Don’t missthis
BLOODLANDS TODAY, BBC ONE, 9PM
James Nesbitt heads the cast of a compelling new four-part drama executive produced by Jed ‘Line of Duty’ Mercurio.
It’s the brainchild of writer Chris Brandon; it’s his first original work for the small screen and promises to be a smash-hit debut.
Nesbitt plays police detective Tom Brannick who is disturbed by the discovery of a car submerged in Strangford Lough, Co Down.
The owner of the vehicle has been kidnapped, and Brannick suspects the crime is the work of a long-silent assassin nicknamed Goliath. What’s more, he has a personal link to the villain – Brannick’s own wife was one of the killer’s original victims.
Brannick is, obviously, keen to investigate further. As a result, he and his partner DS Niamh McGovern (Charlene McKenna) go against the wishes of their superior officer DCS Jackie Twomey (Lorcan Cranitch) by looking over the original Goliath case notes. They hope to find something that will help them solve the kidnapping – but end up opening up a new can of worms.
ISLE OF DOGS
(2018) TODAY, CHANNEL 4, 6.05PM Here’s a bold statement: when it comes to originality in Hollywood today, nobody surpasses writerdirector Wes Anderson.
During a 20-year career, his fertile imagination has created such delights as The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom, with each project carrying his unique visual style.
In 2009, Anderson directed an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox, using stopmotion animation. He returned to the painstaking technique to make Isle of Dogs, an acclaimed sci-fi comedy-drama set in Japan in the near future.
Following an outbreak of canine flu, all dogs are banished to a deserted island. Among them is Spots, the four-legged bodyguard of 12-year-old orphan Atari.
Six months later, the youngster sets out to find his companion, receiving help from a dog pack led by lifelong stray Chief.
Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Bill Murray, Yoko Ono, Greta Gerwig and Edward Norton are among the outstanding vocal cast.