TELEVISION LISTINGS

TELEVISION meme-

A selection of television highlights, listed by day, in chronological order. Television Listings compiled by Jonathan Trew.

I Watership Down (scouts-111

10.35am» l 3. l5pni. (‘tttesy—wutesy animated film about the fluffy-wiiffy bunny wabbits and their hunt for a new home. This 11l11i was responsible for many a bawlitig l id 111 the catchers when it last came out 1.1 l97.\'.

I Over The Top (scouts-l1: 3.511 5311,1111. Syht‘stcl' Stallilllt' sltil's in this lc‘;tl-_lt‘1l\'lll:.'. tale of .1 muscle-laden truck driver. guess wll11'.’. and his adv enttires with his estranged son iii the testosterone charged atm11q1here of the world .11'111 wrestling championships.

I Til. Friday (Channel $1(1~7pm.\\'l1o‘|l get the first pic-watershed s\\t‘;ll'\\'(11‘1l in tltts time atotind'.’

I True Love Waits (Channel 41 7.115 3.1111. Virginity is back in fashion in the l'S.-\. much to the chagrin of :1 eeneration 11f frustrated teenagers. The line l.11\ e Waits movement set tip by Southern Baptists

encourages teenagers 111 pledge 111 keep their 1 irginity until 111.11'11.1ge The caltiet'as investigate how the pledge works 111 practice.

I The Transatlantic Sessions (111% 31 7.30 Spin. :\l_\ Barn and .lay l'tigar are joined 1111 the \\ est Coast 11f Scotland by 111p country and singers aiid instrumentalists from Scotland. Ireland and North .'\111erica in this. the first 11f a sl\- part series looking at tlle roots and musicianship 11f traditional music. This time arounzl. linuny loti llarris arid Mary Black sin}: 'Wheels ()f Love'. Michelle Wright sings '(itiitar Talk‘ witlt Karen Matheson. and Kathy \laltea and l)11ugie .\'lacl.can perform “Ready l‘or The Stoiiit‘. I Hi-De—Hi! (BBC I1.\‘ 5.30an The Yellow 111.1:1 of .\laplln's cottttlitte to resist the local Council's plans 111 build a hospital next '11 the Holiday Camp.

I Eskimo Day 1 (1111‘ 1111.211 11pm. .-\lec Guinness. Maureen Lipman and James l'leet are among the the star cast in this new .lac'r. Rosenthai comedy .-\ grotip 11f nervous applicants descend 1111 Cambridge for their 11111versity entrance interviews naturally their accompanying parents are yet more anxious than their offspring.

I Father Ted (Channel 419.30 l0pn1. More shenanigans front the priestly ti'11ul1lei11akers.

I Rory Bremner Who Else? (Channel 41 l0. 5'1 Ilpni. The ittipressionist boots below the belt w ith a new series 111' satire.

SATURDAY 6

I Confessions 1 line 117. 111 3511,1111. Simon Mayo returns 111 prise more secrets from audiences abottt the little they wore their .1111in ‘s bloomers by mistake it] the House of l’ai'liame'it and the like.

I Bookmark: Samuel Beckett ( 11111‘ :1 7.10 H.05pm .»\ two-part documentary portrait 11f the author and playwright. See PIKW IL‘\\'.

I Les Miserables In Concert (title 21 8.05 l0..‘~5pm. ' ‘he terrestrial television l‘t'etniere 11f this version 111' the record- breaking spectacular which was staged 111 mark the tenth anniversary of the production in October last year 111 Loiidoiis Royal Albert Hall.

I Bugs (BBC l;8.05— 8.5511111. Craig McLachlan. .laye Griffiths and .lcssc Birdall make a comeback as a team 1112 lst century crime fight. ‘s in a second. ten-part series.

I ‘Hey, hey we’re the VJs,’ sing Scottish Television’s twelve newest recruits to the world at broadcasting. The teenagers were chosen from colleges and youth clubs around Scotland, and all display that kind of perky adolescent ambition which suggest people who are going places. The idea behind the show was to give the group almost complete control over programme content and the way the items were shot. ‘They don’t want a polished product, just the truth,’ says series editor Bob Tomlinson. The result is indeed unpolished, with a kind of fast-cut MTV approach, mixing music, social issues and down-right dattness - particularly downright

dattness.

VJs starts on Thurs 11 April at 11.15pm on Scottish.

I Deep Secrets (1313(‘1 1 1). 15 111.4(1pni. Colin Salmon and Amanda l)onohoe star in this thriller about air undercover plod inv estigating a savage murder among the underworld 11f dope dealers and other assorted villains.

I Pretty Woman (Scottish)

l0.05pin 12. l5am. Hooker-with-a—heart fairy-tale that broke box office records 1111 its cinema release.

I The Witch Hunters ((‘liannel 41

10.55 -I l.35pm. The ‘Blue Liglit [one series continues with a look at the belief systems indigenous to the Northern Transvaal. When lightning strikes. the villagers believe that a witch tnust be killed in order 111 protect their community. lividetitly this is a matter 11f concern for the states forces 11f law and order who must respect the \ ill.igers' beliefs while prev enting and pttiiishiiig crime.

SUNDAY 7

I Masterchetnilsc 115.15 5.50pm. Loyd (irossman pops tip (111 screen 111 strangle his vowels and weed 11111 Britain's finest amateur chefs.

I Gulliver’s Travels (Channel 41

(1 -7.45pm. l‘irst instalment 111 a two-part production of Swift‘s classic. See preview.

I Bookmark: Samuel Beckett (1111(‘ 21 7.25---.\’.20pm. Second part 11f the profile 11f the author and playwrigltt. See preview. I Doctor Finlay (Scouts-111 7.30 -.\'..‘~(1pm. Who are you going 111 watch this week'.’ The couthy Highland bobby or the couthy llighland doctor?

I Hamish Macbeth (BBC 1 1

7.31) -S.20pin. Robert Carlyle continues 111 set lsobel's heart alluttei'.

I Over Here (1111c 11s.:(1 41,511,1111. Samuel West and Martin (‘lunes stat lll .lolin Sullivan's two-part. comedy drama series about the friction between an .-\1nerican bomber squadron attd an linglish fighter squadron based in Suffolk during the World War II.

I Suicide Island (Channel 4) 9- l0piii. :\111erican marines invaded the Pacific island 11f Saipan in 1944. The .lapanese forces there were forced to retreat and. rather than surrender. the commanding officers ordered mass suicide. Hundreds died by throwing themselves off the higlt cliffs at the far end (if the island. This documentary has uncovered filtii 11f the tragedy arid traced survivors (if the episode.

I The Crying Game (Channel 41

l0pm-— l 2.05am. iNeil Jordan's ()scar- winning tale of love. seduction and betrayal in the ranks of the IRA is a

cracker. If you haven't seen it before then the twist 111 the tail is startling.

I Ruby Wax Meets. . . Heidi Fleiss (1311C l) 10.05- l0..‘15piii. The infamous

llolly wood madame who supplied the stars with hookers at 11p to Sl500 a time is now ser\ ing a three 111 five-year stretch inside. .-\s always. Wax has no qualms about putting the most penetrating questions 111 her victims.

I Don’t Look Down1Set1iiis111

I0. I 5--l Ll5pni. l‘ast-mov iitg Scottish arts attd entertainment series.

I The Nose At Ten -— Best Of Comic Reliet (BBC l) 10.35 ll.05pm. More archival humour from teii years 11f the fundraiser's footage.

MONDAY 8 _

I The Man Who Would Be King (Scouts-111 3.05 53011111. Sean Connery and Michael ('aine star as two chancers who are mistaken for gods by tt'ibespeople. .-\ satisfying ifdated movie.

I Attenborough In Paradise (BBC 21

(1 (1.50pm. Since the age 11f nine. Attenboi'ough has had one great unfulfilled passion - seeing birds of paradise ill the flesh in their remote New (iiiinea habitats. Nine months of filming later and two film crews have captured stunning and rare footage 11f these magnificent creatttres.

I Gulliver’s Travels (Channel 41

(1 -7.50pm. The concluding part 11f the televistial take (111 Swift's satire. See preview.

I The Greatest (Channel 4)

3.20 8.50pm. Welsh rugby union international Barry .lohn and top golfer Nick l"aldo have their careers assessed for the programme that tries 111 piiipoitit Britain’s greatest sports person 11f the 301h century.

I An Obsession With Rabbits (BBC 2) 8.40 9.10pm. The cameras follow nine people who are obsessed with rabbits in one w a} or another frotn the bunny fancier 111 the 1rate farmer w ho could teach the SAS a thing or two about taking the enemy by surprise.

I A River Runs Through It (Channel 41 850—1 1.10pm. Craig Shelter and Brad Pitt play two brothers who lead very different lives in this Robert Redford film. I Over Here (BBC I 1 (1111414511111. Concluding episode 11f the World War II drama comedy which began yesterday.

I The X-Filesnilic 21910—95511111. .\lulder inv estigates a paranormal occurrence which closely tnirrors one 11f his earliest experiences with the unexplainable.

TUESDAY 9

I Holiday (BBC 1) 7—7.30pm. Jill Dando heads 111 Japan where she is offered an egg cooked in sulphurous mud. Should she eat it then it will add seven years to her life. apparently.

I The Technophobe’s Guide To The Future (BBC 2) 7.30-8pm. The title says it all really. Sooner or later even the most dedicated Luddite will have to face the future. This programme aims to show l111vv:

I Motormania (Channel 4) 8—8.30pm. In 1963 Britain's first iiiotoiway. the M I. opened tip 111 general applause. Back then there were eleven and a half million motorists. there are now twenty-five million cars 1111 the road and new motorways are increasingly becoming an extremely sensitive issue. The final programme in the series examines the march 11f the motorways over the British countryside.

I Supercrips And Rejects (Channel 41 9—930an Why do baddies in movies often have scars or a limp'.’ Why are the good guys always physically perfect specimens'.’ ls Hollywood right to swallow the credo that external appearance mirrors internal motives'.’ Nabil Shabaii questions the film industry‘s portrayal of disabled people with relation 111 these questions.

I INFO: The Professionals (Channel 4) 9..”10—l0pm. Martin Shaw and Lewis Collins. who played the two most tin-PC coppers ever. talk about the roles which made them. and their often difficult professional lives working together.

I Straight From The Heart: Forbidden Love (BBC 2) 9.45 —l().3()pm. Three different couples: a Catholic and Protestant soldier in Belfast; a gay couple. arid a Guernsey girl and a German soldier tell how the public world has intruded on their private life.

I Cardiac Arrest (title 1) [0—10.30pm. More drama both in and out of the operating theatre for the doctors and

I And The Beat Goes On (Channel 4) l0---ll.()5pt1t. More domestic and political shenanigans occur in the fourth part 11f this eight-episode Liverpool dratna.

I The Nicky Campbell Show (BBC 11 l0--l0.40pin. Chat and music from the radio jock who refers 111 himself as ‘Nicolarse‘.

I Big Mouth (Channel 4)

ll.05pi11-- l 2. 10am. Tony l’arsons unleashes more invective 1111 whatever cultural trend takes his fancy this week.

WEDNESDAY 10

I Chartbite (Scottish) 5. l0—5.40pm. Scottish chart action courtesy 11f liwan and Mari.

The Crying Came, Sun 7, Channel 4

74 The 1.1a 5-18 .-\pl' 111111»