Monday 8 July 2013

TV Picks: 8-14 July 2013 (BBC Proms, The Big C, Count Arthur Strong, Dynamo: Magician Impossible, Law & Order UK, Top of the Lake, etc.)

Monday 8 July 2013

Below are my picks of the week's most notable TV shows premiering/returning to UK screens...

MONDAY 8th
The RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2013 (BBC2, 8pm) New series looking at the popular flower show. (1/3)
PICK OF THE DAY Count Arthur Strong (BBC2, 8.30pm) New sitcom adaptation of the Radio 4 comedy character; an old-school music hall entertainer. Starring Steve Delaney, Rory Kinnear, Andy Linden, Ruth Posner & Chris Rymam. (1/6)
Isle of Wight Festival 2013 (Sky Arts 1, 9pm) Highlighted coverage of the music festival. Featuring Paul Weller, Fun, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sande, Rizzle Kicks, Lianne Le Havas & T'Pau.


TUESDAY 9th
Raymond Blanc: How to Cook Well (BBC2, 8pm) New series of cookery master-classes from the award-winning chef. (1/6)
The Cruise: A Life at Sea (BBC2, 8.30pm) Documentary series set on the cruise ship Balmoral during a 112-day trip around the world. (1/6)
Piper Alpha: Fire in the Sky (BBC2, 9pm) Documentary about the disaster of 1988, when the Piper Alpha North Sea oil platform exploded killing 167 people.
PICK OF THE DAY Robson Green: How the North Was Built (ITV, 9pm) Documentary two-parter celebrating the achievements of the north of England, particularly during the Industrial Revolution. Presented by actor Robson Green. (1/2)
The Murder Trial (Channel 4, 9pm) Documentary film following the real life retrial of a Scottish businessman accused of murdering his wife in 1998.
Football's Suicide Street (BBC3, 9pm) Documentary about depression in English football.
China in Six Easy Pieces (BBC4, 9pm) Documentary where ceramics expert Lars Tharp informs us about Chinese history using six pieces of porcelain.
Geordie Shore (MTV, 10pm) Series 6 of the fly-on-the-wall reality show, with the Newcastle friends travelling to Australia.

WEDNESDAY 10th
Restoration Home (BBC2, 8pm) Series 3 of the show where Caroline Quentin looks at properties being turned from ruins into dream houses. (1/8)
The Zoo (ITV, 8pm) Series 3 of the documentary series going behind-the-scenes of London Zoo and Whipsnade. (1/3)
PICK OF THE DAY Horizon: The Truth About Personality (BBC2, 9pm) Science special investigating human personality: what is it, and how is it shaped?
Some People with Jokes (BBC4, 10pm) Follow-up to Old Jews Telling Jokes, where every week a different section of society a variety of gags. This episode begins with clerygmen. (1/5)

THURSDAY 11th
Married to the Job (ITV, 8.30pm) New documentary series about a senior female police detective working in Hertfordshire. Narrated by Mel Giedroyc. (1/6)
Nick & Margaret: We Pay for Your Benefits (BBC1, 9pm) Two-part special where Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford investigate unemployment benefit. (1/2)
Brady & Hindley: Possession (ITV, 9pm) Documentary on the notorious serial killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, who killed five children in the north-west of England 50 years ago. Narrated by Paul McGann.
Hebrides: Islands on the Edge (BBC2, 9pm) Wildlife documentary series about the remote Scottish islands and the animals that live there. Narrated by Ewan McGregor. (1/4)
PICK OF THE DAY Dynamo: Magician Impossible (Watch, 9pm) Series 3 of the illusion show, starring Steven Frayne (aka Dynamo) as he travels to New York. (1/4)
The Big C (More4, 10pm) Season 3 of the US drama about a middle-aged woman coping with terminal cancer. Starring Laura Linney & Oliver Platt. (1/10)


FRIDAY 12th
PICK OF THE DAY BBC Proms 2013 (BBC2, 8pm) The annual music season returns for its 119th year.
T in the Park (BBC3, 9.30pm) Coverage of the music festival. Presented by Greg James & Sarah-Jane Crawford. Featuring Jake Bugg, Emeli Sande and many more.

SATURDAY 13th
The Queen's Coronation Festival Gala (BBC1, 7pm) Highlights of the concert from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, marking the 60th anniversary of the Queen's Coronation. Featuring Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson, Katie Melua, The Feeling and the English National Ballet. Presented by Sophie Raworth & Gareth Malone.
Natural World (BBC2, 7.4pm) Documentary special looking at the search for the elusive giant squid. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
PICK OF THE DAY Top of the Lake (BBC2, 9.10pm) New series about a pregnant 12-year-old girl in New Zealand who is saved from drowning and triggers a police investigation. Starring Elisabeth Moss, David Wenham, Pete Mullan, Thomas M Wright & Holly Hunter. (1/6)


SUNDAY 14th
A Race Against Time: Hilary Lister's Round Britain Dream (BBC2, 6.30pm) Documentary about a woman who wants to sail solo around the UK, despite being paralysed from the neck down.
Wild Cameramen at Work (BBC2, 6.30pm) New series looking at some of the world's best wildlife photographers and cameramen, as they recount some of the favourite stories. (1/4)
Hunt vs Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals (BBC2, 9pm) Documentary looking at the competition between the UK's James Hunt and Austria's Niki Lauda for the 1976 Formula 1 world drivers' championship.
PICK OF THE DAY Law & Order UK (ITV, 9pm) Series 7 of the cop drama with a change of personnel. Starring Bradley Walsh, Paul Nicholls, Paterson Joseph, Dominic Rowan, Georgia Taylor & Peter Davison. (1/6)