Pick of the Week: True detective – season 2
DR3, SUN 21:00 (also Thu 22:15)

The highly-anticipated S2 of the HBO series shifted from the gritty back waters of Louisiana to the concrete jungles of California.

It was always going to be difficult for creator Nic Pizzolatto to regenerate the eclectic, brilliant partnership of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson that helped propel the first season into the upper echelons of TV history.

Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams perform admirably as jaded characters battling inner-demons on the road to salvation, but the in-depth development of too many central characters proved cumbersome.

In coming to terms with the shortcomings of its central figures, the series focuses a little too much on the drama at the expense of the crime at hand – a classic corruption/murder case involving crooked city officials and gangsters. (CW)

Also new:

 

Could the #OscarsSoWhite award ceremony be the most watched ever? We think so … crafty old Academy, breathing new life into the old dinosaur yet.

For hardcore fans, TV2 are hitting the red carpet from 00:05 ahead of the ceremony starting at 02:30 with an awful lot of ad breaks (trying to spot the Smith family in them could be fun though).

The smart option is the highlights option, although they do tend to cut the honorary award, which this year (no kidding) is going to Spike Lee.

The delayed award highlights then continue with The Brits (DR3, Tue 21:30), six days after their live transmission in the UK.

Talking of Brits, they’re a simple lot, like the three dopes in Date my Pornstar (DR3, Wed 00:40) whose daft allusions are shattered by banal tears and anal tears. Elsewhere, there’s a terror cell at large at a FBI academy in Quantico (K5,Tue 21:00), which scored 70 on Metacritic; Power and the World’s Women (DR2, Wed 23:05) interviews the three women who’ve served as the US secretary of state, including current presidential candidate Hilary Clinton; and Swedish academic Hans Rosling gets stuck into the scare-mongering media in Don’t Panic – How to end poverty in 15 years (DR2, Thu 23:05), although he does tend to presume a lot! (BH)

Coming soon: Vinyl

 

In a furiously competitive month for classic television series – including S5 of Girls, S2 of Better Call Saul, and S4 of Vikings hitting the mainstream – HBO’s new juggernaut Vinyl faced a tough challenge to stand out.

With Martin Scorsese on board as the director of the feature length pilot, and Mick Jagger among the creators, this rock ‘n’ roll story set in 1973 has the strong production values Terrence Winter (Boardwalk Empire) is famous for.

So far, Vinyl has a rating of 70 – nothing to write home about, for sure. Some have even called it bloated, but it’s one hell of a ride. (DD)

Sport of the Week

 

Talk about rubbing it in. Just two days after the League Cup Final, the winners will get to gloat in the losers’ faces in the EPL (3+, Tue 20:45), just one of several standout ties that also includes Man United vs Arsenal, West Ham vs Tottenham (K6, Wed 20:00). Elsewhere, the Madrid derby never disappoints, but does either side have a hope of overhauling Barca in La Liga? (BH)

Film of the Week

 

Quite a selection this week – appropriate with the Oscars on Sunday – led by 12 years a slave, the best film for 2013. Life of Pi was a nominee a year earlier, the same year Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy got three noms but missed out on the big one. Meanwhile, Man of Steel (K5, Mon 21:00) and Elysium (TV3, Sun 21:00) never had a hope, even with Superman on their side. (BH)