tv

highlights

In The Teeth Of Jaws ' BBC2, Sat 8 Nov, 8.10pm.

Just when you thought it was safe to swnch on the telly etc, etc , . the waterbound terror returns. Doccimentary on the making of laws, followed by a screening of the movre and, not very original this, a dOCUmentary about fear of the sea, all of which wraps up this night of celebration of 22 years of Stephen Spielberg’s classic.

Coltrane’s, Planes And

Automobiles

Channel 4, Sun 9 Nov, 7.30pm. Robbie Coltrane shows another side to his larger than life personality in this new six-part series dedic ated to his drrvrng passion for engines Oh yes. From the first steam engine to the supersonic Jet, Coltrane brings out the wee bOy in us all with this full-throttle Journey through engineering history

Profit

BBCZ, Sun 9 Nov, 10pm.

Still pining for J R. and the horrendously 80s heartless greed that ran through every surgically Improved pore of Dal/as7 Try Jim Profit for size, the outwardly charming Junior execcitive in this newly acguired US drama series, who knows that in the world of corporate politics, power is the only thing that counts New that's fighting talk Think he's a Blairite7

Don't Look Down

Scottish, Sun 9 Nov, 11.50pm. Siobhan Synnot meets acclaimed Gaelic/English writer lain Crichton Smith in this week's edition of the Scottish arts and cinema show Also featured, the photography of Colin Baxter, a short film from new director

3 Margaret Reeves and live music on the roof Brrr

: The Making Of ‘A Life Less Ordinary' Scottish, Sun 9 Nov, 12.50pm.

Find out what Ewan and Cameron really got up to on set, in this look behind the scenes of the latest film from the Trainspotting crew, A Life Less Ordinary

= Movers And Shakers: Backgammon Boy Channel 4, Mon 10 Nov, 8pm.

Strange new six-part series that

112 THE LIST / )0 Nov l99/

examines the world of those obsessed wrth games Not sex games, or even computer games, but the good old-

fashioned board-shaped, indoor

Snakes And Ladders variety. The first

programme follows the chequered

fortune of seventeen-year-old Mark Telcher, who has his eyes on big money in a major backgammon tournament

Cutting Edge: Football

Wives Channel 4, Tue 11 Nov, 9pm. Yet another doccimentary on football

wives, or wrdows as the case may be, E whic h seems to be a winning formula.

Revealing all about life married to blokes who wears shorts to work in

this offering from Cutting Edge are

former page three model and cable TV presenter Suzi Walker, wrfe of Spurs' goalie Ian, Bolton ’wandering' striker Dean Holdworth's wrfe Sam, and Ann Lee, tasting life after the big time wrth hubby Jason in the Watford wrlderness.

Breaking Point BBC2,Wed i2 Nov, 9.50pm.

Possibly the ultimate in voyeurism, this extraordinary new series of five observational documentaries sitting in

on the counselling process as four couples and a divorced woman seek

help With their relationships from

RELATE

EX-S BBCl,Wed i2 Nov, 10.45pm.

. The freaky dancing and fabulous career 7 of Dumbarton-born ex-Talkrng Head ' Davrd Byrne comes =n for much praise

from the Scottish arts and documentary series

Holiday Reps BBCl, Thu 13 Nov, 8.30pm.

Styled as a documentary-soap, this six- part, fly-in-the-suntan-oil series follows ' the lifes and loves of LJniiet's holiday

reps as they attempt to guarantee pleasure for thousands on the islands of Menorca and Lari/arote

Dover

Scottish, Thu 13 Nov, 8.30pm.

See behind the film world scenes in The Making Of ‘A Life Less Ordinary', Scottish,

New documentary series that goes behind the scenes at the port of Dover, presumably in the hope of catc hing all kinds of things going wrong, as well as those who choose not to declare the contraband smuggled in their shoes Narrated by Stephen Tompkinson, but hopefully not in the style of his part as the obnoxrous Danizen in Drop The Dead Donkey

Sun 9 Nov, 12.50pm.

J,‘ / A.

The whole spoof: Armstrong and Miller as Norwegian rockers Strijka

Armstrong And Miller

Channel 4, Mon 10 Nov, 11pm.

Devastatineg cool Japanese exchange students obsessing over Blue Peter. The terrifying owners of a tiny vegetarian restaurant. Bandanna-rama, Eurorock sex gods with bad songs and worse hair. These are just a few of the crazed creations of Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller. the comedy duo whose eponymously-titled new series is coming to your telly.

At last year's Fringe, their show The Quality Shag was nominated for the Perrier award. More recently, they put together a Channel 4 special. In their new series, the set-up is the same: sketch and character comedy, combining brilliant observation with a keen sense of life's absurdities. There are loads of new characters and plenty of old favourites like spoof Scandinavian rockers Strijka, as seen on ITV’s Saturday Night Live.

'Strijka are launching a huge Norwegian road safety campaign with their song 'Nicey Nice'.’ says Armstrong, transformed by a blond wig into Matthau Tijorkildsen. 'They've also got a ’Winds Of Change'-type Euro- anthem called ‘Big Wind From Brussels’.’

Nordic nonsense aside, the joking duo are set to play a pair of fops in Plunkett And Mac/ean, a feature film starring Robert Carlyle and Johnny Lee Miller as two highwaymen, which is released next year. (Peter Ross)

Scottish, Fri 14 Nov, 8.30pm.

Evening With Gary Line/cer, about a

1 worth a whirl

' be allowed to ]()lli the town's

Why any woman should want to ride a horse alongside such a bunch of

Radio 4,Wed 12 Nov, 10am.

, four weeks tiptoeing tentatively along ' the corridors of power, searching for

not-so-nice movers and shakers who are Willing to divulge the secrets of their success in this new series.

The Politician, The Actress And The Bishop Radio 5 Live, Sun 16 Nov, 12.05pm. Matthew Parris continues his probe into the obsession of the tabloid press wrth scandal in public life, by taking a closer look at the new spy technology readily available to today's journalists. Among the seedy delights of tonight's show, Parris travels to Yorkshire to

meet the Vicar whose extra-marital

' romps led to him being dubbed 'The

knicker vrcar of North Yorkshire'.

Blow The Whole Joint

UP

Radio 1, Sun 16 Nov, 9pm. Celebration of the thundering funky crossover rock/dance sound popularised by those brothers Chemical and taken to new heights of big beatdom by acts like Death In Vegas and Bentley Rhythm Ace, Presented by Mary Anne Hobbs.

Dracula - A Birthday

Tribute Radio 2,Tue 18 Nov, 9.30pm. Not the first, and unlikely to be the last we hear of old sabre-tooth himself, Count Dracula's 100th birthday. Daniel Farson presents this particcilar tribute to the creature of the night, whose continurng fascmation has created an international bestseller that has been translated into 44 languages and provrded the inspiration for over 400 films, (Ellie Carr)

Blind Men

New series from the writer of An

pair of rival domestic furnishings salesmen who find themselves liVing next door to each other Dire-soiinding scenario, but decent writer, so could be

radio highlights

Electronica Radio Scotland, Sun 9 Nov, 6.05pm.

Mark Percival talks to eminent .Jrum 'n’ bass duo Spring Heel Jack, fresh from a UK tour supporting Spirituali/ed, in

Radio Scotland’s newrsh dance music i show

Thirty Minute Theatre - Curds And Cream

Radio 4, Tue 11 Nov, 2pm.

New play by Janet Paisley, focusing on incredible recent events in the Borders town of Hawrck, wher: bitter feuding broke out over whether women should

traditionally all-male Common Riding

misogynists is anybody's guess, but for Paisley it's the stuff of drama.

Power And How To Get It

Nice-guy comic Jeremy Hardy spends