THE BEST OF THE WEEK AHEAD SEVEN-DAY LISTINGS FOR APRIL 24-30
High Noon
Friday, Film4, 3pm
Starring Gary Cooper as a
marshal facing a showdown
while his townsfolk cop out,
Fred Zinnemann’s classic 1952
western sets up two resolute
forces in opposition to each
other. The film’s star is the
epitome of the terse, noble
lawman who won’t back
down, and its screenplay^
(by Carl Foreman) is fiercely
determined to see its hero
betrayed and disillusioned.FILM OF
THE WEEK
Doctor Who — Redacted
BBC Sounds
A new ten-part spin-off
series from head writer Juno
Dawson. Cleo, Abby and
Shawna run a paranormal
conspiracy podcast based
on a theory that a police box
keeps appearing at random
points in history. With
“end-of-the-world” danger
nearing, are these three queer
women the planet’s last hope?Russian Doll
Netflix
The first season of Natasha
Lyonne’s time-loop comedy
drama was a witty thrill ride
that explored themes of
grief and mental illness and
wrapped everything up in a
nice red bow at the end. This
second season feels more
like reward than necessity.
Thankfully, Lyonne remains a
charismatic joy to watch and
the dialogue still crackles.RADIO PICK
OF THE WEEK
DEMAND PICK
OF THE WEEK
JOHN SIMM — TELEVISION’S EVERYMAN (AND WHERE TO FIND HIM)
PICK OF
THE WEEK
GRACE
Today, ITV, 8pm
John Simm is back as Brighton
detective Roy Grace in this
adaptation of Peter James’s
crime novels. While his
superiors are trying to
persuade the troubled officer
to transfer so they can rid
themselves of his renegade
ways, Grace must investigate
a murder case involving a
dismembered body, dark-
web evil and insect breeders.
Fans of Craig Parkinson (Line
of Duty’s Dot Cottan) will be
pleased to see him appearing
as a louche DS, while Amit
Shah is memorably haunted
as a man who accidentally
becomes entangled in a^
grisly conspiracy.
Victoria SegalJust a normal bloke you can’t take your eyes off for a second. Here are five more John Simm dramas you can watch nowLife On Mars, 2006-7
(BBC iPlayer/Britbox)
Matched with Philip
Glenister’s old-school
copper Gene Hunt,
Simm’s time-travelling
Manchester detective
had a cosmic case to
solve in this Sweeney-
Doctor Who hybrid.Prey, 2014
(Prime Video)
Another police officer
for Simm — this time
DC Marcus Farrow,
who tumbles into a
classic stitch-up when
his ex-wife and son are
murdered and he is the
prime suspect.Doctor Who, 2007-17
(BBC iPlayer)
Regardless of all his
other work, Simm’s
legacy in sci-fi circles
is assured by his spells
as the Master in the
halcyon days of the
Tenth Doctor (played
by David Tennant).Exile, 2011 (Acorn TV
on Prime Video)
Jim Broadbent and
Olivia Colman joined
Simm in this drama
about family secrets
and council corruption,
revelation hampered
by the obstacle of
Alzheimer’s disease.Strangers, 2018
(ITV Hub)
With Hong Kong as a
dazzling backdrop,
Simm plays a professor
who discovers his
marriage was a lie in
this Hitchcockian
thriller of deceit and
disorientation.24 April 2022 37