LISTINGS TELEVISION
- TELEVISION
A selection of television highlights, listed by day, in chronological order. Television Listings compiled by Eddie Gibb.
FRIDAY 29
I The Contenders (BBC 1) 7—7.30pm. All athletes are fit. right. but what separates the winners from the losers? It's all in the mind. according to this edition of the series about elite sport.
I For Men Only (BBC2) 7.50—8.30pm. This documentary about men‘s magazines' (no. not those men's magazines) by former Arena editor Dylan Jones looks at the respectable end of the male-interest glossies market.
I Michael Moore’s TV Hation (BBC2) 9.30—10.20pm. Radical documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. best known for his feature Roger & Me about the closure ofa General Motors plant in his home town. hosts the first of a new current affairs magazine with an investigative edge. This programme includes reports on the Ku Kiux Klan in America and why nobody visits North Dakota.
I Sean’s Shorts (BBC2) 10.20-10.30pm. Sean Hughes' search for a better life takes him to Mull. where he meets an indomitable old widow and a bevy of Antipodean young women.
I Passengers (Channel 4) 11.05pm—12.10am. The Global Village closes in with this video view of youth culture.
I loudon & Co (BBC2) I 1.15—I 1.55pm. James Taylor. who was playing new country long before the term was invented, and the haunting voice of country/folk singer Iris DeMent feature in this programme from the series recorded live in Glasgow's Old Fruitmarket.
I let’s Get lost (BBC2) Midnight-2am. First television showing of this stylish Bruce Weber documentary which follows legendary jazz trumpeter and singer Chet Baker in the year before his death.
SATURDAY 30
I Opening Shot (Channel 4) 6.30—7pm. It’s 65 years since Georges Remi. aka Herge. first created Tintin. the boy reporter. This documentary considers the enduring popularity of the character. whose exploits uncannily appear to mirror key evean of the twentieth century.
I A Telling Eye (BBC2) 7.05-8.05pm. A documentary about the influential writer, art critic and broadcaster John Berger. He made a huge impact on television arts with his 1972 series Ways of Seeing (repeats began earlier today at 1.55pm) which challenged the traditional interpretation of visual art such as the female nude. A Telling Eye includes contributions from cultural historian Marina Warner and writer Geoff Dyer.
I Aliens (Scottish) 9.25pm—midnight. Sigoumey Weaver as Ripley toughs it out against the aliens and a bunch of trigger- happy marines.
I Truly, Madly, Deeply (BBC2) 9.30—11.15pm. Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman in a touching modern ghost story which manages to transcend its twee Hampstead setting.
I Blue Heaven (Channel 4)
10. IO—I0.45pm. Fresh from providing the Iaffs during the BBC's World Cup coverage. Frank Skinner switches channels for this new sitcom which he wrote and stars in. Frank plays an aspiring singer who dreams of stardom and West Bromwich Albion. (You can catch Skinner again in a rerun of Packet of Three at 3.20am on Sunday morning.)
I Shirley Bassey: Have Voice, Will Travel (BBCI) 10.25—11.15pm. The Cardiff-born singer opens her heart in this documentary about her life. her friends and her songs. Shirley Bussey in Concert. recorded in Cardiff last year. follows on.
I local Heroes (Scottish) Midnight—12.30pm. The short but
impressive history of Teenage Fanclub is traced in this documentary which features I
footage from the 1992 Reading festival. ‘
I The Valour and the Horror (Channel 4) 7—9pm. A blend of investigative journalism. drama and documentary is used to explore Canada's role in the Second World War. which included defending Hong Kong against Japanese attack. This is the first of three programmes by reporter brothers Brian and Terence McKenna.
I The Score (BBC2) 7.20—8pm. The first in the series of a new magazine which looks at music. its players and composers. Sir Simon Rattle contributes to the first edition which looks at young composer Mark-Anthony Tumage and premieres his new piece Junior Addict.
I The Tales of Para Handy (BBC 1) 8—8.50pm. BBC Scotland's remake of the television series of the book of the newspaper column by Neil Munro. with Gregor Fisher making the Vital Spark’s skipper his own. See feature.
I Kramer vs Kramer (Scottish) 9—10.55pm. Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep star as the divorcing couple in this Oscar-winning tug-of—Iove tale.
MONDAY 1
I Gagtag (BBCI) 8—8.30pm. Jonathan Ross referees two teams led by Frank Skinner and Bob Monkhouse as they try to keep the jokes flowing in this gameshow format.
I On The line (BBC2) 8—8.30pm. The sports documentary series profiles Barry Heam in ‘Boxing Clever‘ which traces the rise and rise ofthe ultimate Essex Man from his first snooker club in Romford to his current stable ofchampion boxers including Chris Eubank and Herbie Hide. I Frank Stubbs (Scottish) 94—I()pm. Timothy Spall pulls offa marvellous piece of characterisation with his portrayal of the camel-coated Soho spiv. Tonight
Frank promotes an American evangelist. a client who turns out to be a mixed blessing.
I Out of the Blue (Channel 4) ll.2()pm— I 2.30am. TV goes cyberspace
i in ‘Rememberance ofThings Fast', a
series of experimental videos with Tilda Swinton. Rupert Everett. porn star Aiden Shaw and a load of audio-visual gadgetry. I The Price of Life (Channel 4) 12.55—I.40am. The 'Next Stop Hollywood‘ season of films by new directors starts with Stephen Tolkin‘s The Price oj‘Life. an intriguing futuristic tale set in a world where time is literally money.
I A Whole Different Ball Game (BBC2) 7.40—8.30pm. The Cubans love baseball. boy do they love baseball. In ‘Cuban Rebel Ball'. this series about national sporting obsessions examines why Cuban kids take up the sport as soon as they can hold a bat.
I Chandler & Co (BBC l ) 9.30— 10.25pm. The well-received female detective series continues with Barbara Flynn. Catherine Russell and Peter Capaldi uncovering more clandestine affairs in suburbia.
I Billy Connolly's World Tour of Scotland (BBCl) lO.25-l0.55pm. Probably more swearie words than your grannie would care for in this series. which intercuts Connolly‘s live performances with his personal. and slightly romanticised. view of his homeland. In this progamme Connolly visits Aberdeen. Orkney and Shedand. I Over the Edge (BBC2) 11.15-1 1.45pm. When Charles Irvine went to the HIV self-help group Body Positive. the only other person in the room was his ex-lover. This film follows Irvine‘s return to Glasgow where he reflects on life with HIV. I Big Wave Dave’s (Channel 4) li.45pm—IZ.15am. Life’s a beach until you have to live on it full time. as Richie. Marshall and Dave discover when they chase their dream of running a surf shop in Hawaii. See Channel Hopping.
I The Rockford Files (BBC 1) 2.15—3.05pm. As James Garner creeks his way through the remake of Maverick. this mid-afternoon rerun shows him at his cranky best. featuring the most famous answerphone message in television history.
I Tough Guys (Scottish) 9-1 1.35pm. When heavyweight double act of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas are released from prison after 30 years. they decide to attempt one last heist.
I Grace Under Fire (BBC2) 9—9.25pm. Billed as the new Roseanne. feisty southern gal Brett Butler stars in this sitcom about a thoroughly modern American mother (divorced. naturally) of three. In this episode Grace has to confront her son Quentin's (lack of) jockstrap when he joins the football learn. I Suffer The Little Children (BBC2) 9.25—10.()5pm. The ‘Stages' series of contemporary drama continues with this play starring Jane Horrocks about a mother who kills her brain-damaged baby in an act of mercy.
I The Human Animal (BBCl) 9.30-I().20pm. Man-watcher Desmond Morris continues his examination of the human condition from an anthropological perspective by asking why man has come to dominate the world in ‘The Hunting Apeo. He argues that though we have become supermarket gatherers. the human hurtling urge persists and we find an outlet in all sorts of modern activities.
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I NYPD Blue (Channel 4) IO— I Ipm. Welcome early rerun for this excellent New York cop series which is every bit as good as its predecessor on the Hill Street precinct.
THURSDAY 4
I 3-D (Scottish) 7.30—8pm. There are over half a million naturists in Britain. apparently; this programme follows 400 of them on a night out in Bamsley Metrodome.
I A Change of Sex (BBC2) ‘).3()-IO.2()pm. In 1980 George Roberts underwent a sex-change operation to be transformed into Julia Grant. The cameras followed him at the time as he agonised over the decision. and they return fifteen years on for the first of two programmes examining how Julia has fared since the
op.
The List 2‘) July I I August I994 71