The Sarah Jane Adventures (Monday 5pm, BBC1)
Forget the bloated Torchwood, this is the Doctor Who spin-off we’ve all been waiting for! Elisabeth Sladen returns as the ageless Sarah Jane Smith, a character I’ve been watching on the box since 1974 (and she looks younger than me), and the fact she now has her own series gives me a real thrill. After the excellent Invasion of the Bane at Christmas, this two-parter is joyously written by Gareth Roberts as Sarah and her teen sidekicks investigate strange goings-on at the local school, where it turns out the Slitheen (they of the flatulent tendencies from Doctor Who) are hatching a deadly plan. It’s fast, funny, frightening and shares more in common with the parent series than Torchwood ever could. Just one request: where the heck is K9?
Doc Martin (Monday 9pm ITV1)
The sleepy comedy drama returns for a new run, with Martin Clunes as the grumpy GP. It’s all business as usual (which usually means not very much) in the sleepy Cornish village, and I’m often bewildered as to why this is so popular. Seven episodes to go of same old, same old, but Clunes makes it almost worth tuning in. Just.
Prison Break (Monday 10pm, Sky One)
Showing right on the tail of the American airings for this third series, Prison Break is back behind bars after being snatched from Five by Sky One. Ah well, they get Neighbours so it’s all swings and roundabouts. It’s a new prison, with Michael now in the slammer in Panama with his formerly banged up bro Lincoln having to do the freeing thing. It’s all a bit overblown, to be honest, but it’s undeniably watchable at a level, and fans will be pleased to see it back.
Tribe (Tuesday 9pm, BBC2)
Last in the current series as Brice Parry goes in search of the last remaining Penan tribe in the jungles of Borneo. Always great TV, this one seems a little more affecting than others due to the plight of the tribe.
Gavin and Stacey (Tuesday 10pm, BBC2)
As you know, we love G&S at TV Today, and this final episode contains everything that’s great about the series, and provides a great pay-off if you’ve been there since the beginning. It’s the wedding day, and while there’s no doubt that the wedding will take place, there’s still the question of what happened between Uncle Bryn and Stacey’s brother, and whether Smithy will stay sober enough to deliver his best man’s speech. Brilliant.
Heroes (Wednesday 9pm, BBC2)
A double-bill of Heroes action, and it’s all ticking along quite nicely. Doctor Who fans should pay attention tonight as waywardly brief Time Lord Christopher Eccleston makes his debut in the series.
Torn (Wednesday 9pm, ITV1)
Second in this rather taut drama about an abducted girl who is returned to her real family 12 years later. But it’s not all sweetness and light and the ripples of Alice’s return spread through the family, not to mention the effect it has on those left behind. Holly Aird, breaking away from Waking the Dead, easily proves her acting chops, and Bradley Walsh also impresses. Concludes next week.
The Whistleblowers (Thursday 9pm, ITV1)
I find Richard Coyle bizarrely irritating, but I’m not going to let that stand in the way of my enjoyment of this Tony Marchant penned drama. Coyle plays top-flight lawyer Ben who, along with colleague Alisha, witnesses something that turns their lives upside down. Together they investigate what they saw, blowing the whistle some dirty dealings. It’s all set up here, leading to our characters setting up a practice to blow the lid on all sorts of goings-on over the coming weeks. Promising.
The Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Thursday 10pm, ITV2)
It seems fitting that in the week Chris Eccleston makes his debut in Heroes, his former partner in time Billie Piper embarks on the latest stage of her stellar career. This is a steamy adaptation of the blog Belle de jour: Diary of a London Call Girl that sees Piper cavorting around in all manner of situations as the titular high class prostitute. Some will hate this, some will be unable to take their eyes of the screen, but it’s worth it for Piper who continues to impress.
