Tuesday's TV tips
Dogs are pretty great creatures. They love hanging out with their human buddies and don’t have a care in the world – or do they?
We wouldn’t normally associate canines with mental health issues, but the final episode of this eye-opening series suggests that some of their most extreme behaviours could indicate they are suffering from certain issues, including obsessive compulsion and chronic fears.
In an attempt to prove it, we’re introduced to three troubled pets. Max is a German shepherd who spends much of his time spinning on the spot, collie Biscuit can’t stop chasing buses and Roxy the Staffordshire bull terrier seems scared of the great outdoors.
Thankfully, there is help at hand courtesy of developments in brain-scanning equipment which helps owners and vets work out the root of the problem and how to treat it.
On a cheerier note, vet Mark Evans wraps up the series by meeting dogs with incredible learning abilities.
It seems that Channel 4 hasn’t cornered the market on property programmes, because journalist and senior V&A curator Kieran Long and architect Piers Taylor are fronting this new offering.
Last year, they worked together on The House that £100k Built, which followed the progress of six first-time self-builders as they attempted to build their dream homes from scratch.
This time, the duo will meet people who are already homeowners, but feel trapped because inflated house prices mean they can’t afford to move. What’s more, their properties no longer meet their requirements.
Kieran will help them by offering inspiration architectural ideas from the V&A’s archive, while Piers takes a more practical approach. He will use his skills to remodel places on a tight budget and using innovative plans.
The idea is to put a smile back on the owners’ faces by creating something extraordinary – here’s hoping they do the trick.
The brand new series Domestic Divas will be a master class in achieving domestic bliss – a crisp clean bed, the smell of fresh laundry, a sparkling bathroom, a neat and tidy bedroom and a scrumptious hot meal on the table.
Aisli Madden and Cat Lawlor are on a mission to help the helpless, to demonstrate basic life skills that came so naturally to our parents’ generation but not so easily to 20 to 30-somethings.
They will share the knowledge and skills to live life better, to eat more healthily and nutritiously and to care for a home – like a boss!
To take pride in ourselves – inside and out! And they want to do all of this with the least amount of fuss possible.
Kay Mellor made her name by writing dramas and soaps that often tackled tricky issues.
In the Club hasn’t managed to reach the heights of her work on Band of Gold, Playing the Field or A Passionate Woman.
Instead, it’s a guilty pleasure, a rather far-fetched tale involving an unlikely bunch of pregnant friends which has somehow proved compelling – perhaps because of the performances of its likeable cast rather than the storyline itself.
This week, it’s the turn of Jasmin and Dev to take centre stage. We’re already well aware that she’s carrying a baby that may be her husband’s, but is more likely to have been fathered by the former colleague she had an affair with before tying the knot.
Now, as she goes into labour, she’s left wondering whether both the baby and her marriage will survive – after all, if it’s white, even the less-than-brainy Dev will work out he can’t be its dad.
“If I meet an alien, the one thing I’d definitely do is get a selfie with him.”
It’s pearls of wisdom such as these that have turned Joey Essex into an unlikely small-screen star.
The thing is, if there are alternative life forms out there, the former TOWIE member is more likely to come face-to-face with them than us because he’s off to Alabama to take part in Space Camp.
Joey has never graduated from anything in his life, but he’s dead set on becoming an astronaut, and is determined to pass with flying colours – will it prove to be one giant leap too far for him?
Joey also meets a woman who claims she was abducted by aliens and spends the night at the infamous Area 51.
If he does meet any extra-terrestrials, it’ll be interesting to see what he makes of them – and also what they make of him.
John Dillinger has been basking in the glory of crime’s post-Depression heyday. He’s regarded as a modern-day Robin Hood for stealing from banks rather than struggling citizens.
But the fledgling FBI is assembling on the horizon, and Melvin Purvis is a man who’ll stop at nothing for justice.
With new technologies available and a ruthless investigator at the helm, it’s only a matter of time before Dillinger is caught – and he knows it.
Michael Mann’s expansive retelling of Dillinger’s demise captures the epic nature and enthralling sensations that captured public attention at the time.
Depp’s charismatic approach fits like a glove, drawing sympathy out of a modern-day audience in the same way as the real-life Dillinger did in the 1930s.
Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum
Single father Alain dreams of becoming a boxer, but in the meantime works as a nightclub bouncer to make ends meet.
It’s there that he first encounters Stephanie, an aloof killer whale trainer from a local marine park – and when she loses her legs in a tragic accident, it’s the taciturn bouncer she turns to for support.
On paper, the plot may sound faintly ludicrous, but if you watch Rust and Bone, you’ll quickly put all cynicism aside.
The relationship between Alain and Stephanie feels convincing, any heavy handed symbolism involving the killer whales is largely avoided, and leads Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts both give incredible performances.
Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure, Celine Sallette, Corinne Masiero
