24 saturday review Saturday December 4 2021 | the times
A boy arrives from space
in a magic cocoon found by
a gentle farming couple who
discover that he has amazing
powers that he uses to save
the world from villains. Yes,
the story of Superman isn’t
exactly unknown, although
the sight of him as a stressed-
out city dad coping with two
troubled teenage boys and
a job in declining print media
is at least novel. The idea of
exploring the married life of
Clark Kent and Lois Lane
(Tyler Hoechli and Elizabeth
Tulloch, right) — both
reprising roles from another
spin-off, Supergirl — is not a
bad one, and this teatime
family drama has a lot of fun
with it. One son, Jonathan
(Jordan Elsass), is much more
outgoing and settled, but
Jordan (Alexander Garfin)
has social anxiety disorder.
Jonathan may have the
same powers as his dad,
although the brothers don’t
(yet) know what Pa does in
his downtime. When the
news channels alert the
world to a nuclear reactor
meltdown they think he’s
at work when in fact he’s
flying an enormous iceberg
to cool the damn thing down.
Little wonder he is rather
time-stretched. “You gotta
be present,” Supe’s mum tells
him before quickly expiring
from a stroke and leaving
her son her Smallville farm.
Here Clark is confronted by
the bitter husband of an
ex-girlfriend, their pretty
elder daughter catching
the attention of Jordan.
This ordinary family and
relationship stuff makes
for more engaging drama
than the bigger, cape-
wearing stories that this
is all set against — such as
whoever is peskily setting
fire to all those nuclear
reactors.
Ben Dowell48 Hours to Victory
Channel 4, 7.40pmIn every battle of every war
there’s a defining time when
victory is seized, our presenter
and boyishly enthusiastic
history buff Dermot O’Leary
tells us. Which makes it odd
that the first battle chosen for
this series is Dunkirk, which
was not really a victory, more
a successful withdrawal. Still,
it’s an excellent watch, with
O’Leary joined by former Royal
Marine Arthur Williams, and
flame-haired historian and
battlefield guide Lucy
Betteridge-Dyson. They unpick
the two crucial days that
averted humiliation, with the
heroic actions of one ship,
HMS Worcester, emblematic
of the efforts. BDDettori
Sky Documentaries/Now, 9pmFrankie Dettori, the champion
jockey with about 3,000 wins
in 30 years of racing and
known for his passionate
manner and flying dismounts,
is not going to be a boring
documentary subject. This film,
which has him recounting his
life alongside the testimony of
friends and experts, starts with
his arrival in Britain, when he
was bullied and couldn’t speak
the language, and takes us
through his stunning rise in the
sport. There is heartbreak, drug
allegations and the plane crash
that nearly killed him. The film’s
subtitle, Show Me How Good
You Are, is what his wife said to
him at his lowest ebb. He
replied: “I show you.” BDSinatra: King of
the Crooners
Channel 5, 9.40pmWhen Frank Sinatra was born
in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1915
everyone thought he was
stillborn until his grandmother,
a midwife, ran cold water on
him and he revived. He was
scarred from the efforts to get
him out into the world, and the
difficult birth meant his mother
couldn’t have any more
children. This exhaustive
documentary tells pretty much
every important detail of the
life of a man who made his
audience feel as if they were
the only people in the room
and whose story was one of
womanising and reputed
association with the Mob. BD● S4C 6.00am Cyw: Olobobs (r) 6.05
Tomos a’i Ffrindiau (r) 6.15 Anifeiliaid
Bach y Byd (r) 6.25 Do Re Mi Dona (r)
6.40 Abadas (r) 6.55 Deian a Loli (r) 7.10
Digbi Draig (r) 7.20 Halibalw (r) 7.30
Patrôl Pawennau (r) 7.45 Gwdihw (r) 8.00
Seligo (r) 8.30 Pat a Stan (r) 9.10 Siwrne
Ni (r) 9.25 Dennis a Dannedd (r) 9.35
Lolipop (r) 10.00 Waliau’n Siarad (r) 11.00
Parti Bwyd Beca (r) 11.30 Bwrdd i Dri (r)
12.00 Ffermio (r) 12.30pm Codi Pac (r)
1.00 Adre (r) 1.30 Bwyd Epic Chris (r) 2.00
Eryri: Pobol y Parc (r) 3.00 Chwaraeon y
Dyn Bach (r) 3.30 Cefn Gwlad (r) 4.30 Dan
Do (r) 5.00 Sgwrs Dan y Lloer (r) 5.30
Live Clwb Rygbi: Stormers v Cardiff
(Kick-off 5.45) Coverage of the match in
the United Rugby Championship, which
comes from DHL Stadium 7.45 News 8.00
40 Uchaf C’Mon Midffild. The first in a
two-part programme counting down the
40 most memorable moments from the
drama series, beginning with the first 20
clips chosen by viewers and the cast of
the show (r) 9.00 Nigel Owens 50.
Jonathan Davies and Sarra Elgan
celebrate the 50th birthday of Nigel
Owens (r) 10.00 Cymry Feiral: Yn Glits Y
Gyd. One-off comedy special (r)
10.50-11.55 Gwyl Lleisiau Eraill (r)
(r) repeat (SL) In-vision signing● BBC1 Wales As BBC1 except: 2.45pm
Frontline Fightback. The search for ram
raiders who targeted a jewellers in
Northampton (r) 3.15 Virtually Home.
A Glasgow couple seek to revamp their
living room (r) 4.00-4.30 Question of
Sport. With Galal Yafai, Frazer Clarke
and Alistair and Jonny Brownlee
● BBC1 Scotland As BBC1 except:
4.30-5.20pm Sportscene Results 11.30
Sportscene Saturday. Action from the
latest Premiership fixtures 12.30am The
NFL Show. Including highlights of
Thursday night’s game 1.00 Weather for
the Week Ahead 1.05-6.00 BBC News
● STV As ITV except: 4.05-5.05am
Unwind with STV. Daily relaxation
● BBC Scotland 7.00pm The Seven 7.15
The Edit 7.30 Sportscene Saturday. Action
from the latest Premiership fixtures,
featuring Rangers v Dundee, Aberdeen v
St Mirren, Hibernian v Motherwell and St
Johnstone v Ross County 8.30 Inside
Central Station. The engineering team
races to erect a huge new structure (r)
9.30 Still Game. Jack and Victor ask an
old friend for help (r) 10.00 Rollermania:
Britain’s Biggest Boy Band. Members of
the Bay City Rollers recall their rise to
fame in the 1970s (r) 11.00-Midnight
TRNSMT. Highlights from the festivalBend of the River (PG, 1952)
ITV4, 7.10pm
This visually stunning western is one of the least heralded of the
eight collaborations between James Stewart and the director
Anthony Mann, but one of the best. Stewart, by this stage revelling
in his new guise as a Hollywood tough guy, plays a reformed
outlaw who acts as a guide for a group of Oregon settlers. It’s
classic Northwest Frontier stuff, filmed around the Columbia River
Gorge and Mount Hood. Stewart’s Glyn McLyntock seems to do
battle with the terrain as much as the various varmints he comes
across. Arthur Kennedy shines as a slippery, “reformed” horse thief,
while Rock Hudson plays a professional gambler. At the premiere
Hudson got more applause than Stewart, who vowed never to
speak to (or work with) his co-star again. (91min) Chris BennionFilms of the day
First Love (15, 2019)
Film4, 11.15pm
The Japanese director Takashi Miike (who has made more than
100 films) has hit the sweet spot with this gonzo B-movie about
yakuza killers, double-crossing drug dealers and that classic film-
noir staple, the “dumb lug” boxer with a heart of gold. That’s Leo
(a soulful Masataka Kubota), who is diagnosed with a seemingly
inoperable brain tumour. That, bizarrely, thrusts him into the path
of Monica (Sakurako Konishi), a terrified drug addict pursued by a
mobster informer, Kase (Shôta Sometani, above with Konishi), who
plans to steal from his ex-con boss, make war with rival Chinese
gangs and betray his police handler. All in one night. It is expertly
orchestrated, bursting with Miike flourishes and has an audacious
climax rendered in neon-lit animation. (108min) Kevin MaherPhil Lynott: Songs
for While I’m Away
BBC2, 10pmWhen Phil Lynott was a
schoolboy he was marched
to his headmaster’s study
and asked if he wanted to
pursue a “good steady trade”
or become a “dirty rock
musician”. Music fans will be
pleased that he became the
latter, the charismatic frontman
of the band Thin Lizzy. This
amiable film captures the
essence of his appeal and
what it was like to be born
mixed race in 1950s Dublin,
but doesn’t quite reach an
understanding of the demons
that beset a man with secret
addiction issues who died
aged 36 in 1986. BDRegional programmes
Saturday 4 | Viewing guide
Critic’s choice
Superman & Lois
BBC1, 5.40pm
Catch
up
Paul McCartney at the BBC
BBC iPlayer
Paul McCartney, below, just
needs to open his mouth and
something interesting
pops out. He has led an
interesting life, after all.
This anthology of his big
BBC appearances from the
past five decades — from
Top of the Pops to the
Electric
Proms —
also
includes an
interview with Beatles
fan Bob Mortimer. While
discussing all the many
covers of his songYesterday, Macca, below, notes
that Elvis Presley and Frank
Sinatra changed the lyrics in
rather revealing ways (his
favourite cover is Marvin
Gaye’s, by the way). A real
treasure trove
and a nice
amuse-bouche
for Peter
Jackson’s
epic Beatles
documentary
Get Back,
which covers
the making of
Let It Be in 1969
and is streaming
on Disney+.
Ben Dowell