Tuesday’s TV tips
(1996)
Tom Cruise stars in the first film in the lucrative action-packed franchise as Ethan Hunt, a dedicated secret agent who is framed for killing his colleagues and stealing a list of the world’s spies.
Determined to prove his innocence, he sets out to find the real culprit and prevent the information being sold to the highest bidder.
But in the often confusing world of international espionage, how can Hunt possibly know who can be trusted?
Director Brian De Palma’s blockbuster works on many levels: as a cracking spy yarn, a hi-tech thriller, a Bond-style actioner and a hip take on a classic TV series.
Is it really possible to turn the life of a family around in just three days?
If the first run of this series is anything to go by, yes. It followed the progress of professional childminder Kathryn Mewes, who has spent the past 20 or so years taking care of youngsters.
During that time, she has developed certain methods that can help parents with badly behaved children.
Dom Bird, Channel 4’s head of formats, says: I am delighted to be bringing Nanny Mewes’ expertise back to the screens as she tackles the behavioural problems of a whole new set of children and fretful parents.
She begins in East Grinstead, West Sussex, where Susan and James Rogers are having trouble with three-year-old twins Alfie and Harry.
Clifford and Fletch panic after the criminal gang they owed money to turns violent.
Although they agree to keep quiet on the matter and try to carry on as normal, the situation becomes so serious, Clifford realises he has to leave Holby.
Elsewhere, Arthur is pulled up short when treating an alluring patient.
When Sian refuses to take her health seriously, he finds her difficult to treat and starts to lose his cool, much to the disappointment of Morven, who gets the full force of his anger.
In September 1994, 38-year-old mother of two Julie Pacey was found dead at her home in Grantham, Lincolnshire.
She had returned there after visiting her father, who lived nearby, before being sexually assaulted and strangled. Shortly afterwards, Crimewatch broadcast an appeal for information, but the crucial call that could have helped the police never came through.
In the 21 years since then, the case has been reinvestigated, with some theories even suggesting that Julie was the victim of an unidentified serial killer who had struck in Grantham four months earlier.
New evidence has since come to light, and the latest edition of the programme offers insight into a development that could finally bring the culprit to justice.
Just five of the UK’s most gifted youngsters remain to battle it out to be crowned Britain’s brightest child.
The first of the two rounds that lies between the kids and the trophy is a complex specialist subject, with questions set by experts, on degree-level topics, ranging from the curvature of space time through to a history of cryptography.
Only the two highest scorers will progress to a final head-to-head test where they face questions on maths, spelling, logic and general knowledge.
Last in the series.
Journalist Sophie Morgan, who is herself disabled, travels to Ghana to investigate the country’s controversial treatment of disabled people.
In the capital Accra, she sees how many people with disabilities have ended up on the streets with little chance of becoming part of the nation’s economic success.
However, reports suggest the situation is worse in rural areas, and Sophie visits a prayer camp, where people are taken to be ’cured“, before hearing rumours that some children face an even more disturbing fate at the hands of some of Ghana’s spiritual and traditional healers.
Showcasing the very best of Irish horse racing, The Long Shot was filmed over three years (2012 – 2015) and featuring races from all over Ireland and the UK (The Curragh, Dundalk, Down Royal, Newmarket, Leopardstown), giving a unique and personal insider glimpse into the day-to-day reality of the competitive world of horse racing – the highs and lows, the thrills and spills, the challenges, disappointments and successes.
As a former professional athlete, David has a strong connection with his horses and a visceral sense of what they go through in competition. Watching the horses perform from his personal perspective offers viewers the ride of a lifetime, generating a deeper understanding of what it takes to compete in the Sport of Kings and the agonies and ecstasies it brings.
As David says as he starts out on his journey: “It takes an incredible amount of luck. There’s a million things that have to go right for you and one thing can go wrong and your luck is out”.
Featuring contributions from his wife, the best-selling author Cecelia Ahern, well known trainer James ‘Fozzy’ Stack, and legendary jockey Ruby Walsh, The Long Shot puts everyone through their paces. The programme is dedicated to the memory of the late Lucy Stack.
(1995) Visually dark, often unsettling thriller from Terry Gilliam. It is set in the year 2035, where a virulent plague has wiped out 99% of the world’s population. The survivors have learned to live below ground, sending up volunteers to collect specimens.
One such volunteer is Cole (Bruce Willis), whose dedication to his task seems rooted in a trauma manifested through flashbacks of an incident in his childhood. This link to the past makes him the ideal candidate to time travel, and he is sent back to discover the origins of the plague.
As his search continues, Cole is constantly shifted from future to present, and each time he returns to ’now’, a piece of this fascinating jigsaw slots into place even though, just when you think you’ve worked it out, the whole puzzle gets thrown in the air.
