Sunday's TV tips
As you’re probably aware if you picked up a paper, turned on the radio, checked out social media or glimpsed the TV news recently, an episode of Top Gear was originally supposed to be airing this week, but is now no longer showing.
The somewhat unenviable job of replacing it in the schedule falls to Simon Reeve with this new series, which sees him exploring the Caribbean.
It may sound like nice work if you can get it, but in this first episode, Simon discovers the different sides to the region as he visits tourist hotspot the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
However, while Haiti may have problems, it also has its own thriving and vibrant culture.
Then it’s on to Puerto Rico, an archipelago that is a territory of the United States, and the tiny island of Vieques, which is tipped to be the Caribbean’s next major tourist destination, despite its history as a site of military bomb testings.
No offence to the nuns and nurses of Call the Midwife, who are clearly hugely popular – the last series ended with ratings of more than eight million – but Sundays never seem quite the same without the Antiques Roadshow.
Luckily, Fiona Bruce and her trusty team of experts are back on our screens after a 10-week break, and like the amateur artists of The Big Painting Challenge, they are in Liverpool.
Items being brought to the Metropolitan Cathedral include a miniature kitchen crafted in metal, a 1970s barber’s chair and a 12th-century Hindu sculpture that was unearthed in someone’s garden.
The experts will also be putting a price on a ring that could date back as far as the 15th century, and items that once belonged to Captain Arthur Rostron, whose ship, the Carpathia, came to the aid of the Titanic.
When a prominent attorney goes missing in Boston, the BAU unearths secrets in his past which could point to the reasons for his disappearance.
A lot of viewers decided Aidan Turner was perfectly cast as Ross Poldark without seeing a single episode of the new series – the brief glimpses of him with his shirt off in the trailer were proof enough.
However, for anyone who still feels that Robin Ellis, star of the original 1970s adaptation, is the definitive Poldark is in for a treat this week as he makes a guest appearance.
Zacky’s daughter Jinny is pregnant with Jim’s baby, so Ross offers them a cottage rent-free so they can marry. What a guy, right?
Unfortunately, it looks like the young couple might not get to live happily after when Jim is caught poaching and finds himself in front of the local magistrate (Ellis).
Meanwhile, Ross has romantic problems of his own when Elizabeth gives birth, and his relationship with Demelza becomes the talk of the christening.
The game is afoot once more! Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law reprise their roles as Holmes and Watson in the supersleuth sequel to the mystery megahit that minted over a half billion dollars worldwide.
While vying with Watson's soon-to-be wife for the Doctor's time and attention, the detective extraordinaire matches wits with his arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty (Mad Men's Jared Harris), a criminal genius who's
conspiring to make a fortune by manufacturing the next generation of wartime weaponry that the world's great powers will be forced to use against one another... once Moriarty succeeds in provoking World War I, of course.
Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris
The eponymous homicide cop (Tyler Perry) goes after an ex-military assassin who has sadistically tortured and murdered a wealthy executive, and left a surreal clue to his next victim.
However, as the detective tries to bring the murderer’s spree to an end, it turns out his own family could also be in the firing line.
A gripping story, adapted from the James Patterson novels, and decent cinematography make this well worth a look, even if it isn’t one of the best offerings of the week.
Perry performs well in the lead role, while it’s nice to see Matthew Fox outside of the Lost role that made him so famous – he’s brilliant as the threatening antagonist.
All in all, there are worse ways you could spend a couple of hours of a Sunday evening.
Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Jean Reno.
Ten years have been and gone since the Ghostface killer first struck and since then, Sidney has found strength through her writing.
Now a published writer, the latest stop of her book tour sees her back in Woodsboro, reconnecting with old friends. However, her appearance brings about the return of the killings and Sidney is forced to relive the ordeal all over again.
Back in 1996, when we were all a heck of a lot younger – a pre-surgery Courteney Cox included – Wes Craven’s Scream hit cinemas to rave reviews.
There have been a few attempted sequels in the meantime, but this fourth instalment tops the lot of them and sees the same gang (Neve Campbell, David Arquette and the aforementioned Cox) on fine form.
For sceptics who fear this will never live up to the original, you may just be proved wrong.
Neve Campbell, Emma Roberts, Courteney Cox, David Arquette.
