Tuesday's TV tips

Check out our spoiler-free guide to the best TV to watch tonight.

Tuesday's TV tips

SPORT: Liverpool v Ludogorets: Live (TV3, 7.30pm)

Liverpool are back in UEFA Champions League action for the first time in almost five years. Bulgarian debutants Ludogorets visit Anfield for the opening game of Group B.

Tommy Martin introduces the action with analysis from Neil Lennon and Kevin Kilbane. Followed by highlights of Dortmund v Arsenal and all the night's goals.

REALITY: Posh Pawn (Channel 4, 8pm)

It’s 30 years since James Cameron’s low-budget sci-fi thriller The Terminator arrived in cinemas, and that metal killing machine became an icon for millions.

In the years since it has cropped up on tee-shirts, video games and as action figures, while the original life size props can be seen in Hard Rock cafes and shops around the world.

All of which cyborg-themed preamble brings us to the latest edition of the high-end pawnbroking show.

Aside from a divorcee from Newcastle who wants to pawn her £185k necklace to pay for her children’s private school fees, we meet the client who turns up with a seven-foot Terminator model.

That may leave some experts scratching their heads, but at least a Swarovski crystal-covered drum kit used on a Kylie Minogue tour gets staff member Patrick excited.

Let’s hope a widowed pensioner will also make a fortune with her precious rings.

DOCUMENTARY: The Motorway: Life in the Fast Lane (BBC2, 9pm)

In case you didn’t know it, the M6 is one of the busiest stretches of motorway in Britain.

It’s hectic enough at the best of times, but as this is Blighty, when those times are few and far between, most of the year it can look like one long car park.

Back in January 2003, a snowstorm left drivers stranded in their cars for up to 18 hours, so little wonder teams have been on stand by to ensure that doesn’t happen again.

Here we follow teams preparing for one of the stormiest winters in more than four decades. If the Highways Agency is to save its reputation, it’s a case of all hands on deck.

We also get an insight into the winter litter-picking patrols who add to the 180,000 sacks of rubbish collected on Britain’s motorways every year.

And we observe how a hidden workforce beneath Spaghetti Junction attempts to restore the structure to its former glory.

COMEDY: Bad Education (BBC3, 10pm)

Jack Whitehall’s chat show may leave something to be desired, but when it comes to sitcoms he’s in a class of his own; like Fresh Meat, this is also a cracking slice of fun.

As series three kicks off, it’s summer term and Alfie Wickers (Jack Whitehall) is determined to get his class through their exams. (Giving them Game of Thrones to read might not be the wisest move as it’s not on the History syllabus).

However, there is a shock for our hero with the revelation his dad, Martin (Harry Enfield) has been appointed as the new deputy head.

His first jobs are to increase class sizes and sack a staff member after Fraser (Mathew Horne) invested the school’s money in his own clothing range, Dolce and GaBanter.

The superb Sarah Solemani returns as Alfie’s long suffering girlfriend, Miss Gulliver. She has sparks flying after leading the teachers on strike.

FILM: The Matrix Revolutions (ITV2, 9pm)

(2003) The final part of the blockbusting trilogy finds the few survivors of the human race making a last stand against thousands of murderous squid-like robots.

Meanwhile, in the computer-generated world we know as reality, freedom fighter Neo tackles arch enemy Agent Smith who has infected the CG world with millions of copies of himself.

Hampered by more pretentious dialogue than a philosophy student’s party, and a plot as complex as a John Le Carre thriller, this boasts some stunning visual effects and great action scenes. Don’t think about it too hard and it works wonders.

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving.

RottenTomatoes.com Rating: 36%

FILM: US Marshals (ITV4, 10pm)

(1998) Harrison Ford bailed on The Fugitive sequel, but here Tommy Lee Jones reprises his role as tough US Marshal Sam Gerard.

This time he sets out on the trail of Mark Sheridan, an escaped murder suspect whose protestations of innocence begin to sound increasingly convincing as the chase progresses.

In the early days of production, it looked like it couldn’t fail, and with talented British director Stuart Baird on board, most people were wondering what went wrong when the movie didn’t smash box office records. It’s a good not great sequel, boosted by Robert Downey Jr and the evergreen Kate Nelligan.

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Snipes, Robert Downey Jr, Kate Nelligan, Joe Pantoliano, Tom Wood.

RottenTomatoes.com Rating: 27%

FILM: Escape from Alcatraz (Film4, 11.15pm)

(1979) Based on a true story, it follows Frank Morris, a convict with a history of escape attempts, who is transferred to the notorious high-security island prison of Alcatraz.

His fellow inmates warn him that it’s impossible to break out – even if you make it over the walls, the tides will get you before the guards do. But after clashing with the brutal warden, Frank and three other prisoners think they may just have come up with a way to bust out...

Although it’s not quite as iconic as director Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood’s previous collaboration, Dirty Harry, it’s still an absorbing, perfectly cast thriller.

In fact, the scenes set in Alcatraz are so compelling, that some viewers may think the actual escape attempt is a bit of an anti-climax.

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Jack Thibeau, Fred Ward, Roberts Blossom, Paul Benjamin

RottenTomatoes.com Rating: 95%

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