TELEVISION LISTINGS
WEDNESDAY 31 i
I Oprah Winlrey(Channel 4) SOS—(1pm. ()prah talks to Kurt Russell and the stars of Bur/(draft. tlte new fire-fighting movie. I Rough Guide to Careers ( BBCS) (v.45—".25plit. A repeated series ofthe progranttne which makes finding ajob sottnd like a piece of cake so long as youdo w hat the presenters say . Today they take a look at jobs in the medicine and Itealtlt professions.
I Reaching For The Skies: Guest ForSpeed (BBCZ ) SOS—9pm. The pursuit of speed iii the air is the topic of tonight'sprogramme. from (ilen Curtiss' 4o mplt in 190‘). tothc breaking of the sound barrier.
I DUI: Women Like That (Channel 4)
9— ltlpm. Iiight older lesbiarts featured in an earlier film. Women Like L's . speak about how the film affected their livcsand people's reactions to them.
I Screenplay: Murder In Oakland ( BBCZ) ‘)~lll.2(lpm. The real-life story ofCaptain Jim I lahn and his ten-man homicide team in the murder capital ofthe L'SA (artd there's some tottgh competition ).
Writer director Karl Francis gained unprecedented access to case files to present a dramatisatlon. using actors. real officers and civilians. of some of the incidents that have occurred in the city over the last year.
I Clive James— Postcard From London (BBC! ) 9.30- lfLZtlpm. The man whose ego is as polished as his head remembers the London of 1%] . when he arrived off the boat. tugging a cardboard suitcase. IIe tracks down his old haunts. and old mates. including Michael Cairtc. Victoria Wood and Peter Cook.
I Just For Laughs (Channel4)
ll.ll5rl 1.35pm. Muriel ‘Truthful' Gray and .limmy Mulvillc track down sonte of the world's unfunnies‘t comedians w ho have gathered in Montreal to bore each other to tears. Well that's the impression you get from the programmes so far. May be the presence of Jeremy l Iardy cart perk things up.
THURSDAY 1
I Scottish Frontiers On Medicine (Scottish)
()._‘\(I—7plll. Kaye Adants presentsthe
series investigating the treatments and
techniques that keep Scottish medicine in
the forefront of medical research.
I The Wheel Of Fortune (Scottish)
SSH-9pm. The quiz show . hosted by
Nicky Campbell and the woman with the
teeth. Carol Stnillie. Tonight's show isa
weddings special. It you think you could
do better as a contestant in the nextseries.
write to the show at ScottishTelevision.
(ilasgow (i3 3I’R.
I Rising Damp (Channel 4)S.3()—t)pm.
Rigsby (Leonard Rossiter) continues tobe
as odious as cy er. In this episode he goes
on a 48-hour last.
I On The Line t BBCZ) H.30—9pm. Asthe
Women's ()pen starts at Woburn. the
investigatiy c sports series looks at radical
moves to bring sexual equality tothe
world of golf.
I The Travel Show ( BBC: ) 9—9.3(lpm. The
holiday guide hosted by PennyJunor
today looks at the Douro Valley in
Portugal. and northern Norfolk which
isn'tquiteascxciting.
I The Play On One: Gas And Candles
(BBCI)‘).3(l—lll.3llpm.Jimmy
Mc(iovern's black comedy stars Edna
Dore (best-know n for her role as Mo in
[z'usrentfers ) and Bert Parnaby' as a pair of ()APs exploiting a siege situation to avenge the plight of pensioners. See panel I Prick Up Your Ears (Channel 4) ltlpm—midnight. Stephen Frears directs the Joe ()rton biopic to perfection. helped immensely by Alan Bennett's sublime script. that renders the drabness ofearly nos Britain superbly. (iary ()ldman is excellent as ()rton. whose fame is fatally resented by lover Kenneth llalliwell
(Alfred Molina). A colourful supporting cast includes Julie Walters and Vanessa Redgrave. It's rather good really.
I Capital NevaBCl) ltl.3(lpm—12.()5am. A feature-length opener for a new series set in the officesof I a powerful and influential Washington newspaper. Editor-in-chiefJo-JoTurner (Lloyd Bridges) presides over the paper. and is faced with a y ariety of personal. political and ethical dilemmas. Whether or not he has it away with Pamella Bordes is open to speculation.
I NB (Scottish) 10.45—1 1.15pm. L'p-to-date reports on the state of the arts in Scotland.
I Night Flyte (Scottish)
1 l.lSpm—12.l5am. Donald McCormick presents the late-night talk show, featuring interviews and topical discussions.
FRIDAY 2
I Europe Express (Channel 4) 8.3tl—9pm. More half quirky half serious reporting from the continental team.
I Rich Tea And Sympathy ( Scottish) 9—1tipm. David Nobbs' comedy-drama continues. with (icorge and Julia tempted to escape for a dirty weekend.
I The Tracey Ullman Show ( BBCZ)
9.25— ltlpm. More sketches. skitsand song-and-dance routines front the British comic who has become a star on the other side of the Atlantic.
I Murder in Eden ( BBC] )9.3t)—lt).25pm. The final part of the mini-series starring Peter Firth. Roarty receives more blackmail letters. and his nightmares worsen. Things aren't helped when his doctor suggests he could be charged excise duty on his urine sample. and he should I cut dow n his drinking.
I Hughesovska And The New Russia
(BBCZ) lt)-1(l.3()pm. The second in the series looking at the history of the Soviet L'nion from the perspective of a small
town. I Iughesovska. cove rs the period immediately after the revolution. when. in 1924. the town was renamed Stalino.
I Roseanne (Channel 4) 10— 10.30pm.
Last of the present series (boo hoo). Dan and Roseannc's business plans hit a hitch.
I Packet DI Three (Channel 4)
10.30—1 1.15pm. A new alternative sitcom.
set in a run-down theatre. Essentially it's an excuse to wheel out more ofthose
alternative cabaret types. withthe I
regulars includingJenny Eclair. Frank Skinner and Ilenry Normal
IThe Best Of The Paul Hogan Show ! (Channel 4) l l.|5—I l.45pm. More infantile antics frorn Iloges and the prat in the life-guard’s hat.
I Sport In Question (Scottish)
lt).4(I—l 1.40pm. Areltie Macl’herson introduces the sports discussion show.
I Night OlThe Comet(BBCl) ll.2(lpm—lZ.55am. A sort ofJohn Wyndham rip-off whereby teenage sisters Regina and Samantha escape the deadly after-effects of a spectacular comet. ()ther stlrvivors seem to believe that stealing the blood of the healthy is a good idea. which proves rather awkward. A moderately diverting piece of sci-fi nonsense. '
I Down Under: Return Home (Channel 4) 11.45pm- l .Ztlam. Ray Argall‘s directorial debut is the tale of a down-on-his-luek insurance broker who heads back to the Adelaide suburb where he grew tip. in an attempt to recapture some of his lost youth.
SATURDAY 3
I And It Wasn't A Dream (Channel 4) 6.3(l—7pm. A unique view ofthe hard-edged political rap music scene in Manchester. presented by the city‘s Ruthless Rap Assassins.
I Columbo: Fade In To Murder (BBCt) 7—8.1(me. In which the shabby-coated one investigates real-life murder coming to a TV' detective series studio. This is getting a bit too self-referential. is it not'.’ I Road (BBCZ) 9.45- 10.50pm. Continuing the Alan Clarke season. Jim Cartwright's play features two girls on the look out for new excitement and finding it in a couple of offbeat Lancashirc lads. Grimness and humour are mixed in roughly equal doses.
I The French Connection II (BBCl) ll).3()pm—12.25am. Gene Ilackntan is back as the tough New Yorker Popeye Doyle assigned to help the Marseille police crack a drug-smuggling ring. Routine stuff enlivened by some nice performances.
I As It Happens SOS (Channel4) llpm—12.3()am. Somewhere On Saturday reads the acronym. following the fly-on-the-wall film crew around the world. starting with Las Vegas.
I Manhattan Cable (Channel 4)
12.30—1 . 15am. An early repeat for the cult cable TV compilation. presented by the divine Laurie Pike.
SUNDAY 4
I The Cosby Show (Channel 4) 6.3(I—7pm. The cosy I qutablc household with some more heart-warming sick-making comic tales.
I Fragile Earth: To Kill A Whale (Channel 4) 7—8pm. A report on the whale-slaughtering occuring on the beaches of the I-‘aroe Islands.
I Great Expectations (Scottish) 7.45~8.45pm. The less than astounding Dickens‘ adaptation continues.
I Moviedrome: Manhunter ( BBCZ)
l()—l 1.40pm. ()r ‘I Iannibal Lecter: The Early Years'. Brian Cox stars as the cannibal psychopth of Silence ()f'l'lw Lambs notoriety in an earlier adaptation ofThomas I Iarris's Red Dragon. There is a vociferous minority who claim that this stark thriller is better than Silence.
I The Dame Edna Experience (Scottish) 9.45—1t).25pm. Repeated ritual guest humiliation with the housewife superstar. I Distant Voices Still Lives (Channel 4) 10—1 I .4tlpm. A first TV showing for Terence Davies‘ acclaimed depiction of working-class community life in the 40s and 50s.
I Sex NOW (Scottish) 10.25—10.55pm. Contemporary attitudes to sex are given another thorough examination.
I The Street (Channel 4) l l .4()-12.()5pm. The quirky and innovative series about four New Jersey patrol cops.
MONDAY 5 ‘7
I Cine Memo (BBCZ) 7.45—8.3(Ipm. The archive series continues. using the intriguing medium of home movie footage to trace life in Britain from 1900495”.
I Travellers' Tales: The Sacred Way (Channel 4) 9— ltlpm. Archaeologist Michael Woods travels the l4-mile ancient rotttc between Athens and Eleusis.
TUESDAY 6
I The High Life (Scottish) 7.3(l—Spnt. Start of a new series with the irritating Anttc Robinson looking at the lifestyles ofthe t rich and famous. She starts off with Iingelbert I Iumpcrdinck (who he?) i I Opinions: Ouentin Crisp (Channel 4) g S—SJlipm. The former Naked Civil Servant now resident in New York offers home thoughts from abroad. I The Literary Island (Channel 4) S.3(H)pm. Melvyn Bragg introducesthe series looking at the influence of surroundings on literature. this week coming to the Thames. talking to writers I Jeanette Winterson artd Michael
Moorcock.
I Rab C Nesbitt (BBC 2 ) ‘)~*).3()pm. Another repeated run for the world's most; famous string yest.
I The Deliberate Stranger(BBC1)
9.30—1 lpm. .More serial killer shenanigans in this mini-series about the hunt for real-life mass murderer Ted Bundy. Part two tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY7 9
IDuItChannel4)t)—ltlpm.Thclesbian and gay magazine programme offers a film on the AIDS lobbying group Act Up. and other activist groups such as OutRage. . I Nightingales (Channel4) = l l.tl5--l 1.35pm. A welcome rerun forthe black comedy series starring Robert Lindsay and James This See panel. i
THURSDAY 8
I Speaking VolumestBBCl) l.()5—1.45pm. Another edition of the book } review programme. hosted by P1) James.
I A Marshall Chronicle (Channel 4) o—(y.3llpttt. The American zitcom continues. looking at the tribulationsof confused adolescent Marshall Brightman. I Wheel Of Fortune (Scottish) 8.3(L—9pm. Nicky Campbell introduces more fortune-hungry contestants.
I Rising Damp (Channel 4) SRO-()pm. Leonard Rossiter and company in more boarding-house-related frolics.
I Violent Lives (Channel 4)9- lllpm. The third in a four part series investigating violence looks at the victims.
I LA LawlScottish ) 9—ltlpm. Ciynaecologists and hysterectomics are a serious source of heavy litigation in tonight's episode. I The Travel Show (BBCZ) 9-9.3(lpm. The holiday guide with a difference hosted by PennyJunor. I The Play On One: Escape From Kampala (BBC1)‘).3()—l lpm. A drantatisation of the flight of L'ganda‘s Civil Aviation 3 Officer from the Idi Amin dictatorship. i I ND (Scottish) 10.45—1 l . 15pm. Reaching ' the arts that other shows seem to miss. the trio of presenters are out and about again.
78 The List 26 July — 8 August 1991