Thursday's TV tips
Charlotte is a young woman who falls in love with Peter, an RAF pilot, before his plane is shot down over occupied France.
She then enlists with the Special Operations Executive, which sends agents into France as couriers between the British Government and the Resistance, and is posted to a village near Peter’s last confirmed location where she meets resistance fighter Julien Levade.
But Charlotte finds herself torn between her RAF lover and her new acquaintance.
It may not be as impressive as the Sebastian Faulks novel on which it’s based, but it’s nowhere near as bad as critics made out during its initial cinema release.
For a start, the wonderful Cate Blanchett is always good value, no matter the subject matter.
Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Rupert Penry-Jones, Michael Gambon
Football hooliganism was once called ‘the English disease’. While the police’s hard-line tactics have largely eradicated the violence of the 70s and 80s, with the World Cup right around the corner it is clear that there are still a few gangs hell bent on having a scrap.
Featuring frank and honest interviews with the perpetrators themselves, this programme shines a light into the underworld of 21st-century hooliganism.
Those of us with a sweet tooth have been left disappointed following recent newspaper articles portraying sugar as a major health risk.
But journalist Fiona Phillips is on the case, and determined to find out what’s so bad about a few sweet treats, and what exactly does sugar do to the body that makes it such a problem.
She learns why some people have more of a sweet tooth than others, which sugars can be enjoyed guilt-free, and what effect sugary drinks have on the appetite.
Fiona also meets four people whose sugar-heavy diets could be putting their health at risk and attempt to change their ways with low-sugar recipes, and ways to beat the cravings.
However, she soon realises that sugar is hidden in places she’d never have thought, from ketchup to bran flakes.
Meanwhile, top scientists also offer their views, and brain scans reveal why some of us have stronger sugar cravings than others.
As the drama continues, Reverend Johnson leads the community in prayer as they bury another soul who has succumbed to the hardships of life in the colony.
They’re interrupted in paying their respects though, when shouting is heard from the sea – some marines are gesturing that their fishnets have been slashed...
The Reverend has a much nicer job on his hands later, when the marriage of Elizabeth and Tommy is blessed.
However, the clergyman is brought back down to earth when Governor Phillip orders work to cease on the building of the partially constructed church.
Captain Collins and Mary begin their literacy classes for the convicts they think should be given the opportunity to better themselves, and Kitty suffers from the attentions of Major Ross and makes an extreme bid for freedom.
As usual expect stunning performances from the likes of Russell Tovey, MyAnna Buring and Julian Rhind-Tutt.
Trevor Phillips has devoted his career to reducing discrimination.
In this documentary, he controversially argues that while much of the work of those in the ’equality movement’ has on the whole changed the world for the better, it may also have led to unwanted consequences that could undermine what’s already been achieved.
Throughout the programme, Phillips confronts the truth about racial stereotypes, asks questions of Nigel Farage and chats with Tony Blair about how work begun by New Labour to promote diversity could be put back on track.
Plus, he argues that in a diverse society, we might have to get more used to giving and taking offence.
It may be a tricky subject matter, but it’s a topical one all the same, and is bound to provoke much debate in living rooms up and down the country.
Two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey and Irish Golden Globe winner Colin Farrell star in this comedy crime thriller.
Brilliant, flamboyant master criminal Michael Lynch is more interested in his image and his posterity than the actual profit from his ill-gotten gains.
Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Linda Fiorentino.
A New York public transport worker faces the day from Hell when a disgruntled stranger and his cohorts take commuters on the eponymous subway train hostage and start demanding a ransom from city officials.
Although it got a mixed reception on release, this version of the Morton Freedgood (aka John Godey) novel has a lot going for it.
Director Tony Scott teamed up once more with Denzel Washington, an actor who excels at playing flawed characters in often extraordinary circumstances.
Reminiscent of Spike Lee’s Inside Man, Washington is as watchable as ever as the transport worker; John Travolta has a great time as the bad guy of the piece, while the much-missed James Gandolfini delivers a fine turn as the Big Apple mayor.
Although some of the blurry slow-motion action shots get on the nerves, this is gripping stuff with some snappy pacing.
Denzel Washington, John Travolta, James Gandolfini
The team on Keith Lemon’s raucous panel show could look rather different again soon enough, with the recent announcement that Fearne Cotton is welcoming another addition to her brood.
Kelly Brook has done a good enough of standing in for Holly’s maternity leave in the past, while Gino D’Acampo seems to have impressed TV bosses so much that he’s become part of the Celebrity Juice furniture.
It’s all back to normal for now, with the start of this new series (it’s the 13th would you believe?!), as Holly and Fearne return as team captains, alongside Gino and comedian Jimmy Carr, who’s near-the-knuckle humour should complement Lemon’s quite nicely.
No doubt Fearne’s nostrils will come in for more mickey-taking, while Holly’s chest will no doubt once again steal the show.
Fabulous entertainment. Simple – but fabulous.
Set in Hong Kong in 1962, it tells the story of neighbours Chow Mo-Wan and Su Li-zhen, who bond while their respective spouses are away.
Eventually, it dawns on them that it isn’t just a coincidence that their other halves are always absent at the same time – they are having an affair.
However, despite their shared hurt and growing fondness for each other, the friends insist they won’t sink to their spouses’ level and be unfaithful.
Imagine a Chinese take on Brief Encounter, only with better dresses and Nat King Cole songs, and you’ll be almost there.
Although it may be a little uneventful for some tastes, it’s an atmospheric, deeply absorbing and visually stunning romance. No wonder it became an international art house hit.
Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Ping Lam Siu, Rebecca Pan, Lai Chen, Chi-ang Chi, Roy Cheung
