FIVE THINGS FOR YOUR WEEK...
The Sandman, Netflix, streaming now
Between 1989 and 1996, all 75 issues of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman comic book were published. An instant cult classic, its reputation has grown during the ensuing years, during which, various TV or film adaptations have been rumoured – and now, at long last, one has finally been made. Over 10 episodes it tells the story of Morpheus, king of dreams, who is one of the seven metaphysical entities known as Endless, the others being Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium and Destruction. When we first meet him, Morpheus has been held captive for more than a century, but having escaped, embarks on a quest to restore his kingdom.
DOCUMENTARY
India 1947: Partition in Colour, C4, 9pm, Sunday
To mark the 75th anniversary of India’s partition, this two-part documentary takes a look back at a particularly traumatic period in history. Private documents offer insights into what happened, including the personal rivalries between three of its key figures – India’s first Prime Minister, Nehru, Pakistan founder Jinnah and Earl Mountbatten, the final viceroy of British India. Archive footage is also utilised, having been colourised for reasons that are unclear – perhaps the programme’s makers felt the process made it more accessible to modern audiences.
MUSIC
Sounds of Birmingham at the BBC, BBC2, 8pm, Saturday
From reggae to metal via pure pop, Birmingham has an impressively diverse musical legacy, as this collection of clips from the archive proves. The highlights include footage of Black Sabbath performing Paranoid, which gets its first airing since 1970, as well as UB40, Dexys Midnight Runners, Judas Priest, Joan Armatrading, ELO and Laura Mvula.
DETECTIVE DRAMA Van Der Valk, ITV & STV, 8pm, Sunday
For many, Barry Foster will always be Comissaris Piet Van Der Valk, having played the Amsterdam police detective created by Nicolas Freeling on and off between 1972 and 1992. Getting to see his cases again via repeats on the Talking Pictures TV channel has brought him back to some people’s attention, while Marc Warren revived the character in a 2020 series for ITV. Now Warren is returning to duty in a delayed second run (Covid got in the way of filming), and once again, we can expect a far grittier and grisly take on the cases than those Foster delivered. The new series begins with the murder of solicitor Susie de Windt.
COMEDY
Les Dawson: 30 Funniest Moments, C5, 8pm, Saturday
He was famed for his gurning, his deadpan stand-up routines and his unique approach to playing the piano, and now this programme is rounding up some of Les Dawson’s most memorable moments. They include his earliest surviving TV appearance on The Cilla Black Show from 1968, as well as his last, which also has a Cilla connection as it was on Surprise Surprise. However, he did then get to make a posthumous TV show, appearing as a hologram in his own An Audience With That Never Was.