Thursday's TV tips
Rebellious teenager Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon in smouldering, hip-swivelling form) moves to a small town where pop songs and dancing have been banned by the local Reverend.
Despite his initial difficulties fitting in with the locals, Ren discovers he isn’t the only one desperate to hit the floor, so launches a campaign to hold a prom-style party and finds an unlikely ally in the shape of the preacher’s beautiful but wild daughter Ariel (Lori Singer) – little realising the uproar their efforts will cause.
A remake proved successful, but never quite captured the public’s imagination in the way the original did.
Strong performances from a likeable cast make up for the rather cheesy plot, and the soundtrack may be dated, but it’s still a toe-tapper.
Kevin Bacon, John Lithgow, Lori Singer, Chris Penn, Dianne Wiest, Sarah Jessica Parker
Katie lands on her feet with some good news. However problems arise that could ruin her chances.
Patricia is fuming over a financial issue at the pub and she knows who’s to blame.
Sharon and Paudge finally solve the mystery of the woman, and they find the culprit of another crime.
Vincent finally takes a stand against Bridget with Katie’s help. However, Bridget lands on her feet.
There’s still trouble at the café and it’s touch and go as to whether it’ll open in time.
Norah’s Traveller Academy is groundbreaking Irish television, where we are genuinely seeing into the lives of these young ambitious
Traveller women and their journey to creating viable businesses in a country where they still experience prejudice and exclusion.
Ann-Rose would like to turn her “up-styling/blinging” into a professional business. Self taught, Ann-Rose makes and alters clothing for herself and her sisters. She would love to be a designer and to make or up-style her own creations.
At the moment she takes orders from Travellers who provide ready-made clothes which she “blings” by buying diamonds and accessories online in bulk and then painstakingly hand gluing them onto the garments.
She has been asked to ‘bling’ up everything from christening shoes to prams and baby bottles.
Amanda Brunker is a fish out of water in some of the toughest jobs in Ireland.
In this exciting new entertainment series, we follow Amanda on her ambitious quest to work in some of Ireland’s most challenging and physical jobs and get an insight into contemporary Ireland.
Amanda will try out some of the toughest jobs in Ireland from deep sea fishing to construction and pig farming.
Each week, she will live with one of her co-workers, immersing herself in a different community and really getting under the skin of the toughest jobs in Ireland.
In the second episode, Amanda gets a job in construction.
Corporate headhunter Roger Brown places great stock in his reputation. Unbeknown to his colleagues and his beautiful wife Diana, Roger supplements his modest income as an art thief.
He pilfers prized canvasses from clients while they are attending job interviews with the help of associate Ove Kjikerud, who works in an Oslo security company.
Thanks to his wife, Roger meets suave businessman Clas Greve, who is looking for a new position to match his obvious talents. Clas has inherited a painting by Rubens which would be worth millions on the black market.
Roger and Ove plan the theft that will set them up for life, but there are unforeseen complications.
Aksel Hennie, Eivind Sander, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Synnove Macody Lund
Danny John Jules didn’t have to think too hard before signing up as law enforcer Dwayne Myers for this series.
“It was [a dream job],” he enthuses. “My entry into the show was hard fought for – four interviews, so you know it was one of those jobs where you feel that you’ve actually earned your place.”
On the previous series, some of the crew came down with dengue fever, and this time a few were struck by Chikungunya, a infection that enflames joints.
However, Danny and series regulars Kris Marshall and Sarah Martins escaped any illness, which is more than can be said for this week’s victim.
The Saint Marie Heritage Society is re-enacting the French invasion of the island when its president dies... and it’s not because of a dodgy stew.
There was poison in the pot, so Humphrey wonders why the victim was the only one to end up in the mortuary.
David Bamber and Tyger Drew-Honey also star.
The eponymous star of this moving documentary recalls his life as a young Jewish man during World War Two.
Freddie’s story is a dramatic, and at times, amusing account covering his family life in Vienna during the 1930s; the German occupation of Austria and his flight to Belgium.
He also reflects on his time in Nazi-occupied Paris, where he lived and worked in the red-light Pigalle district for more than two years, socialising with dancing girls and entertaining German officers.
However, an interrogation by the Gestapo eventually led to him moving on again. Following a brief spell in the Resistance, the Nazis eventually caught up with Knoller and his life in Auschwitz began.
Now in his 90s, the Holocaust survivor speaks directly to camera while his memories are supported by archive footage.
Many may give it a wide berth, but it’s one of the most memorable TV programmes you’ll see this month.
The media loves shining the spotlight on individuals involved in relatively petty incidents rather than white collar criminals.
Adding more fuel to the small-scale bonfire is this study of Leeds-born Josie Cunningham. She became one of the most talked about people in Britain after having breast enlargement surgery on the NHS six years ago.
In 2014, the model hit the headlines once more after claiming she would have an abortion for the chance to appear on Celebrity Big Brother; she allegedly set her CBB price tag at £150,000.
Aside from posting incendiary Tweets, some to B*witched star Edele Lynch, increasingly shocking stories, have left many up in arms.
Is she simply a young mum trying to provide a better life for her kids, or does Josie sum up everything wrong with contemporary Britain?
Here cameras follow Cunningham and her agent as they attempt to play the media at their own game.
When Russell T Davies went to work in the States a few years ago, many thought we’d lost one of Blighty’s best scriptwriters for good.
Alas, the Torchwood and Queer as Folk creator was beset with personal problems and after making the hit-and-miss Torchwood: Miracle Day, returned to Blighty to create one of Channel 4’s biggest multi-platform dramas of recent years.
Given the fact they’ve done little else but promote Cucumber (the Channel 4 series), this run of standalone stories, and online documentary strand Tofu, it’s been hard to avoid the ubiquitous adverts.
These eight witty, heartfelt stand-alone stories cover different aspects of LGBT life.
Episode one centres on 19-year-old Dean (Fisayo Akinade).
He has a job, a flat and all the sex he wants. But no matter how fast he runs, his problems are catching up with him.
Given E4’s wave of new and returning shows tonight, it looks like THE channel to watch for offbeat entertainment.
Hapless Edmond Dantes (James Caviezel) is falsely imprisoned in an island gaol and his beautiful fiancee Mercedes is told her beloved died while in stir.
She is then forced to marry Dantes’ rival Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce), against her better judgment. More than 20 years later, Edmond escapes from prison and seeks revenge.
It was far from the first time this swashbuckling tale had been told in film, nor would it be the last – but director Kevin Reynolds’ take on Alexandre Dumas’ novel is easily up there among the very best.
It has a rather retro feel, with plenty of nods to the rollicking adventure yarns of old, but being (relatively, at least) more recent it has the added bonus of looking really rather slick.
Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris, Dagmara Dominczyk, James Frain, Michael Wincott, Henry Cavill
