PICKS OF THE WEEK
Citizenfour [ED], Channel 190 Thursday, 19:00
This Oscar-winning documentary is as relevant as any you’ll find. In this day and age, when even the most Third World of countries have access to the internet, digital spying is a troubling reality. We all need to know how to protect ourselves from things like identity theft and card fraud.
But what if this kind of thing is perpetrated by people you’re supposed to trust? Like the US government, perhaps? OK, the fact that US government organisations such as the National Security Agency monitor the communications of everyone in the world isn’t exactly a secret. I remember hearing about this stuff more than a decade before the Edward Snowden case, which is the subject of this doccie.
In January 2013, documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras filmed her meeting with the former NSA employee and whistleblower, above, who was hiding in Hong Kong. He disclosed to her information about the practices of the NSA and who it was in cahoots with, including telecommunication companies and foreign government agencies. He also wanted to use his real name — which meant he had to seek asylum. He’s believed to be in Russia.
Not everyone sees Snowden as a hero. Watch this documentary for all the worrying details.
Choccywoccydoodah: Extra Slices BBC LifeStyle Channel 174, Thursday, 20:00
I picked this for the name more than any other reason. I probably shouldn’t be watching shows about cakes when I’m on a diet — but then these creations are such works of art that if I had one in front of me, and I wasn’t on a diet, I’d still be torn about actually eating the damn thing. Maybe it’s one of those situations in which you have to suck it up and cut the first slice and then it gets easier.
This is a reality show following the daily operations of the eponymous London cake shop, which is run by a crew of chocolatiers who would be considered renaissance-level sculptors if they worked with marble. Boy to Man Discovery Channel Channel 121, Tuesday, 21:00
I could swear I wrote about a similar show a few weeks ago, in which two professional athletes tried out the coming-of-age rituals of other cultures. This is very much the same idea, except it’s just one guy this time. Adventurer and filmmaker Tim Noonan will travel around the world to experience the most extreme coming-of-age rituals he can find. For example: drinking reindeer blood, being whipped naked, receiving a tribal scar, and capturing and training a golden eagle. This could be a good meal ticket. Just take a film crew along on your next rustic holiday and try some relatively unknown cultural practices. Tough Trains Travel Channel Channel 179, Tuesday, 20:00 I tried a Hershey’s bar once when I was on a trip to Canada. It didn’t leave much of an impression — in fact, it took this documentary to remind me of it. Traveller Ian Wright heads out to ride some of the most interesting trains in the world, starting with the Hershey’s line, which was built in Cuba in the 1920s by the US sweets manufacturer to transport sugar cane. While Ian’s busy with that, presenter Zay Harding takes a ride on one of the most historic railroads in the world — the American Transcontinental Railroad, which crosses North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific.