PICK OF THE WEEK: Mirage Men
DR3, Tue 20:45 or Thu 23:50
Have you noticed how UFO sightings decreased as mobile technology advanced? You can pretty much catch anything at any moment on camera these days and put it out there – yet nothing seems to be out there …
This doc presents a reasonable explanation for the 1950s UFO craze. It involves – surprise, surprise! – the US government, a planet-wide disinformation campaign, the Soviets and high-tech military equipment.
The doc is built on the testimony of a US government agent whose sole mission was manipulating believers through false evidence and recurring mind games.
With a rather confusing storyline, it fails to answer many of the questions it raises, by including a lot of threads that are eventually left loose.
More like an episode of The Twilight Zone than The Blue Planet, it makes a good conversation topic for both conspiracy theorists and non-believers.
So if you want to have a cool story to tell or just force your brain into solving an unsolvable puzzle, tune in for this real-life version of the X-Files.
ALSO NEW: Grantchester
SVT1, Sat 21:35 Grantchester
On TV this week, we have the quintessentially English murder mystery, Grantchester (SVT1, Sat 21:35). Adapted from its namesake novels by James Runcie, the series follows a vicar who helps a policeman (Robson Green) solve the murders of his parisioners. The Huffington Post describes it as: “a pleasant, earnest counterbalance to some of TV’s darker dramas”.
Staying behind the scenes, like the vicar, we enter the inner world of fashion journalism in In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye (DRK, Sun 21:00) and track down some 9/11 conspiracy theorists, who are challenged to reveal all by comedian Andrew Maxwell in Conspiracy Road Trip: 9/11 (DR3, Fri 16:20).
Elsewhere; there’s another chance to catch S1 of romcom sitcom Trophy Wife (K4, Thu 20:00) and Gotham (Zulu, Sun 18:45) or at least the first five episodes; find out what it’s really like to be a parent with Don’t Just Stand There, I’m Having Your Baby (BBC Ent, Tue 21:00); meet the baby models on Designer Darlings (K4, Wed 22:00); and grab a glimpse of our rainy future in Lands of the Monsoon (DR2, Sun 20:00).
COMING SOON: Sons of Liberty
"Let's kill ourselves some English swine!"
made by the producers of Vikings and starring Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris as Benjamin Franklin (curious yet?), this miniseries received rather favourable reviews from the critics.
Set in the years preceding the American War of Independence, Sons of Liberty follows Franklin as he rebels against the British and gets caught up in a certain Boston Tea Party incident included.
Political intrigue, random nakedness, and an impending war make this a perfect miniseries to splurge out.
SPORT OF THE WEEK:
Eurosport, Sat & Sun 09:30 Australian Open women's and men's finals
Sports fans can return to normal sleeping hours after the Super Bowl (3+, Sun 22:00) and the men’s and women’s finals of the Australian Open, which are on so late they can be watched with breakfast. Elsewhere, top of the table clash Chelsea vs Man City features two EPL teams desperate to bounce back from shock FA Cup exits (K6, Sat 18:00).
FILM OF THE WEEK:
K5, Tue 21:00 The Dark Knight Rises Again
It’s a big week for Tom Hardy, and when we say big, we mean muscular. He’s at his brutish best as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises Again and the title character in MMA film Warrior (TV2, sun 21:00), and then at his weedy worse in romcom This Means War (This Means War). None of them are as bad as The Green Hornet (TV2, Fri 23:50) though.
