22 May 2022 35MONDAY 23 MAY
The Digital Human
(Today, Radio 4, 4.30pm)
Aleks Krotoski’s pioneering
and important series looking
at the relationship between
people and the digital world
celebrates its 10th anniversary
this year, having covered
hundreds of topics in this
uncharted universe. One of
the most popular episodes
was a 2013 one on altruism,
which is recalled as the new
series kicks off. It told stories
of how the internet can do
good and bring out the best
in people, but today the
online environment is a
battlefield, no longer based
on communities bringing
people together, but dividing
them. Krotoski and guests
discover which online spaces
bring out the best and worst
in us and asks if we can
tailor digital technology
to be a force for good.
Clair WoodwardSilverado
(Great! Movies, 6.25pm)
A saloon becomes the scene
of a fist fight; prisoners bust
out of a jailhouse; a herd of
cattle stampedes; and justice
is usually administered via a
shootout. These traditional
cowboy-film ingredients and
many others are honoured
in this western, the story
of four drifters (Scott Glenn,
Danny Glover and two Kevins:
Costner and Kline) who end
up in a crooked town. The
movie’s director, Lawrence
Kasdan, wrote the screenplay
for Raiders of the Lost Ark,
and his work here shares that
film’s rousing nostalgia for old-
school adventure tales. (1985)Best Sellers (Sky Cinema
Premiere, 4.05pm/1.40am)
A comic drama about a
publisher and a grouchy old
novelist, Lina Roessler’s film
has a distinctive duo: Aubrey
Plaza and Michael Caine. The
script fails to give them the
creative writing they deserve,
but they still add life to the
by-the-book story. (2021)
Edward PorterHistory maker? Deeney (C4, 10pm) A Caine mutiny (SCP, 4.05pm)FILM CHOICE
ON DEMAND
The Dry (Britbox)
If you think the phrase “Britbox
exclusive” still has a whiff of
“straight to video” about it,
abandon that idea. This new
comedy drama by the Irish
playwright Nancy Harris,
which premieres on the
streaming channel, will almost
certainly be hailed as one of
War In Ukraine — The
Families Who Fled (Sky
News on YouTube)
Against repeatedly changing
headlines about the war in
Ukraine it is easy to overlook
the facts of what is happening
to families and children on the
ground. In this news report,
Katerina Vittozzi meets people
who fled, but, importantly,
engages with them as human
beings as opposed to statistics.
Andrew MaleMissions (BBC iPlayer)
Originally screened on BBC4
in 2018, this ten-part Gallic
sci-fi about the first planned
European expedition to Mars
disappeared into a ratings
black hole. If you like your
explosions, monsters and
giddy special effects, this
isn’t for you, but if you prefer
galactic drama that is tense,
unsettling, vaguely erotic
and suffused with creeping
dread, then strap yourself in.Turning Red
(Buy as stream/download)
First shown on Disney+, this
Pixar movie is now more
widely available, and it
deserves to keep winning new
fans. It creates an honest,
warm-hearted coming-of-age
tale from an eye-catching
premise: a Chinese-Canadian
girl learns she is fated to
turn into a giant red panda
at moments of high emotion.
Dir: Domee Shi (2022) EPthe shows of 2022. Roisin
Gallagher dazzles as Shiv
Sheridan, a newly sober
failed artist who returns from
London to her Dublin family
home, her gran’s wake and
her dysfunctional family.
The humour is dark and
nuanced, the psychological
observations on addiction
utterly convincing and the
supporting cast (especially
Pom Boyd and Ciarán Hinds as
Shiv’s parents) an absolute joy.The art of war: Waldemar Januszczak explores the treasures of Lviv (Sky Arts, 7.25pm)My Ukrainian Journey
(Sky Arts, 7.25pm)
At the end of March,
Waldemar Januszczak, art
critic of this newspaper,
crossed the Polish border
to visit the Ukrainian city
of Lviv. His aim was to
discover how Ukraine was
protecting its art treasures
from war. This extended cut
of his online documentary
reveals the stark reality:
the empty spaces on the
walls of the now “ghostly”
Lviv National Art Museum;
the rolls of bubblewrap
and the sculptures wrapped
in “fire-proof material”;
the secret facility situated
outside the city where
rows of icons are safely
hidden. It all adds up to a
fascinating testament to
the power and endurance
of art, even — or especially
— in extreme times.
Victoria SegalTroy Deeney — Where’s
My History? (C4, 10pm)
Instead of tackling race
and football — like films by
footballing fellow-pundits Ian
Wright and Jermaine Jenas —
the striker takes on white bias
in education. He wants “his”
history to be in the school
curriculum and sees this as a
key way to end racism. What
he seeks in practical terms is
left vague; mostly, it is solely
black history, but sometimes
it seems to be “BAME
history”, ie all minorities’
stories; and he sounds keener
on “positive stories” than
making slavery central. But
there’s no doubting his energy
and commitment as he talks
to campaigners and a few
famous pals, and pursues a
meeting with a minister.
John Dugdale
Teen Mum Academy
(E4, 7.30pm)
This nappy edition Apprentice
finds businesswoman and
single mother Jess Lizama
encouraging six young mums
to pursue their pre-maternity
dreams. The girls immediately
demonstrate the power of
peer support, swapping
stories and dandling some of
the cutest babies on television.Dubai Hustle (BBC3, 8pm)
Opening with the kind of
slow-motion bouncy walking
familiar from Selling Sunset
and a host of Netflix-
constructed realities, this new
show focuses on 20 vapid
souls working in Dubai — “a
city built on struggle where
you have to play by the rules”.
The BBC is coy about whose
struggle built what.Long Lost Family — Born
Without Trace (ITV, 9pm)
Davina McCall and Nicky
Campbell go head to head
with Stacey Dooley with their
latest show, which uses DNA
searches to track families for
“foundlings”, the Middle
English term for abandoned
newborns. It is emotional and
well-handled social history.
Helen StewartCRITICS’ CHOICE
Recalling a decade
of technology