LISTINGS TELEVISION
TELEVISION meme-
A selection oi television highlights, listed by day, in chronological order. Television listings compiled by Jonathan Trevv.
I Sounds Di The Eighties (BBC 2) 7.30—8pm. More retro action as the likes of Adam and the Ants. Dexy's Midnight Runners and Duran Duran demonstrate why the 80s were pretty crap really. Apparently there's a nascent New Romantic scene happening again in London. Pray the contagion doesn't I spread. I Eye SPY (Scottish) 8.30—9pm. Selina Scott presents more real-life dramas caught on security cameras. Whether it falls under the category of cinema verire’ or voyeuristic. cheaply made pap that appeals to those who take an unhealthy delight in others‘ misfortune is a question that tliejury is still out on. I Rising Damp: The Cocktail Hour (Channel 4) 9.30—10pm. Rigsby’s dismal attempts to rise even minimally above the gutter fail miserably when he doen't quite manage to distinguish between a polite swim? and a raging session with a crate of brown. An easy mistake to make. I Jo Brand Through The Cakehole: Violence (Channel 4) 10.30—11.05pm. In the first of a new series. Brand bludgeons her way through sketches based on the Prisoner 0f Cell Block HRT; a women's amateur dramatic society tackling Reservoir Dogs and female gladiators. Lovable or loathsome. the choice is yours. I The Rocker: A Portrait Of Phil lynott (BBC 2) ll.50pm—l2.45am. Almost ten years to the day since the Thin Lizzy leadman died of a drugs-related illness. this programme looks back over his life i and death. For the first time ever. his : widow Caroline Crowther speaks publicly | of her life with one of the liveliest men in '
rock.
SATURDAY 13
I Gladiators: The Ashes (Scottish)
6. 15—7.15pm. The Pom beefcakes take on the Aussie beefcakes to prove that it's not i just good ideas that can be exported i abroad.
I The timing oi this behind-the-scenes — literally - documentary about the Royal Opera House couldn’t have been better, with the cameras on hand to capture reactions to the controversial £78 million National Lottery handout. like Scottish Opera, the company is struggling to counter accusations that opera absorbs a dispmportionate slice oi the arts iunding cake. The series examines how this bastion oi Establishment entertainment is trying to justify its vast subsidy and shake oii the
elitist tag.
The House starts on Tue 16 Jan at 9.30pm on 8802.
I Peter York’s Eighties: Property (BBC 2) 9.30—10pm. The style guru and one man sociology movement picks at the scabs of the 80s housing boom when bricks and mortar were a badge of success and the key to real wealth. Until it all went horribly wrong.
I High Spirits (BBC 2) 10—] 1.35pm. Peter O'Toole. Daryl Hannah and Steve Guttenberg get up to some ghostly hijinks in Neil Jordan‘s 1988 comedy which is being screened to complement Peter York’s series. See above.
I Jack Dee‘s Saturday llight (Scottish) [0—10.45pm. Dee's guest Julian Clary gives tips on how to satisfy women and BjOrk provides some musical entertainment.
I Singled Dut (BBC 2) 1.05—1.30pm.
This cult American dating show makes Blind Date seem like the epitome of good
taste. One woman and then one man have
to choose their perfect partners from 50 prospective mates through a process of
3 elimination. much like buying a shirt or selecting a washing detergent. Who said
that romance was dead? I Father Of The Bride (Scottish) 6—8pm.
Steve Martin. Diane Keaton and
Kimberley Williams star in this very
: gentle comedy about the preparations for 2 a wedding. It's not fantastic but there are
f one or two inspired moments to brighten
: up a Sunday evening.
: I The Big Trip (BBC 2) 6.45—7.30pm.
Q Three groups of friends head off on their
' holidays and a camera crew follows them. 3 it‘s not an original idea but the three
‘ Q groups seem to have got themselves into a
I Divine Magic: The Power Di Voodoo (Channel 4) 8—9pm. A new five-part l series that aims to look at ancient myths, . legends. mysteries and superstitions. I miracles and mysticism from their I beginnings to the present day. The first edition of the series looks at a religion which. for most Westerners. is represented only through the stereotyped image of a stumbling zombie from countless B-rate horror flicks.
I Bare Necessities (Scottish) 9—lOpm. A group of miners. recently made redundant. tum to stripping to earn a living. Aye lad. it were never like that down t'pit in ma day.
number of scrapes involving monks.
, prostitutes. elephants. tiger bone whisky and a slaughtered pig. Bit more exciting than two weeks in Benidorm.
I Timeivatch: Kamalt - A Hidden History (BBC 2) 7.30—8.20pm. The popular history programme kicks off another series by looking at a temple that took 2000 years to complete and is older than the pyramids. Using the latest virtual
reality technology the 77mewutch series
brings the ancient Egyptian architecture back to life.
I The Guli Vlar: Desert Storm (BBC l)
9.05—10.05pm. The third in this four-part series examining the war on its fifth anniversary looks at the initial attack
through eye witness accouan and the tales
of the backroom boys. As always. the stories are as horri he as the top brass are stubborn.
I The Stepiord Wives (Channel 4) lO.35pm-l2.40am. Sci-ft thriller set in a town where men are men and women are
remarkably docile. As always. things are not what they seem. Made in 1975. when radical feminism was hogging the headlines. the name of the film has taken on an idiomatic life of its own.
I Pylama Party (Scottish) 12.45—2.15am. Here‘s one for insomniacs. dolies and students: Katie Puckrick and pals get down to some girlie gossip. Guest of the week is Anna Friel.
I Our Friends In The North (BBC 2) 9—10.15pm. Christopher Eccleston and Malcolm McDowell head up a strong cast
in this new drama series. Spanning 30 years and more than ten hours of television. this saga chronicles the extraordinary lives of four Geordie friends from their teens in the 1960s. until they reach middle age in 1995.
a!
I Cutting Edge: Sexual Harassment I (Channel 4) 9-10pm. The top documentary team follows the fortunes of four women who have taken sexual harassment cases to court.
I A Stranger Among Us (Channel 4)
l0—l 1.55pm. Melanie Griffith stars in this network premiere about a tough New York cop sent to penetrate the Hasidic community after ajeweller is found dead and his diamonds are missing.
I Omnibus: Through Many Dangers (BBC 1) lO.40—l2.iOam. Today is Martin Luther King Day in the States so it's rather apt that this programme looks at the development of gospel music from its roots up to the present day. The gospel style of music gave the civil rights movement its anthem in the form of 'We Shall Overcome‘.
I The Sexual Imperative: The Importance Of Sex (Channel 4) ll.55pm—l2.55am. First in a six-part series examining the ins and outs of sex. Everyone does it. but why? Especially when they can watch TV instead.
TUESDAY 16
I Local Heroes (BBC 2) 7.30—8pm. Adam Hart-Davis heads to Scotland to point up the ingenuity of the Scots. Step forward John ‘Logarithm' Napier. David ‘Fir‘ Douglas and Joseph 'Whisky' Black. I The House (BBC 2) 9.30—10.30pm. For one year a camera crew lurked around the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and filmed everything from performances both on and off stage to hirings. firings and the tea lady. First of a six-part series.
I The X-Files: Feariul Symmetry (BBC l) 10—1045pm. More spooky goings on for special agents Mulder and Scully as they investigate some mysterious killings in a
I A Pin For The Butterin (Channel 4) 10.15—12.25pm. Hannah Kodicek directed this surreal film set in an unnamed Eastern European country in the 50s. Angels. witches. party apparatchiks and dissidents all co—exist in an uneasy life in this peculiar and oft disturbing film.
I The Guli War: The Ragged End (BBC 1) l0.45—l 1.45pm. The concluding programme of the series looks at the final hours of the conflict. The top military turkeys give their versions of events and explain why they let Saddam live and go on to brutally crush two rebellions. For some reason. Thatcher pops up to tell an enthralled nation what she would have done had she still been in power. Thank God for small mercies.
WEDNESDAY 17 ’
I Video Nation: ‘ii’ Is For Neighbours (BBC 2) 7—7.50pm. The BBC set up this mass observation project two years ago. Using camcorders. the series hopes to hold up a mirror to the views and values. hopes and fears of 50 contributors across Britain.
I Hollywood Men: Vanity And Vulgarity (Scottish) 9—10pm. We've done Hollywood women and Hollywood kids. now it‘s the turn of the male of the species to come under the microscope. Appearance is all. and whether the gym or the surgeon's knife is used to achieve the effect there is often a hefty price to pay. I Hi (Channel 4) 10-1055pm. The bloody American hospital drama continues its trauma-soaked run.
I The Best Di Ackroyd, Belushi and Chase (Channel 4) l2.05—l.05am. All three actors made it big in feature films but they cut their teeth on Saturday Night Live. This first programme in the series looks at Chevy Chase and his funniest routines. Surely they must be better than
the myriad movies which he made. few of
which were capable of raising a weak chuckle. never mind having viewers rolling on the floor clutching their aching
sides.
The List 12-35 Jan 1090 79