John Byrne’s TV choices for the week ahead (Dates covered: Saturday Sept 19-Friday Sept 25)
It's many happy returns with the likes of Graham Norton, Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, Strictly and Rachel Allen all back on the TV horizon. And that's just for starters. Now, where's that remote control?
Pick of the week
The Graham Norton Show, Friday, BBC One
This is the best TV chat show in the world. Graham Norton returns for more chin-wagging and plenty of laughs with the best talent that a psychedelic, London-based television studio can accommodate. Okay, he's got talking talent on tap, but it's the slick and fun way this show is handled by Norton that makes it such a treat.
This opening show features two of Hollywood's biggest hitters, Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain, who are on Thamseside to promote the Ridley Scott-directed The Martian. This week's music comes from Canadian act The Weeknd.
Here's a previous episode with Matt Damon enjoying The Red Chair:
Star of the week
Peter Capaldi
Doctor Who, Saturday, BBC One
When it was announced in 2013 that Peter Capaldi would inherit the Doctor Who throne, there were audible gasps from fans of the hugely popular sci-fi show. How could the guy who played that foul-mouthed and utterly obnoxious Malcolm Tucker, a spin doctor in the toxic political satire The Thick of It and its film spin-off In the Loop, end up Doctoring the TARDIS?
Truth is, Capaldi is a massive fan and was a Whovian from an early age and cautiously accepted the role. He revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he had been invited to audition for the Eighth Doctor in 1995 prior to the production of the 1996 TV film but declined. "I didn't go," he admitted. "I loved the show so much, and I didn't think I would get it, and I didn't want to just be part of a big cull of actors."
Although stardom came quite late – he was in his mid-40s when The Thick of It came along – success hasn't been a stranger. As well as acting on stage and screen, in 1995 Capaldi won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for his film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life.
As Doctor Who returns for its latest run, the burning question now for fans is: 'Where is the Doctor?' When the skies of Earth are frozen by a mysterious alien force, Clara needs her friend. But where is the Doctor, and what is he hiding from?
Starting this week
Downton Abbey, Sunday, UTV & Tuesday, TV3
Back for a final run, this sixth season of the phenomenally successful period drama should resolve a lot of issues concerning the characters involved in this classic posh 'n' poor drama of class in inter-war Britain.
As the show resumes, it's up to 1925 and the Roaring Twenties are even reaching the more genteel and staid parts of England. Meanwhile, at Downton there are other things to consider, such as crises, secrets and lies that affect those both above and below stairs.
Lady Edith is trying to start a new life in London, but her sister Lady Mary doesn't expect much to come from that. And while Thomas is looking for a friend, Mrs. Hughes just wants her fiancé, Carson, to call her Elsie.
Also starting this week:
Today, Monday, RTÉ One
Maura Derrane and Dáithí Ó Sé return to host the daytime TV show that comes live from Cork. Food, clothes, health and whatever you're having yourself.
Look into My Eyes, Tuesday, E4
Baby-faced hypnotist Archie Manners tries out his brain power on both the famous and the unknown, beginning with former boxer David Hayes and a man terrified of heights.
Student Nurses, Saturday, RTÉ2
This is an observational documentary series that shadows student nurses at different stages of their training.
Rachel's Coastal Cooking, Wednesday, RTÉ One
Foodie queen Rachel Allen is back with a new show that highlights the variety of food available around Ireland's shoreline, opening with some lobster-fishing.
Four Heads, Sunday, RTÉ One
Coming up just after the tea-time news, Nicky Byrne hosts this new quiz show as Majella O'Donnell and Marty Morrissey head two teams raising funds for charity.
EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Monday, RTÉ One
The annual search begins for some bright spark who might become a capitalist king, as 24 bosses who employ over 5,000 people compete for the award.
Róisín, Wednesday, TG4
Róisín O'Hara returns to host her topical discussion programme, providing a platform to women who are bringing change to Ireland.
The Works Presents..., Thursday, RTÉ One
John Kelly meets figures from across film, TV, books, Music, theatre and the visual arts. First up, playwright Enda Walsh talks about his opera The Last Hotel, which opens the Dublin Theatre Festival.
Bhí mé Ann, Thursday, RTÉ One
This new series tells the stories of people who tried to lead ordinary lives during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, starting those who were children during that traumatic time.
The Windmill Lane Sessions, Thursday, TG4
Filmed at the iconic Dublin studios, this show features bands performing live. For starters there's Declan O'Rourke, Beau Motives and Brian Kennedy.
Returning this week
Strictly Come Dancing, Friday, BBC One
There won't be a cat stirring in Kincasslagh as Daniel O'Donnell makes his dancefloor debut with partner Kristianna Rhiannoff as the latest season of Strictly returns after its customary break. There's no public voting, but the four judges will be scoring the contestants, and they will carry over to next week.
Ending this Week
Richard Hammond's Jungle Quest, Wednesday, Sky 1
The Hamster continues his adventure into the Brazilian rainforest, this week leaving the Amazon River and heads deep into the rainforest. To complete his set of photographs, he finds he must face up to biting ants, giant spiders and a vertigo-inducing climb into the forest canopy.
Having faced his demons, Hammond is rewarded with a very rare photograph of a harpy eagle chick. But has he gathered enough images for his all-important exhibition?
Drama of the week
The Go-Between, Sunday, BBC One
Based on the classic novel by LP Hartley published in 1953, The Go-Between tells a timeless story about love, desire, duty and class at the beginning of the 20th century.
Spending his summer holiday with the Maudsley family, 13-year-old Leo (Jack Hollington) soon finds himself captivated by the enchanting Marian Maudsley (Joanna Vanderham). As the heat of the summer intensifies, Leo becomes more and more embroiled in the forbidden romance between Marian and farmer Ted Burgess (Ben Batt), until he sets in motion a chain of events that has devastating consequences on his young life.
Comedy of the week
Nurse Jackie, Wednesday, Sky Atlantic
The great Edie Falco has buried her brilliant Oz and Sopranos' past with a typically dynamic portrayal of self-destructive junkie nurse, Jackie Peyton, in this often dark dramedy.
As the penultimate season begins, Jackie's celebrating one year drug-free by falling off the wagon again, but she’s still determined to remain the picture of sobriety. Meanwhile, Zoe is shocked to learn that her clandestine fling with Prentiss might not be as under the radar as she thought.
The second episode in a double bill sees Jackie go to even more desperate lengths to get her fix. First she fraudulently acquires a prescription, then interrupts a date with Frank to sneak off to meet a dealer. Old habits die hard.
On Demand
Keith Richards: Under the Influence, Netflix, available now
Here's a portrait of Rolling Stone Keith Richards that takes fans on a journey to discover the genesis of his sound as a songwriter, guitarist and performer. With unparalleled access, it looks at one of the architects of rock ’n’ roll music, while charting his sound and influences, back to the music that inspired him then and now as he creates his first solo album in 23 years.
Documentary of the week
Scannal: Burning of the British Embassy, Monday, RTÉ One
This episode of the bilingual documentary series looks back at the days of massacre and mayhem after Bloody Sunday in 1972, when anti-British feeling was at an all-time high across the land and Anglo-Irish relations were at an all-time low. Scotland and Wales refused to travel here to play Ireland in rugby and the Irish music charts were topped by songs such as The Men Behind the Wire and Paul McCartney’s Give Ireland Back to the Irish.
Film of the Week
Burn After Reading, Monday, TG4
Another Coen brothers' cracker, this 2008 black comedy stars George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Brad Pitt.
Faced with a demotion at work due to a drinking problem, angry Osbourne Cox (Malkovich) quits his job as a CIA analyst and resolves to write a memoir about his life and career. When his paediatrician wife Katie (Swinton) finds out, she sees it as a justifiable opportunity to file for divorce and continue her adulterous affair without guilt.
Taking her lawyer's advice, she copies financial records and several other files from her husband's computer onto a CD. These files contain a rambling but meaningless diatribe by Cox on purported CIA activities, and falls into the hands of dim-witted gym staffer played by Pitt and a co-worker (McDormand).
John Byrne
