Saturday’s TV tips

Your guide to tonight's TV.

Saturday’s TV tips

FILM: Rise of the Guardians (BBC One, 5.15pm)

(2012) Jack Frost (voiced by Chris Pine) emerges from a frozen lake without any memory of the past.

At the North Pole, Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin) and his elves are hard at work when darkness flashes across his map of the Earth.

“The bogeyman was here,” Santa tells his fellow guardians Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and Sandman, who refuse to believe that Pitch Black (Jude Law) has risen to challenge their supremacy with his hideous nightmares.

Once the threat posed by Pitch Black becomes terrifyingly real, the guardians prepare to welcome a new recruit to their fold: Jack Frost.

There’s plenty here for kids and adults to like, so it’s perfect for the whole family to while away a couple of hours. That the who’s-who of Hollywood royalty have signed their names up here for voicing the characters is reason enough to tune in, but the animation is second to none.

Starring: The voices of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, Jude Law.

FILM: The Young Victoria (BBC Two, 6.45pm)

(2009) Emily Blunt stars as Britain’s longest-serving monarch in this fine historical drama.

The film focuses on the turbulent early years of her reign, as she became caught in a power struggle between her mother, her mother’s mentor, Lord Melbourne, and Robert Peel.

Meanwhile, an ill-fated romance develops with her German cousin and eventual husband, Prince Albert.

The drama really comes to life when focusing on the power struggle between the Queen, her mother and her mentors.

Emily Blunt gives a considered performance as the Monarch, and she’s well supported by the likes of Miranda Richardson and Mark Strong.

Starring: Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Mark Strong, Jim Broadbent, Thomas Kretschmann

MUSIC: The Voice UK (BBC1, 7pm)

Some might say this has been the best series so far. Yes, we loved Jessie J, Danny from The Script and Kylie of course in previous runs, but Rita Ora’s mix of naive charm, glamour and million-dollar smile, not to mention her fine tutelage, has made for top TV.

And, needless to say, returning judges Tom Jones, Will.i.am and Ricky Wilson have been just as watchable, even if the Black Eyed Peas frontman’s metaphors have been more ’Boom Boom eh?’ than ’Boom Boom Pow’.

The likes of Emmanuel Nwamandi, Sasha Simone and Karis Thomas have all done rather well, but at this stage it’s anyone’s guess who will make it through to the end, or whether they will beat The Voice curse and become a recording star.

Hosts Emma Willis and Marvin Humes guide us through the final stage in what promises to be a superb show.

ENTERTAINMENT: Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (TV3, 7pm)

Footballer Wayne Rooney meets the eponymous hosts’ young doppelgangers, Little Ant & Dec, in the last of the current series. The question is: how will the England star get on as he tackles their cheeky questioning?

That remains to be seen, but we can tell you that another player will get the chance to pick up a small fortune as they attempt to Win the Ads. Singalong Live also promises to make someone’s day with a cash prize.

Plus, the ever-glamorous Ashley Roberts challenges Messrs McPartlin and Donnelly in the final Ant Vs Dec.

The latter was crowned champion in the last series, so Ant will be doubling his efforts in the hope of emerging victorious.

By close of play, the lads will possibly be off to top up their tans (and no doubt clearing space on their shelves for more awards) before returning in a few weeks for Britain’s Got Talent.

FILM: End of the World Night (Channel 4, 9pm)

When the movie 2012 was released in 2009, some sniffy critics lambasted its fuzzy science. However, Roland Emmerich’s blockbuster about the end of the world (based on a Mayan prediction) was never meant to be a docu-drama.

It was instead a gloriously over-the-top adventure, with a mostly terrific cast and some of the most stunning apocalyptic scenes ever committed to celluloid. If you have a Blu-ray copy and a decent sound system, the scenes of LA and Yosemite being obliterated remain a jaw-dropping spectacle.

In this one-off special, some of the world’s foremost academics evaluate the many threats to civilisation, and reveal how it could all end.

Highlights include Bruce Willis destroying an asteroid in Armageddon (another guilty pleasure in which science takes a back seat) and John Cusack outrunning a super-eruption in the aforementioned 2012.

This show explores Tinseltown’s most spectacular doomsday scenes, reveals the facts behind the science fiction, and counts down 10 of the most likely outcomes.

FILM: Mercury Rising (TV3, 10pm)

(1998) Bruce is back! Deadset on protecting an autistic boy who innocently cracks a top-secret government code, maverick FBI agent Art Jeffries (Golden Globe winner Bruce Willis) leads us through an action-packed thriller with government assassins at every turn.

Golden Globe nominee Alec Baldwin also stars in this must-see action film.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Kim Dickens

FILM: Educating Rita (Channel 5, 10.55pm)

(1983) Bored Liverpool hairdresser Rita (real name Susan, she’s changed it in honour of her favourite writer) tries to spice up her life by enrolling in an Open University English course.

Her tutor is Frank, a hard-drinking poet, who is initially sceptical, but eventually comes to see his new pupil’s frank opinions and natural intelligence as a breath of fresh air.

She’s slightly in awe of him, but as she finds her feet and starts mixing with other pupils, the dynamics of their relationship starts to change.

Starring: Julie Walters, Michael Caine, Maureen Lipman, Michael Williams, Malcolm Douglas

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