Satellite choice
NEW KIDDIES’ SHOW
Q Pootle 5, 8.15am, CBeebies
NEW children’s series based on Nick Butterworth’s books. The animation has a beautiful fluidity — especially the scenes in space — and its friendly aliens behave in a charmingly homespun fashion.
MATINEE CLASSIC
Roman Holiday, 4.35pm, Film4
AUDREY Hepburn was catapulted to stardom in this delightful romance, co-starring Gregory Peck as the journo who takes advantage of a naive princess — not banking on falling in love. The legendary actress was just 24 when the film was released in 1953, cementing her role as one to watch.
MYSTERY SERIES
The Dresden Files, 9pm, Pick TV
THE Canadian magical mystery series makes its debut on Pick TV. It comes with a dose of Anglicised, Buffy The Vampire Slayer-style wit, and stars Paul Blackthorne as professional wizard and police adviser Harry Dresden, a man with a complicated family history. It has a wry, olde worlde charm, and a total of 12 episodes were made.
YOUNG & VULNERABLE
Failed By The NHS, 9pm, BBC3
JONNY Benjamin’s new documentary is about the failure of the Britain’s health service to take mental illness in young people seriously. The problem mostly boils down to funding, but also to bureaucracy — and bureaucracy is not something those in a fragile mental state are well-equipped to tackle. Benjamin, who himself suffers from schizoaffective disorder, looks at the treatments on offer.
PERIOD DRAMA The Borgias, 9pm, Sky Atlantic
THE third and final season has begun to meander, but the scenes with Jeremy Irons’s gruff Pope are always fun to watch. Also a highlight of this new instalment is Lucrezia’s sharp-eyed battle for influence in Naples, and while the episode starts slow, it finishes big and bloody — as Rodrigo plans an adventure to Constantinople and Michelotto shows his (relatively) sensitive side.
MONSTER MOVIE
Tremors, 9pm, ITV4
A YEAR before City Slickers earned him plaudits across the board, Ron Underwood directed this sly creature feature. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward are Val and Earl, the labourers realising there’s something not quite right in Perfection — the isolated Nevada town they call home.
PAY-PER-VIEW MOVIE Welcome To The Punch, Sky Box Office
JAMES McAvoy is action man cop to Mark Strong’s villain in this thriller that is strong on hardware, but weak on plausibility. McAvoy’s limping cop Max wants to get his hands on crime boss Jacob (Strong). So, when a heist goes wrong and Jacob’s son is shot, Max sees his chance to lure Jacob into a trap.
A TV PIONEER Alan Whicker’s Journey Of A Lifetime, 10pm, BBC4
A WELCOME repeat for the broadcasters’ final series — a journey that begins with Alan (pictured) boarding the OrientExpress, reflecting on his time as a journalist and as a soldier in World War II. He also looks back on the highlights of his TV career and famous interviewess. Now, will someone please, please repeat Whicker’s War?