Picks of the week

Posted by Remote Control on April 13, 2008 6:52 PM | Permalink

For the first time in quite a while, I'm looking forward to several programmes on telly this week. One thing is for sure, the Sky+ will be rather busy ensuring the new arrivals this week are safely recorded for future viewing.

Here are my picks of the week:

Sunday

Bremner, Bird and Fortune (C4, 7pm): Perhaps the only programme which can make the London Mayoral race interesting for anyone outside London. The satirical trio are always amusing, and have always retained a broadsheet feel - meaning that when they take the mickey out of someone, the politician normally knows they are in trouble.

Headcases (ITV1, 10pm): At the more tabloid end of the satirical market is Headcases, which is Spitting Images meets Toy Story - ie CGI Spitting Image. The first one, which I missed, was last week, but the clips on Youtube (see below) seem to make it essential viewing. Top marks to ITV for keeping going with its push for satirical comedy in the Sunday 10pm slot after the rather mixed bag that was NewsKnight.

Monday

Waking the Dead (BBC1, 9pm): I leap between really liking Waking the Dead and wishing it would stop getting so wrapped up lead character Boyd's complex profile and instead just focus on good plots. But there's no doubting it is one of the best dramas the BBC makes at present. Tonight, the DNA of a woman caught on CCTV camera defending her daughter from a mugger is found to match that discovered at a murder scene in 1990. Meanwhile, Boyd's emotions are challenged when there's news about his son who's been missing for seven years. It concludes at 9pm on Tuesday.

To see a clip from Monday's show, click here. TO read Emma Johnson's interview with Waking the Dead star Sue Johnston, click here.

Tuesday:
Age of Terror (BBC 2, 9pm): We've had loads of terror-related documentaries in the last few years, but few have done much more than just scratch the surface and rehash what we all know: The world's a dangerous place. From the limited info the BBC has put out on Age of Terror, this four-parter is going to be different.

Peter Taylor explores the impact and legacy of four major acts of terror from the last 30 years. Terror International tells the extraordinary story of the 1976 hijacking of a plane by Palestinians in alliance with German Marxist revolutionaries. The historic crisis ends with a dramatic raid on Entebbe airport to rescue the hostages from Idi Amin's Uganda. Featuring moving interviews with hostages, former members of the terrorist groups and Israeli commandos.

Wednesday:

The Apprentice (BBC 1 9pm) Think about it. You're supposedly one of the brightest young things to come through The Apprentice selection process. Do you really give Sir Alan the ammunition in the boardroom by saying: "I only believe in winning, I cannot be a, I can't even say the word." What word? Muppet? Moran? Pillac? Oh, that's right, loser. That's exactly what Ian said and when he ballsed up the challenge, he got fired. Still can't say the word loser apparently.

Also can't pay the bills because he's a near-bankrupt. Hey ho. Tonight, Sir Alan's band of of P45 fodder become photographers at a museum. Simple enough? You'd think so, but then again, like me, you're not blessed with a special incompetence gene which makes for compelling viewing. And then there's the BBC 2 spinoff, The Apprentice: You're Fired (BBC 2, 10pm). Adrian Chiles is excellent at bringing the rejects back into the real world.

Watch Ian dig a big hole:

Thursday:

The Graham Norton Show (BBC 2, 9pm): Much as the BBC likes to herald him as the saviour of the musical, what with I'd do Anything and Can You Solve...., Graham Norton's real strength is his brand of humour.

In a way, his move of the BBC should have been a disaster - after all, would Auntie really accept his brand of humour? Allow someone so risque to be so... risque to get away with it again and again? But he seems to have really settled in way to life on BBC 2 and his show, while not quite as over-the-line as his excursions on Channel 4, is still excellent value for money.

It works because he carefully picks his guests to ensure that not only does he get big names, but big names that join in and can have a laugh. And when he occasionally gets a dud guest, it's the guest who doesn't get involved, and not Norton, who looks the fool. Them and the unwitting members of the public. Norton has a constant supply of star-stuck muggles just waiting for their 15 minutes of fame.

A clip from the last series can be found here.

FRIDAY:

Have I Got News For You (BBC 1, 9pm): The best thing that ever happened to Have I Got New For You was binning off Angus Deayton - that and showing the out-take clip at the end. Yes it might be a bit contrived, but the weekly news quiz is still second to none when it comes to holding people to account, in the funniest way possible.

Its success hinges on how well Paul Merton, one of the resident team captains, reacts to the guest presenter, and how well the guest presenter responds. It's Jack Dee this week, so it should be good.

The last time Jack was guest presenter can be found here.