Humour and honesty in stories behind objects on Museum of Me
TV WEEK (Wednesday 3rd to Tuesday 9th)
TOP SPECIALS
Will My Summer Holiday Be Cancelled? (CH4, Friday 5th, 7pm)
What’s happening with our summer holidays since the Iran War sent jet fuel prices soaring and caused thousands of flights to be cancelled? Are holidays out of the question this summer, or is the opposite true and there will be bargains? Amid the uncertainty, reporter Kate Quilton answers those questions to help holidaymakers make the right decisions and keep themselves from getting stuck abroad, or missing out on a cheap escape.
The Thousand and One Musical Lives of Fleetwood Mac (Sky Arts, Friday 5th, 9.15pm)
A look at the extraordinary musical longevity of the British-American rock band, who begin in 1967 with frontman Peter Green. Things moved up the gears dramatically when Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined in 1974, and the band reached global superstardom with the albums Rumours and Tusk. It was a classic story of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
Wild Connemara (RTÉ 1, Sunday 7th, 6.30pm)
From sea to summit, Eoin Warner takes viewers on a thrilling journey through the heart of Wild Connemara. Often described as being more sea than land, the terrain sees him encounter grey seals and basking sharks, as he visits abandoned islands, now home to myriad avian athletes who travel some of the greatest journeys on earth.
Best Medicine (Sky 1, Tuesday 9th, 9pm)
New medical comedy drama based on the beloved series Doc Martin. Martin Best is a brilliant surgeon who abruptly leaves his illustrious career in Boston to become the general practitioner in a quaint east coast fishing village where he spent summers as a child. Unfortunately, Martin’s blunt and borderline rude bedside manner rubs the quirky, needy locals up the wrong way, and he quickly alienates the town, even though he’s all they’ve got.
WATCH OF THE WEEK
Museum of Me (RTÉ 1, Sunday 7th, 8.30pm)
A number of well-known Irish figures to tell their own stories through the objects they have kept over the years. From career highs to personal turning points, each item opens up a part of their life and offers a glimpse of the person behind the public image. Presented by Dermot Whelan, each episode brings humour and honesty to the stories behind the objects, and includes Maia Dunphy, Steve Garrigan, Mary McEvoy, Emma Doran and Pat Shortt.
BEST FILMS
The Town (RTÉ 2, Thursday 4th, 9.30pm)
Ben Affleck directs and stars in this all-action thriller about a Boston band of ruthless bank robbers who carry out daring and successful money heists. Their luck changes, however, when they’re forced to take a female hostage after one chaotic robbery gone wrong, and that sets in motion a romantic connection that leads to disaster. Also stars Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner.
The Choral (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Friday)
1916. As war rages on the Western Front, the Choral Society in Ramsden, Yorkshire have lost most of their men to the army. Ambitious committee members, determined to press ahead, decide to recruit local young males to swell their ranks – and engage a new chorus master, Dr Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes) – a driven and uncompromising individual, recently returned from a career in Germany.
Dead Man’s Wire (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Friday)
On February 8, 1977, disgruntled real-estate developer Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård) takes mortgage broker Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery) hostage with a sawn-off shotgun, wired with a ‘dead man’s wire’ from the trigger to Tony’s own neck. Directed by Gus Van Sant also starring Colman Domingo, Cary Elwes and Al Pacino.
Nomadland (CH4, Sunday 7th, 1am)
Writer and director Chloé Zhao’s Golden Globe and Oscar-winning docu-drama stars Frances McDormand as Fern, a middle-aged woman with no money who takes to the road in a van looking for work. There she meets a variety of people living in similar circumstances, a moving society of instant comrades who help each other out and treat each other with compassion and respect.
CLASSIC MOVIE
Bohemian Rhapsody (CH4, Saturday 6th, 9pm)
Oscar-winning musical charting the life of the fearlessly flamboyant Freddie Mercury, and the music of Queen. In 1970, 24-year-old baggage handler Farrokh Bulsara (Oscar-winning Rami Malek) chances to see the band Smile in a London pub. After the gig, he asks if he can join. As luck would have it, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor inform him that their lead singer has just quit, and give Farrokh an audition. What followed made musical history.
KIDS STUFF
The Hadron Collider: In Search of the Peace Particle (BBC 4, Wednesday 3rd, 9pm)
A critically acclaimed documentary, this explores how the scientists behind the CERN Large Hadron Collider are driven by a deeper mission: uniting the world through scientific discovery. The film contrasts the immense, high-tech underground scale of the collider with the global political struggles overhead and promise that gave birth to CERN in 1954 as a sanctuary where scientists from conflicting nations could work together toward a shared goal.
Marty – Life Is Short (Netflix)
The definitive documentary on comedian Martin Short. Using intimate, never-before-seen archive footage alongside exclusive interviews with some of the most established stars of the comedy universe, the film takes a look at one of the most influential comedians of a generation.
ON DEMAND
Calabasas Confidential (Netflix)
After graduating college, a group of lifelong friends, foes, and exes return to Calabasas for a summer they’ll never forget. Back home and living in their parents’ hillside mansions, they’ll be faced with the daunting reality of confronting unresolved drama and unexpected secrets that don’t stay hidden forever behind the gates of LA’s most envied zip code.
Cape Fear (Apple TV)
Inspired by the 1991 remake directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by Steven Spielberg, a storm is coming for happily married attorneys Anna (Amy Adams) and Tom Bowden (Patrick Wilson) when Max Cady (Javier Bardem), the notorious killer they are responsible for putting behind bars, is let out of prison, and he wants vengeance.
Clarkson’s Farm (Amazon Prime)
The latest series kicks off with Jeremy dealing with a serious heart scare, forcing him to take things a bit easier at Diddly Squat. Part of his recovery involves an encounter with ‘The Rise of the Machines’ following a visit to an agricultural expo, where Jeremy tries to integrate high-tech solutions at the farm, resulting in Kaleb taking his first-ever trip abroad, to the Netherlands.
SPORTS CENTRE
Beckham: In Ten Pictures (BBC 2, Thursday 4th, 9pm)
On 17 August 1996, 21-year-old David Beckham scored against Wimbledon from inside his own half. That iconic image turned Beckham into a household name, and kickstarted a relationship with image-making that would propel the footballer into modern celebrity. All through Spice Girls, sarongs, scandals and infamous red cards, the cameras were always there, but behind the celebrity narrative is a deeper story of how the footballer used his image to turn himself into a global brand.