Friday's TV tips

Check out our spolier-free guide to the best shows on TV tonight.

Friday's TV tips

MUSIC: Greg & Jen @ Reading (BBC3, 7pm)

Have you recovered from Glastonbury yet, or any of the other festivals that have taken place in the UK over the summer?

If the answer is no, you’d better sort yourself out quickly, because there’s another one on its way.

Although perhaps not as prestigious as the event at Worthy Farm, Reading has been keeping visitors entertained, annually, for more than 40 years and has grown in stature over the decades, and we’re promised a great line-up again this weekend.

Greg James and Jen Long will be bringing viewers all the highlights over the next few days, and begin with an hour-long introduction at 7pm, but it’s after that when the fun really begins, with Vampire Weekend the first act on the Main Stage from 8pm.

They will be followed by fellow headliners Paramore at 9pm in what will be a must-see gig for rock fans everywhere.

TALENT COMPETITION: America’s Got Talent (TV3, 9pm)

Celebrity judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howard Stern continue auditions around the country.

Nick Cannon hosts this variety competition series which features a colourful array of hopeful future stars as they compete for a chance to perform at the famed Radio City Music Hall and win the $1 million prize.

The 7th group of potential contestants performs for the judges tonight hoping to be selected to move on in the competition.

COMEDY: Boomers (BBC1, 9pm)

When you think of Norfolk, what springs to mind?

Probably its flat landscape, perhaps local boy Stephen Fry or a certain famous turkey farmer and his produce. But comedy? Maybe not, but maybe it should.

It hosts its own comedy festival and, throughout its run, the county provided the outdoor locations for Dad’s Army, with Thetford standing in for Walmington-on-Sea, with the nearby Stanford Training Area also featuring in several episodes.

Whether Boomers becomes as highly acclaimed as the war-based sitcom remains to be seen, but it’s set on the Norfolk coast and features much-loved ageing character actors in leading roles.

This week, Joyce books a table at a trendy gastropub so that the gang can help Trevor and Carol celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

Unfortunately nothing seems to go to plan, from the appearance of Maureen and her mother Joan, to an unfortunate announcement from Carol herself.

DOCUMENTARY: The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill (BBC4, 9.10pm)

Earlier this year, it was announced that Kate Bush was leaving the wiley, windy moors of her self-imposed concert exile to take up a 22-date residency at the Hammersmith Apollo.

It begins on August 26, and is one of the most eagerly awaited comebacks of all time – mostly because Bush hasn’t performed live regularly since her one and only tour in 1979, and because she’s so elusive, often staying out of the limelight for years at a time before surprising everyone with an album release.

To mark the singer-songwriter’s return to the public eye, this documentary takes a look back at her long career, and features interviews with celebrity fans and those who have worked with her, including David Gilmour, the Pink Floyd guitarist who discovered her, Peter Gabriel, Stephen Fry and Elton John.

There’s also a chance to see her in action during Kate Bush at the BBC, which is broadcast immediately after this programme at 10.10pm.

COMEDY: The Last Leg (Channel 4, 10pm)

Will Daniel Radcliffe ever escape Harry Potter? The film franchise made him a famous face around the world, but will anything he does from now until the end of his acting career overshadow it?

At the moment, that seems doubtful, although he’s having a good go at proving he can do something other than cast spells.

Since leaving the boy wizard behind, Radcliffe has featured in various stage plays and had a big screen hit with the Hammer film The Woman in Black.

Now he’s making an appearance on this comedy show; those who remember him taking part in QI a few years back will know he’s quick-witted, so co-hosts Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker had better be on top of their game.

As ever, they will be taking an irreverent look at the stories that have hit the headlines during the past week while asking the all-important question ’is it OK?’

For Radcliffe, in terms of career progression, the answer is yes.

FILM: Zombieland (Film4, 9pm)

(2006) A virus leaves America overrun with zombies, with a small group of survivors – a cowardly student, two cunning teenage sisters and a hardened zombie slayer – given the run of the country.

The unlikely band head for Hollywood, fighting off the living dead wherever they crop up.

Striking an irreverent tone that echoes Shaun Of The Dead, Zombieland is a bloody – and bloody hilarious – jaunt through a futuristic America.

Jesse Eisenberg is great as the scaredy-cat anti-hero helped by gun-toting hardman Woody Harrelson, while Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin offer able support.

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Amber Heard, Joan Schuermeyer, Bill Murray, Derek Graf

FILM: Precious (BBC Two, 11.05pm)

(2009) Sixteen-year-old Claireece Jones – she’s illiterate, overweight and pregnant with her second child.

However, the dad is her own biological father who has raped her continuously ever since she was a child. Her mother isn’t any better, abusing her mentally and physically, wanting only a life on benefits for her daughter.

Precious is removed from her school and sent to a new institution where she meets a kindly teacher who, it looks likely, will give her the push she needs to turn her life around.

Mariah Carey may be one of the stars of this effort, but don’t let that put you off. Of course, you’d be wise to be wary after her 2001 flop Glitter – but this is a whole different kettle of fish.

The main star of the show is Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the teen, while director Lee Daniels skillfully pulls the story together with a combination of editing tricks and simple point-of-view angles that really allow us to engage with the characters.

Starring: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz

FILM: (500) Days of Summer (Channel 4, 11.40pm)

(2009) Twentysomething Tom takes a shine to Summer, a fellow employee at a greetings card company.

They begin to date, but while he finds himself falling deeper and deeper in love, Summer seems less committed to their relationship and eventually breaks up with him, leaving Tom desperate to win her back. So far, so simple, but what makes this a little bit different is it focuses on different key days in their relationship in a random order.

Whether you think this film is startlingly original or not might depend on whether you’ve seen the Woody Allen classic Annie Hall.

But even if it does owe a small debt to some other films, it’s still a welcome attempt to put a new twist on an often formulaic genre. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is great as the lovelorn Tom, while Zooey Deschanel is adorable enough to make it believable that he would have fallen under Summer’s spell.

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Chloe Moretz, Geoffrey Arend, Matthew Gray Gubler, Clark Gregg

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