John Byrne navigates through the satellite TV options in the week ahead (Covering Wed Dec 5-Tue Dec 11).
Show of the week
Nikita (Friday, Sky Living)
The second season of this utterly daft but equally compelling spy thriller starring the terrifyingly thin Maggie Q concludes in a typically frenetic fashion. Nikita and Michael infiltrate Division in an attempt to capture Percy and diffuse the agency’s threat once and for all. The odds appear to be in Nikita’s favour when she corners her nemesis in his office, until he pulls out the trick he’s been saving for a moment such as this. Elsewhere, Alex and Sean are embroiled in a deadly gunfire battle with the US Marines, while Ryan feels the pressure as he tries to convince the President not to destroy Division with Nikita and Michael still inside – can the Commander in Chief be persuaded?
Star of the week
Daniel Radcliffe
A Young Doctor’s Notebook . . . (Thursday, Sky Arts 1)
Continuing his rehabilitation from being Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe features alongside current Mad Men lead Jon Hamm. They make an unlikely double act playing different ages of the same character in the latest instalment of Sky Arts’ Playhouse strand. Based on Mikhail Bulgakov’s collection of short stories A Country Doctor’s Notebook, this drama follows a recently-graduated young medic (Radcliffe) who is forced to say farewell to life in bustling Moscow to take up a post as a doctor in a small, remote hospital a thousand miles from the capital, and half a day’s journey from the nearest shop. Hamm plays the doctor 17 years later. He finds his old diary while answering to the authorities about self-prescribing morphine. He has a series of comic exchanges with his young and inexperienced self, mocking him for his youthful looks and guiding him through his early difficulties on the job.
Starting this week
Little Crackers (Daily, Sky One)
Monday sees the return of Sky 1’s festive run of shorts as more familiar faces from stage and screen write and star in, and in some cases direct, a fresh batch of autobiographical tales. This year’s dozen includes Darren Boyd, Katy Brand, Omid Djalili, Rebecca Front, Sharon Horgan, Joanna Lumley, Jason Manford, Dylan Moran, Paul O’Grady, Caroline Quentin, Alison Steadman and Tommy Tiernan.
Joanna Lumley leads the way with Monday’s opener, which is set in 1965. 19-year-old Joanna Lumley is still finding her feet in the competitive world of modelling and, feeling insecure about her unconventional looks, decides to cover up her cropped locks with a long blonde wig. It seems to do the trick when Jo impresses the egotistical photographer calling the shots at her next shoot. He’s not so keen on her co-stars, though, pointing out their little imperfections with glee. Lumley - quite literally - goes ape in response.
Ending this week
The Walking Dead (Friday, FX)
It’s the final episode before the mid-season break and it’s been a pretty strong third season so far, what with the introduction of Woodbury and all that goes with that, and the prison where Rick’s clearly developed major issues as a result of a major loss. In what promises to be an action-packed episode Rick, Daryl, Michonne and Oscar invade Woodbury to rescue Glenn and Maggie, which results in a desperate gun battle. During the siege, Michonne sneaks away to the Governor's quarters where she ends up facing the Governor himself.
Drama of the week
Grimm (Monday, Watch)
This is a fun procedural about Homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt who is descended from a line of Grimms who guard the world against mythological creatures. Here Burkhardt and his partner investigate a murder at a high school. Meanwhile, Captain Renard faces a very unexpected and unwanted infatuation and Monroe tells him that his obsessive behaviour will get worse as the days go on if he does not do something about it.
Sitcom of the week
Nurse Jackie (Tuesday, Sky Atlantic)
Strictly speaking this falls under the hybrid comedy drama description, but it does have great moments of comedy to counter the often downbeat life Jackie Peyton (Edie Falco) leads. There are life-changing events for several characters in this fourth season finale. With Cruz laid up, All Saints is running like clockwork under Jackie’s leadership. However, when the boss busts out of his hospital bed and discovers she’s taken it upon herself to hire extra temp nurses, it sparks a very public row between the warring duo. With Cruz just waiting for an excuse to give Jackie her marching orders, could this latest flare-up finally lead to the unthinkable? To further complicate matters, O’Hara goes into labour a month early. Never a dull one...
Doc of the week
Richard E Grant’s Hotel Secrets – Ireland (Thursday, Sky Atlantic)
The Withnail & I star takes in the luxury and colourful history of Ireland’s most spectacular hotels as this travel series visits the Emerald Isle. Grant begins by exploring Ashford Castle, which provided the setting for 1950s’ film classic The Quiet Man. He also checks into Belfast’s Europa, meeting former ITN reporter John Suchet to discuss the 28 times the hotel was attacked during The Troubles. Other spots include Castle Leslie, the Clarence Hotel in Dublin, and the exclusive Ballyfin in Laois.
John Byrne
