LISTINGS TELEVISION
football and the House of Windsor iii the many voices of Rory Bremner. who
escaped the clutches of BBC's light ! entertainment department for lower ‘ audience figures btit higher credibility at Channel 4.
THURSDAY 2 5
I Metropolis (BBCZ) 8—8.30pm. lii ‘Going Underground‘ the subterranean documentary series examines the history of London's tube svstem.
I The Number to Show (Channel 4) 8 -‘<.3()pm. Hardline environmental activist Peter Wilkinson sets out his own agenda for change as Prime Minister fora (lav.
I The Hector’s Wife (Channel 4) 9— l()pm. Anna returns from Oxford to find the parish ladies have been in dusting her house. Third episode of the repeated Joanna 'I‘rollope adaptation. I The X Files (BBCZ) 9—9.45pm. A ferocious wolf-like beast is loose on at Montana cattle ranch. which puts Mulder in mind of a long-standing X file . . . I Heroes and Villains (BBC!) ‘).3()—l().30pm. Another from the series about forgotten legends. with Rowan Atkinson playing Sir Henry Birkin. an aristocrat who raced Bentleys during the golden age of British motor racing in the 1920s. I Rosalie Goes Shopping (Channel 4) 10—1 l.45pm. Percy ‘Bagdad Cafe' Adlon calls once again on his favourite ample actress Marianne Sagebrecht. who plays a German woman married to a crop-duster it) small town America in this witty satire on consumerism. I Moviewatch (Channel 4) 6.30—7pm. Johnny Vaughan runs his eye over Gary Oldman in Lam and Anthony Hopkins as Kellogg the cornfiake king in Road in W’IIvi'IIc. I The Upper Hand (Scottish) 8.3tr-9pm. New series of the sitcom with Joe McGann as a housekeeper who gets engaged. finally. to his boss Diana Weston. I Ellen (Channel 4) 9—9.3(ipm. Ellen gets extra cheese when her dream date turns
I The story starts in The Cabin, a small res
taurant in Glasgow’s Whiteinch, where
singer Wilma Watson entertains diners nightly with her versions of Billie Holiday,
_ Edith Piat and Bing Crosby. But all along Wilma fantasised about singing in las Vegas ; where all the greats of supper-club cabaret - Elvis, Frank, Bean and liza — have performed. This is really the story of dreams come true when Wilma smooches onto
the stage of Vegas’ Starlight lounge, where she even got to meet Tony Bennett (pictured). Find out how an audience or high rollers warmed to Wilma in Ex-S: Hoots
i [as Vegas on Tuesday 31 January at 9.30pm on 8801.
out to be a pizza delivery man.
I Bottom (BBC2) 9-9.30pm. Eddie and Richie try to pass themselves off as a honeymooning couple. in the lavatorial
comedy starring Ade Etlmoiidson and Rik ’
Mayall.
I Doctor Finlay (Scottish) 9—!()pni. Dr Cameron is due to give away a patient at her wedding. btit she comes down with chickenpox.
I Rising Damp (Channel 4) ‘).3t}—l()plii. More classic 70s lodging house comedy with Leonard Rossitci' e! (1/.
I The High life (BBCZ) ‘).3()—l()pm. Scotland enters the European Song Contest. in which Steve and Sebastian represent their country.
I Dangerfield (BBC!) 9.30-lt).2()pm. By day family GP. by night a police doctor. Dangerfield (Nigel Le Vaillant) is trying to sort out his family life in between. in this new medical drama.
I The Name of the Bose (BBC! ) l().2()pm—12.25am. Sean Connery is the cool. cerebral monk in this excellent adaptation of Umberto Eco‘s complex literary thriller. Christian Slater in this film as Adso, Connery's apprentice sleuth. I The Day Today (BBCZ) l()~l().3()p!ti. More from the repeated Current Affairs pastiche. which is still good despite having lost much of its topicality a year
I Roseanne (Channel 4) l()—l().30pm. DJ refuses to kiss a black girl at school and Dan wonders if his son‘s been brought up prejudiced.
I Jo Brand Through the Cakehole (Channel 4) l().3()-~l 1.05pm. Guest star is Helena Bonham-Carter who receives beauty tips from Jo.
I The Word (Channel 4) 10.30—1 l.()5pm. Tel and Dani fiuff their lives and ask questions that make their guests cringe btit no one seems to notice.
I Black Moon Rising (Scottish) lO.30pm—|2. 15am. Professional thief Tommy Lee Jones is hired by the FBI to steal secret computer tapes from a major corporation under investigation for malpractice in this good-looking action thriller.
I Fantasy Football (BBC2)
ll.lS—l 1.45pm. Celebrity managers join Frank Skinner antl David Baddiel for football fun.
I Strange Fish (BBCZ) ll.45pm-12.45am. Repeat of physical theatre company DV8‘s award-winning piece about faith and finding something to believe in.
SATURDAY 4
I Casualty (BBCI)S.05~-8.55pm. More
medical drama from Holby General. I Pink Cadillac (Scottish) 9—] l. l()pl!!.
Clint Eastwood stars in this comedy 3 drama about a bounty hunter who falls for
his client.
I Massage (BBC1)‘). lS—ll).()5pni. Could aromatherapy be the cure for stressed‘out businessman Craig Byatt'.’ His wife thinks so bill the treatment seems to be having strange side-effects. Third in BBC 1 's 'Ghosts' season.
I Prelude to a Kiss (BBCZ) l()-l 1.45pm.
1 First television showing ofCraig Lucas’s romantic comedy with Alec Baldwin and 1 Meg Ryan as newly-weds. On their
wedding day. Ryan was kissed by a mysterious old man and her personality changed completely.
I Paul Merton - The Series (Channel 4)
10.05—10.35pm. Paul travels back in time. to Hollywood of the 30s. Ruritania during the 18th century and Stansted Airport a couple of weeks ago.
I The Nightmare Years (Channel 4)
l l.()5pni—12.50aiii. Second part of the mini-series about William Shirer (Sam Waterston). ajournalist trying to file accurate reports about the rise of the Third Reich.
I Hawks (BBCl) ll.5()pm-l.35am. Timothy Dalton has cancer in this
; entertaining black comedy about two
terminal patients who leave hospital for a final fling in Amsterdam.
SUNDAY 5
I Home Alone (Scottish) 7.45—9.45pm. Hugely successful John Hughes movie that shot child star Macauley Culkin to stardom. The little mite is accidently left at home when his parents leave for the Christmas vacation.
I The Buccaneers (BBC!) ‘).05-l().20pm. Opulent adaptation of Edith Wharton’s last. unfinished novel. See preview.
I Bik Mayall Presents (Scottish) 9.45—l().45pm. Second it) trio of films starring Rik Mayall. Tonight it’s ‘Dirty Old Town' about a down-and-out who stumbles upen a script which leads to him being sucked into the feverish world of the movies. Will he be rumbled before the film is produced?
I Homicide (Channel 4) 10—] 1.55pm. David Mamet wrote and directed this excellent psychological cop drama with Joe Mantegna as non-practising Jew confronting his own warped anti- Semitism.
I Don’t look Down (Scottish)
ll—l 1.45pm. First in a new series of the Scottish arts magazine presented by Janice Eorsyth. Tonight's show includes a
video diary by the Slitilloii' (iriivc producers about the Havana Film Festival. a discussion about the Kasen Summer art collection currently showing at Glasgow's McLennan Galleries and. likely but unconfirmed. Del Amitri playing their new single in the studio.
MONDAY 6
I Pretty Woman (Scottish) 9-! 1.55pm (including News (it 727)). ()ld-style romantic comedy will) Julia Roberts as the tart-with-a-heart who catches the eye of business mogul Richard Gere.
I Signs and Wonders (BBCE) ‘).3()—l(l.3()pm. Final part of Michael Eaton's ambitious and highly successful drama about a religious cult‘s power. With David Warner and Prunella Scales. l I NYPD Blue (Channel 4! l‘l- l lpiii. Kelly ‘ is paired w ill) at! Asian detective and the i pair are assigned to investigate a
Chinatown murder in ‘Cop Suey'.
I Theorem (Channel 4! l lprii—-12.5()am. Terence Stamp is a handsome stranger
who arrives iii the midst of an ltalian
family and strikes up a relationship with every member. btit is he an angel or a devil'.’ More from the Pasoliiii season with one of the director's more accessible
films.
I Babylon 5 (Channel 4) ()r-7pm. Start of a new series of the excellent sci~fi series set on a planet-sized space station inhabited by weird and wonderful beings acting as ambassadors to promote inter- galactic harmony. The station has a new captain. while security chief Garibaldi remains iii a critical condition.
I Visions of Heaven and Hell (Channel .1) ‘)-ll)plll. Cyber-hippies and virtual sex are among the subjects tackled in the second of Channel 4‘s series of films about our info-tech future. Working alone in the ‘electronic cottage' has liberated some from office drudgery. but for others it has meant isolation.
I Network First (Scottish)
10.40—1 1.40pm. Cameras follow four marine Commandos during an exercrse in the freezing wastes of Nonvay as they rehearse their reaction to the humantarian fallout from a civil war it) Europe.
WEDNESDAY 8
I Chartbite (Scottish) 7— 7.30pm. What’s tip in the charts‘.’ Find out from pop- pickers Ewart and Mari.
I EB. (Channel 4) 10-1 lpm. After last week's extended pilot. the American medical drama settles iiitt) its hour-long slot. See feature.
I My Blue Heaven (Scottish) l().3()piii—12.15aii). Steve Martin vehicle with a Nora Ephron script about a Mafia member hidden by the FBI in a Californian backwater under the witness protection programme. Martin does a goof ltalian routine in this funny comedy.
I The Legend of The Tube (Channel 4) ll—l 1.30pm. Kicking off a ‘Greatest Hits' package. Paula and Jools reflect on why the legendary music show was a success. See preview.
THURSDAY 9
I The Bector’s Wife (Channel 4)
9—10pm. Final episode in this repeat
adaptation of Joanna Trollope's novel.
I 99-1 (Scottish) 9—l()pm. Lesley
Grantham goes undercover to his natural I l l
habitat of the underworld.
I The X Files (BBCZ) 9—9.45pm. Another case of spooky. paranormal paranoia with Special Agents Mulder and Scully.
I Heroes and Villains (BBC!) 9.3()—10.30pni. Jim Broadbent plays Colonel ‘Mad Jack‘ Wintle. an eccentric I military veteran of two world wars who i had an attitude problem with authority. l The third iii the series of plays about forgotten heroes.