WHAT’S HOT TO WATCH TODAY
VIEWERS in Scotland get a second chance tonight – and everyone else gets their first – to catch the start of STONEMOUTH (9pm, BBC2), an excellent, atmospheric murder mystery based on an Iain Banks bestseller.
I say “murder” – the guy, Callum, whose death is at the centre of the story (played in flashback by Samuel Robertson, ex of Corrie, River City and Beaver Falls) is officially adjudged to have topped himself. But his best friend Stewart (Christian Cooke), back in his home town for the funeral, is far from convinced.
Stewart’s problem is he left Stonemouth under a cloud, a shameful incident having wrecked his relationship with Callum’s sister Ellie (Charlotte Spencer), daughter of the top local gangster (Peter Mullan). So he’s not exactly welcomed back with open arms. And when he insists on investigating the circumstances behind his pal’s suspicious death, he’s made brutally aware that his meddling isn’t appreciated. CHANNEL 4’s new series THE TRIBE (9pm) is yet another of those observational documentary thingummies where an assortment of discreetly placed cameras just monitor ordinary people’s day-to-day goings-on. The difference is it’s set in Ethiopia, and the multigenerational family it focuses on, the Ayke Mukos, are local tribespeople. Yawn, snooze, zzzzz, you may be thinking, but give it a go, because it’s actually quite a laugh. What we soon discover is that these people are bound together by a great sense of humour and, despite their very different way of life, have a surprising amount in common with us.