19 December 2021 57THE BEST TV FROM SKY AND BEYOND... THURSDAY 23 DECEMBER
If you need something to
distract prying eyes while
preparations come to a head
over the next three days,
Wallace & Gromit’s A Grand
Day Out kicks festivities off
(today 23, BBC1, 4.50pm; not
Scotland); the duo’s shorts
are all on BBC1 and iPlayer
over the holiday. Once you
have navigated tonight’s
pre-watershed dilemma
— Hansel And Gretel —
After Ever After (Sky Max,
8pm) or Ghosts (BBC1,
8.30pm)? — Christmas Eve on
BBC1 has both a Shaun the
Sheep theme (from 9.50am),
and a Julia Donaldson triple
bill, starting with Room On
The Broom (10.20am).
Christmas Day has Raymond
Briggs’s ever-popular Father
Christmas, The Snowman,
and The Snowman And
The Snowdog (all on C4,
from 3.20pm).
Andrew MaleHappy ending? (Sky Max, 8pm)ON DEMAND
Lost In Space (Netflix)
This is a time of the year when
families are desperate for a
show they can watch together,
and this repeatedly thrilling
tale of survival in strange solar
systems fits the bill perfectly.
Now into its third and final
season, however, Zack Estrin’s
shiny reboot of Irwin Allen’s
Porridge (Britbox)
What could be more festive
than a sitcom about bad food,
confinement and goodwill to
all men? Rewatching the two
Yuletide episodes Dick Clement
and Ian La Frenais wrote for
Ronnie Barker’s prison sitcom
in 1975 and 1976, it is striking
how tender they seem; thanks,
in part, to the chemistry of
Barker and Richard Beckinsale
as cell-mate Lennie Godber.
Andrew Malemid-1960s family space drama
feels like a show that has been
left to drift in the streaming
galaxy while being worthy of
your attention. Undeniably
old-fashioned in its all-ages
approach, it is also a darn
sight easier to follow than a lot
of the dreary “world-building”
sci-fi and fantasy fare that
gets thrown at us these days.
Plus, Parker Posey’s Doctor
Smith makes for a deliciously
fiendish villain.Fanny by ghostlight: what deathly secret is Martha Howe-Douglas hiding? (BBC1, 8.30pm)Ghosts (BBC1, 8.30pm)
A year ago, the presence of
Mike’s (Kiell Smith-Bynoe)
family was the Christmas
episode’s big idea. This time
round it is a homeless man
(played by Justin Edwards)
who is living in a tent in
the grounds of the haunted
mansion. While Alison
(Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike
agonise over whether to ask
him to leave, Kitty (Lolly
Adefope) repeatedly insists
he is Santa in disguise.
Interspersed throughout is a
break-out tale of a traumatic
experience for Lady Fanny
(Martha Howe-Douglas) as
an Edwardian bluestocking,
with Jennifer Saunders
playing her mother. More
amiable family drama than
sitcom, Ghosts is nonetheless
reliably amusing and deftly
orchestrated, with droll
cameos for the other ghosts.
John DugdaleHansel And Gretel — After
Ever After (Sky Max, 8pm)
Bad news, kids, the witch
survived. Good news, she did
so in the splendid form of
Sheridan Smith, complete
with facial warts, fake teeth
and prosthetic nose and riding
a giant sherbet fountain. This
is David Walliams and Kevin
Cecil’s third Christmas tale
and, inevitably, Walliams
appears, as a troll, with
just the lightest dusting of
make-up. It’s a confused but
overall rather enjoyable affair,
as the wicked witch takes her
revenge against Hansel and
Gretel by plotting to eat their
village, peopled by a starry
cast that includes Daniel
Rigby, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Mark
Addy and a delectably loopy
Sophie Thompson.
Helen Stewart
Blackburn Sings Christmas
(BBC2, 8pm)
Hit hard by Covid-19 last
Christmas, Blackburn could
do with a little extra good
cheer this year. Choirmaster
Gareth Malone takes charge of
the town’s morale, inviting
hospital staff, former patients,
pub landladies and youth club
members to sing in a concert
celebrating the community.Alan Carr’s Epic Gameshow
(ITV, 8pm)
Proustian light entertainment
here as Alan Carr hosts an
edition of The Price Is Right,
complete with period-correct
innuendo about deeley-
boppers. Prepare to “ooh!”
over an ice-cream maker in a
viewing experience kindly
described as retro-kitsch. Come
on down ... and keep going.One Night In The Natural
History Museum (C4, 9pm)
Alex Brooker, Aisling Bea and
Josh Widdicombe spend the
night inside the Natural
History Museum. No dinosaurs
come to life but the engaging
trio have a (blue) whale of a
time larking about on scooters
and playing hide-and-seek.
Educational value: nil.
Victoria SegalCRITICS’ CHOICE
Fun for children
of all ages
Last Christmas (BBC2, 9pm)
Alongside the Wham! hit that
supplies the title, several other
George Michael songs liven up
this romantic comedy. Their
fizz and the general twinkly
mood of Paul Feig’s movie
might persuade you to forgive
the story’s extreme silliness.
Emilia Clarke plays a morose,
aimless Londoner whose life
improves when a friendly but
enigmatic stranger (Henry
Golding) takes an interest
in her. If you don’t guess
the twist, that might be
because you were expecting
too much from it. (2019)Bill & Ted’s Excellent
Adventure (Sky Cinema
Comedy, 9.40pm)
The youthful eagerness of its
time-travelling dimwits (Alex
Winter and Keanu Reeves) is
what makes Stephen Herek’s
1989 film so lovable; yet there
are still glimmers of fun in the
2020 sequel, Bill & Ted Face
The Music (on Sky Cinema
Comedy at 11.15pm).Emilia Clarke (BBC2, 9pm)FILM CHOICE
Sing (ITV, 1.50pm)
Cartoon animals singing pop
hits provide this 2016 movie
with a nakedly commercial
selling point, but the writer-
director Garth Jennings
ensures there is nothing tacky
about the end result. Like
a record producer honing
a sure-fire banger, he gives
the movie irresistible vim:
it has nifty visual work and
funny characters (led by a
koala planning a talent show).
You can now enjoy it in the
knowledge that you won’t
have to wait long for more:
Sing 2 is out next month.The Holiday (ITV, 11pm)
Nancy Meyers’s romantic
comedy stars Cameron Diaz
and Kate Winslet as singletons
who arrange a transatlantic
house-swap for the Christmas
break and thus meet new men
( Jude Law and Jack Black).
The two storylines could
almost be off-cuts from Love
Actually, and — like that other
romcom — the movie has fans
who cherish its unabashed
schmaltz. (2006)
Edward Porter