Friday, 30 March 2018

Must see TV - Week beginning 1 April 2018

Recently I have been struggling with my TV recommendations for new programming but this upcoming week there is an abundance. There is a return of a classic and a favourite of mine “The Generation Game”. I have no idea what to expect but I have a feeling TV pundits are queuing up to trash it with comparisons with past shows and presenters. It’s going to be a busy seven days for my football team with two televised games on Sky Sports.


Saturday 30 Mar – Channel 5 – Most Shocking Sexist TV of All Time 9pm ***New***

Channel 5 loves to programme countdown shows and this time they are countdown to some of television’s most outrageous sexist moments, featuring archive footage, and interviews, and an examination of how gender politics has played out on TV from the 1960s to the present day.

Sunday 1 Apr - Sky One - Revolution 6:30pm ***New Series***
Something new for the youngsters but I can still watch you never know I could get my skateboard out. Steve-O from Jackass and Maya Jama from who knows present an entertainment show in which inline skaters, BMXers and skateboarders go head-to-head in a series of rounds that include high-speed races, an obstacle course, and a high jump competition. Jordan Banjo has all the trackside gossip and Tim Warwood and CK Flash provide the commentary.

Sun 1 Apr – BBC 1 – The Generation Game 8pm ***New Series***

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins host the first of two special episodes reviving the classic game show in which four teams of two family members compete in a series of bizarre challenges, culminating in the famous conveyor belt. Guests Lorraine Kelly, Richard Osman, and Martin Kemp are on the show as the contestants tackle sausage-making, plate spinning, and teapot throwing.
The games, for those too young to remember the original, are designed for maximum embarrassment, and hilarity, so we see contestants attempt to work a pottery wheel (under the surprisingly competent eye of Johnny Vegas), make sausages, and do a Bollywood routine. By the time two teams of family members try plate spinning, everyone is having a smashing time. Yep, that’s the level of it.

Sun 1 Apr – BBC 1 - Ordeal by Innocence 9pm ***New Series***

Three-part adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel, starring Bill Nighy. The former husband of a murdered heiress prepares to remarry 18 months after her adopted son was convicted of killing her, before dying himself in a prison brawl. However, the wedding preparations are disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious scientist who has returned from an expedition to the Arctic - and who claims to be able to prove the supposed murderer is innocent.

Monday 2 Apr – Sky Sports Main Event – Sheffield United v Cardiff City 7:30pm ***New***

Most of my recommendations tonight will have to be seen via catch-up with it being a footy night. All games are important with eight games in the season left, a win, and three points would help on the road to promotion. It is the first game in a tough April for Cardiff City.

Monday 2 Apr – Channel 4 – Travel Man 8:30pm ***New Series***

Richard Ayoade returns with his offbeat tourism show and is joined in the first edition by comedian and ‘Not Going Out’ star, Lee Mack for a short break in the Belgian capital. Their two-day trip features culture, comics, pralines, puppets and attractions both large and small, including the Grand Palace and the famous atom-shaped Atomium, as well as waffles, mussels - including Genghis Khan - and the secrets of chocolate-making.

Monday 2 Apr – Channel 4 - The Island with Bear Grylls 9pm ***New Series***

The survival challenge returns with two separate groups being abandoned at opposite ends of a remote uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, with the 16 Islanders facing extreme tropical weather, limited resources, and environmental hazards. One team of castaways consists of professionals living off an average income of £100,000 a year, while the members of the other earn below the UK national average wage. In the first episode, Bear Grylls drops them off in caiman-infested mangroves and deep water. All ready I hate the posh lot.

Monday 2 Apr – BBC 2 – Dave Allen at Peace 9pm ***New Series***

This curiously bio-drama about Dave Allen serves just one purpose, to remind us all of how much we miss the real Dave Allen. Aidan Gillen has a fair stab, and he looks good in a sharp suit, but, of course, only Dave Allen was ever Dave Allen.
Fact-based drama filmed in the style of the Irish comedian's BBC TV series, following Dave Allen from childhood to becoming one of the UK and Ireland's comedy greats, and exploring how his life and work was shaped by the tragic loss of his father, his brother, and half of a finger.

Monday 2 Apr – Channel 4 – Kiss me First 10pm ***New Series***
When her mother dies, Leila has to learn how to manage living on her own and it is only when she logs on to virtual reality game Azana that she feels truly alive. It's there that she meets the mysterious Mania - aka Tess in real life - and discovers a secret paradise called Red Pill, the leader of which tells her she has to be invited to join and blasts her out of the game. However, the next day Leila is stunned when Tess turns up at her workplace. Fantasy thriller blending live action and CGI, starring Tallulah Haddon and Simona Brown.
Tuesday 3 Apr - ITV – Last Laugh in Vegas 9pm ***New Series***

Comedians Cannon and Ball, Bernie Clifton, Kenny Lynch and Mick Miller, join forces with musicians Bobby Crush, Jess Conrad, Anita Harris, and actress Su Pollard to stage their dream gig in Nevada. For two weeks, they will live together, explore the city, and rehearse with Las Vegas producer Frank Marino, preparing for the biggest performance of their lives in one of the area's most iconic theatres.

Tuesday 3 Apr – Fox TV – Wolf Creek 10pm ***New Series***

The return of the thriller, following on from the film franchise of the same name. Mick Taylor sees an opportunity after a chance encounter with a coach full of tourists. The unwitting travellers begin an outback adventure none of them could have imagined. I found the first series gripping hopefully this second series would keep up the high standards.

Tuesday 3 Apr – BBC 2 – Cunk on Britain 10pm ***New Series***

Fresh from her specials on Shakespeare and Christmas, Philomena Cunk, Diane Morgan’s dim-witted presenter, is back with her first full series – a five-part history of Britain. From the days of “Tyrannical Sawdust Rex” to the age of Brexit, she also takes in landmarks like the Bayeux Tapestry – “just like being there but in wool”. Cunk from Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe carries out in-depth investigations, beginning with the big bang. Comedy documentary, starring Diane Morgan, with a guest appearance by Robert Peston.

Tuesday 3 Apr – Discovery Channel – Running Wild With Bear Grylls 10pm ***New Series***

How do you imagine Julia Roberts will manage in the Kenyan bush for a couple of days with Bear Grylls? They’re on an adventure – on behalf of Red Nose Day in the States – to take vital live vaccines to a village that’s far off the beaten track. So with an actual job to do it’s a bit of a milder excursion than some of the celebrity outings we’ve seen before.
But there’s still plenty to enjoy as Julia is forced to confront her fear of heights (she’s got quite some lung power, if she ever wants to do a horror film) and Bear’s less than rudimentary cooking skills. And even if she looks a bit wind-blasted, that fabulous laugh is hard to resist.

Wednesday 4 Apr – BBC 1 – Commonwealth Games: Opening Ceremony 10.30am ***New***

Hazel Irvine presents live coverage from Carrara Stadium, Queensland, Australia, as the 21st staging of the multi-sport event is officially declared open. This is the fifth time Australia has hosted the Games, and the first since Melbourne 2006. At the heart of this ceremony will be the traditional Parade of Nations, the Competitors' Oath and the finale of the Queen's Baton Relay, which has taken place across every nation and territory in the Commonwealth, spanning approximately 150,000 miles.
first events are live on BBC1 from 12.15am. Alistair and Jonny Brownlee compete for England in the men’s triathlon, while Wales captain Non Stanford races in the women’s event.

Thursday 5 Apr – Fox TV – Deep State 9pm ***New Series***

It’s Fox’s first British-made drama, a sprawling international thriller of the kind McMafia wanted to be, but with a lot less about hedge fund managers and shipping lines, mercifully. our hero is Max Easton, an ex-MI6 agent with a guilty secret who has retired to the French countryside to plane furniture and make pancakes for his kids. Well, that won’t last.
Max called out of retirement to clean up a tragic personal angle – but generic in a good way: we know where we are and there’s plenty of it, crammed with twists, baddies and things being blown up. It won’t be dull.



Friday 6 Apr – Sky Sports Football – Cardiff City v Wolves 7pm ***New***

A massive top of the table clash in front of hopefully the biggest crowd of the season and with the game on Sky. Without a crystal ball to see into the future this is an important game for both clubs, a win for Cardiff would see them draw close to the league leaders. In the corresponding fixture at Wolves ground earlier in the season Cardiff won.   
Friday 6 Apr – BBC 1 - The Graham Norton Show 10:35 pm ***New Series***

A married couple join the host, as Emily Blunt, star of The Devil Wears Prada and Girl on a Train, and American Office actor John Krasinski discuss working together in new horror movie A Quiet Place. Kylie Minogue also chats and performs her new single Stop Me from Falling from the album Golden, while Spider-Man star Tom Holland discusses reprising the role for Avengers: Infinity War. Plus, another bunch of intrepid audience members steps up to the plate, willing to recount an anecdote from the dreaded red chair.

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