Revrews LU'AMIC Bit/2'... DERREN BROWN: TRICK OF THE MIND 2 Channel 4, Fri 15 Apr, 9.30pm 00.
Perhaps [Jerren Brown is hoping to '.".’|()(,‘ clean the rrlerriory of his
audience so the‘, ilr iri't feel a stark sense of ilera i.u ‘.'.’llli this. his
‘,f,‘( orid [rick series. lhe actual scams he pulls off lllil‘, lie subtly different from anything he's done
100 Greatest Albums Channel 4, Sun ii'Apr; 8pm Will it go to the Sex Pistols. Beatles. Nirvana or Led Zep’? Or wrll Mariah Carey deservedly scoop rt wrth her marestic The Emancrpation of Mimi?
Heysel: Requiem for a Cup Final BBCQ. Sun 77Apr, 9pm Twenty years on from one of the darkest days in football's scarred history. we recall the tragic events which led to the deaths of 39 Italians.
Hell’s Kitchen Scottish, Mon 78 Apr; 9pm No Gordon Ramsay this year — instead we have Nick Nairn and Jean ChristOphe Novelli training ten normal folk to be top chefs. Generation Mohammed BBC 7. Wed 20 Apr.
72. 05am Apparently. Mohammed is among the UK'S top 20 boys’ names and this documentary has chats wrth a number of them.
All New Cosmetic Surgery Live Five. Sun 24 Apr, 70.50pm Vanessa Feltz and Daniella Westbrook bid us farewell with a nip here and a big hairy tuck there.
.'.’lt.'t '1":“:l)f’..")l"""l not .‘iirr‘rr‘i"; Ti‘eir astonished react/xv r‘agglrtgi, ’..er :‘Elll‘lllrll. AU Bruno tell us.
rictlrirrg tr. Ito .‘Jittl Lila/[k
’.’;llirl‘i,i‘t.‘3 if;
his skills have
ti‘agli, or ‘.‘."ll.’§tlf,i'illl tiu’. Simon Pegg looks as though he's yer“, read». to tie the psycho» illusroriist to a stake after being duped IMQ’fSl‘y’lif. \‘Jhile we can hardly expect DUl'l‘Ul‘. Brown to perforrri a seance or Russian Roulette for our watching pleasure every six ll‘.()lltllf3. this rehashirig gets slightly less remarkable for the l‘\/ viewer With each
p; ssing trick.
lBrian Donaldsoni
SOClAl DRAMA BORN WITH TWO MOTHERS Channel 4, Thu 21 Apr, 9pm .00
It's horribly ironic that a drama about an IVF mix-up should have been tainted by filmmakers getting very confused. Edinburgh- based playwright Zrnnre Harris has made her teleplay debut With a searing and SOHSIIIH? story about a white couple who end up wrth a black baby and the traurria which this pair and the little boy ‘s genetic parents go through to seek a SélllSlélClOl‘, resolution to their reSpectrye plights. Which is all fine and gripping. but the film's impact is Substantially lessened by sori‘eone's deCision to side-track straightfonvard compelling dran‘a .‘l‘: fayOur of a Quasi- documentary So. have the likes of SOphie Okonedo. LeSley Sharp and Lennie James acting their little cotton
.‘ll'irdJflti/x' f".. ,Jvt 1v "er'nairis l".::‘i..<1‘." : em: o v
’JE l E Eiikiv i": '.: INSIDE ELTON’S WORLD
Channel 4, Thu 21 Apr,
10.30pm 000
After several miles of bad press ouer the last few years ~ dissing Madonna, lecturing George Michael, chiding Vicki Beckham and abusing léill.‘.’élll'f;
paparaz/r - old Reg D is fit for a PR ll‘.£il\t3()\.'f?l. hence this timely peep 'inside‘. Although he couldn't get done under the trade descriptions act as John is llll(fr‘.’l(}‘.'.’(}(l inside his house. llll(}l\’l(}‘.‘.’(?l Déi‘Jtl Frost ia sheep in sheep's clothing it ever there was onei doesn't challenge him much. Because he's one of the most well documented stars of the modern age. it's difficult to think what we don't know about Elton. already. He has managed to make a life for himself with someone he lo. es deeply and he still likes to keep busy -‘ hence his Vegas residency, — but he‘ll give do a tongue lashing should you Cross rtirr‘, Footage of an AlDS Cliiifrt'. trip to Scmr‘. Africa reinforces his hen‘an side but is this anything more than cost, PR? .Mark Robertson
HlSTOQlCAL DOCUf-.‘ENTAR\.'
GE GHIS KHAN BBC1, Mon 25 Apr, 9pm 0..
Genghis Knac is fte‘,er
r'eail, guen the coerage
l ill MARY ADAPT/xi it )N 20,000 STREETS UNDER THE SKY BBC4, Tue 19—Thu 21 Apr, 9pm 0000
The name Patrick Hamilton may not immediately spring to mind as one of the 20th century’s most commercially successful authors. Psychological thrillers such as Rope and Gaslight are familiar for their successful screen adaptations but Hamilton’s bleak, uncompromising insights into the lives of working-class Londoners have been unfairly neglected. To mark his centenary, 8804 has produced a trio of dramas based on Hamilton's influential 19305 London Trilogy which beautifully chronicle what the author referred to as ‘the weird teeming aquarium of the metropolis‘.
Screened over three consecutive nights, the series opens with ‘Bob's Story’, in which the eponymous young bar waiter falls for the prostitute Jenny Maple, his growing obsession leading the initially clear-eyed boy to become increasingly blind to her true, manipulative nature. This sad, simple fable is complemented by the two further instalments. ‘Jenny’s Story’ provides further insight into his female protagonist’s background, including her route into prostitution, while ‘Ella’s Story’, centres around the earnest barmaid who secretly loves Bob, but is offered escape from her life of drudgery by the dreadful, moneyed Mr Eccles (Phil Davis in typically fine, odious form).
Adapted by Kevin Elyot (My Night with Reg), 20,000 Streets is refreshingly unflashy, director Simon Curtis wisely allowing these small tragedies to unfold at an unhurried pace while focusing on the excellent, unassuming performances by the young cast. Watched as a trilogy, the series forms a sad, poignant exploration of unrequited love, self-delusion and missed opportunities. (Allan Radcliffe)
he :l'esevms as cite cf histor‘. 's most slur-f ca"? figures. Dt..’"f‘(l the ‘3'.“ century ’1(:L.'7i’f:fl arring Marga f" re, mto a" exf’a’x”tl"a". arm“ “ileLJLlif‘rT-‘l ,.-;:t
fierce. and ".r- W“
VILALV‘ (1 I, ,, A
d‘1{(a E: . v :1 \JJ 1 A :1 A T. ', '//./’, 1 .', s’n 1 , 1 v
/\w\ x,\ r"\rl.r~ ,, ~ ,, ,.., ,r,‘ ,l,r, ,, r’p. / l‘ /
\JrlE: lC’ -> cv\,I 11" l ', ', 11,. ', .111/11/
THE LIST 101