Highlights: Sat 5nd May – Fri 11th June

This week’s highlights are three of the big television events of the summer.

On Sunday night on Sky1, it’s the last ever episode of 24. After eight adrenaline-fuelled seasons, it’s time for Jack Bauer to bow out on television. He’ll return on the big screen soon, but in the meantime he’s got a revenge mission to carry out and he has Russian President Suvarov in his sights. It promises to be two explosive hours of thrilling drama.

Another landmark series of the last decade is coming to an end this summer. Love it or hate it, Big Brother has provided some unforgettable moments over the years and was absolutely gripping when it first appeared in 2000. While it got less watchable over the years as the more memorable housemates of early series were replaced by a series of less and less interesting wannabes. I’ll be watching this final series for old times sake, but whether you plan to or not, the opening night is always worth a watch as we discover who will be entering the house and see their first reactions to each other. This year’s series starts with dozens of potential housemates all attempting to get in to this year’s house, which is the best-looking Big Brother house so far.

Finally, the biggest show on the planet gets under way on Friday at last. The opening ceremony of the World Cup will be on ITV, with coverage presented by Adrian Chiles, joined in Johannesburg’s impressive Soccer City
stadium by Marcel Desailly, Andy Townsend and, on this important occasion for South Africa, stars Lucas Radebe and Francois Pienaar. Commentary on the first match, South Africa v Mexico, is provided by Peter Drury. Then, later on the BBC, Gary Lineker presents coverage of Uruguay v France from Cape Town.

24, Sunday 30 & Sunday 11 June at 9pm, Sky1 HD & Sky1
Big Brother, Wednesday at 9pm, Channel Four
World Cup Live, Friday 11 June at 1pm, ITV1 & ITV1 HD
Match of the Day Live, Friday 11 June at 7pm, BBC One & BBC HD

Highlights: Sat 29nd May – Fri 4th June

Yes, it’s that time again. Live from Oslo in Norway, the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 will be on this Saturday night. At face value it’s probably one of the worst things on TV, but it becomes hugely entertaining when watched with an eye on Twitter to catch people’s wry comments and reactions to the ridiculous costumes, terrible songs, strange dance routines and dubious voting patterns. Also to help make things more fun is Graham Norton, taking on the Wogan role of sarcastic commentator once again after doing better than many expected last year, while 19-year-old Josh Dubovie is the poor soul given the job of being Britain’s doomed entry.

Sky1 has a treat for the Bank Holiday weekend, with the third in its series of adaptations of Sir Terry Pratchett’s much-loved Discworld novels. Going Postal is the story of travelling con artist Moist von Lipwig (Richard Coyle), who is given a last-minute reprieve from the death penalty and given one more chance on the condition that he takes up the cursed role of postmaster at Ankh-Morpork’s decrepit Post Office. It’s a story of sweet romance and dark revenge set against an ongoing dispute between the traditional postal system and Clacks, Discworld’s equivalent of the internet. An excellent cast is involved, including David Suchet, Charles Dance, Claire Foy, Andrew Sachs, Tamsin Greig and The League of Gentlemen’s Steve Pemberton.

With the of the attention on the series that are ending forever, like Lost, 24 and FlashForward, it’s easy to forget that we’ve got a season finale of Fringe to look forward to on Tuesday night. The first season ended with the shocking sight of the twin towers, letting us know that Olivia had entered a parallel universe, plus featured Leonard Nimoy as the previously unseen but much spoken about William Bell. Nimoy is back in this second season finale, and there’ll be more about the parallel world, but aside from that it’s hard to say much about what’ll happen in the finale, except to say that the series has been given a third season.

BBC Three are trialing a few one-off dramas at the moment, and this week’s, Pulse, looks like one to watch, as long as you’re not too squeamish. Written by Paul Cornell, known for his work on Doctor Who and Marvel Comics, it’s the story of a teaching hospital where one of the medical students slowly uncovers some secret, dangerous experiments pushing back the boundaries of science. Like Being Human, this is just the sort of thing BBC Three should be doing more of.

Eurovision Song Contest 2010, Saturday 29 May at 8pm, BBC One & BBC HD
Going Postal, Sunday 30 & Monday 31 May at 6pm, Sky1 HD & Sky1
Fringe, Tuesday 1 June at 10pm, Sky1 HD & Sky1
Pulse, Thursday 3 June at 9pm, BBC Three & BBC HD

Highlights: Sat 22nd – Fri 28th May

BBC Two’s eighties season continues with the much-anticipated adaptation of Martin Amis’s Money. Nick Frost stars as John Self, an advertising director who flies out to the United States to direct his first feature film. The darkly comic cult novel is known for charting the excesses of the headnostic, greedy decade and it looks like Frost has turned in a great performance in the lead role. The first part is on Sunday night, with the conclusion on Wednesday.

After six long, twisty-turny years, Lost finally draws to a close this week. Along with many broadcasters around the world, Sky1 will be showing the epic, two-a-half-hour finale at the same time as it’s being shown on the West Coast of America. So, that means a 5am start here in the UK for the television event of the century/decade/year/month/week (delete as approprate depending on how it turns out in the end).

Buffy creator Joss Whedon takes the helm of this week’s Glee. He already has a track record in musical comedy with his online hit Dr Horrible’s Sing-along, which starred Neil Patrick Harris (who’ll always be Doogie Howser M.D. to me) who pops up in this episode as an ex-Glee Club member. Here’s a clip:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

It’s nearly time for Big Brother’s final series but before that, Davina McCall hosts a live quiz show from Monday to Saturday. The Million Pound Drop starts with the contestants being given a million pounds. They are asked questions and have to put all of their money on a trapdoor they think is relating to the right answer. If they’re not sure, they can spread the money around over several doors. All of the doors for the wrong answers then open up, with the contestants seeing their money disappear before their eyes. The fact that the show is broadcast live should help to ramp up the tension even more.

Money, Sunday 23 May at 9pm, BBC Two & BBC HD
Lost, Monday 24 May at 5am, Sky1 HD & Sky1
Glee, Monday 24 May at 9pm, E4 & E4 HD
The Million Pound Drop Live, Monday 24 May at 10pm, Channel Four
Money, Wednesday 26 May at 9pm, BBC Two & BBC HD

Highlights: Sat 15th – Fri 21st May

BBC Two’s 1980s season is now in full swing, and two of the highlights – both new dramas, rather than the clips shows and repeats which have made up most of the season so far – will be on this week. Worried About The Boy is the story of the teenage years and rise to fame of one of the decade’s most iconic figures, Boy George, and the formation of Culture Club. Boy George himself is played by newcomer Douglas Booth, and the cast includes Mark Gatiss as Malcolm McLaren and Marc Warren as Steve Strange. Full of the music and fashion of the era, the drama perfectly captures the early part of the most polarising decade of recent times.

Royal Wedding, meanwhile, stars Darren Boyd and Jodie Whittaker as a couple preparing to hold a street party to celebrate the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981. Set against the changing backdrop of Thatcher’s Britain, with factories closing and jobs being lost, what starts off as a happy occasion slowly unravels. Kevin Bishop makes an appearance as a local DJ who hosts a Diana lookalike contest.

We’re getting very close to the final ever episode of Lost. Friday night sees the penultimate episode, followed by a couple of special programmes presented by The Lost Initative’s Iain Lee. Lost: The End Is Nigh features interviews with cast members including Michael Emerson, Jorge Garcia and Emilie de Ravin, plus the masterminds behind the series, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. It’s followed by Lost: Top 10 Greatest Scenes which, as you might guess, is a countdown of the best scenes from all six seasons, as voted for by viewers.

Worried About The Boy, Sunday 16 May at 9pm, BBC Two & BBC HD
Royal Wedding, Monday 17 May at 9pm, BBC Two
Lost: The End Is Nigh, Friday 21 May at 10pm, Sky1 HD & Sky1
Lost: Top 10 Greatest Scenes, Friday 21 May at 10:30pm, Sky1 HD & Sky1

Highlights: Sat 8th – Fri 14th May

Hope you enjoyed the election blog last night. Time now for a look at what’s coming up over the next week, starting with a new series from the world’s favourite genius. Stephen Hawking’s Universe will look at the wonders of the cosmos, starting with a look at the possibility of alien life existing on distant worlds.

When a salacious list about members of the glee club circulates the halls of McKinley High, Mr. Schuester begins an investigation, but who could be the culprit? And what’s Sue doing on YouTube? Here’s an incredible clip from this week’s Glee:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

If there’s one must-watch show this week, it’s Derren Brown Investigates. In a three-part series, the brilliantly entertaining illusionist debunks the claims of people who, unlike him, claim that they really do have magical powers. In the first episode he spends time with Liverpool psychic Joe Power and sets him tests to see if he can prove once and for all that he really does communicate with the dead. Of course, Power fails, and my word is he not happy about it.

Normally by this time of year, we’d all be enjoying laughing at the idiots fine business minds attempting to be Sir Lord Alan Sugar’s Apprentice, but this year’s series was delayed due to the election. To whet our appetite for the full series coming later this year, a six-part special run of Junior Apprentice starts on Wednesday night. The format’s exactly the same as the normal full-length series, but this time all ten candidates are teenagers not trying to get a job but competing to win a £25,000 fund to start a career in business. The first episode, where they’re given a typical Apprentice task of trying to sell some cheese at a London market, will also be our first chance to see how Karen Brady does in Margaret Mountford’s shoes, taking over the role as Sugar’s advisor.

Stephen Hawking’s Universe, Sunday 09 May at 9pm, Discovery Channel & Discovery HD
Glee, Monday 10 May at 9pm, E4 & E4 HD
Derren Brown Investigates, Monday 10 May at 10pm, Channel Four
Junior Apprentice, Wednesday 12 May at 9pm, BBC One & BBC HD

Highlights: Sat 1st – Fri 7th May

Very quick look at a few highlights this week. On Tuesday night on BBC One, Idris Elba (The Wire’s Stringer Bell) stars as Luther, a six-part psychological crime thriller. It’s one of those rare crime dramas which takes the Columbo approach – instead of being a whodunnit, we know who the killer is from the start, with the intrigue coming from the way in which Luther deduces their identity.

On Wednesday night it’s the first two hours of Chris Ryan’s Strike Back on Sky1 HD. I’ve written a full preview of the show here.

Finally, Thursday night is of course election night. There’ll be full coverage on the BBC, ITV and Sky News, and I’ll be liveblogging the coverage right here. But over on Channel Four, there’ll be an entertaining and comic look at the results in The Alternative Election Night with David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr, Lauren Laverne and Charlie Brooker.

Luther, Tuesday 4 May at 9pm, BBC Two & BBC HD
Chris Ryan’s Strike Back, Wednesday 5 May at 9pm, Sky1 HD & Sky1
The Alternative Election Night, Thursday 6 May at 9pm, Channel Four

Highlights: Sat 17th – Fri 23rd Apr

A couple of interesting documentaries on Sunday night on the BBC. Maps – Power, Plunder And Possession is the first in a season of programmes about cartography on BBC Four. It might sound like a very dry subject, but it’s fascinating to see how mankind’s view of the world has changed over the 3,000 years since the first known map was carved into a rocky hillside in the Alps. Later that evening on BBC Two, Eyewitness is an interesting experiment looking at how we remember unexpected events, showing how unreliable witnesses can really be. In a Manchester pub, drinkers are unaware that they are about to see a staged knife attack, which they believe to be real. When they are asked to provide evidence to the police, what they say they saw isn’t quite what really happened.

Glee is back this Monday night after its absence for a few weeks to catch up with America, where it’s been on a long mid-season break. The last episode ended with something of a cliffhanger, I’ll be previewing the new episode here on the blog over the weekend.

Comedy Lab returns to Channel Four on Monday night. The series, which allows new comic talent to develop pilot episodes gave the world Trigger Happy TV and Fonejacker, and gave Jimmy Carr his first TV appearance. iCandy is a pretty solid looking sketch show written by and starring Irish actor Liam Hourican, but Happy Finish, from Screenwipe director Al Campbell, is particularly worth looking forward to. Sketches include the Department of Internet Hate, a government body responsible for writing all the comments you see on YouTube videos.

After meeting the world’s toughest gangs, bringing amazing pictures from the frontline of Afghanistan and coming face to face with modern-day pirates, Ross Kemp: Battle for the Amazon at first looks like an interesting departure for the soap star turned documentary maker. But the two-part series, part of Sky’s “Rainforest Week”, soon covers familiar territory, as Ross looks at the oil production, gang wars and cocaine production that are threatening the Amazon.

Finally, Thursday sees The Sky News Leaders’ Debate. The first, last night, was more robust than many expected, but there could be more fireworks here now that the leaders are more relaxed with the format. Boulton is the most heavyweight interviewer of the three moderators, and the most likely to bend the rules to get more out of the candidates.

Maps – Power, Plunder And Possession, Sunday 18 April at 9pm on BBC Four
Eyewitness, Sunday 18 April at 10:50pm, BBC Two
Glee, Monday 19 April at 9pm, E4 & E4 HD
Comedy Lab: iCandy, Monday 19 April at 11:05pm, Channel Four
Comedy Lab: Happy Finish, Monday 19 April at 11:40pm, Channel Four
Ross Kemp: Battle for the Amazon, Tuesday 20 April at 10pm, Sky1 HD & Sky1
The Sky News Leaders’ Debate, Thursday 22 April at 8pm, Sky News & Sky News HD

Highlights: Sat 10th – Fri 16th Apr

On Tuesday night, the remake of V begins on the newly rebranded Syfy channel. I’ve already had a look at the first episode, the preview is here. Also on Syfy on Wednesday night, the first episode of Human Target, an action series loosely based on the DC Comics character. Mark Valley plays a bodyguard who integrates himself into the lives of his clients to become the target himself.

A little bit of British television and political history takes place on Thursday evening, with the The First Election Debate. Alistair Stewart will preside over the debate between the three major party leaders in the North West of England, with the theme

Charlie Brooker’s back on Channel Four on Thursday night with a new series of You Have Been Watching. While it might not be as brilliant as his BBC Four shows, it’s still a fun look at the weird world of TV.

Finally, Frank Skinner returns to our screens on Friday night for Frank Skinner’s Opinionated, where he is joined by two comedians for a topical discussion about the news stories of the day.

V, Tuesday 13 April at 10:00pm & 11:00pm, Syfy & Syfy HD
Human Target, Wednesday 14 April at 10:00pm, Syfy & Syfy HD
The First Election Debate, Thursday 15 April at 8.30pm, ITV1 & ITV1 HD
You Have Been Watching, Thursday 15 April at 10pm, Channel Four
Frank Skinner’s Opinionated, Friday 16 April at 10pm, BBC Two

Highlights: Sat 3rd – Fri 9th Apr

It’s the moment a lot of people have been waiting a very long time for. This Saturday, Matt Smith makes his debut as the eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who. Fans are eager to see how Smith takes on one of the most famous roles in British television, meet new companion Amy Pond (played by Karen Gillan) and see how Steven Moffat, writer of some of the best episodes since the show’s revival, does as the new showrunner, having taken over from Russell T Davis.

After more than a year away from our screens, David Renwick’s illusionist detective returns in Jonathan Creek – The Judas Tree. Alan Davies teams up again with Sheridan Smith, to investigate the story of a young woman becomes seemingly possessed by the spirit of a Victorian sorceress.

Bill Bailey, David Mitchell, Kayvan Novak, Jack Dee, Jo Brand, John Bishop, Kevin Eldon, Mark Watson, Noel Fielding, Rich Hall, Rob Brydon, Sean Lock, and Shappi Khorsandi are just some of the comedians taking part in the Channel Four Comedy Gala on Monday night to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital at the O2 Arena. Billed as the biggest live stand up show in UK history, it also contains recorded sketches featuring Robert Webb, Ricky Gervais, Derren Brown and Johnny Depp. Plus, look out for a very special commercial break.

At the same time over on Sky Movies Premiere, the first two episodes of HBO’s follow-up to Band of Brothers, The Pacific will be shown. I’ve previewed the first hour of the big-budget Second World War mini-series here.

Finally, Thursday sees the return of the acclaimed sitcom Outnumbered, with the family going on a sightseeing trip around London in the first episode of the new series.

Doctor Who, Saturday 3 April at 6:20pm, BBC One and BBC HD
Jonathan Creek – The Judas Tree, Easter Sunday 4 April at 8pm, BBC One and BBC HD
Channel Four Comedy Gala, Monday 5 April at 9pm, Channel 4
The Pacific, Easter Monday 5th April at 9pm, Sky Movies Premiere HD
Outnumbered, Thursday 8 April at 9.30pm, BBC One

Highlights: Sat 27th Mar – Fri 2nd Apr

Following on from his excellent series on silent comedy, Paul Merton’s Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema is a very interesting look back at the earliest pioneers of cinema. Full of invention and creativity, as well as some quite bizarre moments from the likes of the Lumière brothers and Georges Méliès, this one-off documentary on BBC Four this Sunday is worth watching.

The official start of the 2010 election campaign is expected to be just over a week away, and with it will come the first ever prime ministerial election debates in the UK. Channel Four gets things under way on Monday night with Ask the Chancellors with Krishnan Guru-Murthy posing the questions to Alistair Darling, George Osborne and Vince Cable. The economy might be a bit of a dry subject, but it’s arguably the most important of the election, and this debate might set the tone for the campaign.

On an entirely different note, the new Courteney Cox vehicle Cougar Town debuts this Tuesday night on Living. The comedy about an older woman going after younger men has been a hit in the US and might be worth a little look.

On Thursday, Have I Got News For You is back with it’s 39th series, just in time for the election campaign to get under way. Yes, I said Thursday. I know, weird, right? This week, Lee Mack hosts.

On Good Friday night, Ashes to Ashes returns for it’s third and final series of retro cop action. It’s 1983, and DI Alex Drake wakes up in a hospital bed to find that a lot of things have changed.

Paul Merton’s Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema, Sunday 28 March at 9pm, BBC Four
Ask the Chancellors, Monday 29 March at 9pm, Channel Four
Cougar Town, Tuesday 30 March at 9pm, Living
Have I Got News For You, Thursday 1 April at 9:30pm, BBC One
Ashes to Ashes, Friday 2 April at 9pm, BBC One and BBC HD