Wednesday 24 Sep 2014
Programme Information
Network TV BBC Week 44: 31 October-6 November
Transmission details in the Network TV Programme Information 7-day version are not updated after publication. For updates, please see individual day pages.
Network TV BBC Week 44: Saturday 31 October 2009
BBC ONE Saturday 31 October 2009
Football Focus comes live from Craven Cottage ahead of Fulham's match with Liverpool. Dan Walker, Mark Lawrenson and Lee Dixon look ahead to the game and a busy weekend of Premier League action.
There is reaction from the mid-week Champions League matches and a preview of the north-London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham.
There's also a chance to catch up with the good, the bad and the downright quirky events of the last week in Seven Days In Focus.
NA
Formula 1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying
Jake Humphrey introduces live coverage of qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Seven months and 16 races on from the first qualifying session in Melbourne, when Jenson Button stormed to pole in a sensational debut for Brawn GP, the season comes to a close in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
It's been an incident-packed year for the sport and there is sure to be plenty more excitement in Abu Dhabi, which has a stunning race track around the newly constructed Yas Marina to host its first Formula 1 contest.
SB4
Clare Balding is at the DW Stadium in Wigan where England take on Australia in the second weekend of the Four Nations tournament.
Any sporting match-up between the two countries is always fiercely contested and an added incentive for England today is the chance to eradicate the memory of the 52-4 mauling they were given by the Kangaroos when the teams last met during the 2008 World Cup.
SB4
Newly crowned Queen Catrina (played by Sarah Parish) settles in as Camelot's first lady, in the second episode of the thrilling two-parter of the magical family drama series. As Queen Catrina's true troll nature surfaces, her influence over Uther increases, and the repercussions are felt throughout the kingdom.
When Catrina accuses Merlin of stealing, he is driven into hiding. Forced to sneak around the castle, Merlin must find a way to expose Catrina's true form without getting caught. However, even if he succeeds, will this be enough to break her powerful magic? Or will Camelot be stuck with a troll as a Queen forever?
Sarah Parish guest stars as Queen Catrina, Anthony Head as Uther and Colin Morgan as Merlin. Merlin also stars Bradley Jones as Arthur, John Hurt as The Dragon, Richard Wilson as Gaius, Angel Coulby as Gwen, Kate McGrath as Morgana and Adam Godley as Jonas.
LH2
Strictly Come Dancing
As the competition hots up, this week's Strictly Come Dancing, hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly, sees the remaining 10 celebrities, and their professional dance partners, take to the floor for what could be their last time.
Following the performances, viewers are able to vote for the couple they want to stay in the competition.
The two couples with the lowest scores will find themselves in the dance–off. The judges will then decide who they'd like to save and who must leave the competition.
Tonight's programme also features a special performance by musical legends the Bee Gees.
Strictly Come Dancing is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC's High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.
RB/IV/KS3
There are some nasty Halloween surprises in store for some of the staff of Holby City hospital as the medical drama continues.
Adam and Henry are furious when Zoe reveals she's lost a memory stick of confidential patient data. She's reluctant to explain how the data went missing – it was stolen by her much younger ex-boyfriend, Joel – but assures them she can retrieve it by the end of the day. Henry gives her until 4pm or she's fired and things look very bleak when Zoe totally mishandles the situation with Joel. Support, however, comes from an unexpected source when Jordan steps in to help out.
Adam, meanwhile, is under pressure – there are patients to treat, budgets to write and Zoe has disappeared. Jessica is disappointed when Adam declines to help with the children's Halloween party that night and the stressed medic is forced to choose between putting his family or work life first.
Jeff's suspicions about Alistair grow when he and Polly are called to a shout and find Alistair standing over an unconscious body at a factory. Jeff is forced to apologise when it turns out Alistair had nothing to do with the accident but warns him to stay away from Polly. Later that night, Polly is petrified to find that Alistair has broken into her flat with a carved pumpkin and a bottle of wine. She's even more terrified when he demands to know why she's cheating on him. A shaky Polly is forced to tell Alistair she loves him.
Back at the hospital, there's a mystery man in the department asking for change, cadging cigarettes and talking about God. Tess and Adam ask him to move on, but there may be more to him than meets the eye...
Adam is played by Tristan Gemmill, Zoe by Sunetra Sarker, Jordan by Michael French, Jeff by Matt Bardock, Polly by Sophia Di Martino, Alistair by Joe McFadden and Tess by Suzanne Packer. Don Warrington guest stars as Trevor.
JM3
BBC TWO Saturday 31 October 2009
Sibling rivalries rise to the surface in this week's melodic episode of the musical comedy drama series, as Toyah and Aretha compete to write a song for top R&B star Monelle, played by former UK Eurovision entry Javine Hylton.
Toyah and Aretha set to work, each trying to compose their own song for Monelle. After many fruitless attempts, including one which sees Aretha rhyming "shower with Chihuahua", the opposing sisters realise that they need to work together to make their tune pitch-perfect.
Elsewhere, a bemused Hadley tries to work out why all the fans seem to prefer Isaac.
Toyah is played by Naomi Battrick, Aretha by Dominique Moore, Hadley by Angus Harrison and Isaac by Matt Morgan.
VT
Set in France's exclusive Val D'Isere ski resort, this brand-new constructed reality series for teens from BBC Switch follows the lives, loves, trials and tribulations of a group of young seasonnaires as they work and play in the party capital of the Alps.
In the first episode, Abi, the self-confessed gossip queen, introduces the cast.
Hari is going out with Tom, but never knows where she stands. Luckily she has Oscar as a shoulder to cry on. He's every girl's best friend but seems to be making enemies with the boys. Holly is loved up with wannabe pro-boarder, Sam. They seem like the perfect couple, but are they going to throw it all away?
Tommy and Emily came to Val as a couple but split up. They say they're happy just being friends, but it's obvious they're not. Abi is delighted to be with Jay, although she's not sure of their future because "you never think of life after the season".
In the first episode, with all the parties, flirting, heartache and arguments, it's a bubble of drama, 24/7.
ER
Observational documentary series Wonderland continues with a Halloween special.
The Isle of Skye may be famous for its rugged Scottish beauty, but there is something else visitors ought to know about – across the island, reported sightings of ghosts are legion. These reports come from some of the island's most reliable and respected figures. Even a former policeman and a man of the church have stories to tell.
With the memory of his deceased wife, Nina, still fresh in his mind, former missionary Donald Angus Maclean is filmed as he collects the island's ghost stories. Among them are the tale of the ghost child, the story of the headless woman and intriguing accounts of "The Car That Wasn't There".
As Donald investigates these sinister stories, he shares his growing conviction that this world and the next are much closer to each other than most are ready to believe. "The curtain that separates us from the beyond is so very thin," he says. "It could also be that the beyond is not nearly as dark as we take it to be."
In the course of the film it becomes apparent that Donald, too, is haunted – not by visions of disappearing cars or headless women, but by the memory of his late wife.
Wonderland continues on Thursday in I Won University Challenge.
CD3
Nicola Murray MP has been Secretary of State for just over a week, as Armando Iannucci's political comedy continues. Already, there is press speculation on how long she is going to last. And now, someone at the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship has completely wiped the immigration records of 170,672 people.
Who's going to get the blame? Who's going to get the job of breaking the news to Malcolm? And how is Nicola going to get through an entire lunch with the staff of The Guardian without revealing the catastrophic scale of the latest computer disaster?
Nicola is played by Rebecca Front and Malcolm by Peter Capaldi. The Thick Of It also stars Chris Addison as Ollie, Joanna Scanlan as Terri and James Smith as Glenn.
The Thick Of It is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC's High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.
Digital viewers who press the Red button after the programme can find exclusive additional content. Exclusive features on key members of the cast and crew can also be found on the BBC Comedy blog, at bbc.co.uk/blogs/comedy.
PA/JD
Network TV BBC Week 44: Sunday 1 November 2009
BBC ONE Sunday 1 November 2009
Jake Humphrey is in Abu Dhabi for the final race of the 2009 Grand Prix season.
It has been an exciting and unpredictable season, but whatever the result today, history will be made as it is Formula 1's first day-night race. It will be fascinating to see how drivers cope in such conditions on the stunning race track around the newly constructed Yas Marina.
It's also the first time Abu Dhabi has staged a Formula 1 race, making the United Arab Emirates capital the second Middle Eastern venue to host the sport after Bahrain.
SB4
Almost everything that ever happens to a rock band has happened to Fleetwood Mac. One of the greatest and most enduring acts in popular music, they began in the Sixties and still sell out stadiums in 2009, surviving countless personnel changes and inter-band meltdowns.
Featuring new interviews with Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, this documentary delves deep into the heart of the band, tracing the relationships, turmoil and changes and unwinding the complex love story between Nicks and former partner Buckingham.
Now, Fleetwood, McVie, Buckingham and Nicks are back onstage together singing the songs that were fuelled by their Seventies relationships and their fall-out. Together they are Fleetwood Mac. They are one of the biggest names in rock. But it still hurts.
LW
BBC TWO Sunday 1 November 2009
Jill Douglas is at the Manchester Velodrome for the first round of the 2009/2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics.
It's the first major international track event of the new season and all eyes will be on triple Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy, who is back competing after injuring his hip in a crash during a race in Copenhagen in February.
Germany were crowned World Cup champions last season, ahead of the Netherlands and Great Britain. Hoy and his fellow British riders will be looking to get back to the top of the podium – especially since, after the gold rush of last year's Beijing Olympics, Team GB won just two titles at the World Track Championships in March.
CH2
Tanya Arnold presents highlights of yesterday's Four Nations tournament clash between France and New Zealand in Toulouse.
France, now coached by former Great Britain and St Helens scrum-half Bobbie Goulding, were playing their first international on home soil since being resoundingly beaten 66-12 by England in Paris last June. The French faced a daunting task against reigning world champions New Zealand.
SB4
BBC THREE Sunday 1 November 2009
Viewers can enjoy highlights of Formula 1's first ever day-night race, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which marked the conclusion of the 2009 season.
SB4
Network TV BBC Week 44: Monday 2 November 2009
BBC ONE Monday 2 November 2009
Tanya thinks she has worked out what is wrong with Jane and confronts her about why she is avoiding babies, in tonight's visit to Albert Square. When Tanya pushes the issue, Jane reveals that she is frustrated because she wants a child of her own.
Meanwhile, Sam tells Archie that she wants nothing more to do with him after what he did to Peggy. Attempting to make her feel guiltly, Archie responds by telling her that he provided her bail money.
Tanya is played by Jo Joyner, Jane by Laurie Brett, Sam by Danniella Westbrook, Archie by Larry Lamb and Peggy by Barbara Windsor.
JM3
Fish, the subject of tonight's episode of Life, narrated by David Attenborough, are the most varied and diverse backboned creatures on the planet, with more than 28,000 species. Such is their diversity that they include pregnant males, fish that fly and species with top speeds faster than a cheetah.
Off the coast of South Australia, strange-looking, weedy sea dragons gather each spring. The males and females pair up for courtship, engaging in a mirror dance until, at last, under the cover of darkness, they spawn.
Bizarrely, the eggs are laid onto the tail of the male. Two months later the young weedy sea dragons hatch and, with a shake of his body, the male helps them swim free of their egg cases. Job done, father and offspring go their separate ways.
The family links of other fish last rather longer. The convict fish is an oddity. No-one knows what the adult eats; it has never been seen to leave its burrow to forage. It shares its network of tunnels with thousands of its offspring, who venture out to feed on the rich plankton around the reef, returning every night to join their parent in the safety of their tunnel. Possibly, in some way, they feed the adult – but how this happens is a mystery.
Hawaii is famous for its waterfalls, but gobies manage to climb them – sometimes scaling 400 feet or more using a specialised disc that enables them to stick to vertical rocks. Their reward at the summit is access to secluded pools with few predators.
Flying fish are capable of bursting from the water and soaring to escape predators on "wings" created by their elongated pectoral fins. Their spawning behaviour is also astonishing as they mass around any flotsam they find. The action can become so extreme that living fish can become entombed in the mass of eggs laid on floating palm fronds. So many eggs are laid that, finally, the frond sinks to the depths, bringing an abrupt end to spawning.
In Fish Out Of Water, this week's making-of Life diary, cameraman Rick Rosenthal shows how he uses a hi-speed camera in underwater housing to film sailfish off the coast of Mexico. And, in Tobago, Doug Anderson's team soon become a target for spawning flying fish.
CBBC also goes behind the scenes of this landmark series in Inside Life. This week's programme looks at garter snakes.
Life is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC's High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.
BR/LS2
CBEEBIES Monday 2 November 2009
Lasagne, frittatas and banana bread are on the menu this week as I Can Cook continues its mission to get the nation's under-sixes cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
Serving up a selection of simple recipes, top cookery tips and the chance to get very messy, I Can Cook gives children hands-on encouragement to connect what's on their plate with the world around them.
This week, musician, actress and all-round entertainer Katy Ashworth welcomes more children into her kitchen to create a recipe of the day. Together, they pop peppers, sprinkle seasoning, squish squash, explore where ingredients come from and how foods are made while learning some simple kitchen and cookery skills.
On Monday, Katy invites five young cooks into her kitchen and garden to pick spinach and bake tasty cheese and vegetable pasties; on Tuesday, the little chefs make baked courgettes with Parmesan cheese; on Wednesday, the mini cooks find out how asparagus grows and fry up some frittatas; the team go bananas on Thursday, baking some chunky banana bread; and there's an Italian job on Friday, as the gang learn about mozzarella and layer some lasagne.
FW
Dirtgirl grows awesome tomatoes, knows cloud names and drives a big, orange tractor. Her world is brought vividly to life in this new CBeebies series, in which larger-than-life characters come alive to inspire four- to six-year-olds.
Exploring nature and the world around her, Dirtgirl invites the young audience to a place where the real and unreal hang out together. Helping Dirtgirl in her backyard are her best friend, Scrapboy, a "cowpunk" who is a whiz with junk; Grubby, with her grub's eye view; Ken the weevil, a super stunt star with an inferiority complex; Roger the rooster and the chicks; Hayman, the monosyllabic scarecrow; and The Green Thumbs – real kids in real gardens having unreal fun.
Full of bizarre insects, underground tunnels, vaudevillian-trained chickens and performing stunt bugs, Dirtgirlworld is a place where children learn to protect what they love. This music-centric series has an environmental focus and provides an invitation for people to step outside and have a go.
CI2
Network TV BBC Week 44: Tuesday 3 November 2009
BBC ONE Tuesday 3 November 2009
Archie is handed a flyer for The Vic's bonfire event, in tonight's visit to Albert Square. Peggy snatches it from him and tells him he's not wanted in Walford.
Meanwhile, in The Vic, Denise asks Owen why he is still in Walford. Owen declares he was persuaded to stay, and Denise admits to Pat that she wants rid of him.
Archie is played by Larry Lamb, Peggy by Barbara Windsor, Denise by Di Parish, Owen by Lee Ross and Pat by Pam St Clement.
JM3
Elliot struggles to run Darwin without Connie and ends up pushing himself too hard, as the medical drama continues. Penny runs an ECG and discovers Elliot is suffering from angina. Joseph is appointed acting consultant in lieu of Connie while Vanessa appoints a new locum registrar – Thandie Abebe-Griffin.
It's Archie's funeral. A tiny ceremony is held, attended only by Joseph, Faye and Faye's mother. Meanwhile, on receiving bad news about her divorce settlement, Judith struggles to stay professional on AAU (Acute Assessment Unit), fooling everyone, except Mark.
On Maria's first day back, she struggles with Donna's lax attitude to work, but it's not until she upsets Donna that she is honest and tells her that, from now on, nursing comes first.
Elliot is played by Paul Bradley, Penny by Emma Catherwood, Joseph by Luke Roberts, Vanessa by Leslie Ash, Thandie Abebe-Griffin by Ginny Holder, Faye by Patsy Kensit-Healy, Judith by Shelagh McLeod, Maria by Phoebe Thomas and Donna by Jaye Jacobs.
JM3
BBC Breakfast presenters Bill Turnbull and Louise Minchin are off on the fourth and longest leg of the Around The World In 80 Days challenge, raising money for BBC Children In Need on their way. The pair need to cover a quarter of the globe to reach America, where John Barrowman and Myleene Klass await them.
When Bill loses a crown on his tooth on the bone-rattling roads of Mongolia, they are forced to gamble their onward connection with an emergency trip to the dentist. They catch the last train to Russia with only minutes to spare.
On leaving Vladivostock, already exhausted, they board the ferry to South Korea, only to find that their reservations are not as expected. Bill is boosted to first class, while Louise is sent to steerage (fourth class). With Louise facing a night on a hard floor with 16 strangers, Bill gallantly gives up his private cabin to join his fellow traveller for the rough crossing.
Back on dry land, the two journalists explore South Korea while they wait for their container ship to America. Louise's father – a former Army major – suggested they should try to visit the border to pay their respects to the forgotten British soldiers who fought in the Korean War in the Fifties. Afterwards, they are off again and race through Seoul to catch their next boat.
Bill and Louise now face a final dash across country on the KTX – one of the fastest trains in the world – to Busan. They will be on their next mode of transport, a cargo vessel, for 10 days, journeying across the Pacific Ocean.
So far, they've clocked up 4,000 miles, but the news that they still have another 6,000 to go doesn't go down well, particularly when they realise that their route takes them across the International Date Line ... so they have to repeat a day all over again. With little contact with the outside world and just the crew for company, will they have the mettle to make it?
Around The World In 80 Days is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC's High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.
GD/JF/LK
CBBC Tuesday 3 November 2009
Inside Life continues to go behind the scenes of the BBC Natural History Unit's landmark new series, Life, to find out just what it takes to get footage of the world's most extraordinary wildlife.
Every year, deep in the heart of Canada, thousands upon thousands of snakes emerge wriggling from their winter dens. The Life team are keen to capture this wildlife phenomenon, but are missing an integral piece of equipment; a thermal-imaging camera. In steps agent Matt.
Reptile-mad Matt, fresh from his mission to investigate how the RAF use thermal cameras to find people and animals, goes on the adventure of a lifetime as he delivers a thermal-imaging camera to the Life team on location.
Matt travels to the Canadian wilderness where red-sided garter snakes live out the winter in underground dens, emerging in the summer months to mate. Timing is crucial – if the Life team miss this extraordinary mass emergence, they will have to wait a whole year for it to happen again.
NE/MF
Network TV BBC Week 44: Wednesday 4 November 2009
BBC ONE Wednesday 4 November 2009
Jimmy's Food Factory – From The Fridge Ep 3/6
In the third episode of Jimmy's quest to uncover the secrets lurking in the contents of the supermarket trolley, he finds out why there isn't a creamy layer at the top of the milk any more.
He attempts to replicate the modern dairy process using a DIY production line set up in a barn. He uses clever chemistry to make his own version of supermarket spread and follows the egg's journey from hen to supermarket. He is surprised to see some of the imperfect wrinkly eggs that never make it onto the shelves. At the cheese factory, he helps make Red Leicester cheese and learns that this is one factory where they actually put bacteria into the food.
Jimmy's Food Factory is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC's High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.
CD3
The hostility between the ex-John Fosters pupils and their Waterloo Road peers continues unabated in the second episode of the new series of the school drama.
Tensions increase when Amy accuses Bolton of attempted rape, after luring him into the girls' toilets – an accusation that a bewildered Bolton strongly denies. New girl Lindsay James is quick to use the incident as further proof that Waterloo Road pupils are trouble, happy to have a distraction from her father's funeral, which is taking place that day.
Kim pulls an increasingly angry Bolton out of lessons to question him about Amy's allegation, but Max takes over, leaving Rachel concerned that Bolton will never get a fair hearing. As events escalate, Rachel is forced to leave school, having agreed to take Lindsay and Em to their dad's funeral. Lindsay is clearly only attending for Em's sake and Rachel worries about how she is dealing with her father's death.
News of Bolton's "assault" spreads like wildfire around school and while his girlfriend, Michaela, initially defends him, Amy's lurid description of the encounter soon leads her to have doubts. In the end, only Paul stands by his mate.
Meanwhile, Helen Hopewell is back at school and, desperate to blame someone else for her own inadequacies as a teacher, she accuses Michaela of pushing her down the stairs. In addition, there is trouble in store for Steph when her first official appraisal from new head of department Jo Lipsett is less than flattering.
Later, despite their professional differences, Kim and Max go out to dinner and the attraction between them becomes clear.
Ayesha Gwilt plays Amy, Tachia Newell plays Bolton, Jenna Louise Coleman plays Lindsay James, Angela Griffin plays Kim, Tom Chambers plays Max Tyler, Eva Pope plays Rachel, Zarrah Abrahams plays Michaela, Vinette Robinson plays Helen Hopewell, Denise Welch plays Steph and Sarah Jane Potts plays Jo Lipsett.
Waterloo Road is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC's High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media
JP2
BBC TWO Wednesday 4 November 2009
Britain is basking in the heat of a long Edwardian summer, as the second film in Andrew Marr's new history series opens. But tension and violence are never far beneath the surface.
Women are attacked while campaigning for the vote; Ireland is divided over liberation from the British Empire; and dockers and miners struggle for improved conditions and wages.
With magical archive and vivid storytelling, Andrew explains why the popular press stoked fears of a German invasion. He also shows how the radical new Liberal chancellor, David Lloyd George, faced a very modern dilemma – welfare or warfare?
With the birth of flight and the movies, the story is also of magnificent men in their flying machines and future Hollywood stars Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel touring Britain together. Then, the assassination of an archduke in Sarajevo sets the wheels in motion for world war.
In the corridors of Westminster, old allies Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George fight over strategy. Out on the streets, the people are eager for battle, determined to teach the Hun a lesson.
A partner series to his Bafta-winning History Of Modern Britain, Andrew's powerful storytelling helps make sense of modern Britain in the context of its early 20th-century history.
PR
Network TV BBC Week 44: Thursday 5 November 2009
BBC ONE Thursday 5 November 2009
A haunted house, with mysterious whispers and secrets in the shadows attracts Sarah Jane's attention in the first of a new, two-part adventure, written by Phil Ford and directed by Alice Troughton.
When Professor Rivers and the gang investigate an old legend, a monstrous creature appears in the night as the terrifying grasp of Erasmus Darkening reaches out from centuries past.
The conclusion of this two-part adventure can be seen on Friday 6 November.
Sarah Jane Smith is played by Elisabeth Sladen, Professor Rivers by Floella Benjamin and Erasmus Darkening by Donald Sumpter. The Sarah Jane Adventures also stars Daniel Anthony as Clyde Langer, Anjili Mohindra as Rani Chandra, Callum Blue as Lord Marchwood, Adam Gillen as Toby Silverman, Amelia Clarkson as Elizabeth Marchwood, Rhys Gear as Joseph Marchwood and Tony Boncza as Mr Scriven.
CI2
Jane receives a pile of mail, in tonight's visit to Albert Square. One particular letter is an application to adopt.
Meanwhile, Ronnie remarks how tired Peggy looks. She seems run-down and stressed about something. Sitting Ronnie and Roxy down, Peggy admits that the Queen Vic is running at a loss.
Jane is played by Laurie Brett, Ronnie by Samantha Womack, Peggy by Barbara Windsor and Roxy by Rita Simons.
JM3
BBC TWO Thursday 5 November 2009
Last week, two couples were sent home; their dreams of running a restaurant with Raymond Blanc cut short. Their skills and concepts didn't stand up to the scrutiny of Raymond and his partners, David Moore and Sarah Willingham.
The judges are looking for a strong idea, cooking skills and a strong partnership but, in an economic downturn, they also need a couple who can prove they can tough it out in the harsh realities of the restaurant trade.
Seven couples are left in the competition but, to get keys to one of Raymond's Bristol restaurants, they must overcome a final obstacle. Together, they must run three of the city's leading chain restaurants. It's a pressured environment and a chance for the couples to prove they have real potential.
Divided into groups, they receive intensive training. The menus look simple – pizzas, noodles and sushi. However, under the watchful eyes of Raymond, Sarah and David, the couples open the doors to hundreds of customers and service doesn't run smoothly.
For the couples, it's a reality check. For Raymond and his investors, it's an opportunity to find out who can deliver, who can learn, and who will buckle under pressure.
And, as Raymond has keys to just six restaurants, one couple is going home.
JD/PA
Defying Gravity – Hell If I Know Ep 4/13
The crew of the Antares face their first major crisis, as the space drama continues. The ship inexplicably begins to shut down all of its operating systems, causing the sudden failure of power, heat and gravity controls, and plunging everyone aboard into chaos...
In cold, darkness and zero gravity, Donner frantically tries to find the cause of the disaster. Jen enters the darkened medical bay to find psychiatrist Mintz having a horrifying flashback to a similarly claustrophobic war-time episode involving the death of a young girl. Meanwhile, in mid-broadcast to Earth, when the lights go out, Paula tries to comfort the panicked Wassenfelder as they float in his rapidly freezing crew quarters.
On a spacewalk outside the ship to search for the problem, Donner encounters an incredible hallucination, which takes him back to the Mars mission tragedy. Back on Earth, Ajay is in hospital recovering from an operation to replace his faulty heart valve; still, Mission Control patches him through to Donner, desperate for an answer to the systems breakdown. When Ajay has no answer, Donner is forced to find his own remarkable solution, just as time is running out.
Ron Livingston is Maddux Donner; Christina Cox is Jen Crane; Paula Garces is Paula Morales; Eyal Podell is Evram Mintz; Dylan Taylor is Steve Wassenfelder; and Zahf Paroo is Ajay Sharma.
AF
Observational documentary series Wonderland continues, seeking out the people and places that offer a glimpse of today's Britain that is usually hidden from view.
"People don't like intelligent people. They like successful people, but they don't like intelligent people." These are the words of Thor Halland, who was on the winning team of University Challenge in 2003.
I Won University Challenge tracks down 10 previous winners and finds out how life plays out for those endowed with the nation's biggest brains. Is having the kind of mind capable of winning University Challenge a blessing or a curse?
Luke Pitcher, part of the winning team in 2002 and now an Oxford academic, is in no doubt. "I'm very happy being clever. In fact, one of the abiding pleasures of my life is the things my mind can do."
But it's not so easy for everyone. Pamela Maddison, part of the 1968 winning team, has struggled to be accepted into society as an intelligent woman. "The problem with a lot of my life," she says, "is that I've had to dumb myself down."
First broadcast in 1962, University Challenge remains hugely popular with the British public. Audiences love to gawp at this display of nerdish erudition, but does Britain really accept and celebrate these people and their brains? From the champion who was drunk when his team won to the brilliant polymath who now works as a postman, the film unravels the lives and careers of some of Britain's brainiest people.
Wonderland's Halloween special, The Ghostman Of Sky, can be seen on Saturday 31 October.
CD3
BBC THREE Thursday 5 November 2009
Russell Howard's Good News Ep 3/7
Put together each week on the brink of transmission, Russell Howard's Good News, BBC Three's new topical show, features the comedians's unique perspective on the big stories dominating the media. Russell will also be picking up on those sometimes overlooked things that make him smile.
Recorded in front of a studio audience, Russell Howard's Good News also offers fans at home the chance to shape the news agenda, allowing them to submit stories online at bbc.co.uk/russellhoward (where they will also be able to view exclusive extra features), or via Twitter at twitter.com/russellhoward.
In the last year, Russell has become one of the UK's most successful comedians. A regular on Mock The Week, BBC Two's highest-rating comedy show, which has achieved viewing figures of more than five million per week, he has twice appeared on BBC One's Live At The Apollo and followed in the footsteps of Al Murray – The Pub Landlord by becoming the host of Comedy Central's Edinburgh And Beyond.
APR
BBC FOUR Thursday 5 November 2009
History Of Christianity – The First Christianity Ep 1/6
Presented by Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch – leading historian and Professor of History of the Church and a Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford – A History of Christianity reveals the origins of the religion and explores what it means to be a Christian. The series asks whether Christianity can survive in an increasingly apathetic and secular society.
In the first episode, Professor MacCulloch begins his journey in Jerusalem, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a site that holds important clues to the origins of the Christian faith.
The programme overturns the conventional view that the origins of Christianity lie in St Paul's mission west to Rome. Instead, it reveals that Christianity first spread east, extending into Syria, Central Asia, India and the far reaches of the Asian continent. At one point, Baghdad, rather than Rome, was poised to be the headquarters of the faith. The origins of church music and the church-state relation are both traced to Eastern Christianity.
Professor MacCulloch also travels to Istanbul to shed light on the fierce debate that erupted in the 4th century over the true nature of Jesus, and to Syria where he challenges the notion of a clash of civilisations between Christianity and Islam. In fact, Islam appropriated many Eastern Christian beliefs and rituals – including the practice of prostration. Finally, the story leads to China, where an ancient Christian monastery and a museum of stone-carved records help prove that Christianity reached the Far East before it had even arrived in Britain.
An interview with Professor MacCulloch will be available in Programme Information shortly.
A History Of Christianity is a co-production with The Open University. Further information on the OU can be found at open2.net
GD/JF
Network TV BBC Week 44: Friday 6 November 2009
BBC ONE Friday 6 November 2009
Sarah Jane and the gang discover the secrets of Erasmus Darkening, in the second and concluding part of The Eternity Trap, but are they too late? As ghosts from the past rise up, and the quest to find the missing children reaches a climax, it seems that nothing can stop the ancient alchemist's rise to victory.
Sarah Jane Smith is played by Elisabeth Sladen and Erasmus Darkening by Donald Sumpter.
CI2
Archie and Peggy reminisce about the old days, in tonight's visit to Albert Square. Peggy tells him that none of Eric's friends liked him – they couldn't trust him and they sussed him out right away.
Meanwhile, Jane and Masood grow closer when she confides in him about her need to have a child of her own.
Archie is played by Larry Lamb, Peggy by Barbara Windsor, Jane by Laurie Brett and Masood by Nitin Ganatra.
JM3
Divorced Dad tells his son the reason Tilly Green hasn't replied to his text is because she's out of his league, as Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller's comedy sketch show continues.
Meanwhile, a boxer's coach fills the one-minute silence by telling him that, sometimes, he sees fairies at the end of his bed; a busy CEO is kept up to speed by his assistants – who tell him that lions can't swim and there's actually no pepper in Dr Pepper; the origins of the dinner party are revealed as Neanderthals sit down to a spot of mammoth and mugs of blood; the Second World War pilots aren't pleased to be roped into digging the escape tunnel – the dirt is bad for their asthma and definitely against health and safety; Jilted Jim continues to cause havoc in Hawaii by letting slip that Phil said men cheating was inevitable; and an undercover operation is ruined when a reasonable boss turns up to tell his employees that working past 5pm isn't acceptable and to get themselves home.
RD4
CBBC Friday 6 November 2009
Athletic zombies and a disconcerting dinner lady feature in the assortment of comedy treats in this week's episode of the imaginative comedy sketch show for children, that the whole family can enjoy.
In addition, museum curators Mr Faraway and Mr Elevenses reveal more wonders at the Museum Of Imagination. And it is prize-giving time on North Barrasay and the snowman decides to take a holiday.
Sorry I've Got No Head features the comedy talents of Marcus Brigstocke, Mel Giedroyc, David Armand, Anna Crilly, James Bachman and Nick Mohammed.
VT
Programme information
Network TV
Network TV – Days
- Highlights of the week
- Garrow's Law – Tony Marchant Interview
- Garrow's Law – Andy Buchan Interview
- Around The World In 80 Days Feature
- Casualty Feature
- Red Button Feature
- Saturday 31 October 2009
- Sunday 1 November 2009
- Monday 2 November 2009
- Tuesday 3 November 2009
- Wednesday 4 November 2009
- Thursday 5 November 2009
- Friday 6 November 2009
- 7-day version
Key
- New series
- Live event/outside broadcast
- Interactive programme
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