What to watch
Civilisations BBC TWO, 9.00PM
Almost 50 years after changing the face of arts programming with the landmark series Civilisation, BBC Two returns with a new version, which has an expanded brief and all the bells and whistles of modern film-making, from drone cameras to infra-red photography. With nine episodes split between presenters Simon Schama (five), David Olusoga and Mary Beard (two each), Civilisations promises an opinionated overview of global art and culture.
It opens with a striking sequence in which Schama – helming this first part – explores what has been lost and salvaged from the Isil pillage of Palmyra. From there, we’re whisked to Africa’s Cape coast and the first evidence of mankind’s creativity 77,000 years ago. Then it’s a breathless gallop through the millennia, alighting at the first settlements and depictions of the human face. Among the cave art, Mayan stairways and fertility fetishes, the real treasure is an astonishing Mycenaean Sealstone, jaw-dropping in its anatomical detail and artistic accomplishment. While it won’t have the same impact as the original series (what could?), Civilisations looks to be just as learned, accessible and thrilling as its predecessor – the whole series will be available on BBC iplayer at 10.00pm. Gabriel Tate more one-to-ones with convicted murderers behind bars. He begins with Lorenzo Gilyard, the so-called Kansas City Strangler, who remains unremorseful after allegedly killing 13 women and girls over almost two decades. GT
Active Shooter: America Under Fire SKY ATLANTIC, 11.45PM
The penultimate episode of this often disturbing and insightful series revisits Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where white supremacist Wade Michael Page killed six and injured four at a Sikh temple, before killing himself, in 2012. For once, there is a vaguely positive denouement: Page’s brutality had the opposite effect to its intention and brought the community closer together. GT
Factual Panic at 30,000 Feet: Airline Emergency CHANNEL 5, 9.00PM
This nightmare-inducing new series explores what happens when flights go wrong, from mid-air collisions to runway explosions. GT
Sport Live Athletics: The World Indoor Championships BBC TWO, 7.00PM
The four-day World Indoor Championships, which takes place at Arena Birmingham, features three events in the first evening session, including Team GB’S Laura Muir and Eilish Mccolgan in the women’s 3,000m.