MEDIA
To celebrate the event viewers have been polled on which two contestants they would like to see return in a one-off, head to head — battle to the death. My vote went to Brandreth, but the public chose two teenagers.
I The Cool: Report 7—7.30pm. Roger Cook - the man on the telly, returns for more bruising encounters and staged strongarm interviews. Arfur Daley types tremble in their shoes.
I Brookside (C4) 8—8.30pm. Terry discovers he is not the father of Daniel and, naturally enough, brings the subject up with Sue. Meanwhile, the rest ofthe cast have to face up to the task of producing an extra episode every week. ‘Oh hey, Ralph, we’re gonna have ter appear three times a bleedin‘ week. that‘s criminal that is.‘
I Up to Something (BBC1)8.3o—9pm. Rather ominously the publicity material claims the six bright young comics will ‘generate laughter by any means possible' watch out for their hired death squads in your area.
I Byline: Vote lor BON(BBC1)
9.30-10. 10pm. Mark Lawson, a seasoned political observer in America and India casts an eye over the workings of a British by-election in the first of this short season of documentaries.
I The Comic Strip Presents: Eat the Rich (C4) 10—1.3Spm. A waiter in a posh French restaurant decides. like many a waiter before him. that the time has come to strike back at the rich gits who dine there. However, this one is no mere pipe dreamer and sets off on a campaign of terror against his wealthy patrons. TV premiere of the full length feature film from the Comic Strip team.
I The Dazzling image (C4) 11.40pm—12.45am. A unique showcase for new British film-makers is provided courtesy of Channel 4's Film and Video department, the Arts Council and the British Film Institute. Tonight four short films, each with an original approach to narrative storytelling, will receive their first showing.
TUESDAY 3
I Sumo (C4) 6-6.30pm. A look back at the heavy days of last autumn when the gargantuan wrestlers tried to oust each
other from the ring.
I World Cup 90 (Scottish or BBCl) 6.40—9pm. Scottish and the beeb have yet to carve up the televising of the final stages of the tournament. so this first Semi-final can and indeed will be shown by either of them.
I Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment 8.30—10pm. lf Scottish opt not to show tonight‘s football, this will be on instead. Let’s hope they opt for tonight’s game eh? I Design Classics: The Telephone Box (BBCZ) 8.30—9pm. A celebration ofthe old red boxes which are apparently victims of ‘fast changing social behaviour‘ — hence the smell.
I Cracks in the Monolith (C4) 9—10pm. Way before glasnosr was even a twinkle in Gorby’s eye. multi-millionaire George Soros was trying his hardest to open up chinks in the Eastern Bloc by giving out money to those showing a tendency towards individual endeavour. The cameras follow Soros' success in Hungary and his disappointments in the Soviet Union.
I One on Two: Optical Allusions 11.45-11.55pm. John Hegley recounts how he fell for his optician, in ten minutes.
I Jazz on a Summer’s llight: Beyond Ei floco (C4) The first in a season ofjazz documentaries this two part-film, which takes its title from Sydney’s legendary jazz cellar, follows the fortunes of the music in Oz.
WEDNESDAY 4
I Scottish Question Time Live From the Commons 2.20—3.55pm. The once a month chance for MP5 to put Malcy on the spot and air some of their main grievances, assuming of course they have some.
I Leonlyne (C4) 6—6.30pm. Richard Goodwin's ‘lifetime obsession‘ with canal boats culminates in this epic 2000 mile journey, undertaken in a boat he hot-wired in Tcddington. Though how he became obsessed with canal boats may make a far more interesting programme. I Vlorid Cup 90 (Scottish or BBCl) 6.40—9pm. Again, the second semi-final may be shown by either channel, at the time of going to press. Of course bythis stage you may not be apoplectic with excitement at the prospect of viewing another football match from Italy.
I Europe Express (C4) 8.30-9pm. Second series of on-the-road. if not on-the-spot, reports from major European cities. 1t promises to look at the lives of ordinary Europeans. Well, they‘re not looking at
I Frontiers: Big Brother’s Bargaln(BBC1) 9.30—10.20pm. Nigel Hamilton journeys along a border of great beauty and examines the relationship between the Finns and their near-neighbours in the Soviet Union.
I The Gravy Train (C4) 10—1 1pm. Part two of Malcolm Bradbury’s comedy based on bureaucratic bungling and corruption in Brussels.
I Billy the Fish (C4) 11—1 1.05pm. The final episode and possibly the final nail in Fulchester United’s coffin, or will the amazing fish-like keeper save the day?
I The Bill Moyers interview (BBCZ) 11.15—11.45pm. Tonght David Puttnam gets the treatment from Bill ‘top American joumo‘ Moyers.
I Stories in the Night (Scottish) 2.15—2.45am. Clairvoyance and telepathy are the subjects of tonight‘s programme. I knew they were going to do a programme on that.
THURSDAY 5
I Oil "to LliiB (BBCZ) 8.30—9pm. How much ofthe dosh spent at Henley goes back into the sport and can pregnancy bc a boon for female athletes, are two ofthe questions of sport addressed tonight.
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\.r.. ~ / g 4.. I MISClanh(C4)9L10.55pm. A young Russian exile in Berlin is suddenly confronted with his past when he spies a photo belonging to a fellow resident at his tawdry boarding house. I Matchmaker, Matchmaker (BBC2) 9.30—10.20pm. The bizarre trade ofSakac Shimada, a J apancsc businessman, who is doing very nicely thank you in Manila where he arranges brides for fellow countrymen from rural areas ofJapan.
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I Faces of War: Vietnam Alter the Fire (C4)
10.55pm—lam. Apparently this was the first major documentary to look at Vietnam after the Americans pulled out in 1975. The legacy of the war still encroaches on everyday life with an estimated 26 million bomb craters and the lingering effects of agent Orange. Strangely, it is narrated by Eartha Kitt. though this didn't step it from picking up the Best Documentary Made forTV award at the 1990 New York Documentary Festival.
I The Cult Movie: The Blues Brothers (Scottish) 12.05—2.30am. So. you don't like the Sledgehammer humour, or the gratuitous destruction of half of Chicago's cop cars — the music is superb.
FRIDAY 6
I World DJ Mixing Championships (C4) 6—6.30pm. Now then, now then. things were not like this in my day. Nosirree, wow. These kids can really mix up some sounds, as it were. Goodness gracious. The culmination of a competition which 4000 would-be champion DJs from all overthc world entered.
I Broolrside (C4) 8—8.30pm. New Friday slot for those loveablc Liverpudlians. I lntemationai Athletics (C4) 8.55—10pm. Live coverage of the Edinburgh Grand Prix meeting. featuring Linford Christie. Brian Whittle and Tom McKcan among the top-quality field. I Homelands: Egypt- Naguib Mahlouz (BC2) 9.30—10.20pm. The winner ofthe Nobel Prize for literature in 1988 talks about his country and his life. The programme also examines the banning of his book Children ofGebeIawi in 1959, which remains unpublished and has led some fundamentalists to bracket him with Salman Rushdie, not a very safe literary pigeon-hole to be in. I ChBBI'S (C4) 10—10.30pm. New, later slot for the popular bar-room comedy series. Tonight Carla magnanimously agrees to split her husband‘s bequest of $100 with another widow, until she finds out someone left a few noughts off the end ofthe cheque. I Godzilla v Gigan(C4)12.55—1.25am. Tosh and nonsense from Toho as large creatures fight it out for global supremacy. Best to be forewarned though, in case you switch on and think you‘re watching Rugby League after a dodgy pint.
SATURDAY 7 '
I The Saint (Scottish) 8—9.55pm. Simon Dutton stars as the Scottish football pundit crossing swords with his cockney counterpart. Oh. sorry, poor hagiology. in fact he stars as the Saint, a typical suave do-gooder. An updated rehash ofthe series that gave Roger Moore‘s eyebrows their first big break. This time he'sin Australia.
I Miss Marple: Murder at the Vicarage (BBCl) 8—9.40pm. Joan Hickson investigates the homicidal tendencies of yet another quaint little English village.
The List 29 June— lZJuly 199085