The Herald - The Herald Magazine
BOX SETS AND ON DEMAND
Travel Man: 48 Hours in Milan (C4, 8.30pm)
Thursday, 9pm) had quite the history to relate. In their day, the murders in LA of Sharon Tate and five others, including her unborn baby, attracted worldwide publicity. Among the many books and movies about the cult leader was a 1973 documentary that featured footage of filmmaker Robert Hendrickson interviewing some of Manson’s “family” of followers after the murders. It had been thought all the tapes had been seen, but when Hendrickson died last year, a new cache was discovered.
The mostly young women interviewees were chilling in their dead-eyed devotion to Manson, who came across as a psychopath and abuser who liked to dole out drugs while himself staying relatively sober so he could control events.
Where the programme came into its own was in finding former cult members and showing them the tapes. “We just bought it,” said one of Manson’s rantings about his own greatness. “Then you add a lot of LSD…” As the first part ended (second and final part this Thursday), Manson was just beginning to talk about murder in the Hollywood hills.
In the new Swedish thriller Alex (Channel 4, 11.05pm), the maverick cop genre descends to new depths. Alex (played by Dragomir Mrsic) began the first hour snorting cocaine, taking a bribe from a Mr Big and then shooting his partner dead by mistake.
Although Alex presents himself to his colleagues as a squeaky clean, happily married father, one of his superiors suspects him of lying about his partner’s death and assigns him a new partner to find proof. She turns out to be a former lover, and her current amour is Alex’s therapist. Enjoyably tangled, as per, but nastiness at the end of the first episode stuck in the craw. Not enough to prevent another visit, but I shall be proceeding with caution in best Dixon of Dock Green fashion. Evenin’ all.
characters in TV shows Dead Ringers and Newzoids.
MONDAY Jamie Cooks Italy (C4, 8pm)
After serving up amazing food in the Aeolian Islands, Puglia, Naples, Basilicata, Sicily, Tuscany and Rome, the chef concludes his cookery and travel series in the Italian Alps, seeking out Piedmont’s famed comfort food and its renowned wines such as the rich and deep red barolo made from the nebbiolo grape. In a valley near the Swiss border, he discovers macaroni cheese with an alpine twist and cooks a winter warmer of dumplings with roasted red onions and crispy pancetta. Finally, Jamie learns the secrets of making the perfect risotto. Using the region’s abundant red wine, sausage and alpine cheese, he creates a mouth-watering version of the classic rice dish which he serves to the locals.
Monkman and Seagull’s Guide to Britain (BBC2, 8pm)
The breakout stars of University Challenge are enjoying a new wave of publicity as Eric Monkman and Bobby Seagull soak up the wonders of the British Isles in a show that’s like a mix of The Big Bang Theory and Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island. We’re already on the penultimate edition and our tour guides are in Northern Ireland. The invention of the ejector seat; Armagh Observatory; a railway museum inside a barber shop; and Titanic’s little sister, the SS Nomadic, are all on their “to see” list.
Richard Ayoade is joined by actress and comedian Morgana Robinson for a two-day break in the Italian city, taking in art, pasta, the bowling game of bocce and a drink in Backdoor 43 – a tiny bar that can hold a maximum of four customers at a time. At a viewing of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, Richard finds the painting to be quite good, but Morgana thinks it’s “no Tracey Emin”. The pair also take in the city’s epic cathedral and drop in on a pasta-making lesson that proves strangely musical.
Drowning in Plastic (BBC1, 8.30pm)
At least eight million tons of plastic waste enter the Earth’s oceans and seas each year. One million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from plastic in our oceans, while it is estimated that more than 50 per cent of sea turtles have consumed plastic. In conclusion, plastic is devastating our oceans, but can the tide be turned before it’s too late? In this one-off documentary, Liz Bonnin travels to a remote island off the coast of Australia where newly hatched shearwater chicks are filling up on deadly plastic. She also visits the Coral Triangle that stretches from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands to find out more from scientists trying to work out why plastic is so lethal to the reefs. Finally, she looks at possible solutions, such as a monumental 600-metre construction that will travel across the ocean’s “garbage patches” collecting millions of pieces of plastic pollution.
TUESDAY This Morning – 30 Unforgettable Years (ITV, 7.30pm)
Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield are the undisputed king and queen of daytime telly but before they came along, This Morning was a British TV institution presented by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan from its debut in 1988 until they stood down in 2001. This programme looks at the legacy of one of the country’s longest running shows and demonstrates how the show has played an influential role in changing TV landscape. It featuring giggles, gaffes and jaw-dropping moments unseen for decades, while Phillip, Holly, Richard and Judy, as well as fellow host Fern Britton, share their memories. We also hear from Robbie Williams, who was a guest on the show in the summer, and Bradley Walsh, known to cause chaos on This Morning over the years.
The Great British Bake Off (C4, 8pm)
The remaining bakers are tested to the limit in pastry week, including an ambitious final challenge that
Union J were the next big thing in pop when they graduated from The X Factor a few years ago. The group turned George Shelley into a star; he won a new fan base on I’m A Celebrity... in 2015 and by 2016 had left the band to focus on acting and broadcasting. However, in 2017 his life was turned upside down when his 21-year-old sister Harriet was hit by a vehicle in Bristol. Recovering from her loss in the months that followed proved to be a nightmare. However, he realised that talking about grief and mental health helped get him through it. In this moving documentary, he discusses his loss.
The Man in the High Castle s3 (Amazon Prime Video, from Fri)
America under the grip of a Nazi state seemed far-fetched when series one of this Philip K Dick adaptation aired a few years ago. However, while events across the Pond make some sci-fi dramas seem mundane, this dystopian saga goes from strength to strength. At the end of series two, the bombshell was dropped that Trudy (or a version of her) was alive and well, while Smith was given access to a room filled with reels of films that were seen by the late Fuhrer. Series three will see Juliana Crain grappling with her destiny after seeking safety in the Neutral Zone. Hopefully, with the help of Trade Minister Tagomi, they will be able to interpret the mystery of the last remaining films.