TV not to miss
The Jonathan Ross Show
UTV, 9.15pm
Guests include Daniel Radcliffe talking about life since Harry Potter, Noel Fielding of The Mighty Boosh and David Attenborough. It’s always good to hear the veteran wildlife presenter but his slow, considered delivery may not suit the banter-happy Ross.
Call The Midwife
BBC One, 8pm
It’s a great shame that Jennifer Worth, who passed away last July, didn’t get to see the small-screen version of her memoirs. Call The Midwife’s Sunday evening slot ensures it has to tread a fine line between gritty realism and softer period piece, a feat that is just about achieved by this adaptation of the tales of a midwife in the East End of London in the 1950s. In tonight’s show, Miranda Hart joins the cast as an eager new staff member, but her plummy character has a difficult time trying to live up to Sister Evangelina. There’s also an Irish angle in the shape of a pitiful young runaway. Well worth seeing, and opens a feast of drama tonight on BBC One that also includes Birdsong.
At Your Service
RTE One, 8.30pm
John and Francis Brennan are off to the Strand Inn at Dunmore East, Co Waterford, to guide a new generation of the Foyle family as they plan to take over the family business. They’re not short of big plans, but the experienced brothers try to point them in the direction of more obvious profit-making opportunities.
The Meaning Of Life
RTE One, 10.30pm
It’s been a long time since being a Catholic priest was an automatic qualification to be seen as a positive influence on the world, but Shay Cullen is one cleric who bucks the trend of negative stories about the Church’s staff. Widely praised for his human rights work in the Philippines, he talks about being in the area during the Vietnam War, when the influence of US military bases fostered a thriving sex industry. Cullen tells Byrne about his campaigning against this, and the many threats of murder and deportation he has faced over the years.
Seinfeld
Sky Atlantic, 8pm
Twelve years on from their original broadcast, Sky Atlantic is going back to the beginning with the very first episodes of the US comedy classic. As was to be the format throughout the nine-year run, nothing much happens in these opening two shows. The Seinfeld Chronicles revolves around George’s theories about the romantic intentions of a visiting friend, while The Stake Out involves Jerry hanging around an attractive woman’s workplace using the excuse of visiting somebody named Art Vandelay.
Skins
E4, 10pm
It’s not a show that appeals to everyone, but in its young target market, Skins has sustained a decent appeal. Series six opens with the gang on holiday in Morocco, where they get up to their usual antics involving lashings of sex and drugs.
Ear To The Ground
RTE 1, 8.30pm
The issue of adult literacy is explored as one farmer talks about how his schooldays were a nightmare because of dyslexia. We also hear how the term ‘free-range’ is often misused when it comes to pork, and Ella McSweeney visits Martin and Noirin Conroy in Co Cork, whose pigs are the real deal.
Cardiff City v Crystal Palace
BBC Two, ko 7.45pm
The second leg of the League Cup semi-final has the away side one goal up from the first encounter. Wilfried Zaha of Palace is one of the most highly rated youngsters in the British game, while Irish interest tonight could include the likes of Owen Garvan, Sean Scannell and Patrick McCarthy.
The Crusades; Clash of the Titans
BBC Two, 9pm
The second episode of this excellent history series looks at the clash of two of the most famous figures of the Crusaders. On one side was English king, Richard the Lionheart, who went up against Muslim sultan Saladin in a series of bloody encounters. The show paints a fascinating picture of both men.
Neven Maguire: Home Chef
RTÉ One, 8.30pm
The Irish chef continues his tour of domestic food brands with a visit to some of the farmers who provide Odlums with wheat for their flour, and he also travels to the Jameson distillery in Midleton, Co Cork, where he meets two of the master blenders. Back at the cooker, Maguire prepares a seared sirloin steak with mushrooms and whiskey sauce, and also makes a French apple tart.
We’ll Take Manhattan
BBC Four, 9pm
New feature-length drama on the love affair between 1960s supermodel Jean ‘The Shrimp’ Shrimpton and photographer David Bailey. Set in New York in 1962, it primarily focuses on a revolutionary shoot the duo produced for Vogue. See feature, p6-8.
Mná an IRA
TG4, 10.30pm
The series that opened with the massively controversial portrait of Rose Dugdale continues with a look at the life of Derry woman Martina Anderson. Born on the Bogside to a republican family, some of her earliest memories of the Troubles involve bringing buckets of water and vinegar for locals whose eyes had been affected by CS gas fired by the security forces. A common progression followed from street activism to full-blown membership of the IRA and in 1980 at the age of 18 she was charged with causing explosions. She escaped from Crumlin Rd courthouse during her trial, but was arrested again in 1985 with Brighton bomber Patrick Magee. Since the peace process, Anderson has climbed the ranks in Sinn Féin and is currently junior deputy first minister in Stormont.
The Works
RTÉ One, 10.45pm
John Kelly seems to be the go-to guy for arts programmes on RTÉ TV, and this new show sees him move away from the studio-based panel discussions of The View, into a more feature-style format. Movie star of the moment Michael Fassbender talks to Sinead Gleeson about his role as a sex addict in Shame, Nadine O’Regan reports on the growing strength of Irish rap music, and Neil Hannon performs a song and chats to Kelly about his current projects.
How The Brits Rocked America: Go West
BBC Four, 9pm
The second episode of the three-part series looking at the influence of British music on the US takes us into the 1970s for a period of excess both on and off the stage. Led Zeppelin blazed a trail for stadium rock with unprecedented gigs in front of up to 200,000 people, and the arrival of FM radio was also a boon for acts such as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. As well as great archive footage, the likes of Jimmy Page, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and Paul McCartney look back on those heady days.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Channel 4, 12.30am
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet star in a surreal love story from the creative talents of Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry.
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