Monday 3 February 2014

TV Picks: 3-9 February 2014 (Alan Davies: Après-ski, Babylon, DCI Banks, Duck Quacks Don't Echo, Inside No9, Ja'mie: Private School Girl, Sleepy Hollow, etc.)

Monday 3 February 2014

Below are my picks of the most notable shows, returning/premiering on UK screens this week...

MONDAY 3rd
PICK OF THE DAY DCI Banks (ITV, 9pm) Series 3 of the detective drama. Starring Stephen Tompkinson, Andrea Lowe, Caroline Catz & Jack Deam. (1/6)
Growing Up Down's (BBC3, 9pm) Documentary about a group of actors with Down's syndrome.

TUESDAY 4th
Births, Deaths & Marriages (ITV, 9pm) Two-part documentary looking at people going through landmark moments in life. (1/2)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Channel 5, 10pm) Season 12 of the US crime drama. (1/24)
PICK OF THE DAY Body of Proof (Channel 5, 11pm) Season 2 of the US crime drama. Starring Dana Delany, Jeri Ryan & John Carroll Lynch. (1/20)


WEDNESDAY 5th
Royal Cousins at War (BBC2, 9pm) Two-part documentary about relationships between royal cousins from the past. Concludes tomorrow. (1/2)
Secrets of South America (BBC3, 9pm) Factual series looking at a Miss Venezuela boot camp for aspiring beauty queens. (1/3)
NCIS (Channel 5, 9pm) Season 10 of the US crime drama. (1/24)
Sleepy Hollow (Universal Channel, 9pm) Season 1 of the US supernatural drama continues. (10/13)
PICK OF THE DAY Inside Number 9 (BBC2, 10pm) New horror comedy anthology series, created by and starring Reece Shearsmith & Steve Pemberton. Guest starring Katherine Parkinson, Tim Key, Luke Pasqualino, Ophelia Lovibond, Anne Reid, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Anna Chancellor, Timothy West & Ben Willbond. (1/6)


THURSDAY 6th
Pound Shop Wars (BBC1, 8pm) New documentary looking at the family-run retailer Poundworld, which is up against a variety of other low-cost shops. (1/4)
Inspector George Gently (BBC1, 8.30pm) Series 6 of the detective drama. (1/4)
How I Met Your Mother (E4, 8.30pm) Season 9 of the US sitcom. Starrng Josh Radnor, Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel & Neil Patrick Harris. (1/24)
Big Ballet (Channel 4, 9pm) New documentary series about plus-size amateur dancers rehearsing Swan Lake. (1/3)
The Hotel Inspector (Channel 5, 9pm) Series 10 of the show where Alex Polizzi investigates various hotels and B&Bs. (1/8)
The Big Reunion (ITV2, 9pm) Series 2 of the show that reunites old pop acts. Featuring Eternal, 5th Story, Gareth Gates, Dane Bowers, Kenzie, Kavana, Girl Thing & Adam Rickitt.
Nashville (More4, 10pm) Season 2 of the US music drama. Starring Hayden Panettiere, Connie Britton & Sam Palladio. (1/22)
PICK OF THE DAY Ja'mie: Private School Girl (BBC3, 10pm) New comedy from Australian writer-performer Chris Lilley, focusing on his 17-year-old school girl character Ja'mie. (1/6)


FRIDAY 7th
Peter Kay: Live & Back on Nights (Channel 4, 9pm) Two-part documentary going behind-the-scenes of the stand-up comedian's nationwide tour. (1/2)
Torvill & Dean: The Perfect Day (BBC2, 9pm) Documentary about the Olympian ice skaters Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean, 30 years after they won gold medals.
PICK OF THE DAY Duck Quacks Don't Echo (Sky1, 10pm) New comedy panel show attempting to test various bizarre "facts". Hosted by Lee Mack. Guests are Dara O'Briain, Ruth Jones & Melanie C. (1/8)
Alan Davies: Après-ski (BBC2, 10pm) New comedy companion series to the Winter Olympics, presented by comedian Alan Davies. (1/3)


SATURDAY 8th
Nothing. There are lots of how-to videos concerning Origami, if you just browse the internet.

SUNDAY 9th
Bonnie & Clyde (Lifetime, 9pm) New miniseries about the notorious bank robbers and lovers. Starring Emile Hirsch & Holliday Grainger. (1/2)
PICK OF THE DAY Babylon (Channel 4, 9pm) Comedy-drama about a US publicist brought in to improve the public image of the London Metropolitan Police. Starring James Nesbitt, Brit Marling, Jill Halfpenny, Paterson Joseph, Daniel Kaluuya, Jonny Sweet & Nicola Walker. (1/6)


For a look ahead at some premiere/return dates of the best UK and US shows, visit my Calendar.