The Times - UK (2021-12-18)

585 saturday review Saturday December 18 2021 | the times

BBC4

7.00pm The Chronicles of Erne

Winter on the lough sees

migratory birds from colder

climates arriving and painter

Lorna Smyth putting the

finishing touches to her

landscape exhibition (4/4)

7.30 Dancing the Nutcracker:

Inside the Royal Ballet

Documentary going behind

the scenes with the ballet

company, following the

three months leading up to

the opening of this year’s

Christmas production of

Tchaikovsky’s ballet

9.00 La Boheme from the Royal

Opera House Richard

Jones’s production of

Puccini’s opera, performed

at the Royal Opera House,

Covent Garden in 2020.

Sonya Yoncheva heads the

cast. See Viewing Guide

11.00-12.35am FILM Moonstruck

(PG, 1987) Romantic

comedy starring Cher

ITV3

6.30pm FILM Carry On Matron

(PG, 1972) A gang of crooks

tries to infiltrate a maternity

hospital planning to steal

the stock of contraceptive

pills. Comedy starring Sid

James, Kenneth Williams

and Hattie Jacques

8.15 FILM Carry On Up the

Khyber (PG, 1968) British

forces in colonial India have

trouble with a rebellious

local ruler when he learns

their fearsome reputation

is undeserved. Comedy

starring Sid James

10.00 Vera DCI Stanhope

investigates a murder at

a remote country house,

but no sooner does she

arrive, than a second

body is discovered and

a connection starts to

emerge between the victims

12.00-2.30am Coronation Street

Omnibus Amy blows

the whistle on Curtis

More 4

5.10pm FILM Bridge of Spies

(12, 2015) A lawyer is hired

to defend a Soviet spy, an

assignment that leads to

a prisoner exchange. Cold

War drama with Tom Hanks

8.00 The Dambusters’ Great

Escape: Secret History

The RAF’s defeat of the

German battleship Tirpitz

in November 1944

9.00 The Lancaster Bomber at

80 with David Jason The

actor narrates a look at the

origins and legacy of the

Second World War aircraft,

featuring contributions

from military historians and

surviving crew members

10.05 Father Ted Bishop Brennan

faces his worst fear (6/10)

10.35 Father Ted A feminist singer

takes over Ted’s house (7/10)

11.10 Father Ted The priest tries

to give up cigarettes (8/10)

11.40-12.15am Father Ted Jack

is put in a home (9/10)

Sky Max

5.45pm FILM The Spy Next Door

(PG, 2010) A Chinese secret

agent looks after his

girlfriend’s kids for the

weekend — just as his arch

enemy escapes from prison.

Comedy with Jackie Chan

and Magnus Scheving

7.30 Football’s Funniest

Moments A look at comical

incidents from the beautiful

game over the last few

years, with contributions

from pundits including Gary

Neville and Chris Kamara (R)

9.30 Chucky Jake tries to figure

out Chucky’s mysterious

endgame (7/8) (R)

10.30 Chucky The doll’s diabolical

plan comes to fruition.

Last in the series (8/8) (R)

11.30-12.30am There’s Something

About Christmas Movies

Festive special, with

guests Thomas Brodie

Sangster, Susan Wokoma

and James Acaster (R)

Sky Atlantic

6.45pm Mare of Easttown

As the series concludes,

Mare reaches the end

of the investigation as

she attempts to bring the

case that devastated her

town to an end (7/7) (R)

8.00 American Rust Harris finds

the anonymous eyewitness

and Billy is returned

to the general prison

population to face the

consequences of his actions.

Last in the series (9/9)

9.05 Game of Thrones While

Daenerys meets her future,

Bran meets the past.

Elsewhere, Arya continues

her training (3/10) (R)

10.10 Game of Thrones Jorah

and Daario undertake a

difficult task (4/10) (R)

11.15-12.20am Game of Thrones

Tyrion seeks a new ally, and

Brienne goes on a mission,

while Arya is given a chance

to prove herself (5/10) (R)

Sky Documentaries

Sky Comedy

7.00pm FILM The Beatles: Eight

Days a Week: The Touring

Years (12, 2016) Director

Ron Howard’s documentary

charting the brief but

successful period pop band

the Beatles spent on the

road. Contributors include

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr,

Elvis Costello, Richard

Curtis, Whoopi Goldberg

and Eddie Izzard

9.00 FILM Dettori (12, 2021) The

story of arguably the world’s

greatest jockey, Frankie

Dettori, considered by many

as the star of racing, and

one of the most decorated

sportsmen of all time

11.15-12.15am UFO Documentary

exploring people’s

fascination with unidentified

flying objects and the

influence the US

government and the

military may have in

shielding the truth (1/4) (R)

7.00pm The Fresh Prince of

Bel-Air Will and Carlton are

mistaken for car thieves

7.30 Friends: The Reunion One-off

special in which the show’s stars

reminisce about the comedy

9.30 Greg Davies: The Back

of My Mum’s Head Stand-up

comedy with the Man Down star,

from the Lowry in Salford

11.25-1.15am Micky Flanagan:

Back in the Game The comedian

performs to his home crowd

at London’s Hackney Empire

ITV2

6.10pm FILM Shrek (U, 2001)

Animated comedy with the voices

of Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz

8.00 FILM Fast & Furious

Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (12, 2019)

Action adventure starring Dwayne

Johnson and Jason Statham

10.40 Family Guy Peter opens up

his own food truck business

11.10 Family Guy Quagmire

lands free plane tickets for a

guys’ trip to San Francisco

11.35-12.05am Family Guy Peter

is inspired by Stephen King

ITV4

5.45pm FILM The Alamo (PG, 1960

Western starring John Wayne

9.00 FILM True Grit (15, 2010)

A farm girl recruits a hard-drinking,

one-eyed marshal to help her

track down the man who killed

her father. Western starring Jeff

Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld

11.15-1.40am FILM Rocky II (PG,

1979) Retired boxer Rocky Balboa

is tempted back into the ring

for another shot at Apollo

Creed’s heavyweight title. Drama

sequel starring Sylvester Stallone

E4

6.55pm FILM Sonic the Hedgehog

(PG, 2020) A scientific genius is

hired to capture a speedy blue

creature from another planet.

Fantasy adventure based on the

video games, starring James

Marsden and Jim Carrey

9.00 Gogglebox Festive Special

The armchair critics cast their

eyes over 2020’s biggest

Christmas television shows (16/16)

10.30-12.30am FILM The

Inbetweeners 2 (15, 2014) Comedy

sequel starring Simon Bird

Dave

7.00pm QI XL With panellists Chris

McCausland, Justin Moorhouse,

Holly Walsh and Alan Davies

8.00 Expedition with Steve

Backshall From the Eastern Pacific

9.00 QI XL With Jason Manford,

Romesh Ranganathan, Holly Walsh

and regular panellist Alan Davies

10.00 QI XL With Bill Bailey, Phill

Jupitus and Claudia Winkleman

11.00 Red Dwarf Kryten falls head

over heels in love with Camille

11.40-12.20am Red Dwarf The

crew discovers a new machine

Drama

6.00pm Call the Midwife

Christmas Special Mother Mildred

leads a team to set up a branch

house in the Outer Hebrides

8.00 Jonathan Creek The duo

investigate an apparent miracle

9.05 Jonathan Creek A murdered

drug-runner haunts his killers

10.15 The Line of Beauty

By summer 1986, Nick finds

himself living out his dreams

11.40-1.00am The Line of Beauty

It is 1987 and political scandal

engulfs the Fedden house

Yesterday

7.00pm Secrets of the Transport

Museum A Frazer Nash car must

be fixed before a big race (1/10)

8.00 Secrets of the London

Underground Tim Dunn and

Siddy Holloway explore Clapham

South deep level shelter (6/6)

9.00 Hornby: A Model World The

Intercity 125 is overhauled (7/10)

10.00 Bangers and Cash (5/10)

11.00 Bangers and Cash (6/10)

12.00-1.00am Abandoned

Engineering A real-life concrete

jungle in America’s ‘Rust Belt’

PBS America

6.15pm The Civil War The Union

army’s failure to achieve a decisive

victory by the spring of 1863 (4/9)

7.40 The Civil War The Battle of

Gettysburg, when for three days

in July 1863 150,000 men fought

to the death in Pennsylvania (5/9)

9.45 Petra: Lost City of Stone

Documentary exploring

the ancient city in Jordan

11.00-12.05am Yellowstone

Wolves: The Renewal of Nature

Documentary following the largest

wolf pack in the national park

Smithsonian

7.00pm Britain in Colour

A vivid portrait of the royal family

from the late 19th century

8.00 Britain in Colour Examining

the British Empire, with early

colour home movies from the Raj

9.00 Britain in Colour Rare

archival film and home movies

featuring Winston Churchill

10.00 The Blitz: Days That

Changed WWII The defining

event in the Second World War

11.00 Searching for Secrets

12.00-1.00am Murderous History

Sky Arts

6.30pm Yes: Symphonic Live

A 2001 performance by the band

7.45 Deep Purple: Live with the

London Symphony Orchestra

Highlights of the hard rock band’s

concerts at the Royal Albert Hall

over two nights in September 1999

9.00 Freddie Mercury: The

Great Pretender Profile of the

Queen frontman, exploring

his time away from the band

10.40-12.50am FILM American

Graffiti (PG, 1973) Comedy drama

starring Richard Dreyfuss

Sky Witness

7.00pm Caught on Dashcam (4/5)

8.00 Caught on Dashcam Road

disasters captured on video (5/5)

9.00 The Resident Conrad and Nic

welcome their new baby (14/14)

10.00 Law & Order: Special

Victims Unit A terminally ill man

confesses to his involvement

in unsolved bank robberies

11.00 Law & Order: Special Victims

Unit A woman accuses her

estranged husband of raping her

12.00-1.00am Law & Order:

Special Victims Unit

Sky History

7.00pm Strangest Things

A mechanical engine that can

solve complex maths problems

8.00 Strangest Things A look at

the 11,000-year-old skull of a deer

9.00 Machines That Built the

World How the television industry

began with a bitter battle

10.00 Isis: The Rise of Terror The

origins of Islamic State terrorism

12.00-1.00am The Scarab, The Ark

and the Rock A look at the most

perplexing and unusual artefacts

from ancient and modern history

Alibi

7.00pm FILM Miss Fisher and

the Crypt of Tears (PG, 2020)

Mystery starring Essie Davis

9.10 Death in Paradise A

birdwatcher is murdered (6/8)

10.35 Ragdoll Rose and the

Ragdoll Killer engage in a sadistic

game of cat-and-mouse (5/6)

11.35-12.35am Ragdoll (6/6)

Discovery

7.00pm Building Off the Grid

A family builds an oceanfront oasis

8.00 Alaskan Bush People

9.00 Homestead Rescue: Raney

Ranch Helicopter pilot Eric battles

dangerous weather conditions

10.00 Expedition X

11.00 Moonshiners

12.00-2.00am Deadliest Catch

Nat Geographic Comedy Central

5.30pm FILM Ace Ventura:

When Nature Calls (PG, 1995)

7.15 FILM Blades of Glory (12,

2007) Ice-skating comedy starring

Will Ferrell and Jon Heder

9.00 FILM Little Fockers (12, 2010)

11.00 Lee Evans: Big: Live at the O2

12.00-1.00am Jason Manford:

First World Problems

Gold

6.35pm Only Fools and Horses

9.15 The Cockfields

9.55 The Cockfields Ray, Sue,

Simon and Esther all go to Ventnor

10.35 The Cockfields

11.15 Not Going Out

11.55-12.40am Only Fools and

Horses It’s Christmas and Del and

Rodney have a festive night out

W

7.00pm Gavin & Stacey The

Shipmans go to a wedding fayre

7.40 Gavin & Stacey Gavin

embarks on two stag nights

8.20 Gavin & Stacey The day

of the wedding arrives

9.00 FILM Spider-Man (12, 2002)

Adventure starring Tobey Maguire

11.35-12.10am Gavin & Stacey

7.00pm Lost Treasures of Egypt

8.00 Unknown Waters with

Jeremy Wade From Iceland

9.00 Kingdom of the Mummies

An underground burial chamber

10.00 Kingdom of the Mummies

11.00 Kingdom of the Mummies

12.00-1.00am Kingdom of the

Mummies Two buried priests

FV 9/24, FS 173, SKY 116, VIRGIN 107 FV 10, FS 115, SKY 119, VIRGIN 117 FV 18, FS 124, SKY 136, VIRGIN 147 SKY 113, VIRGIN 122 SKY 108 SKY 121, VIRGIN 278

SKY 114, VIRGIN 135

FV 6, FS 113, SKY 118, VIRGIN 115 FV 25, FS 117, SKY 120, VIRGIN 118 FV 13, FS 122, SKY 135, VIRGIN 106 FV 20, FS 158, SKY 143, VIRGIN 130 FV 26, FS 159, SKY 155, VIRGIN 129

SKY 132, VIRGIN 126 SKY 125, VIRGIN 250, BT 322 SKY 129, VIRGIN 266, BT 317 SKY 112, VIRGIN 181, BT 307 SKY 110, BT 310 SKY 109, BT 311

FV 19, FS 157, SKY 111, VIRGIN 127

FV 84, FS 155, SKY 174, VIRGIN 273 FV 56, FS 175, SKY 171, VIRGIN 276 FV 11, FS 147, SKY 130, VIRGIN 165 SKY 107, VIRGIN 112 SKY 123, VIRGIN 270

Sky Main Event

7.00am Live Big Bash League

12.00 Live SPFL: St Johnstone v

Celtic (Kick-off 12.30)

2.45pm Live EFL: Barnsley v Stoke

City (Kick-off 3.00). From Oakwell

5.00 Live Renault Super Sunday:

Aston Villa v Chelsea (Kick-off

5.30). Coverage from Villa Park

7.45 Live Renault Super Sunday:

Brighton & Hove Albion v

Brentford (Kick-off 8.00)

10.30 Live NFL A week 16 match

12.30am Live NBC’s FNIA

1.10-4.30am Live NFL

Sky Premier League

10.30am Inside the WSL

11.00 Premier League Preview

11.30 Premier League Matchpack

12.00 Gillette Soccer Special

3.00pm Gillette Soccer Special

5.00 Live Renault Super Sunday:

Aston Villa v Chelsea (Kick-off

5.30). Coverage from Villa Park

7.45 Live Renault Super Sunday;

Brighton & Hove Albion v

Brentford (Kick-off 8.00)

10.30 Premier League

3.45am PL Greatest Games

4.00-5.00am PL Best Goals 05/06

Sky Cricket

7.30-3.30pm Live Test Cricket:

South Africa v India Coverage

of day one of the second Test in

the three-match series, held at

Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

6.45pm My Icon

7.00 Test Cricket

8.00 Big Bash League

11.30 Test Cricket

12.30am The Fletcher Years (1/4)

1.00 Test Cricket

2.00 Best of ICC WT20

3.00-5.00am How the 2014

ICC World T20 Was Won

BT Sport 1

11.30am Live Premier League:

Liverpool v Leeds United (Kick-off

12.30). Coverage from Anfield

3.00pm BT Sport Score

5.00 Live Vanarama National

League: Bromley v Southend

United (Kick-off 5.20)

7.30 The Football’s On

8.30 Ligue 1 Highlights

9.00 Serie A: Full Impact

9.30 The Ashes

11.00-7.30am The Ashes Live:

Australia v England Coverage of

the second day of the third Test

BT Sport 2

8.45am-10.45 Live: A-League:

Melbourne Victory v Western

United (Kick-off 8.45)

1.30pm Live Rugby Union:

Bristol Bears v Leicester Tigers

4.15-7.45 Live Rugby Union: Bath v

Gloucester (Kick-off 4.30)

9.00 WWE NXT UK

10.00 Live: Women’s T20 Super

Smash: Central Hinds v Auckland

Hearts From Fitzherbert Park

1.30am Live: T20 Super Smash:

Central Stags v Auckland Aces

5.00-6.00am MotoGP

SKY 401, VIRGIN 511, BT 467 SKY 402, VIRGIN 512 SKY 404, VIRGIN 514 SKY 413, BT 459 SKY 414, BT 460

FV Freeview FS Freesat

Boxing Day | Primetime digital guide

Moonstruck

Cher and Nicolas Cage star

in Norman Jewison’s 1987

romantic comedy

BBC4, 11pm

John McGinn of Aston Villa

is in line to feature against

Chelsea (Sky Main Event, 5pm)