Best of the Week's TV (Jan 11-17)
BBC One, 7pm
The first of the British shows introduces a new panel of judges as both Jessie J and Danny O’Donoghue have departed, and are replaced by Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs, and Kylie Minogue, alongside Tom Jones and will.i.am.
RTÉ One, 7.30pm
New series in which celebrity mentors guide family groups through a series of challenges. Among those taking part are Eddie O’Sullivan, Davy Fitzgerald and Kenneth Egan.
Gloucester v Munster (Sky Sports 2, ko 6pm; highlights TG4, 9.15pm) sees the Irish side sitting on top of their pool as they take on the second-place English side in the penultimate game of the group stages. Live soccer includes Hull City v Chelsea (BT Sport 1, ko 12.45pm), Tottenham v Crystal Palace (Setanta Sports, ko 3pm) and Man Utd v Swansea (Sky Sports 1,
ko 5.30pm).
Channel 4, 9pm
Israel has been put on the international TV map by American companies turning some of the Jewish state’s shows into programmes such as Homeland and In Treatment. Hostages is the latest Israeli series to get an English-language version, with Toni Collette and Dylan McDermott (The Practice) starring in the account of a family caught up in a political conspiracy. Collette plays a surgeon whose family are kidnapped the night before she’s due to perform an operation on the US president.
BBC Two, 8pm
As the biggest tea drinkers in the world, Irish viewers should have an interest in this two-part series. The title of the show is slightly misleading, as Reeve’s travels to Africa and Asia also delve into the world of coffee manufacture. He’s there to find out who packs our leaves and beans and how the global trade in tea and coffee works. First up, he’s in Kenya and Uganda, attending a huge tea auction and exploring the complex issue of child labour.
BBC One, 8.30pm
The final episode of the latest Sherlock series has come far too quickly, so fans will need to savour the final 90 minutes of cat-and-mouse games, with our hero’s latest arch enemy, Charles Augustus Magnussen (played by Lars Mikkelsen, possibly familiar from the Danish version of The Killing). The arch blackmailer seems to have dirt on every powerful person on the planet, an asset he’s well able to use to his advantage.
TV3, 9pm
The Waterford mentalist begins his new six-part series, in which he’ll mess with the minds of both viewers and his live audience. For the opening episode, there are numerous twins and triplets in the studio for Barry to test theories of ‘twintuition’.
Watch out for the slightly irregular kick-off times in the Premier League, in the games featuring Newcastle United v Man City (Sky Sports 1, ko 2.05pm) and Stoke City v Liverpool ((Sky Sports 1, ko 4.10pm). The Heineken Cup
includes the clash of Castres v Leinster (ko 12.45pm. Sky Sports 2 Red Button; highlights TG4, 5pm).
Channel 4, 8pm
A follow-up to the excellent show last year, Mark Evans delves into the secret world of dogs, using hidden cameras and doggy scientists.
Sky Sports 1, ko 8pm
Arsene Wenger’s men face a home side having a typically mixed season.
RTÉ One, 9.35pm
This documentary follows an Irish couple through the highs and lows of surrogacy: they paid an Indian woman to have a baby for them. The subcontinent has become the surrogacy capital of the world in recent years, due to the legalisation of a process that is banned in many other nations; an endless supply of women willing to supplement their meagre incomes; and a huge tranche of companies and medical professionals willing to facilitate the process.
RTÉ Two, 9pm
Highlights from Sunday’s film and TV awards, voted by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. A red-carpet event precedes the main show at 8pm. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler present the honours, but, presumably, they’ll have to hold fire for Woody Allen’s lifetime achievement award. American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave could be the big winners in the film section, while House of Cards and Breaking Bad should do well in the TV awards.
RTÉ One, 7pm
Forward-thinking has never been a major part of Irish life, but Duncan Stewart may focus some minds with his look at what the world could be like in 2050, and what issues such as population and food production will mean for Ireland.
RTÉ Two, 9pm
The latest series from Meredith and co at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital is one part of a Tuesday double bill that’s sure to attract a sizeable female audience. Season 10 picks up the action in the aftermath of the big storm that wreaked havoc at the end of last series.
RTÉ Two, 9.55pm
The second part of the girls’ night-in features Emily Thorne’s ongoing quest for vengeance. Conrad is in her sights tonight, and ismanipulated with the aid of medication tampering, as well as being urged to repent by Fr Paul, now part of Emily’s web.
RTÉ One, 10.35pm
Has the passage of time lulled you into a mood of accepting that we are where we are? Watch this repeat of the documentary on what went on in Irish Nationwide and get angry again.
RTÉ One, 8.30pm
The second show of the week catches up with three participants to see how they’ve coped with the first few days of the new campaign. They also face their first challenge of the series, under the watchful eye of Karl Henry, Dr Ciara Kelly, right, and the rest of the team.
TV3, 9pm
Episode two of the hugely successful ITV drama series about the search for the killer of a young boy.
BBC One, 9pm
Comedy ventriloquist Nina Conti is in Ireland next week, and this is a chance to get a preview of her act. There’ll also be a routine from Australia-based Irish comedian Jimeoin.
Channel 4, 10pm
Moving documentary in the Cutting Edge series following two brothers, aged six and four, who’ve been in care for 12 months waiting to be adopted. Their age, and the fact that they come as a pair, makes them harder to place, but it is hoped that a new scheme will give them one more chance at finding a family.
BBC One, 8pm
New flagship natural history from the BBC that uses cutting-edge techniques to look at some of the smaller creatures of the world, including a grasshopper mouse, a ring-tailed lizard and an elephant shrew.
RTÉ One, 8.30pm
American animal scientist Temple Grandin (played by Clare Danes in the biopic) is on the show to talk about her humane systems for handling animals, and also how she believes her autism gave her a unique perspective on the issue.
RTÉ Two, 9.30pm
Waterford couple Natasha Hosey and Eddie Kiely kick off the new series by separating for three weeks to allow him arrange their upcoming wedding. As ever, the groom, at times, feels he’s bitten off more than he can chew, and comes under serious pressure to pull it all together.
RTÉ One, 10.15pm
The celebrated writer spends time in Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, to find inspiration for a play that will be broadcast immediately after this show. The resulting work has a cast that includes Ian McElhinneyan and Nika McGuigan (daughter of Barry).
Channel 4, 8pm
Jamie Oliver continues to work his contacts book, and gets Sienna Miller in to cook up her Tuscan duck ragu. The man himself bakes a whole salmon in salt, while Jimmy Doherty creates a DIY hog roast for the ultimate
crackling.
TG4, 9.05pm
The original 2009 Swedish adaptation of the second novel in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium
series again stars Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace as the unorthodox investigators. This time, they are on the trail of a sex-trafficking ring, but Lisbeth encounters troubles of her own when she’s framed for murder.
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