TV not to miss
Red Or Black?
TV3, 7pm
We’ve reached the series finale of the biggest, most expensive game show ever created. The programme has Simon Cowell’s fingerprints all over it, and the pop king’s knack of having a feel for mass appeal has been embellished by the million-pound prizes the “ordinary people” can win. The final results show at 9.15pm will feature the remaining two contestants and the nerve-wracking spin of the wheel for the million-pound prize.
UNITED 93
TV3, 10.45pm
Even now, 10 years after 9/11, the events of that day still feel a bit raw for feature film coverage. It makes Paul Greengrass’s achievement with this 2006 tale of what happened on the flight which crashed in Pennsylvannia all the more remarkable. Using a combination of facts and poetic licence, he creates a gripping account of what may have happened on the hijacked flight when crew and passengers realised it was a suicide mission and rebelled against their Al-Qaida captors.
O’Gorman
RTÉ One, 8.30pm
The popularity of allotments in recent years has brought many urban dwellers back into contact with the soil, and in tonight’s show, Paddy O’Gorman visits plots in Turvey, Co Dublin, and Crumlin in the heart of the city. A variety of people explain why they find it such a pleasurable pastime.
The Ashes Of 9/11
RTÉ One, 9.30pm
While six Irish-born people died in 9/11, hundreds more of those killed had strong connections to this country, as had many others involved in the tragedy. This show talks to some of those about their memories of that fateful day. Among them is Ron Clifford from Cork, who was in the South Tower when it was hit by the plane carrying his sister Ruth and her four-year-old daughter Julianna. The main picture on this page shows Clifford helping an injured woman at the scene. Others featured include Sean Cummins from Finglas in Dublin, a fireman in New York who had swapped shifts to bring his mother to the airport. When he saw the towers burning, he rushed to help, only to find he had lost 87 colleagues, including the two men he had swapped shifts with. Anthony Curtin from Listowel, Co Kerry, was a NYPD detective and talks of his department’s efforts to assess the apocalyptic crime scene, as well as his worries about the toxic dust and fumes he breathed while at Ground Zero.
Dispatches
Channel 4, 8pm
Considering the amount of money at stake in soccer and the huge salaries so many players are on, there have been remarkably few drug scandals in the beautiful game. This investigation claims to lift the lid on the use of both recreational and performance-enhancing substances in the sport, and also looks at some of the questionable but legal treatments some players undergo.
Réabhlóid
RTÉ One, 7.30pm
You can expect a lot of programming dedicated to the 1916 Rising in the years preceding its 100th anniversary, and this new series looks back at some of the lesser-known stories from the event. First up is the tale of Francis Sheehy Skeffington, the vegetarian and feminist who struggled to reconcile his pacifist beliefs with the Volunteers’ plans for violent insurrection.
Salvador
TG4, 10pm
Oliver Stone’s 1986 film about events in El Salvador is scheduled to follow the excellent documentary Misinéirí Radacacha (See p38) on Irish missionaries in the country during that era. Stars James Woods and James Belushi.
Craft Master
RTÉ One, 7pm
Colm de Rís mentors three apprentices attempting to learn the craft of ceramics, with the best candidate being selected for a final featuring practitioners of a number of other disciplines.
Rescue 115
RTÉ One, 8.30pm
The second episode in the excellent new documentary series on the Shannon-based helicopter includes such incidents as the rescue of a tourist from a boat near the Skelligs, and a call to help a British nuclear submarine. Multiple cameras bring us right into the action and make for a really exciting show, and we also get good behind-the-scenes insights.
71 Degrees North
UTV, 9pm
Another celebrities in the wilderness show, but if this is anything like last year’s series, it will be quite hardcore. Forget munching a few bugs in the Australian jungle — tasks here in the Arctic include swimming in an icy fjord and tramping across glaciers. Last year, it looked quite obvious from the beginning that the lightweight luvvies were going to lose out to rugby player Gavin Henson, but even he was pipped at the end by Hollyoaks actor Marcus Patric. There’s also an obvious favourite this time. Along with a comedian, a gardener, a celebrity hairdresser and Spandau Ballet’s Martin Kemp, there’s one participant with more experience in wintry conditions. Sean Maguire has won an Olympic gold medal for racing a skeleton sledge. Charlotte Jackson and Paddy McGuinness, above, are on presentation duties: “No icey, no likey?”
Inside Nature’s Giants
Channel 4, 8pm
One amazing creature that visits Irish shores is the leatherback turtle. The largest turtle on the planet, it can grow more than seven foot in length and occasionally travels from the Caribbean to Ireland. The team dissect a leatherback that died after having a flipper cut off by a boat’s propeller. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins also tackles the question of whether the tortoise swam into the sea to become the turtle, or did the turtle crawl onto land to become the tortoise.
Manchester United v Benfica
RTÉ Two, ko 7.45pm
Alex Ferguson’s team already look much improved this year, but face a tough battle to overcome Barcelona’s dominance in Europe. Tonight’s group game against the Portugese side is the first step in that process. Sky Sports 2 has Manchester City’s first ever Champions League appearance, against Italian side Napoli.
Grand Designs
Channel 4, 9pm
A new series of the design show opens by revisiting the long-running story of the couple who’ve been trying to transform a derelict mill cottage into a cutting-edge contemporary home. They began in 2006 with an unrealistic budget of £250,000, and since then have waved away all sorts of expert advice as the bank pulled the plug on further funds and they did much of the work themselves. Along the way Stefan and Anya, right, also had two children. Five years later, we finally see the fruits of their labour and hear if it’s all been worth it.
Too Big To Fail
Sky Atlantic, 9pm
An impressive cast bring to life the tale of the economic meltdown in the US back in 2008, and shows the close links between Wall Street and the country’s political rulers. William Hurt plays treasury secretary Henry Paulson, while other familiar faces include James Woods and Paul Giamatti.
The World Sheepdog Trials
More4, 7pm
First of four programmes from the top collie competition in Cumbria. We’re all familiar with the whistling farmers and their trusty dogs, but this coverage is a big step up, using mini cameras on the sheep and collies, and super slow motion replays.
Bondi Rescue
TV3, 8pm
The annual Iron Man competition approaches, so the Bondi lifeguards are not only competing with their equivalents on other beaches, but also among themselves.
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