If you're going no further than the sofa, here are some tips on what's worth watching on the box over the weekend. As ever, it’s a busy one . . .
Pick of the weekend
Babylon Berlin, 9.00pm & 10.00pm Sunday, Sky Atlantic
The first season of this cracking and visually stunning German inter-war drama draws to a conclusion this week - but you won’t need to wait long for the start of the second, as it begins next week.
This week’s double bill sees the bright and resourceful Lotte (played by the very impressive Liv Lisa Fries) continues her private investigation to prove to Inspector Rath, and perhaps the 1920s society at large, that she has what it takes to be a detective.
Rath has his own obstacle to overcome, as an invitation to an evening soiree drags up some painful memories of the time he spent at the front.
As his investigation into Berlin’s underground comes to a close, he discovers he has yet to even touch on the true dangers this city is hiding.
New or Returning Shows
Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast, 8.00pm Friday, Channel 4
Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty's cafe opens for business for a fifth season.
The new run kicks off with Simon Pegg, Hollywood's hottest geek, dropping in at the cafe at the end of Southend Pier.
On the menu is a delicious, melt-in-the mouth lamb tagine, inspired by Simon's time spent filming in Morocco.
Madness Live at Eden, midnight Friday, BBC Four
Madness’s performance was part of the 16th year of the Eden Sessions and they played some of their best-loved songs, including House of Fun, Baggy Trousers, Our House and Night Boat to Cairo, to a sold-out arena.
Witnesses: A Frozen Death, 9.00pm Saturday, BBC Four
The Saturday night subtitled slot on BBC Four is well-established at this stage, and this week sees the arrival of a new eight-part French drama.
It promises to be a gruesome mystery that will have viewers scratching their heads, and opens with the discovery in northern France of the frozen bodies of 15 men.
Ride Upon the Storm, 9.40pm Friday, RTÉ2
Here’s a new Danish drama for Friday night’s Scandi slot. You know the drill by now . . . subtitles from the start.
The Krogh family have been priests for more than 250 years, and when we meet him, Johannes, the current head of the family, is headed for the absolute top as the bishop of Copenhagen.
But nothing’s ever that simple, is it?
Gino’s Coastal Odyssey, 7.30pm Friday, be3
Gino D’Acampo sets off on an adventure around Italy’s legendary Amalfi Coast, searching out some of the finest flavours and recipes from the region.
Ending this weekend
The Nathan Carter Show, 9.30pm Sunday, RTÉ One
In the last show of the series, Nathan performs a Van Morrison medley and duets with Moya Brennan and The High Kings.
JLS and Strictly Come Dancing star Aston Merrygold teaches Nathan some dance moves and Steve Harley sings his hit song Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me).
There’s also pride at stake as the world’s youngest stunt driver challenges Nathan to a race.
Junior Eurovision, 6.30pm Sunday, TG4
11-year-old Muireann McDonnell from Skerries in Dublin will take to the Junior Eurovision stage in Georgia to represent Ireland.
Competing against 16 other countries, she will be hoping that her Irish language song Súile Glasa, which she wrote herself, will win this prestigious event.
Evil – A Would You Believe? Special, 10.35pm Sunday, RTÉ One
In this second and final programme reporter Mick Peelo attempts through psychology, psychiatry, neurology, criminology and theology to get to the heart of evil.
Extreme Wives with Kate Humble, 9.00pm Friday, BBC Two
In the third and final episode, Kate is in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya state in northeast India, in search of one of the world’s last remaining matrilineal societies.
New to Download
Frontier: Season 2, from Friday, Netflix
While Declan Harp continues his vendetta against Lord Benton and the Hudson's Bay Company, the cutthroat fur trade becomes increasingly treacherous.
The Many Faces of Ito: Season 1, from Friday, Netflix
A jaded rom-com screenwriter in her 30s mines four love-sick women for their stories under the guise of providing them with romantic advice.
Don't Miss
Joe Orton Laid Bare, 9.00pm Saturday, BBC Two
This is a documentary film that explores the wit, work and world of English playwright and author Joe Orton through his own words, and the testimony of those who knew him and worked with him.
Fifty years since his murder at the hands of his lover Kenneth Halliwell, the film charts Orton’s meteoric rise, which began after his imprisonment for defacing library books in 1962.
Joe Orton Laid Bare celebrates the rapid development of his unique comic voice and his significant role in the culture of 60s swinging London.
His writing takes centre-stage in this account, with excerpts from his stage and TV plays and outrageous diaries. In addition, the circumstances of Joe’s murder are re-examined and new insights provided into that tragic event.
Weekend movies
ExMachina, 9.00pm Saturday, Channel 4
Super sci-fi drama starring Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander and Sonoya Mizuno star in Alex Garland's directorial debut.
Feted young software programmer Caleb (Gleeson) is overjoyed to win a unique opportunity to visit his boss Nathan (Isaac), the inventor and CEO of the world's most popular search engine.
Apart from his assistant Kyoko (Mizuno), Nathan lives in complete solitude in his high-security home-come-laboratory, which is situated in a forest surrounded by mountains and accessible only by helicopter.
Nathan tells Caleb he has invented an artificially intelligent robot (Vikander) that has passed the Turing test. Now he wants his star employee to help establish whether she truly has self-awareness.
Also . . .
Boyhood, 12.05am Friday, Channel 4
This is a marvellous coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Richard Linklater. Filmed from 2002 to 2013, it depicts the childhood and adolescence of Mason Evans Jr (Ellar Coltrane) from the age of six to eighteen as he grows up in Texas.
My Scientology Movie, 11.45pm Friday, BBC Two
Here’s a unconventional documentary film about Scientology directed by John Dower, and written by and starring Louis Theroux. The Church of Scientology responded by putting the filmmakers under surveillance and denouncing the film.
Box Set Binge
Freaks and Geeks, Netflix
This hugely enjoyable American period teen comedy-drama series lasted for just one season at the dawn of the new Millennium, but it’s grown in cult stature over the years.
It’s basically about two sets of school-goers (hence the title) in the early 1980s, and its cast is a stunning array of future stars, including Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and Busy Philipps.
