RAISING THE STAKES WITH BLADES ON ICE
WHILE local celebrities are facing off on the floor on Sundays at 5pm in M-Net’s Dancing With The Stars
SA, there’s another competition going on over on ITV Choice, to which I’ve become addicted.
It’s impressive enough to take people out of their comfort zones to see how they tackle new challenges like learning to dance on solid ground. But when you factor in a slippery surface and thin metal blades, it raises the stakes higher.
Just coming off the Winter Olympics, we’ve all been mesmerised by the figure skating; it’s the cold weather equivalent of the gymnastics and diving we all love so much at the Summer Games. It always looks so beautiful and effortless, even if we know it’s not. I’ve never had much success with this pastime (or sport), so I am in awe of the celebrities who’ve accepted the challenge of Dancing
On Ice (Fridays at 8pm). It’s frightfully British, so I’m not familiar with any of the celebs other than Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown, who was eliminated in the first episode, but it doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of the show. It’s quite amazing to see how these “ordinary” people have learned to figure skate in a relatively short time (months as opposed to the years of work put in by their professional partners, coaches and choreographers).
Five weeks in here – the 10th season has just finished airing in the UK – and I’ve settled on my favourites, and the ones I can’t stand. Nothing beats a healthy dose of emotional investment to enjoy such a show. I wasn’t all that impressed by singer Lemar (who skates/skated with Melody Le Moal); they found themselves in the skate-off several times in the early episodes, but I had to admire the tenacity and effort to do better.
My absolute worst, in the beginning, was Jason Gardiner. He’s an Australian choreographer, singer, and theatre producer who is – according to Wikipedia – “best known for his role as a caustic and controversial judge” for this show. He gets to give his scores first and therefore sets the bar for the other judges to follow – choreographer Ashley Banjo, and skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (who I’m desperately hoping will do a turn on the ice before the show is finished).
Over the weeks, however, I’ve warmed to Gardiner because as harsh as he is, he is always honest and his criticism is constructive, urging the skaters to raise their own bars even higher.
Dancing On Ice episodes run close to two hours so there is some commitment required from the viewer, but I never regret spending that time on it.
Housekeeping: Did you miss your episode of DC’s Legends Of
Tomorrow on M-Net yesterday, or wonder why you were seeing a repeat episode? That’s because Daddy Darhkest has a high age restriction and will be shown tomorrow at 9pm. The Girl With
All The Gifts will begin at 10pm.
TOMORROW
Zee TV (DStv channel 452) ushers in 10% more fresh hours of content, with Detective Didi at 9pm. It is set in the Indian capital, Delhi, and follows the lives of special agent Bhim Singh Bhullar (Manish Goplanias) and private detective Bunty Sharma (Sonia Balani) and their respective journeys, taking on serial killers, crime lords, gangsters and other eccentric criminals as they race to solve cases.
Adding to the new content on Zee TV is Ishq Subhan Allah (Mondays to Fridays at 10.30pm), which premiered last night. It is a love story filled with heartache and drama between well-educated Zaara, and Islamic scholar Kabeer, who strictly follows the law written by the Sharia board. When their differences come to a head, they are faced with Islam’s controversial marital ritual – the triple talaq – where a man can recite the triple talaq and their marriage is instantly dissolved.
IN THE WEEK
Motor Mega Week (Discovery from Monday at 6pm): The channel’s first week-long automotive celebration features series premieres – including Twin Turbos and Shifting Gears With Aaron Kaufman – as well as a four-part supersized Street Outlaws vs Fast
N’ Loud: Build To Mega Race series. Rev up with consecutive nights (at 6pm) of epic car builds and the thrilling finale on Thursday at 7pm.
Shifting Gears With Aaron Kaufman is on Monday at 7pm, and Twin Turbos: Building A Future
(Tuesday at 7pm) follows father-son duo Doug and Brad DeBerti as they push the boundaries on custom builds, creating outrageous, state-of-the-art vehicles. In American Chopper on Wednesday at 7pm and Thursday at 10pm Paul Teutul senior and junior return to reclaim their place at the top of the world of customised motorbike building.