Monday’s best TV
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Version 0 of 1. Panorama – What Britain Wants8.30pm, BBC1 First of a four-part series-within-a-series presented by Fergal Keane. As the general election looms, Keane takes the cue to wonder whether there is anything politicians are doing – or could do – to enable more people to realise what have long been thought the most basic of ambitions: owning their home; doing work they enjoy; feeling as if they belong where they live; and maintaining confidence that things will improve in the future. A useful reality check for voters and office-seekers alike. Andrew Mueller A Cook Abroad: Rick Stein’s Australia9pm, BBC2 Delicious food, gorgeous scenery and sunshine are guaranteed as Rick takes a journey from his Aussie house, where he’s serving up treats and fizz, to Tasmania, “the foodie frontier”. On the way, there’s time for a stop-off at a roadside driver-reviver to try a meat pie, as well as a trip to Sydney’s fish market. Once he reaches Tassie, Rick is understandably evangelical about its beauty. Killing a wallaby isn’t the most palatable thing to watch, but seeing it roasted in salt and pepper is. Hannah Verdier Arthur & George9pm, ITV Sherlock by proxy, in a well-crafted dramatisation of the Julian Barnes novel. Based on a true story, it sees Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – guiltily mourning a wife he didn’t love and unsure if Holmes is a blessing or a curse – doing real detective work. Is convicted horse-maimer George Edalji (Arsher Ali) the victim of a racist set-up? With Martin Clunes playing Doyle as a wily, spunky thinker who nevertheless feels inferior to his own creation, this first episode has charm to go with the misty period intrigue. Jack Seale Climate Change By Numbers9pm, BBC4 According to surveys, as the evidence for climate change mounts, we grow less certain about whether we understand what’s happening. Information overload doesn’t help, so this doc finds three mathematicians – Hannah Fry, Norman Fenton and David Spiegelhalter – who focus on three figures: 0.85C (degrees of warming since 1880); 95% (the degree of certainty that at least half of recent warming is man-made); and 1tn tonnes (the total amount of carbon we can ever burn while avoiding dangerous levels of climate change). Jonathan Wright Mom9pm, ITV2 Season two of the Chuck Lorre-created sitcom that isn’t Two and a Half Men or The Big Bang Theory. Recovering addict and single parent Christy Plunkett (Anna Faris) should be celebrating a year sober, despite the pressures of living with her free-spirited mother and a wayward teenage daughter. By the end of this opening double bill, the Plunkett clan are adjusting to a precarious new status quo. My Name Is Earl’s Jaime Pressly guest stars, while 3rd Rock from the Sun veteran French Stewart lurks in the background. Graeme Virtue Storyville: The $1.7 Billion Dollar Fraud: Full Exposure 10.15pm, BBC4 When the Japanese tech giant Olympus appointed British executive Michael Woodford – a gaijin (foreigner) – as president and CEO, it set in motion an extraordinary turn of events after he blew the whistle on a staggering $1.7bn fraud being conducted behind the scenes. While retelling the events of 2011, just months after Woodford took up the post, director Hyoe Yamamoto weaves a compelling tale of honour, complicity and deception spanning decades. Ben Arnold Moone Boy9pm, Sky 1 Judging by the opener of this 1991-set third series, Chris O’Dowd’s generally endearing sitcom seems to be leaning heavily on its retrospective premise for its jokes. As young Martin visits his uncle in Dublin, where he sells encyclopedias with a hefty dose of dramatic irony (“the greatest information resource the world will ever see”), parents Debra and Liam go away to celebrate their anniversary, only to bump into the latter’s youth-obsessed old flame. Cue confusion over newfangled things such as yoga and raving. Rachel Aroesti Today’s best live sport •Premier League U-21 football: Liverpool v ChelseaCheck out the stars of the future (6.45pm, Sky Sports 1). • World Seniors Championship snookerFrom Blackpool, with Jimmy White in action tonight (7pm, Sky Sports 3). •Serie A football: Roma v JuventusAction from the Stadio Olimpico in Rome (7.30pm, BT Sport 1). • World Cup cricket: Ireland v South AfricaThe South Africans face the dangerous Irish (3am, Sky Sports World Cup). |