THE BEST TV FROM IPLAYER AND BEYOND... TUESDAY 21 DECEMBER
19 December 2021 49MasterChef continues its
attempt to take over the BBC1
schedule with four editions
spread over ten days. The
Celebrity MasterChef
Christmas Cook-Off (BBC1,
today, 8pm; Thursday 23,
9pm) sees the likes of Les
Dennis, Mica Paris, Su
Pollard and Richard Coles
compete to become the
Christmas champion. The
Professionals Rematch
(Monday 27, BBC1, 8pm) sees
four of the chefs from past
series return to show how
their cooking has progressed
and try to impress the judges.
Champion Of Champions
(New Year’s Eve, BBC1,
8.30pm) sees five previous
winners — Tim Anderson
(2011), Ping Coombes (2014),
Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed
(2017), Kenny Tutt (2018) and
Irini Tzortzoglou (2019)
— cook again.
Clair WoodwardSelf Raisin (Sky Max, 8pm)ON DEMAND
Impeachment — American
Crime Story (BBC iPlayer)
Concluding tonight on BBC2,
the third season of Ryan
Murphy’s franchise was never
going to be as gripping as The
People v OJ Simpson, or as
weird as The Assassination of
Gianni Versace. Or was it?
From what seemed like
Curb Your Enthusiasm
(Sky/Now)
Now into its third decade,
Larry David’s solipsistic
sitcom is still firing on all
cylinders. Loosely centred
on Larry’s plans for a new
sitcom, Young Larry, season 11
tackles subjects as specific and
taboo as Covid hoarders and
the death’s-door wisdom of
the stage-four cancer sufferer
with dazzling comic daring.
Andrew Malesub-West Wing political am-
dram, with Beanie Feldstein
miscast as White House intern
Monica Lewinsky, this curious
retelling of Bill Clinton’s 1998
sex scandal has evolved into a
tense tale of women scorned.
Sarah Paulson dominated early
episodes as the Pentagon
whistleblower Linda Tripp, but,
ultimately, the show belongs
to Edie Falco, operating at
her peak as a fiery yet
doomed Hillary Clinton.Head of the household: an alpha male modernising the House of Windsor (ITV, 9pm)Philip — Prince, Husband,
Father (ITV, 9pm)
This admiring documentary
profile meets Prince Philip
through royal biographers
and correspondents, friends
of the family, fans and
the judicious use of archive
film. It’s the “Matt Smith”
version of the future Duke
of Edinburgh that is the
most beguiling — a blond,
gregarious high achiever.
Watching footage of the
announcement of his
engagement to Princess
Elizabeth in 1947, Joanna
Lumley describes it as “like
a Hollywood couple, so
ravishing”. An alpha male
turned beta by his wife’s
ascension to the throne,
an experience even he
described as “pretty
intense”, he took on the role
of modernising the House of
Windsor to secure its future.
Helen StewartAgatha Raisin
(Sky Max, 8pm)
If you were in need of
protection, would you ask an
unfit, unarmed publicist to
provide it? Probably not, but
Agatha Raisin (Ashley Jensen)
had a gig as a bodyguard last
year, and now, in Kissing
Christmas Goodbye, a wealthy
elderly lady hires her for
another. This client, however,
is bumped off before her new
security officer starts work.
There is a huge appetite for
the kind of “cosy crime” that
Agatha’s adventures offer, as
the phenomenal success of
Richard Osman’s novels
shows, but you need really
sparky scripts and guest
casts to match fellow-cosies
such as Midsomer Murders
and Death in Paradise.
John Dugdale
A Taste Of Christmas
(BBC2, 9pm)
Andi Oliver joins three
Glaswegian families in
preparing their Christmas
dinners, each one a delicious
cultural snapshot. Turkey
and cock-a-leekie soup; Italian
porchetta; lamb pilaf and “shoe
kebabs”. Oliver helps with the
shopping and cooking before
the all-important eating part.Amazing Spaces —
George’s Icelandic
Adventure (C4, 9pm)
Architect George Clarke wraps
up warm and heads to Iceland
to explore modern houses
working in harmony with
ancient landscapes. Light wood,
stunning views, geothermal
baths, the Arctic Circle just up
the road: it’s a hot spring of
design inspiration (and envy).The Great British Truck Up
(C4, 10pm)
This documentary follows
people from all walks of life
undergoing intensive lorry-
driver training at Croydon’s
National Driving Centre. The
aim is to halt the supply crisis
across the country, yet not
everyone can navigate the
heavy challenges of the job.
Victoria SegalCRITICS’ CHOICE
On the tenth day
of Masterchef ...
Being The Ricardos
(Amazon Prime Video)
Showing Lucille Ball (Nicole
Kidman) and her husband,
Desi Arnaz ( Javier Bardem),
shooting I Love Lucy in 1953,
this biopic was written and
directed by Aaron Sorkin.
Several of his own television
series are about people
working in the medium, and
those shows set the pattern
here: he supplies another
zingy tale of high achievers
resisting pressure. Enjoyable
stuff, but don’t expect it to
be historically accurate. See
interview in Culture. (2021)Gremlins
(Sky Cinema Drama, 11am)
Joe Dante’s story of nasty
little critters has held up well
against the test of time. The
outrages committed by these
evil cousins of the Muppets
as they terrorise a small town
are depicted with a gleeful
black-comic vigour that
transcends the ageing of the
film’s special effects. (1984)We love Lucy: Kidman (Amazon)FILM CHOICE
Shrek (ITV, 1.45pm)
With the success of this
fairytale parody, the animators
at DreamWorks became true
rivals to Pixar, as they pitted
cheeky comedy against the
other studio’s more refined
style. Two decades on, the
film is still good value (as is
its first sequel, which is on
ITV tomorrow at 2.15pm).
Its story of a brusque but
warm-hearted green ogre may
not be as well loved as Pixar’s
gems, but it has cheeriness,
energy and countless jokes.
Co-dirs: Andrew Adamson,
Vicky Jenson. (2001)Saving Mr Banks
(BBC1, 2.45pm)
As a prelude to showing Mary
Poppins Returns (Christmas
Day, 3.10pm), BBC1 offers this
account of the making of the
1964 original. Starring Tom
Hanks as Walt Disney and
Emma Thompson as Mary’s
creator, PL Travers, John Lee
Hancock’s film is itself a
Disney product, and its lively,
entertaining tale has its own
sentimentalism. (2013)
Edward Porter