Sunday June 17
Poldark
9pm, BBC One
Momentous times down Nampara way in an episode that manages to cram a novel’s worth of action into an hour, while still finding time for Cap’n Ross to get his shirt off twice, more slow-motion horses than you can shake a stick at, and an enthusiastic bout of toe sucking. Despite the best attentions of noble Dr Enys, annoying fey poet Hugh’s health is deteriorating fast – although it doesn’t seem to stop him churning out the verse – and as he lingers in his feverish bed, it seems only the presence of Demelza can rally him, leading to yet more tension in the Poldark marriage. Honestly, it’s one thing after another with these two. Meanwhile, Hugh’s weakened state leaves it looking unlikely he will be able to run for election against George Bastard Warleggan, and so the great men of the area are casting around for another candidate: will Ross step up to destiny? Elsewhere, everyone’s favourite hated hired thug Tom ’Arry challenges pious heartthrob Sam Carne to a wrestling match.
Tuesday 19
Conviction: Murder In Suburbia
9pm, BBC Two
The recent fascination with serious true crime documentaries shows no sign of abating, and this engrossing two-part series is a good example why. The film is presented by Louis Shorter, a specialist in investigating miscarriages of justice, who previously made the BBC’s Rough Justice, as well as 2016’s excellent Conviction: Murder At The Station. This time, she’s looking into the case of Linda Razzell, a mother of four who vanished from her Swindon hometown in 2002. Her husband, Glyn, was imprisoned for her murder in 2003, but has always sworn his innocence. His claim is that Linda, whose body has never been found, remains alive and well somewhere, and, indeed, planted drops of her own blood in his car – the evidence that saw him convicted – as part of a plan to frame him. Shorter gathers a team consisting of experts in law, policing, and crime scene analysis, and the (literally) forensic approach they bring to reinvestigating events grows gripping – especially when their work turns up new evidence, and a potential new suspect. Concludes tomorrow.
Wednesday 20
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
10pm, BBC Two
That’s Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, who, with this six-part travelogue, might just have made the series to partly fill the Detectorists-shaped hole in my life. The pair have been pals forever and, it turns out, have more in common than just careers in comedy, a taste for being daft, and a terrible habit of dissolving into giggles: both men have also suffered serious heart disease. Whitehouse had to have stents put in several years ago, while, more recently, Mortimer underwent an unexpected triple bypass. As a form of therapy to help his recovery, Whitehouse, a keen angler, has persuaded fragile novice Mortimer to join him on a gentle catch-and-release fishing tour around the UK, beginning tonight amid the summery lakes of Norfolk, on the trail of the elusive Tench. As they sit by shores, amble around, fall over, and talk utter bobbins, it’s like a combination of Detectorists, The Trip and John Lurie’s cult 1990s show, Fishing With John – but with a distinct Mortimery-Whitehousey flavour all its own. A gem, and as relaxing as hell.
Thursday 21
The Genius Of Marie Curie: The Woman Who Lit Up The World 9pm, BBC Four This documentary seeks to balance what’s best known about Marie Curie – that, as “the mother of radiation,” she remains the most famous female scientist of all time, was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and remains the only person to have won two Nobels in two different sciences – with a moving glimpse into some of the lesser known aspects of her private life. Curie’s discovery of radium propelled her into the limelight, but it came only after years of painstaking, and at times painful work, and saw her paying the heaviest price, as long-term exposure to radiation during her years of research ultimately contributed to her death aged 66. Meanwhile, at the same time as she was opening up whole new worlds of science, she was a woman and a mother who had three great loves, had to survive the pain of loss, and underwent the public humiliation of a doomed romantic affair. Illuminating this side of her life are some of Curie’s letters, read by Geraldine James.
Friday 22
Girl In A Band: Tales From The Rock'n'Roll Frontline 9pm, BBC Four Continuing the Hear Her season, a repeat for this excellent 2015 documentary about women in music, presented by Kate Mossman. The first interviewee is the magnificent Carol Kaye, the guitarist/ bassist who played with the LA session musicians dubbed The Wrecking Crew, and graced countless classics across the 1950s and 60s, working with Sam Cooke, Phil Spector, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and many more. She’s worth two hours alone, but there are many voices worth hearing from, including Elkie Brooks, Talking Heads’ Tina Weymouth, New Order’s Gillian Gilbert, The Slits’ Viv Albertine, The Fall’s Brix Smith, Penetration’s Pauline Murray, and members of The Runaways, Girlschool, Lush, The Breeders, and American femme-rock pioneers Fanny, who know exactly what that word means here. As they chew over sexism, the creative process, and life with Mark E Smith, it’s inspirational stuff. It’s followed by another showing of the Sisters In Country film on Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris (10pm), and a compilation of archive performances, Girls In Bands At The BBC (11pm).
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