Friday’s TV tips
One of the Beeb’s biggest but most unlikely hits of recent years has been Who Do You Think You Are?, the genealogy show which sees celebs find out fascinating stories about their ancestors.
Pianist, presenter and band leader Jools Holland, however, doesn’t need to trace his family history back very far at all to uncover some choice tales – in this documentary he takes a look at his father-in-law, Rory McEwen, the aristocrat, artist, folk singer and pioneering TV presenter widely credited with introducing blues music to Britain.
The show features a selection of McEwen’s paintings, as well as archive footage of the prodigious polymath in action.
There’s also a chance to hear from fellow artists including singer-songwriter Van Morrison, presenter David Dimbleby and actor and author Jonathan Miller as they recall McEwen’s life and work.
Judd Apatow, the creative force behind the smash-hit The 40 Year-Old Virgin, re-teams with Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd in this equally hilarious and affecting comedy about a one-night stand with unexpected consequences.
Katherine Heigl portrays an up-and-coming entertainment journalist whose drunken romp with an off-beat slacker (Rogen) results in an unwanted pregnancy.
With her only other option to raise the child alone, she tries to give it a shot with the loveable doof, but after they try dating it becomes painfully obvious that they are not the soul mates they'd hoped they might be.
Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd
90%
As the riveting swashbuckler reaches its halfway point, the Musketeers seem destined for yet more adventure as Athos is kidnapped and whisked away to his old estate of Pinon.
There, he comes into conflict with the nefarious Baron Renard, who is looking for an opportunity to seize the aristocratic soldier’s land.
Renard decides that he is justified if Athos has rejected his birthright, but before he can execute his plan, the other musketeers mount a rescue bid.
They’re not sure they can do it alone, however, and set about training a ragtag band of locals in the ways of war so that they can better defend against attacks.
The package-holiday sitcom series draws to a close tonight, as Ruth Madoc of Hi-de-Hi! fame guest stars.
She plays Riannon, who arrives just in time for a big reunion with Jacqueline and Glynn – however she’s only half of the picture, and Jacqueline’s dismayed when there’s no sign of Donald.
Elsewhere in the resort, barman Mateo causes a stir when he reveals his home life is an unmitigated disaster – to the extend that his mother-in-law Dolores is actually threatening to kill him.
Lesley tries to help by urging him to move away and start a new life, but is that easier said than done?
Clive’s still smarting over the €5,000 that dodgy property dealer Monty took, so he joins forces with Tiger and Terri and together the trio come up with a plan to ensure justice is done.
The travelogue show returns for a welcome third series as art critic, journalist and presenter Andrew Graham-Dixon and London-based Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli embark on a whole new tour of the country, this time travelling along the east coast to sample some of the cultural delights it has to offer.
The pair set out from the southern city of Matera in the Basilicata region which, as they learn, is the location of ancient cave dwellings which are deemed so important that they have been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
From there, they head north towards Puglia and visit the picturesque locations of Lecce, Alberobello and Ruvo, where Andrew and Giorgio are surprised to find young people attempting to return to their roots and revive some old traditions that the communities had all but consigned to the history books.
Detective Nick Curran is pressed into action when a rock star is killed with an ice pick during sexual intercourse.
His investigations immediately point to Catherine Tramell, a crime novelist who was dating the musician at the time of his death.
Curran is sure that she’s the murderer, but he’s unable to get enough evidence to arrest her. She emerges as a sultry master-manipulator, who knows exactly how to use her assets to get what she wants.
It’s no coincidence that she begins a wild affair with Curran, just when he begins to edge closer to tying up the case...
Notorious for Sharon Stone going commando for the interrogation scene, it’s a red-hot thriller which paved the way for assorted awful clones, including Body of Evidence and Color of Night.
Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Wayne Knight
Omid Djalili stars as a Muslim family man who has something of an identity crisis when he learns he was adopted – and his real mother is Jewish.
He sees an opportunity when he meets a drunken taxi driver and undertakes a crash course in Judaism. But the upheaval has knock-on effects at home, when his wife suspects he is having an affair.
Djalili ensures that there are laugh-out-loud moments aplenty, however you wouldn’t expect anything less, given that the script is by David Baddiel.
Richard Schiff puts up a good fight to steal every scene he’s in. This humorous take on an often touchy subject is not to be missed.
Omid Djalili, Richard Schiff, Archie Panjabi
65%
