Tuesday’s TV tips
Your palms are sweaty, your head pounds, and all of a sudden you’re watching yourself from somewhere a million miles away rambling to the stern-faced professional sat opposite you about that time you dealt with your Labrador’s flatulence problems.
Job interviews aren’t the most pleasant of experiences, so it’s to be hoped the latest batch of entrepreneurial wannabes have got their wits about them - because they’re about to head into the most important interview process of their life; with Lord Alan Sugar.
He’s beginning his 10th search for new business blood with his usual introductory pep talk before setting the candidates off on their first task - selling the past decade’s worth of Apprentice goods in one day.
The teams are simply boys vs girls, and each of them must think outside the box to increase their margins.
As always, Nick Hewer and Karren Brady join Lord Sugar, and in the boardroom, the challenge is picked apart before one candidate is fired and sent for a ride in that black cab...
Gordon Ramsay packs his suitcase and arms himself with ideas one more time for the final episode of this brilliant series that’s seen him hotfooting it around Europe, helping out at ex-pats’ failing businesses.
Tonight, he finds himself in a sleepy village in the Costa Blanca, home to Quelcutti’s restaurant, owned by the Quelcutti family.
Del and his wife Sue emigrated to Spain 10 years ago after deciding to use their retirement money to set up a business for their kids to run ‘but they seem to be running the place into the ground. The restaurant is losing 3000 euros a week, and it’s time for some big decisions to be made.
While brothers Joe and Terry can’t agree on whether they’re running a bar or a restaurant, younger sister Ruby is caught in the middle.
With the whole family at panic stations, they’ve called Gordon in as their last-ditch attempt to sort the problem.
Magic boy Ben Hanlin’s career isn’t looking too shoddy. With Breaking Magic and presenting commitments on CBBC sitting pretty on his CV, and his Twitter page reading like a who’s who of the celebrity sphere, it’s not going badly for this chap.
But it’s this hidden camera magic show that’s getting everyone to sit up and take note of what he’s all about, and, now in its second series, we’re all enjoying having a few laughs at celebs’ expense.
This week on Ben’s hit list are Amy Willerton, who he convinces has ruined some children’s dreams, before making it all okay with magic, and David Haye, who witnesses the magician meeting a grisly end.
Relax, relax ‘it’s all just trickery, but the fun comes with the big reveal later on, watching the celebs’ faces as they realise they’ve been duped...
David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones makes an auspicious directorial debut with this haunting, science-fiction drama penned by Nathan Parker. It stars Sam Rockwell as astronaut Sam Bell, who has been working alone at an energy-generating base on the moon for three years.
He desperately wants to return home, but when he is injured in an accident, he begins to uncover some disturbing truths about the operation he’s running, and is left questioning his identity.
Despite a low budget, this is superb entertainment reminiscent of classic sci-fi offerings such as Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001, Silent Running and Alien.
Rockwell is brilliant as the man on the moon who falls ill, meets someone who looks suspiciously like him and finds himself trapped by a computer (voiced by Kevin Spacey) The project certainly impressed Bafta bosses who awarded Jones a gong for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
And if you’re a fan of The IT Crowd, look out for the excellent Matt Berry, who has a brief appearance as Overmeyers. Jones is now making the game-inspired fantasy, Warcraft.
Sam Rockwell
We get it ‘ you’re approaching that midweek lull, lacking motivation for another three days at the workplace, so if ever you fancied a pick-up, BBC3 is definitely the place to be, there’s no arguing with that.
Quite where else would you find some of comedy’s greatest names ‘Jack Whitehall, Harry Enfield, Sarah Solemani, Mathew Horne and company ‘all under the same roof’.
While we’re not short of long-running comedies on the box these days, Bad Education is certainly up there with the best of them.
In tonight’s episode, Alfie goes back to school to take his biology GCSE, taught by Miss Gulliver, and decides the only way to get ahead is to cheat - instead of using the opportunity to prove that he can motivate his class and lead by example.
Meanwhile, Martin Wickers babysits his girlfriend’s dog, and Fraser organises the end of term skip party.
Two boys with troubled home lives struggle to fit in at school - until they seem to find a purpose in life when a scrap metal dealer takes them under his wing. However, soon enough, all is not well as it becomes obvious that their mentor favours one lad over the other, and as tension arises between the boys, the neglected one seems likely to go off the rails.
This Oscar Wilde-inspired tale about is definitely worth a look. The two young lads, Conner Chapman and Shaun Thomas, should be applauded for their outstanding performances. Okay, so the subject matter isn’t exactly going to provide the most uplifting viewing of the week, but fine direction and a great script ensure it’s worth sticking with until those end credits roll.
Conner Chapman, Shaun Thomas, Sean Gilder.
