MEDIA LIST
worked out, offering a few barbs of wisdom on the illusory nature of romance. (1985)
IThe Verdict (BBCl) l.35am-3.40am. If you‘re still sober, this is one to savour. David Mamet has produced a fast-paced and suspenseful screenplay with Paul Newman as the washed-up lawyer given one final chance with a sordid medical case, in this effective indictment of the US legal system.
EW YEAR’S DAY _ . ,\
I Out of Africa (BBCI) 5.45—7.35pm. ‘I had a farm in Africa'. Another movie, another accent for our Meryl (Danish this time) in Sydney Pollack's lavish evocation
of the African outback. Aptly described as a Safari Park movie, it has just the kind of soporific plot and stunning visuals for a New Year's Day film. (1985)
I Hannah and Her Sisters(BBC2) 1().40pm—12.25am. An achingly funny, insightful and well cast celebration of some surprisingly upbeat romantic perambulations within a family circle as only Woody knows how. (1986)
TUESDAY 2
_.
I Round Midnight (C4) 10. 15pm-12.50am. Late 1950s Paris, and a young French jazz fan plays willing minder to bebop legend Dale Turner, engagingly played by real life maestro Gordon, lest he drink his weary body into the grave (might make you wish you‘d had similar protection on llogmanay). Relentlesslytouching character study with some fine music. (1986)
LISTINGS
FRIDAY 22
I Wogan (BBCI ) 7—7.40pm. With Dudley Moore among the guests.
I Australian Beautiful Gardens (C4) 9.30-10pm. The first of three programmes looks at Eryldene, New South Wales, the garden of Prof Eben Gowrie Waterhouse, the international expert on camellias.
I A Day to Remember (BBCZ) 9.30—10.30pm. Subtitled A Celebration of Sir Robin Day, the documentary features classic moments from the indomitable would-be music-hall comedian's 30-year career.
I The Dame Edna Satellite Experience (Scottish) 10.20—11.20pm. The Dame gets deregulated, and various stellar celebs try on the old wig and specs to keep up with the demand. Plus: Sir Les Patterson‘s disgraceful Yehudi Menuhin interview.
SATURDAY 23
IThe Batman (C4) 10.20—10.50am. A further dose for Batfreaks. in the shape of fifteen black and white episodes from 1943, with Lewis Wilson as Bruce Wayne and Douglas Croft as Robin.
I A Rose forWlnter (BBCZ) 3.50—4.45pm. An adaptation of Laurie Lee‘s book, set in post-Civil War Andalusia, with locals playing most of the parts.
I Cirque Imaginaire (C4) 4.05-5.05pm. Since it began, in 1971 , Cirque Imaginaire has discarded more and more of the traditional circus trappings. Today. it is just Victoria Chaplin and J ean~Baptiste Thierree, who have distilled the essence of the circus in their show.
I The Disney Christmas Special (Scottish) 5.15—6.45pm. Wouldn't be the same without it. Hosted by Chris Tarrant and featuring Tom Jones and a preview of EuroDisneyland.
I Cliff Richard -The Event (Scottish)
7. 15—8. 15pm. A celebration of 30 years in showbusiness. Need we say more?
I Revolutionll (BBC2) 7.35—8.30pm. Another chance to see the excellent National Theatre of Brent lampooning the French Revolution, at or near many ofthe locations where important events took place.
I The Late Show Annual (BBCZ) 8.30—10.30pm. The Late Show startcdthe year with Salman Rushdie as a studio guest and ended it with the Stone Roses’ embarrassingly short TV debut. lfthey‘ve any nerve. they‘ll show both.
I Shalom Joan Collins (C4) 9—10. 10pm. In this 4Play drama, Miriam, a middle-aged dental assistant, tells her mother ofgiving Joan Collins a lift that afternoon, and inviting her for tea the following day. Mamma decides it has to be a big affair. .. I Class of '69 (C4) 1030-1 1 .30pm. When Ruby Wax opened the invitation to her high school reunion, her very next act must have been to phone up and reserve a camera crew to record the occasion. Unless, as one vaguely suspects, she set the whole thing up herself.
I Music of the Night: The Songs olAndrew Lloyd Webber (Scottish) 11pm-12.05am. Shocker! No Sarah Brightman, as far as we can tell. Fans get Jose Carreras instead.
CHRISTMAS EVE
I Fish People (C4) l—2pm. Broadcaster Ray Gosling casts an eye over the many and varied people in Britain who love and breed fish.
I Joy to the World (BBCI) 1.05—2pm. The Queen and The Princess Royal attend a big shindig which aims to raise £1 million for the disadvantaged at home and abroad.
I Cinderella (C4) 4.10—5.55pm. The characters in French choreographer Maguy Marin‘s version of the fairy tale all
wear masks that make them look like 19th-century dolls — or creepy types from
Gilliam‘s Brazil. A ballet that‘s intended to show the child‘s point of view. it played three weeks in New York in 1987 and all around Europe.
I Putting on his Top Hat (BBC2) 4.15—5.05pm. A tribute to Fred Astaire. The second part is shown tomorrow.
I A Clydeside Cami (BBC1)4.40-5.()5pm. The premiere of the seasonal film made by the great comedian Chic Murray in 1984. just over a year before the man‘s death.
I The Spirit of Christmas (BBCI) 5.30—6.30pm. Glasgow‘s George Square provides a backdrop for song and readings. many made from around the country by TV celebs and shown on large screens in the square. Pop along, or stay warm at home.
I To Hell With the Devil (C4) 8—9pm. Stryper may look like your standard heavy metal band. but they‘ve created a storm in America since becoming Born Again in 1983. This programme follows them, and the fans whose lives they have changed. Guest appearance by the Rev ‘Bikcr' James.
I Relatively Speaking (BBCZ) 9. 10—1 1pm. Nigel Hawthorne, Imogen Stubbs. Michael Maloney and Gwen Watford star in one of Alan Ayckbourn‘s earliest stage productions.
IViva Leone(BBC2)11—ll.40pm. Documentary on the spaghetti western pioneer. who died this year. Tributes come from collaborators like Clint Eastwood and Ennio Morricone.
CHRISTMAS DAY
I The Other Side of Christmas (Scottish) l().15am—12.25pm. Background noise for that hectic Christmas morning is provided by a ‘live spectacular‘ for children. hosted by Anneka Rice from London‘s Docklands Arena. I'leartstring-twanging quotient probably very high.
I The BEG (Scottish) 3. lS—Spm. Or ‘Big Friendly Giant'. Three million pounds has gone into adapting the Roald Dahl story to the screen. It had better be good.
I Aida at the Met (BBCZ) 5—7.35pm. Suitably lavish production. with Placido Domingo and five horses, forthe Metropolitan Opera‘s most popular opera.
I The Little Sweep (C4) 6—7pm. Benjamin Britten‘s short opera for young people.
I Circus of the Sun ( C4) 7—8pm. This French-Canadian troupe started in 1984. influenced by the teamwork ofChinese circus. and have won international awards since then. as well as Elton John‘s compliment that they were ‘like Disneyland in a tent‘.
I Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery (BBCZ) 7.50—9.40pm. Seemingly the Beeb‘s non-Hollywood biggie for Christmas night.
I In Sickness and in Health (BBCl) 9.40—10. lllpm. Out of all the festive editions of sitcoms this year. we can only hope that Alfwill most succinctly articulate the nation‘s secret feelings.
I La Hativitie du Seigneur(C4) 11.55pm—1am. A chance for quiet reflection after the rigours of the day; Olivier Messiaen‘s work for solo organ is played in Norwich Cathedral.
I The Prince's Trust '88 Rock Gala (C4) l—2.35am. A fistful of stars at the Albert Hall. with Eric Clapton. Phil Collins, Elton John, Mark Knopfler, Wet Wet Wet with Joe Cocker. Rick Astley. . . you get the picture. ‘Sledgehammer‘ has Peter Gabriel in fine, thrusting form.
BOXING DAY
I Wodehouse on Broadway(BBC2) 4.30—6pm. A ‘musical memoir‘ ofthe comedies worked on by PG Wodehouse between the years 1915 and 1926.
I Danny the Champion of the World (Scottish) 5. 10—7pm. More Roald Dahl, but a live-action film this time.
I Swan Lake (C4) 5.45-8pm. Natalia Makarova choreographed the London Festival Ballet in this speedily-paced
I The Love of Three Oranges (BBCZ) 7.55—9.55pm. Richard Jones‘ inventive. eccentric and. we're assured. funny production of the Prokofiev opera - get your scratch‘n‘sniff card in the Christmas Listener.
I The Fabulous Singlettes (C4) 9—10pm. Between their comedy routines Edinburgh Festival hits. the Singlettes. recreate the music ofThe Supremes. The Shangri-Las. The Crystals and more.
I Short and Curlies((‘4)10—1().15pm. Eleven ll-minute films commissioned by C4 and shown under the generic title borrowed from Mike Leigh‘s film. which will be shown a week tonight. Nightly.
I Rotten Apples (C4) 10. 15—1 1 . 15pm. An unconventional black comedy, in that it's set in an RUC station on the border between Ulster and Eire. A detective sergeant is convinced the man being held on a shoplifting charge is the informant who misled him. andthrows the station into chaos in his attempts to extract a confession.
WEDNESDAY 27
I Fame and Misfortune (BBCI) 9.3()—l()am. As the debate about The Delinquents bores the pants offevcryone in sight. Kylie can be seen here asthe sister of a piano-loving teenager. First of I The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (BBCZ) 3.55—4.55pm. The Royal Institution is an institution. nurturing an interest in science in young people. This year's lecturer is Prof Charles Taylor. who attempts to answer the question ‘What is music'?‘. I The Making of a Legend (BBCZ) 5.35—7.40pm. With Gone With the Wind being shown in two parts tomorrow, Christopher Plummer tells the story behind the most successful movie ofits time. I Rarg (C4) 6.3(i—7pm. An animated fantasy by Tony Collingwood. about a perfect land where happiness evaporates when the inhabitants realise they are all in a dream by a man called Edwin Barnes. To save the land of Rarg they must stop him waking up when his alarm clock rings. . .. I Till We Meet Again (Scottish) 9— 10pm. 10.20-1 1.20pm. Five-part adaptation of the Judith Krantz blockbuster spanning two world wars. Money. ballgowns. that sort ofthing. I Heartbreak House (C4)9—1 1.20pm. Rex ilarrison stars in George Bernard Shaw‘s 1920 comedy of manners. I Ball-trap on the com Sauvage(BBC1) 9.3()—1().55pm. No. I don't know what it means either. but this one-off comedy takes as its subject a group of Brits who converge on a camping site in Brittany for their annual hols. Written by Andrew Davies. author of A Very Peculiar Practice. I Hallway to Paradise (C4) I l .4()pm—12.4()am. Tonight: Love and Money, Irish rockers The Black Velvet Band. soul legend Sam Dees. ice hockey and escapology.
THURSDAY 28
I A Decade of Sport (BBCI) 1.35—3.50pm. Desmond Lynam plucks ten great sporting moments from the ‘80s.
I Alice (C4) 1.40-2pm. The first full-length film by the ingenious and frightening Czech puppet animator Jan Svankmajer is a menacing and hallucinatory version of Lewis Carroll‘s tale. Split into six daily parts, the film can also be seen whole on Ne'er Day.
I Tom Jones Live - At This Moment (C4) 6—7pm. Sex god gets on down for the faithful at the Ilammersmith Odeon.
I Mission Juno (Scottish) 7-8pm. We follow four hopefuls through the intensive
60 The List 22 December 1989— 11 January 1990