Stuff to Watch on Sky and free-to-air TV this week
A documentary on American life before Roe v Wade, and the British Top Gear trio are back with more motoring mayhem, writes James Croot.
The Janes
This timely new documentary is about the ‘‘outrageous undertaking by a lot of smart women’’ that helped provide about 11,000 safe, affordable and illegal abortions between 1968 and 1973 (when the United States Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v Wade declared anti-abortion laws ‘‘unconstitutional’’).
Through archival and contemporary interviews with key members of ‘‘The Janes’’ (the name given to prospective clients needing the group’s services), we hear the harrowing accounts of what desperate young Illinois women would do before their establishment – and the sometimes tragic results.
The Rising
Danish actor Clara Rugaard stars in this eight-part supernatural crime thriller about a young woman who discovers she has been murdered. While initially scared and confused, she soon becomes furious, determined to find her killer and dispense justice.
Top Gear
Back for its 32nd season, with petrol-head hosts Chris Harris, Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness ready to once again push their cars to the limit. The season kicks off with a trip to Florida to race buggies in alligator-infested swamps, test drive classic police cars from old-school TV shows and go Donk racing in American muscle cars.
Demolition Man
The closer we get to its 2032 setting the more hilariously prescient this 1993 actioncomedy becomes. A seemingly unlikely pairing of Sandra Bullock and Sylvester Stallone shine in this tale about a cryogenically frozen 90s cop who is thawed out when his arch nemesis (Wesley Snipes) sets about causing havoc in the more peace-loving future.
The Masked Singer
Anika Moa replaces Rhys Darby on the guessing panel for the second season of this celebrity singing competition. She joins returnees James Roque and Sharyn Casey, as well as guests like Tami Neilson, Jono Pryor, Paul Ego, Tofiga Fepulea’i and rapper Kings, to try to work out the identities of those performing in disguise. The ubiquitous Clint Randell is back as host.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
This 18-century set French romantic-drama is about the relationship that develops between a female painter and the young woman whose wedding portrait she has been obliged to create.
Baby Done
While a terrific star vehicle for our Edinburgh Festival Award-winning comedian Rose Matafeo, this 2020 Kiwi comedy about a wannabeadventurer who unexpectedly falls pregnant to her long-term boyfriend isn’t quite the wallto-wall laugh-fest many viewers might expect. It’s much more memorable than some shallow, disposable romcom. That’s largely down to the husband-and-wife team of director Curtis Vowell and screenwriter Sophie Henderson, who navigated a tricky balance of pathos, poignancy and mostly physical humour with aplomb. Their well-paced tale builds to a crowd-pleasing conclusion that, while predictable, at least puts a nice spin on the traditional genre tropes.
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