Tuesday’s TV tips
Twenty something 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.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Chloe Moretz, Geoffrey Arend, Matthew Gray Gubler, Clark Gregg
Many people want to lose weight for health reasons, or because they believe it will boost their self-esteem.
However, this series suggests that if you really want to stick with your diet, you might be better off doing it for a bet or to prove a point to someone whose lifestyle fails to meet with your approval.
This week, Dr Christian Jessen’s experiment into competitive weight-loss continues as minibus driver and single mum Deb meets Wendy, who as a registered career for her sick husband has been drawing benefits for the past seven years.
Deb believes that everyone should work to set an example to their children, while Wendy feels she is entitled to the money she claims.
But will their differing outlooks inspire them to put even more effort into fighting the flab so they don’t have to hand over their own cash if they fail to lose the most weight?
Meanwhile, for anyone whose using more conventional methods, Christian looks at whether diet products are worth the money.
Working a double shift at Holby City – what could be more stressful?
Well, as an exhausted Fletch is about to discover, getting to the end of a long working day only to find that your drunk ex wife has turned up at the hospital is even worse.
To be honest, we’d be surprised if he even had the energy for an argument, but when Natalie starts airing their dirty laundry in public, it might just awaken his fighting spirit.
Speaking of getting into slanging matches in front of an audience, Jonny makes it very clear what he thinks about Guy’s new theatre schedule.
But while he may have some valid points to make, would Jonny be objecting quite so strenuously if Jac and Guy weren’t an item?
Meanwhile, Rachel wants to do her mock GCSEs, but that isn’t the only reason Sacha is worried about her, as her ill health continues.
Meredith moves forward as her marriage is on the rocks and Bailey fights Alex for a sport on the board.
With Cristina gone, a new doctor, Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary), making the rounds and Derek wanting to move to Washington DC, Meredith struggles to regain a sense of normalcy both at home and in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Callie and Arizona come to a decision about surrogacy, Amelia overhears a big secret, Bailey realizes she will have to fight Alex for Cristina’s board seat and a freak accident causes two teenagers to be caught in a very compromising position.
Pat Shortt stars in this comedy set in the world of greyhound racing in which three Belfast losers (Mo Chara, Scud Murphy and Cereberal Paulsy) try to take on the bookies with no money and a greyhound that runs only when it suits him!
Pat Shortt, Allen Leech, Tom Jordan Murphy, Ciaran Nolan, Sean McGinley, Fionnula Flanagan
More than 4,500 kids are permanently excluded from secondary school every year - but they have to continue their education somewhere.
This eye-opening new documentary series goes behind the scenes at The Bridge, one of the country’s largest alternative provision academies, to find out what happens next to the youngsters.
All the pupils came to The Bridge after either being permanently excluded or having a ’managed move’ from schools across West London, often for behaviour issues such as fighting or verbal abuse.
As you might expect, the 30-strong team of staff, which includes mentors and therapists as well as teachers, have to deal with some challenging behaviour, but they are determined that the kids will still leave The Bridge with at least five GCSEs.
When they are not pushing the students academically, they are trying to get to the root of their problems, and in the first episode, we are introduced to 13-year-old Millie, whose past misdemeanours may be linked to a personal tragedy.
Irish featherweight Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor will fight veteran Dennis ‘The Menace’ Siver at Boston’s TD Garden in a five-round headline bout.
Conor, who ranked fifth in the division, will face the 35-year-old German having already seen off Marcus Brimage, Max Holloway, Diego Brandao and, most recently, Dustin Poirier.
With David Clarke back in the headlines and Victoria in control, Emily needs a new strategy to orchestrate a reunion with her father.
In 1978, Amir and Hassan are two young boys growing up in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, as yet untouched by war.
They spend their days with other boys from the neighbourhood engaging in a sport called ’Kite Fighting’ which is popular in the city, until one day Amir fails to protect Hassan from a brutal attack.
But then 20 years later, Amir gets a chance to make amends when he joins the hunt for his childhood friend’s missing son.
This touching story, of a friendship prevailing through the years despite being torn apart by war and the Taliban, is sure to appeal to your sentimental side.
Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub, Sayed Jafar Masihullah Gharibzada
It’s one of the more recent versions of the Shakespearean tale, and with a modern twist.
It follows an aspiring filmmaker who becomes that his father, a corporate tycoon, was murdered by his uncle who now runs the business and married his mother.
He decides he’s going to have to get tactical, and feigns madness as part of his plot to avenge his father’s death.
For those who know the story well, this particular version of Hamlet, directed by Michael Almereyda, will come as a welcome surprise to the done-to-death original version.
The acting is superb (but you’d expect nothing less from such a stellar cast), and viewers should keep a special eye out for Julia Stiles’ moving performance as Ophelia.
Ethan Hawke, however, steals the show with his gloomy and thoughtful Hamlet, and his performance alone is worth waiting up for this little gem tucked away in the schedules.
Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Julia Stiles, Bill Murray, Diane Venora, Liev Schreiber.
