedy from the baldy Scouser with guest stars Jenny Agutter and Peter CapaIdi.
I Friends (Channel 4) 9.30—10pm. New Year is coming and the group of friends decide the celebrations are going to be a ‘no dates’ affair.
I Frasier (Channel 4) lO-lO.30pm. Completing the Friday evening trio of imported American sitcoms is a new series of the Cheers spin-off about a radio show psychologist.
I last Bites (Scottish) 10.30pm—12.35am. Tom Berenger is a priest with police and Mafia connections who sets out to protect a young woman from the Mob, but finds himself falling in love with her instead.
I Drop the Dead Donkey (Channel 4) l0.30—l 1.05pm. Money is causing intemai tensions in the newsroom as Gus looks like making a million from company profits while staff are sacked.
I The Vibe (BBC2) 11.45pm—12. 15am. Inane quiz game based on the contestants' knowledge of black musical styles. hosted by Lisa I‘Anson.
SATURDAY 1
I Birds oi a Feather (BBC I) 8.15-8.45pm. More Essex humour from Sharon and Tracey in this repeated sitcom. I Tour de France (Channel 4) 8.30—9pm. Start of Channel 4's daily coverage of the most famous bike race in the world. The opening stage is a 7km sprint which was won last year by Olympic champion Chris Boardman. I Victoria Wood - Sold out (Scottish) 8.45—9.50pm. One-woman comedy show recorded on a recent tour. plus a few ill- advised songs. I Rock Family Trees (BBC2) 9-9.50pm. ‘The Birmingham Beat‘ is the subject of tonight’s journey through rock's genealogy with the best-forgotten bands including The Move. Moody Blues and Electric Light Orchestra. I Outrageous Fortune (Channel 4) 9—10.55pm. Bette Midler and Shelley Long are actresses who become embroiled in a KGB spy plot in this averager entertaining comedy thriller. I Chicago Hope (BBCI) 9.05—9.50pm. A flute player is rushed to the hospital minus a finger after it's bitten off by a psychotic man — who has swallowed the digit. I Dirty Harry (Scottish) 10.05pm-midnight. First outing for Clint Eastwood as Inspector Harry Callahan. the maverick cop with a very big gun. A psychopathic sniper murders a young girl and holds San Francisco to ransom. ‘Feeling lucky?’ etc.
I Seinield (BBC2) l0.25—l0.50pm. Jerry plays a practical joke which causes George immense problems with his new girlfriend in this ultra-wry American comedy show.
I Desperately Seeking Susan (BBC2) IO.50pm—l2.35am. Madonna‘s best effort in the movies. in which she plays a wild
I Nelson’s Column (BBCl ) 8.3(i-9piii. John Gordon-Sinclair is the ace reporter in this newspaper sitcom. In tonight‘s episode his girlfriend gets a scoop picture but the paper's photographer feels threatened.
I The Net (BBC2) 8.30-9pni. Home , shopping channels are already big in
child who leads bored housewife Rosanna
Arquette astray.
I Takeover TV 10.55—1 l.4()pm. Last of the series of amateur video clips that tried. and failed. to simulate the access television experience.
SUNDAY 2
I Fawlty Towers (BBC I) 7.30—8. 10pm. Basil becomes convinced a male guest has smuggled a woman into his room.
I Wycliile (Scottish) 8—‘me. Jack Shepherd cleans up another murder case in the Comish seaside town. when a man dies of shotgun wounds after a family feud.
g” a. h. t a. v I The Seven Wonders oi the World (Channel 4) 8-9pm. John Romers continues his travels. visiting the ilanging Gardens of Babylon and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
I The Vet (BBC I) 8. l()—9pm. Last episode of the over-wrought country vet drama in which Jennifer experiences her
' first Iambing season.
I The knock (Scottish) ‘)—l()pm. More Customs and Excise action as the team discovers a Triad smuggling ring in this repeated drama serial.
I Homicide (Channel 4) 9—i()pm. With a new series of the fast-paced cop show with the jumpy camera angles starting tomorrow. an episode from the last run is repeated.
I Oliver’s Travels (BBC I) 9. 15— 1 0.05pm. Alan Bates and Sinead Cusack are under fire on a Scottish hillside as Alan Plater‘s comedy thriller nears its conclusion.
I The Clive James Show (Scottish) I0—IO.45pm. More popular culture displayed and satirised by the twinkly- eyed Aussie.
I The Rainbow (Channel 4) lOpm—midnight. Ken Russell's well- conceived filtn version of DH. Lawrence’s novel about the coming of age of a farmer’s daughter (Sammi Davis) with Amanda Donohoe as her governess and mentor.
I Heart of the Matter (BBC l ) 10.35—11.10pm. Joan Bakewell investigates the ten-year-old state lottery in Iowa which is now having to spend some of its profits on helping fortner winners rebuild their wrecked lives. Is this the fate of our National Lottery. she asks?
MONDAY 3
I ILD. (Scottish) 7—7.30pm. Sally Gray presents the fast-moving entertainments uide. I Short Stories (Channel 4) 8—8.3()pm. Fearless Fred's Wall of Death is a fairground attraction which no longer attracts the crowds like it used to. This documentary film looks at Fred‘s attempts to spice up the act by finding a young woman to sit on the handlebars. Twelve candidates answer the ad but do any of them have the nerve?
America and growing here —- now the consumer urge is filtering onto the
Internet. I Desmond’s (Channel 4) 8.3()---‘)pm.
Gloria has fallen in love with an artist and Desmond is looking for a few painting tips.
I The Outer Limits (BBC2) t) naspm. A disillusioned priest is given healing powers by aliens. but their motives are not benign. in another story frotn this sci-ii serial.
I Bramwell (Scottish) ‘) 10pm Last in the entertaining serial about a pioneering Victorian woman doctor. iiieanoi ~s arranged romance will) the Major looks doomed until a concussed patient brings them together.
I The llick (Channel 4) ‘)--I(lpitl. Last in
the repeated documentary series about
police officers in at Leeds nick.
I The Postman Always Rings Twice (Scottish) l().45pm~-l.()5atn. Hollywood's second adaptation of the James .\I. Cain novel with Jack Nicholson as a driller who has a passionate affair with a gas station owner‘s wife before being persuaded to murder him.
I Live issue (Scottish) 7.30- Spin. New series of moral debates presented by Lorraine Kelly. 'l‘onight she travels round Scotland to discuss the subject of death. I Citizen ZDDD 8--8.3()pm. The 1995 instalment of the documentary project which follows a group of youngsters from their birth in 1982 (Channel 4‘s launch year) to the end of the millennium. As they enter adolescence. there are the first
' signs of sexual interest. with peer groups taking the place of family as the dominant influence on their lives.
I Witness (Channel 4) ‘)-~ l()pm. Film about the True Love Waits movement in the southern states of America which has been set up to police teenagers' virginity until marriage. After taking the pledge.
the young people are subjected to a
vigilant watch on their thoughts and actions.
I Barnardo’s Children (BBC 1) 9.3()-I().2()pm. First in a three-part bistoty ofthe Barnardo‘s children homes which
i were set up l5(i years ago. More than
3 300.000 people have become part of the
‘largest family in the world‘ since the first orphanage opened in 1866.
I The Handmaid’s Tale (Channel 4) lOptii—12.()5am. The star cast and production team (script by Harold Pinter)
‘ tnade a hash of adapting Margaret Atwood's acclaimed novel about a Big
Brother future in which a handful of
women bear children for the sterile upper classes.
I Chart Bite (Scottish) 7—7.3()pm. Jazzy
; B and Jaki Graham are amongst the ‘ guests. plus the Scottish charts. ' I A Touch of Frost (Scottish) 8—10pm. A
rapist is on the loose in Frost‘s patch in this repeated detective drama serial starring David Jason.
I lonely Planet (Channel 4) 8.30—9pm.
The backpackers” guide to the world tonight visits a country and western
festival in New South Wales, before heading for Tasmania.
j I First Sex (Channel 4) ‘)~l()pm. The
women‘s issue magazine asks why such a
taboo surrounds menstruation and show s a short film called Blue Blood about an
Elizabethan royal discovering tampons for the first little.
I Blackadder Goes Forth (BBC l) 9.3()--l()pm. Lord Hasheart. the World
War I heartthrob. drops in on Blackadder‘s squalid trench.
I ER. (Channel 4) l()—l().55pm. Carter is beginning to impress the new BR. boss. while Dr Ross has to perform an embarrassing test on a group of Catholic
school girls.
‘ THURSDAY 6
I Scottish Passport to Europe (Scottish) 7—7.3()pm. Compilation of holiday reports from the last series of the travel show presented by Bryan Burnett and Katie Wood.
I The Big Story (Scottish) 7.30~8pm. New series of the pacey documentary series presented by Dermot Murnaghan. I The Mind Field (Channel 4) S—S.3()pnt. l)r Kwatnc McKenzie continues his investigation into the psychology of everyday life by testing the theory that clinically depressed people have a (Lore realistic world view than the rest of us.
I Heartbeat (Scottish) 8.30—9.3(thn. When a woman takes an overdose. Nick investigates her claim that her husband has been wrongly itnprisoned in this repeated police drama.
I Men Behaving Badly (BBCI)
0.30 -I()pm. Tony is convinced his new specs will decrease his pulling power. while Gary nurses Dorothy after an appendix operation.
I Searching (Scottish) ‘).3()—l()pm. Low- grade sitcom set in a therapeutic centre for neurotic women.
I True Stories (Channel 4) i).3()—l().30pm. ‘Deadly Experiments' reveals how human guinea pigs were used in Government-funded radiation tests and uncovers a series of serious breaches of science's code of ethics.
I Inside Story (BBCI) lt)—lt).55pm. Documentary about how an innovative court system set up in Miami to deal with domestic violence. which has increased the number of abused women willing to press charges.
I A Game oi Two Halves (Scottish) I().3()-l lprn. Andy Goram and Tommy Burns join the regulars for the comedy football quiz.
I Walk on the Wild Side (Channel 4)
I l.3()pm - 12.05am. The repeated youth crime documentary series continues with ‘Scar Boys‘ about the victims and perpetrators of knife attacks.
FRIDAY 7
‘ I Tomorrow's World (BBC 1) 7.30—8pm. Special edition celebrating 30 years of
boffin-tastic programming which looks forward to another three decades of scientific breakthroughs.
I Due South (BBC) ) 8—8.50pm. Canadian mounlie Fraser tries to catch a gang of Santa Claus bankrobbers on Christmas live.
I Rab C. llesbitt (BBC2) 9—9.3()pm. More (iovan humour from Rab and family in this repeated episode from the second
. series.
I Ellen (Channel 4) ‘)—().3()pm. Ellen tries to help an irritating friend move house — as far away as possible. but her plan backfires.
I Friends (Channel 4) 9.30-IOpm. Chandler's flamboyant mother comes to
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