This week’s pick:
Band of Brothers
3+, Mon-Thu 00:10
Seventy years on from the end of World War II, now’s a good as time as any to see the HBO series Band of Brothers.
In fact, if anything, it’s even more poignant as you know that most of the veterans, whose lives are portrayed and whose 2001 testimonies introduce each of the ten episodes, are probably dead now.
Co-produced by Steven Spielberg just three years after he made Saving Private Ryan, this was landmark television – a ten-hour ‘movie’ technically brilliant in every frame.
If anything, it gets better with repeated viewing, and in the years to come, we’ll recall this series in a similar way to how the Easy Company vets look back at the war: with quiet awe in the face of human endeavour.
Based on Stephen E Ambrose´s personal account, it follows the Easy Company (led by Homeland’s Damian Lewis) through training (a delightfully unpleasant David Schwimmer) and the airborne landings in Normandy to the war’s end.
It’s television at its very best.
Also new:
She was impossible to resist (photo: iStock)
A middle-aged man with a failing marriage and a dead-end job: can we really blame him for going online in search of company under an alias?
And there he meets Talhotblond (TV2, Thu 22:45), a documentary based on the events of the ‘Internet Chatroom Murder’, pretending to be an 18-year-old marine, ‘MarineSniper’.
And it’s true that she’s tall, hot and, yes you guessed it, blonde. The only problem is that she’s the one with him in her sights.
And as their online relationship gets more intimate, things begin to get out of hand. Online identities lead to lies, and lies eventually lead to unexpected twists, shocking outcomes and murder. You won’t feel safe online again!
Elsewhere, catch up with the notorious members of the Wetboro Baptist Church in Louis Theroux: America’s Most Hated Family In Crisis (DR2, Thu 23:00); there’s another chance to see thrilling British miniseries What Remains (DR1, Sun 22:10); sample local cuisine off the beat and track in Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (K4, Sun 13:50); and don’t miss Chameleon (DR2, Tue 20:45), a documentary about an unorthodox journalist known for his infamous methods. (RA)
Coming Soon: Younger
“I’ve got tights older than you”
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be 26 again?
Created by Darren Star (Sex and the City), this heartwarming comedy will hook you up instantly.
Liza, a single mother, struggles to get back into the working world. About to give up, a guy at a bar convinces her she looks younger. This inspires an age-makeover that will get her the job she always dreamed of.
With 75 on Metacritic, trust me, you won’t be disappointed. (EN)
Sport of the week:
Sounds like Hagler vs Hearns can rest easy. Everyone’s raving about Mayweather vs Pacquiao (3+ PPV, Sun 00:00), but the odds of a stoppage are 12/5, and we all know a classic needs knockouts. Elsewhere, we’ve got the CL semis (3+, Tue & Wed 20:00), the Ice Hockey Worlds (TV2 Sport) and the Snooker Worlds, which finish on Monday (Eurosport, Mon 19:00). (BH)
Film of the week:
The Brits lead the way with starring roles in A Single Man (Colin Firth – SVT2, Fri 21:40 ), Beginners (Ewan Macgregor – DRK, Fri 21:30) and Ghost Town (Ricky Gervais – Zulu, Fri 22:15) ) while Michael Caine pops up in imperfect Flawless (DR2, Fri 20:00) and sound as a pound Harry Brown (SVT1, Tue 23:35). Elsewhere, Limitless (K5, Mon 21:00) is absurd, wholesome fun. (BH)
