19 December 2021 85THE BEST TV FROM ALL 4 AND BEYOND... THURSDAY 30 DECEMBER
Anthony Hopkins
He was the star of undeniably
one of the best films of
the year, The Father (see
Films of 2021, below), and
today you have the chance
to enrol in the 83-year-old
Welsh actor’s masterclass,
starting on BBC2 at 2pm
with Talking Pictures, a
career retrospective in which
the double Oscar-winner
discusses his approach to the
craft, his years as a hellraiser
and the films that made his
name, including Nixon and
The Silence of the Lambs.
It is followed at 2.45pm by
Shadowlands, in which
he portrays the novelist CS
Lewis, and The Remains Of
The Day (4.50pm), in which
he gives one of his finest
on-screen performances
as a loyal butler in a 1930s
aristocratic household who
forsakes love for duty.
Andrew MaleSewn up: Chaney (BBC1, 9pm)ON DEMAND
Money Heist (Netflix)
Thanks to labyrinthine subplots,
charismatic characters, stylish
camerawork and an enigmatic
yet empathetic lead (Álvaro
Morte’s criminal mastermind,
the Professor), Alex Pina’s
Spanish-language heist drama
managed to survive on our
screens for five seasons over
A Very Peculiar Practice
(Britbox)
Barbara Flynn’s recent Doctor
Who triumph is a nice reason
to revisit Andrew Davies’s
1980s medical satire. Peter
Davison starred as an idealistic
young doctor battling lethargy
and red tape at a university
but the supporting characters
give the show its power, with
Flynn as an outspoken ultra-
feminist bisexual nurse.
Andrew Malefive years. Some might argue
that was a season too far and
that the show’s characters
have been all but exhausted,
but now it has come to an
end it’s time to see who, if
anyone, will survive. In fact,
knowing that you are going
into the show for the very
last time brings with it a real
frisson of pleasure; but if
any show knows how to bow
out with an explosive final
episode, it’s this one.Big boned: David Attenborough examines fossilised mammoth remains (BBC1, 8pm)Attenborough And The
Mammoth Graveyard
(BBC1, 8pm)
“Attenborough and ... “ titles
signal a switch of focus from
living wildlife to dinosaurs
and other long-dead beasts
— in this case mammoths that
roamed plains near present-
day Swindon 200,000 years
ago. The naturalist meets
the fossil-hunters who
found their bones, visits the
resulting dig (offering a rare
glimpse of him in hard hat
and high-vis), and gets a
tutorial on the stone tools
that were also unearthed.
Later, biologist Ben Garrod
takes over presenter duties
as he and other experts
ponder the questions thrown
up by an amazing discovery
and enthralling investigation.
Who were the ancient
humans living there then?
Did they hunt mammoths?
John DugdaleCelebrity I Literally Just
Told You (C4, 10pm)
A bold move, this, to add
celebrity guests to a barely
established format, one that
leads to the revelation that
not every show benefits from
the addition of a handful of
famous show-offs. The charm
of Jimmy Carr’s latest gig lies
in watching ordinary mortals
so dazzled by the bright lights
and studio audience that they
can scarcely remember their
own name, never mind some
arcane detail about their
competitors. Comedians
Aisling Bea, Asim Chaudhry,
Alex Horne and the venerable
presenter Lorraine Kelly, old
panel-show hands all, are
predictably unfazed and so
end up taking the whole thing
rather too seriously.
Helen Stewart
The Last Voices Of World
War One (PBS, from 2.10pm)
Based on interviews
conducted in the early 1990s,
this simple but devastating
series explores the realities of
the First World War through
eyewitness accounts. The
testimony of former soldiers,
then in their nineties, forms
a powerful and valuable
document of the horror.The Great British
Sewing Bee (BBC1, 9pm;
Scotland, 10.35pm)
Kirsty Wark, Rose Matafeo,
Claire Richards of Steps and
Drag Race’s Lawrence Chaney
make “festive” waistcoats and
fancy-dress costumes. With
Sara Pascoe on form and
Patrick Grant wearing a kilt,
it’s seasonally appropriate
jolliness all round.One Night In London Zoo
(C4, 9pm)
Josh Widdicombe and Alex
Brooker zip around the zoo in
golf carts, feeding camels and
herding goats with comedians
Desiree Burch and Guz Khan.
It could be a set-up for a family
comedy — until a moment of
unintentional voyeurism at
the lion enclosure.
Victoria SegalCRITICS’ CHOICE
A masterclass
in acting
Judy (BBC2, 9pm)
Renée Zellweger became
a safe bet for an Oscar win
as soon as voters saw her
portrayal of Judy Garland in
this biopic. Focused on the
star’s visit to London for a run
of concerts in 1969 (the year
of her death), Rupert Goold’s
film observes the contrast
between its heroine’s facade
and her private sadness.
Zellweger must do double
duty, and she is equally
impressive as the offstage
Garland and as the trouper
(who gives the film a welcome
bit of razzle-dazzle). (2019)Missing Link
(BBC1, 10.45am)
The story of a 19th-century
Sasquatch exploring his
genealogy, this stop-motion
film comes from a good family
line: it was produced by the
excellent studio Laika. Its
action-packed, well-crafted
tale makes it a superior
specimen among children’s
films. Dir: Chris Butler (2019)She’s got it: Hepburn (C5, 11.15am)FILM CHOICE
Ready Player One (BBC1,
10.35pm; Scotland, 11.35pm)
Set in 2045, this Steven
Spielberg popcorn movie
sends a kid (Tye Sheridan)
into a virtual-reality world full
of nods to late-20th-century
pop culture. We are told that
this realm’s designer — in the
movie’s fiction — was fond
of old stuff. Clearly, though,
another nostalgic creator
is also at work: Spielberg
himself. Indeed, his film may
hold more fun for indulgent
adults than for children —
though its energy certainly
keeps it youthful. (2018)My Fair Lady (C5, 11.15am)
Audrey Hepburn may not be
a plausible cockney in this
film of the Lerner and Loewe
musical about a transformed
flower-seller, but it’s hard to
imagine the movie without
her. As well as supplying
bright charisma, she perfectly
models her Cecil Beaton
costumes, which are almost
as big a part of the film’s
appeal as the classic songs.
Dir: George Cukor (1964)
Edward Porter