Square Eyes 19-22 February

The Bad Mother’s Handbook (Monday 9pm, ITV1)

The big test for Catherine Tate and her bid for freedom from the sketch-show clink starts tonight in The Bad Mother’s Handbook. Be prepared for a different tone from Ms Tate. There’s no gurning, no eye rolling, just a straight down the line turn of a modern woman whose life is a bit shit. Her daughter’s pregnant, her mother’s fading, and she feels that, as a once-teenage mother herself, that she might not have gained the best out of life. For some this might be too much of a jar to see Tate take such a big dramatic leap, but it does show she has the chops to be a contender.

Heroes (Monday 10pm, Sci-Fi)

It’s due on BBC2 later this spring, but the UK launch of Heroes on Sci-Fi is something of a coup for the digital channel. This show is doing wonders for the slow rehabilitation of NBC in the States, showing that the once great drama producer can ride a wave to come up with some genuinely challenging and imaginative drama. The first episode focuses on a disparate group of people who wake one morning to find themselves… different. They are all starting to display powers that go beyond human capabilities – flying, precognition, and stopping time, amongst others. Just why is this happening, and how far will these powers take them? Thankfully Heroes dumps the flights ‘n’ tights mentality of spandex clad super types and grounds it in reality (well, you know what I mean). With Lost seemingly on the wane, there could be a new obsession on the block.

Emmerdale (Tuesday 7pm, ITV1)

The murder storyline continues to bulldozer through all Emmerdale’s current plots, and very diverting it is too, and tonight, daddy King is finally laid to rest. But, there’s a stranger lurking amongst the mourners, and it turns out to be Tom’s ex-mistress, played by former Page Three stunner Linda Lusardi. Sublime or ridiculous? You decide!

Life on Mars (Tuesday 9pm, BBC1)

Last week’s opener gained disappointingly average ratings. Hopefully this second series of Life on Mars will slow burn to a huge audience by the end, but there’s tricky competition on the other side in the form of a Man United Champions League tie. However, this is a fine episode that showcases how both race and sex are approached in a 1970s CID office. First, we have Annie Cartwright (the fantastic Liz White) transferring into CID from uniform, and giving the sexist pigs as good as she gets. Secondly, and a driving force of this plot, is Sam coming face-to-face with his future mentor, raw recruit Glenn Fletcher and the first black CID officer in Manchester. Also on guest duties is Pirates of the Caribbean star Kevin McNally as the retiring DCS Harry Woolf, wanting one last case cracked in his name. If anything, the question hanging over Sam’s presence in this world, real or imagined, is starting to get in the way of a damned good cop show.

The Day Today (Tuesday 9pm, BBC4)

Chris Morris at his finest, with A-grade accompaniment from Steve Coogan and Patrick Marber. Forget what followed, this is quite simply one of the best satirical comedies to grace our screens.

New Street Law (Wednesday 9pm, BBC1)

Rejoice, for it is the return of New Street Law! Erm… don’t all cheer at once, will you? This is a perfectly fine legal drama that never once drifts into cliché or predictability. I’m sorry, I’ll read that again. This is a perfectly dull legal drama that regularly drifts into cliché and predictability. Which is a shame, as the cast deserve better. When will somebody come and do a State of Play equivalent of the courtroom drama?

Hotel Babylon (Thursday 9pm, BBC1)

It’s like a big, colourful ice cream sundae of a drama, and I love it! Hotel Babylon requires no thought or concentration whatsoever, and sometimes that’s a good thing.

Fear, Stress and Anger (Thursday 9pm, BBC2)

A strangely traditional sitcom in which Peter Davison (making a rare return to BBC land) plays an advertising executive who has to work from home, bringing him into conflict with his missus (Green Wing’s Pippa Haywood) and kids. It’s very middle of the road, although Davison and Haywood raise things above the average with game performances, but I doubt this is bedding in for a long run.

The Graham Norton Show (Thursday 10pm, BBC2)

Finally! Somebody at the BBC has been doing their sums and tried adding two and two. Contrary to popular belief, the answer really is four, and thus Graham Norton gets his own chat show again. A rocket and science interface situation wasn’t exactly needed to come to this conclusion, and with a 13 week run planned, let’s hope the wily (and expensive) Norton can get back to what he does best. Fingers crossed!