The very best of the week ahead
Sunday Conspiracy Files: The Billionaire Global Mastermind?
BBC TWO, 9.00PM; NOT BBC SCOTLAND
“Is George Soros at the heart of a global conspiracy?” asks Saskia Reeves’s voice-over at the outset of this troubling film. The answer, of course, is “no”, and Mike Rudin’s film devotes an hour to careful, eloquent, evidence-based rebuttals of an arsenal of ludicrous, inflammatory accusations directed towards the multi-billionaire philanthropist. These range from whether Soros funded the so-called “migrant caravan” alleged to be mobilising before the US midterm elections in 2018, to whether he was a Nazi collaborator in his native Hungary. The downside of this solid journalism is having to listen to so many angry men bandying around anti-Semitic tropes to serve their own agendas; Viktor Orbán and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have both, to varying degrees, dog-whistled at and provoked their supporters into acts of violence. There’s perhaps an argument that even giving these people air-time legitimises their theories, and occasionally their rhetoric is adopted a little too uncritically. In many ways, the fact this documentary was even deemed necessary is as significant in reflecting our times as its actual content. Gabriel Tate
State of the Union BBC TWO, 10.00PM & 10.10PM; NI, 11.00PM & 11.10PM; NOT BBC SCOTLAND
With Chris O’Dowd and Rosamund Pike starring, Nick Hornby writing and Stephen Frears directing, there is quite the assembly of talent for this excellent new comedy series, broken into 10-minute parts and airing as doublebills. In each episode, a couple meet in a pub before their marriage counselling session across the road. GT
Monday Rise of the Nazis BBC TWO, 9.00PM; NOT BBC SCOTLAND LAND
The terrifying fragility of democracy is the subject of the second part of this fascinating series on how Hitler persuaded the German people to hand over power to a bunch of murderous political extremists. Beginning in January 1933, it examines the first six months after Hitler was elected Chancellor, outlining the speed and determination with which the Nazis suppressed all political opposition and dismantled democracy. Only 44 per cent voted for the Nazis in the snap election Hitler called (after arresting most of the Communist opposition) in March 1933, yet within weeks he used that mandate to subvert the rule of law via an emergency powers act and effectively appoint himself dictator. An impressive panel of contributors, among them General Sir Mike Jackson, illuminate the themes. Gerard O’Donovan
Supermark Supermarket Sweep ITV2, 8.00PM
If there has to be a reboot of this staple of Nineties daytime TV, who better than the omnipresent Rylan Clark-Neal to fill the shoes of the late Dale Winton and pull in a smattering of familiar soap and reality TV faces to keep things right classy? As ever, three teams compete against the clock to win the chance to do a trolley dash around the aisles in the hope of scooping cash prizes. GO
Tuesday Suicidal and How You Can Help Stop Suicide
CHANNEL 5, 9.15PM AND 10.45PM
According to the UK Mental Health Organisation, suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among young people in this country, with around three times as many young men taking their life. This harrowing documentary, made with the help of the Riverside Mental Health Centre in London, explores the issue in great depth, following six men as they talk candidly about why they feel their lives are no longer worth living. “It baffles me that I’m still here, I thought it would have worked the first time,” says teenager Charlie, who still struggles with the after-effects of childhood bullying. Meanwhile, 63-year-old Ron explains why he is hoarding pills to take once his critically ill partner dies. The film’s most devastating story, however, belongs to 19-year-old Jack, who discusses all those he has lost – including both his parents. “Living is hell. It’s not fun. It’s a battle,” he says. This powerful and sensitive film deserves to be widely watched. It’s followed by a programme that offers practical expert advice on how to help yourself and others. Sarah Hughes
Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth BBC TWO, 9.00PM; NOT BBC SCOTLAND
Filmed over the course of three years, Jeanie Finlay’s sensitive documentary follows trans man Freddy McConnell as he suspends his hormone treatment to conceive a child. It’s not always the easiest of journeys and Freddy admits that he was very “naive” at the start. Ultimately, though, this is a heartfelt celebration of family and friendship that asks viewers to consider the many different paths to parenthood. SH
Wednesday The Big Hospital Experiment BBC TWO, 9.00PM; NOT BBC SCOTLAND
“Some have got it, some haven’t” is the neat conclusion from ward sister Crystal on the 14 young volunteers at the Royal Derby Hospital. We’re now into the second week of this social care programme designed to ease pressure on overworked NHS staff, and based on a German model – and the strain on participants is starting to show. For many the emotional toll of the work outweighs its practical demands, as they learn to manage the personal ties they form with patients. For 23-yearold Michael, looking after an elderly woman following a fall makes him reflect on his close relationship with his grandmother. But it’s a pleasure to see the majority of volunteers flourish, particularly psychology graduate Alishba, whose unforced empathy makes her an invaluable asset to the children’s ward. Toby Dantzic
Raiders of the Lost Past with Janina Ramirez
BBC FOUR, 9.00PM
Historian Janina Ramirez rewinds to 1939, when Nazi archaeologist Robert Wetzel discovered an Ice Age sculpture in Germany. Known as Lion Man, it is a half-human, half-animal figurine carved from a single piece of mammoth ivory. Ramirez highlights the artefact’s significance as the oldest work of representational art in human history. TD
Thursday Hairy Bikers: Route 66 BBC TWO, 8.00PM; NOT BBC SCOTLAND
It has been 13 years and 15 series since Si King and Dave Myers first rode their motorbikes on to the BBC, and if the concepts behind their shows have occasionally felt tenuous ( Chicken & Egg anyone?), their unforced camaraderie, ease with strangers and easy-to-emulate recipes have always ensured that they find an audience. This time, they’re taking on Route 66, the 2,278-mile-long highway from Chicago to Los Angeles. They begin in Chicago with a potted history of the Italian beef sandwich, before heading south through small towns both thriving and dying en route to St Louis, Missouri, some frozen custard and an unexpected hub of Balkan cuisine. No American cliché goes unmentioned (“melting pot”, “Windy City” and so on), but the scenery is as enticing as the food that the pair prepare en route. GT
This Way Up CHANNEL 4, 10.00PM
Secrets and lies in the finale of Aisling Bea’s superb comedy drama, as Aine (Bea) seems to have caught out Richard (Tobias Menzies) before she’s caught out herself by Shona (Sharon Horgan) over a marriage proposal. GT
Friday Temple SKY ONE, 10.00PM
Fans of the peculiar Nordic crime thriller Valkyrien that aired on Channel 4 a couple of years ago should check out this English-language remake starring Mark Strong as a surgeon with a secret laboratory, deep under Temple underground station in London, where he performs off-thebook operations. It sounds like a ridiculous premise and the opening scenes are so flimsy you might well pause to wonder whether you’re watching a comedy. And yet, within the limits of its own mad logic, there is something compelling about Temple. In its favour is an exceptional cast. Strong is a sufficiently powerful presence to make surgeon Daniel Milton credible, and Daniel Mays is perfect as his slightly unhinged sidekick Lee. Catherine McCormick and Game of Thrones star Carice van Houten are among the support. GO
Unbelievable NETFLIX, FROM TODAY
True crime is something Netflix tends to do very well. This new series, a dramatisation of a Pulitzer Prizewinning report about the hunt for a rapist in Colorado, is no exception. Toni Colette and Merritt Wever play detectives who pool their resources to catch the culprit. GO