Top TV picks for festive couch potatoes – critics’ choice
Christmas TV is a busker’s holiday for television critics. For a change, we can enjoy the view without any stress. No notes, no eyes to the deadline clock.
and what we want to look down on is different from what we have to see. So here’s what I’m going to reward myself with for the big three days.
CHRISTMAS EVE
Ghost Stories for Christmas: The Mezzotint (BBC2, 10:30pm)
Writer-director Mark Gatiss’ previous chills in the revived GSFC series are disappointing. However, here he is working from one of the most interesting stories of MR James so expectations are high.
Rory Kinnear is the museum’s curator, who purchased an engraving of a creepy country house that seemed to change every time he looked at it.
The way we were at Christmas (RTÉ1, 21:25)
Prepare to be transported back to the days when we all ate Christmas dinner at lunchtime and the centerpiece of the day was the TV premiere of a 10-year-old movie. Celebrity contributions are redundant, but archival clips are often invaluable.
Father Ted Christmas Special (RTÉ2, 9:45 p.m.)
The Christmas Eve performance of ‘A Christmassy Ted’ has become a sacred ritual in our home.
Fifty-five minutes of fast-moving comedic geniuses, including Ted’s Ballykissangel dreams, panties in lingerie and the Golden Clergy award.
Better Call Saul (Netflix)
I still have to keep up with a few episodes of season 5 of the blockbuster Breaking Bad spin-off before the sixth and final part comes out next year, so what better time to do it?
Video of the day
Movie: North West (BBC2, 3:20 p.m.)
Cary Grant’s ad man on the run, Eva Marie Saint’s cool blonde, James Mason’s enemy agent, crop duster, climax on Mount Rushmore: you What more do you need? Screenwriter Ernest Lehman said he wanted to write “the Hitchcock picture to end every Hitchcock picture” – and that’s exactly what he did.
CHRISTMAS DAY
Peter O’Toole: Réalta & Rógaire (TG4, 21:25)
Brian Reddin’s film-themed documentaries have been the highlights of the past few Christmases. He’s followed up last year’s excellent Richard Harris with a film about Harris’s contemporaneous, friend, and often surprising friend.
It features O’Toole’s daughter Kate, co-stars and friends including Brian Bless and Twiggy.
Fake male (blue ray)
I’ll enjoy a custom-made O’Toole double bill by revisiting this wonderful 1976 BBC drama about Geoffrey Household’s novel, shiny restored to Blu-ray disc. O’Toole – who says this is his favorite role – plays an aristocrat who tries to assassinate Hitler and is chased back to Britain by Nazi agents.
toy store (RTÉ2, 8:45pm)
This new documentary by Alex Fegan (Irish pub) sees Christmas through the eyes of the owners and customers of 15 independent toy shops in Ireland. Can not resist.
Christmas show (BBC, 7pm)
A day wouldn’t be the same without Eric and Ernie’s outburst of timeless genius. This is a special show for the 1971 festival that is revered for its scene where Eric controls Andre “Preview” Previn by playing all the notes correctly, just not necessarily in the correct order; and Glenda Jackson as Cleopatra in the play Ernie wrote.
Movie: The Adventures of Robin Hood (BBC2, 5:20pm)
The greatest swordsman of all, Errol Flynn, lit up the screen in the greatest swordplay, which was made in 1938 and is still an epic entertainer. The perfect cast (Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains), thrilling swordplay and stunts, covered by stunning Technicolor and a sky-high Korngold score.
ST STEPHEN’S DAY
Around the world in 80 days (BBC1, 5:50pm & 6:40pm)
I’ll be following this new eight-part version of Jules Verne’s around-the-world adventures in hopes it’s better than the BBC’s gruesome reimagining of World War and Christmas Songswhich both celebrated Christmas 2019. David Tennant plays Phileas Fogg.
A very British scandal (BBC1, 9pm)
This is the sequel to the 2018 miniseries A very English scandaldeals with the demise of Congressman Jeremy Thorpe (the brilliant Hugh Grant), focusing on the 1963 divorce of the Duchess of Argyll, which explodes into a scandalous account of intersex sex dates. involving high-ranking politicians, members of the royal family and some infamous Polaroid photographs.
Stars Claire Foy and Paul Bettany.
Billy Connolly: My absolute joy (ITV, 9:30 p.m.)
The one-of-a-kind comedian has just released an autobiography about his everyday life while living with Parkinson’s disease. From his Florida home, he ponders his career with the help of some amazing clips, many of which have never been shown on TV.
Terrible Penny (Sky on request)
With a post-Christmas TV lull, I’ll immerse myself in John Logan’s fantastic Gothic horror series, which combines countless well-known characters from horror literature into one long and believable original story. scared. Timothy Dalton, Eva Green and Josh Hartnett are all excellent.
Movie: Moonstruck (BBC4, 11 p.m.)
This charming, shameless 1987 romantic comedy is a rarely shown. The widowed Cher is about to marry the kind but boring Danny Aiello when she discovers she has a crush on his fickle brother, a one-armed baker played by Nicolas Cage. It’s a warm and emotional portrait of Italian-American life. It’s hard to believe that screenwriter John Patrick Shanley could write something as good as this, but also create a horror movie this year. Wild mountain thyme.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/top-tv-picks-for-the-festive-couch-potato-the-critics-choice-42239790.html Top TV picks for festive couch potatoes – critics’ choice
