Wednesday's TV tips
Having achieved virtually everything he possibly could during a glittering amateur career, Mullingar bantamweight John Joe Nevin joined the professional ranks and set out on the gruelling road to pro boxing stardom.
Signing with GreenBlood Boxing in Philadelphia, leaving family and home to pursue his dream in the States is a huge wrench for John Joe.
After years in the safe hands of the IABA’s High Performance Unit under the care of Billy Walsh, John Joe must now hit the streets pressing the flesh and generating publicity in order to put bums on seats and ultimately pay his way in the pro game.
This is a huge, unsettling change for the young Mullingar-born traveller but even this seismic upheaval is nothing compared to the battle he faces when his life is turned upside down on the morning of April 5, 2014 following an altercation which left him with two broken legs and a mountain to climb.
This is the story of John Joe’s comeback against the odds…
Stacey Dooley has never been afraid of a taboo topic – so here is the latest in a string of thought-provoking, hard-hitting documentaries of which she’s done a brilliant job at the helm.
One in four women and one in six men in the UK suffer abuse in their lifetime, so Stacey is looking into the frightening stories of domestic violence in young people’s relationships.
The presenter speaks to victims as well as perpetrators to try and get an understanding of the issues which provoke the attacks, and joins Lancashire police officers, as they tackle some of the 9,000 cases of abuse they investigate every year.
Plus, Stacey also chats with Home Secretary Theresa May, and gains access to the National Centre for Domestic Violence.
This isn’t the most uplifting viewing on the box this evening, but it’s a subject that Stacey isn’t willing to ignore...
Cast your mind back to 1995...
Twenty years ago, in Beijing, Hillary Clinton made that ground-breaking speech about how the world should treat women’s rights as human rights.
Fast forward to the present day, and Clinton is said to be on the brink of announcing a second attempt at the US presidency, which makes this the perfect time for a documentary questioning whether anything has really changed for the world’s women.
The programme hears comments from three of the most powerful women in recent history – Ms Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright, and reveals the struggles they had to endure in making a difference to the rights of half the world’s population, as well as looking at those who dared to take power into their own hands in Afghanistan, India, Egypt and Liberia.
Hospital dramas are hardly in short supply these days, what with the likes of Holby and Grey’s Anatomy, but it turns out we love a hospital-based documentary just as much as much as the fictional stuff, as this award-winning series continues.
Tonight’s episode looks at families whose strong bonds have seen them through the worst that life can throw at them. Les lost control of his Land Rover while on his way to work, and has been admitted to St George’s with lacerations on his head.
He’ll need emergency surgery, and the team test for underlying head and neck injuries, while his dad Michael rushes to his side.
Meanwhile, Cambelle, a 21-year-old plumber, has an infected cyst, and 67-year-old retired doctor Patrick has been involved in horse-riding accident, in which he was dragged 130ft and not found for more than two hours.
The hugely popular Second Captains Live returns for a fourth series just in time for the climax of the 6 Nations, the knock-out stages of the Champions League and ahead of another summer of GAA Championship action.
Eoin McDevitt, Ken Early and Ciaran Murphy will again be joined by the most insightful names in sport, who will continue to frustrate the nation with their Good Wall choices for the top ten Irish sports people of all-time.
The lads will uncover more wondrous Irish television archive, continue to embarrass themselves by competing in farcical quizzes and showcase ridiculous features such as Boring Irish Sporting Tweets, Behind The Blackboard and Skills of Hurling.
Academy Award-winner Matt Damon returns as the trained assassin Jason Bourne in the third explosive installment of this smash hit espionage thriller series.
Having lost his memory and the one person he loved, Bourne is forced to hunt down his past in order to find a future.
Traveling from Moscow, Paris and London to Tangier and New York City, he continues his quest to find the real Jason Bourne-all the while trying to outmaneuver the scores of cops, federal officers and Interpol agents who have him in their crosshairs.
Returning cast members Julia Stiles and Joan Allen join new additions David Strathairn and Paddy Considine in this non-stop, intelligent thrill ride!
Matt Damon, Joan Allen, Julia Stiles.
Brutal rapist Max Cady is released from jail following a long stretch and immediately hunts down the lawyer he blames for his incarceration - Sam Bowden.
What takes place next is a nasty game of cat-and-mouse in which Cady becomes increasingly unhinged as he plots his revenge on Bowden and his family.
If you haven’t seen the original 1962 adaptation of John D MacDonald’s novel The Executioners, chances are you’ll think it’s great – after all, it pairs Robert De Niro with his old pal, director Martin Scorsese. It is good, but it’s not a patch on the first film. Sometimes, less really is more.
Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis
It follows Iraqi soldier Latif, who becomes a body double for Saddam Hussein’s sadistic son Uday – although the job will make him a target for assassins, he’s told that if he turns it down, his family will be executed.
But as Latif gets to see first-hand just how depraved and violent Uday’s life really is, he becomes increasingly determined to escape.
If you’re expecting an earnest movie about life under the Hussein regime, you’re in for a surprise – thanks to its portrayal of Uday’s murderous behaviour, it’s more like an Iraqi version of Scarface.
Some viewers may think that makes The Devil’s Double a bit of a missed opportunity – there’s arguably a more thoughtful, satirical movie to be made from the same material – but it still works well as a thriller, and Dominic Cooper, who has too often being relegated to supporting parts, seizes his juicy double role with gusto.
Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Philip Quast, Raad Rawi, Mimoun Oaissa, Khalid Laith, Dar Salim
We all remember the one that got away: the seemingly perfect first crush, who never knew how we felt because we lacked the courage to tell them.
I Love You, Beth Cooper is a romantic comedy about a high-school nerd (Paul Rust) who decides to wear his heart on his sleeve and declare his feelings for a girl (Hayden Panettiere) who doesn’t know he exists.
Hayden Panettiere, Paul Rust, Jack Carpenter, Lauren London
