TV week: the story of former president Mary Robinson
TV WEEK (Wednesday 23rd to Tuesday 29th)
TOP SPECIALS
The Prisoner of Portmeirion (BBC 1, Thursday 24th, 7pm)
What draws thousands of people to a surreal, Italian-inspired village in north Wales each year? Portmeirion is the location of the 1960s sci-fi TV show The Prisoner – a cult classic that transformed this eccentric Welsh village into an iconic backdrop for one of television’s most original dramas.
The Many Faces Of Helen Mirren (BBC 4, Thursday 24th, 9pm)
A revealing journey through the career of a performer who frequently courted controversy in her younger years and who has retained a sensual aura in later life. Her portrayal of Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect made her a household name, but it was her Oscar-winning performance in The Queen that propelled her to international stardom. She continues to balance Hollywood with her first love – the stage.
Mr Bigstuff (Sky Max, Thursday 24th, 9pm)
Danny Dyer earned a first-ever BAFTA award for his performance as Lee Campbell, an estranged brother from a deeply dysfunctional family in this comedy drama set in suburban Essex. Series two picks up two weeks after the shock news that their father is not dead, and brothers Lee and Glen are handling it very differently.
Under The Bridge (ITV, Friday 25th, 9pm)
Adapted from the book by Rebecca Godfrey, Riley Keough plays a journalist who returns to her hometown to investigate the murder of a 14-year-old local girl, Reena Virk. Lily Gladstone co-stars as investigating police officer Cam Bentland – in a town where dark secrets are hidden deep.
WATCH OF THE WEEK
Mrs Robinson (RTÉ 1, Wednesday 23rd, 9.35pm)
The story of former president Mary Robinson and her illuminating battles for justice and equality over half a century as a reforming constitutional lawyer and senator in her early career. More importantly, she detonated an electoral earthquake by winning the Irish presidential vote in 1990. After the Áras, she became a crusading UN high commissioner, building a lasting legacy, fearlessly challenging perpetrators of human rights abuses all over the world, and still exerts leadership as the chair of The Elders.
BEST FILMS
Die Hard (Film4, Wednesday 23rd, 9pm)
The film that started one of Hollywood’s most popular action franchises stars Bruce Willis as New York City policeman John McClane who’s trapped along with his wife and dozens of innocent workers in a skyscraper when a group of terrorists take over the exclusive high-rise. It falls to the ever inventive McClane to save the day. Yippie-ki-yay!
An Ideal Husband (RTÉ 1, Friday 25th, 11.25pm)
Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam) is a loving husband, while his friend, Lord Arthur Goring (Rupert Everett), is a notorious womaniser who lives a life enjoying multiple illicit affairs. When an old acquaintance Laura Cheveley (Julianne Moore) arrives in London to stir up trouble, the two different men find their lives upended.
Kraven the Hunter (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Friday)
The action-packed stand-alone story of one of Marvel’s most iconic villains – a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless gangster father starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences as the greatest hunter in the world.
CLASSIC MOVIE
Yesterday (BBC 1,Thursday 24th, 11.10pm)
In this clever premise set immediately after a worldwide power outage, struggling musician Jack Malik wakes up to discover that no one has ever heard of the Beatles. When he starts to play the Fab Four’s songs, he soon becomes a pop sensation in the eyes of the media and the adoring public. Magic.
KIDS STUFF
Buffalo Kids (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Wednesday)
Two parentless Irish siblings arrive in New York City via ocean liner and find themselves on a wild, cross-country journey aboard an orphan train where they meet an extraordinary new friend who will change their lives forever on a quest with devious villains and unexpected heroes.
Ant Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (BBC 1, Friday 25th, 7.10pm)
Super-Hero partners Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together they explore the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought possible.
ON DEMAND
The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime)
It’s the end of her junior year of college, and Belly’s looking forward to another summer in Cousins with her soulmate, Jeremiah. Her future seems set, until events bring her first love Conrad back into her life. On the brink of adulthood, Belly is at a crossroads in a summer that changes everything.
Letters From The Past (Netflix)
Schoolteacher Fatma Ayar assigned her Literature Club students to write letters to themselves as part of a ‘Letters from the Past’ campaign. Intended to be delivered in 2023, they were instead accidentally discovered – and had serious effects on the lives of their original recipients.
Critical: between Life And Death (Netflix)
In London, a major trauma happens every 60 minutes, and each call is a race against time. Filmed with exclusive access and the always on eyes of 40 cameras embedded for 21 days across the entire London Major Trauma System, this documentary goes over the shoulder and under the scalpel to reveal the life-saving interventions and traumatic lifestyles of those ER heroes.
SPORTS CENTRE
Breakaway Femmes (TG4, Wednesday 23rd, 9.30pm)
The untold story of the halcyon era of women’s professional cycling during six glorious years in the 1980s when the Tour de France held a women’s race alongside the men’s. These women raced over the same cobblestones, conquered the same mountains, and were cheered by the same throng of adoring crowds as the men.
Up For The Match (RTÉ 1, Saturday 26th, 9.30pm)
It’s Kerry versus Donegal in the All-Ireland Football Final – so no better excuse to dust off those old stories of this fabled rivalry and the larger than life personalities that populate both counties. As an appetiser to the main event tomorrow, this will get the GAA taste buds drooling.