TV not to miss: Date With Fate
Spiral
BBC Four, 9pm
The Killing has attracted so many mainstream viewers in recent times that the really cool dinner parties only involve people who are bang up to date with this superb French drama series. Engrenages, as it is known at our bijou bistro, is now up to series four and has Captain Laure Berthaud and her team dealing with all sorts of internal strife as they try to find out who killed a couple in the woods. Highly recommended.
The Jonathan Ross Show
ITV, 9.20pm
Graham Norton is winning the battle of the chatshow hosts this year, but perhaps Ross will get a few chuckles out of Adam Ant, Hayley Atwell and John C Reilly.
At Your Service
RTÉ One, 8.30pm
Youghal is close to the city of Cork and has a great beach and plenty of eateries, but these recessionary times ensure that running a hotel in the historic seaside town is no easy task. The Brennan brothers are helping first-time hoteliers Mark Golden and Mark Johnston at the Old Imperial. The duo have a background in catering, but expanded to the hotel trade when they took over the lease of this 17-room premises a year ago.
The British Academy Film Awards
BBC One, 9pm
Following on from the Irish awards, the BAFTAs feature nominations for Irish filmmakers Seamus McGarvey, Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath, Eamonn O’Neill and Martin McDonagh, while we can probably claim Daniel Day-Lewis. Stephen Fry is on presentation duties at the Royal Opera House in London.
My Big Fat Gypsy Valentine
Channel 4, 9pm
Travellers are the golden ratings goose for Channel 4, and the annual day for lovers provides material for a look at that community’s courtship practices. Ina Casey, 16, is preparing to marry her first boyfriend after their initially secret relationship was ‘outed’ by one of her uncles. Her dress is, not surprisingly, an ostentatious one. We also meet Danielle, 16, who talks about why she is convinced her 21-year-old fiancé Brendan is the right choice.
Date With Fate
RTE Two, 9.30pm
From Cilla Black to Ray Foley and beyond, the dating show has long been a staple of the viewing schedules. Paddy McGuinness is the undisputed king of the genre at the moment, but this pilot episode adds another slightly convoluted format to the mix. Basically, a single woman gets to choose prospective dates from pictures that have been digitally aged to show what they’ll look like in later life. She then meets her choices and whittles them down to a further two before deciding who to go on a real date with. The participant for this trial show is 26-year-old Jane Lyons from Tipperary. She’s a part-time model, but hopes to build on her degree in business studies and event management.
Black Mirror
Channel 4, 10pm
TV critic Charlie Brooker has produced some enjoyable fare since he jumped to the other side and actually started making programmes. This new run of three individual stories begins with the typically Brookeresque tale of a young woman who is offered a new service to stay in touch with her deceased boyfriend. By using all his past online communications and social media profiles, a new identity is created that she can communicate with via her computer.
Utopia
Channel 4, 10pm
The second-last episode sees our heroes still struggling to escape The Network.
Brain Doctors
BBC Two, 9pm
A couple face the awful decision of whether to allow surgeons to perform a high-risk procedure on their two-year-old son, suffering from a brain tumour.
The Culture Show
BBC Two, 10pm
Tate Modern in London is preparing a major retrospective of the work of Roy Lichtenstein, so Alastair Sooke is on the case to explore the output of the pop-art pioneer. There’s also music from Kraftwerk, as the German outfit are in London to play a series of concerts at the Tate.
Adoption Stories
TV3, 8.30pm
Dan Ryan, pictured above when he first met his adoptive Irish father Mike, recounts his tale of how he spent the first three years of his life in a Romanian orphanage, and then returned to the country to try and find his birth parents.
Ear To The Ground
RTÉ One, 8.30pm
Ear To The Ground has continued its top quality output this year, and tonight brings another three interesting features. Darragh Mc Cullough meets group of dairy farmers to talk about stress and mental health, Helen Carroll visits Clonmel Greyhound Stadium and the owners of a garden centre talk about how Irish people need to be more discerning when buying their seeds and shop locally if independent nurseries are to survive.
Hugh’s Fish Fight
Channel 4, 9pm
Recent news stories about overfishing of mackerel have again sounded alarm bells about fish stocks. It’s a subject close to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s heart and this three-part series has him campaigning to persuade governments to establish more marine protected areas. In this opening episode, he goes to the Philippines to witness the decimation of fish stocks by dynamiting, and also hears how protected areas around the Isle Of Man are hoping to help the Irish Sea’s recovery from scallop dredging and other destructive practices.
Vegas
Sky Atlantic, 10pm
The pilot of this new drama series clashes with another tale of a US city, Nashville, over on More4. Set in Sin City in the 1960s, it follows the dealings of Sheriff Ralph Lamb (Dennis Quaid) with troublesome Chicago gangster Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis).
The Works
RTÉ One, 10.45pm
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have a new album, Push the Sky Away, and a review of same is a central part of tonight’s show. There’s also a look at the new exhibition from Anthony Haughey, an artist who also lectures at DIT.
The Walking Dead
Fox (formerly FX), 10pm
Series three resumes after its mid-season break. So far it has been the best yet, and if you don’t want to jump aboard at this point, watch out for it on RTÉ around summer.
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