Best of the rest on TV
Madagascar
RTÉ One, 6.35pm
The original and best of the animated franchise. Chris Rock and Ben Stiller are among those providing voices, while you know you won’t be able to get that song out of your head. Altogether now, ‘I like to move it, move it’.
The Jonathan Ross Show
UTV, 9.20pm
James Nesbitt probably isn’t doing his reputation much good with his rather soft travel show on Ireland, but he can be a decent chat show guest and should have some interesting tales from his work on The Hobbit. Also, veteran electro-poppers Depeche Mode have a new album on the way, so they’ll provide some chat and music.
Storyville: The Road — A Story Of Life And Death
BBC Four, 7pm
Several Irish people feature in Marc Isaacs’ documentary on immigrants to Britain. The filmmaker travels along the A5 roadway from London to the Welsh coast talking to the likes of aspiring young Irish singer Keelta, and aging Irish labourer Billy, glamorous German-born air hostess Brigitte, and an Austrian woman who lost most of her family during the Holocaust.
The Village
BBC One, 9pm
New six-part drama series that promises to tell the tale of life in an English village through the 20th century, as seen through the eyes of one resident. The first season will be set in the period of 1914 to 1920, while an impressive cast includes Maxine Peake, John Simm and our own Charlie Murphy of Love/Hate.
See You At The Pictures
RTÉ One, 9.30pm
Feature-length documentary on Irish people’s affection for cinema. Various people share their memories and anecdotes.
Six In the City
RTÉ Two, 9.30pm
Tonight’s show is set in Dublin with three potentially interesting couples: IB is a cage fighter and rapper, while his girlfriend Anna is a dance-obsessed waitress; Eileen and Peter are a pair of cat lovers who choose the Cill Airne floating restaurant for dinner; while couple number three comprises car fanatic Jules and his glamour model girlfriend Georgie.
A Bit of a Fillum: Ryan’s Daughter in Dingle
RTÉ One, 11pm
More cinema lore with this repeat of the documentary on David Lean’s 1970 film that was shot on the Dingle peninsula.
Living The Wildlife
RTÉ One, 7pm
Colin Stafford-Johnson visits the Duhallow area of North Cork to assess the current state of barn owls in an area that has traditionally been a stronghold of the magnificent birds. While there he meets up with owl expert John Lusby, and also visits local resident Barbara Lucey, who has a barn owl nest in her garden. One of the things CSJ explains is how barn owls’ distinctive cry may be at the root of banshee legends.
Paris St Germain v Barcelona
TV3, ko 7.45pm
First leg of the quarter-final from the Parc des Princes. Despite their lack of international success, the French team have been spending big in recent years and possess such box office draws as David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The smart money is still on Barcelona, however.
Real Madrid v Galatasaray
RTÉ Two, ko 7.45pm
Are the stars aligning for an all-Spanish final? A Turkish team featuring Drogba and Schneider may disagree.
Coast
BBC Two, 8pm
A new series of the show that’s always interesting no matter where it’s set. Invasion is tonight’s theme, and we hear about the wartime German occupation of the Channel Islands, the Zeppelin bombing of Norfolk in the same era, and also the 10,000 bikers who descend on the Isle of Man for the TT races.
Stella Days
RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Martin Sheen and Stephen Rea star in Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s 2011 tale of a liberal priest who opens a cinema in small-town Ireland.
Fair City
RTÉ One, 8pm
The net is closing in on Paddy, while Carol tries to fool Siobhan.
Tottenham Hotspur v FC Basel
3e, UTV ko 8.05pm
First leg of the Europa League quarter-final from White Hart Lane.
Horizon: The Age of Big Data
BBC Two, 9pm
A look at some of the uses being applied to massive amount of information now held in databases, from crime prevention and stock trading to cataloguing the entire universe.
The Takeover
RTÉ Two, 9.30pm
Norah Casey moves to the bar trade as the staff of the Glyde Inn in Annagassan, Co Louth, take over the running of the premises. For instance, head chef Richie decides to ditch the menu and lean towards more expensive fish dishes, but comes under serious pressure when food critic Tom Doorley arrives to sample it all. Other staff members try to use a Viking angle to get the bar on the tourist trail.
The Works
RTÉ One, 11.15pm
James Plunkett’s novel Strumpet City is this year’s selection in Dublin for One City, One Book and tonight’s show features the reading of extracts at various locations around the city.
Mastermind
BBC Two, 7.30pm
The final of the current series has six contestants answering questions on such specialised subjects as UK chart music of the 1970s, Abraham Lincoln and the Paris Commune of 1871.
How To Win The Grand National
Channel 4, 8pm
Mark Evans combines testimony of jockeys and trainers with scientific analysis to try and work out what separates winners of the great race from the also-rans.
Rolling Stones: Crossfire Hurricane
BBC Four, 9pm
Repeat of the excellent documentary charting the band’s journey from their teenage years to pension age.
