Out of the Blue (Monday-Friday 2.15pm, BBC1)
Oooh, this is something new. An afternoon soap to fill the Neighbours gap that might just have a bit more substance about it. It’s still Aussie in setting, but is an original BBC commission, focusing on a group of friends who return to the beach resort of Manly to attend a high school reunion nearly a decade after they left. Before the night is out, one of them will be dead and the group pulled into a twisty-turny murder investigation as the series unfolds. There’s a dark heart at the centre of this otherwise sunny soap of beautiful people, raising it above the level of just another Neighbours replacement.
Waking the Dead (Monday 9pm, BBC1)
When a corpse is uncovered in the woods (oh God, not another one?!), Boyd and the team are drawn into a military conspiracy that links the body to another murder. Sounds like just another Waking the Dead story, but going up against the military, will Boyd find his match in somebody equally shouty? One can hope.
Ideal (Monday 10.30pm, BBC3)
Has this really been running for four series? You’re kidding! That’s at least three too many, and I may have under counted. It might be my aversion to most things Johnny Vegas, but I have never found anything remotely funny in his turn as the allegedly lovable dope dealer Moz. Laugh? I’d rather watch Teenage Kicks. Actually, I can’t back that last statement up…
Holby City (Tuesday 8pm, BBC1)
Adrian Edmonson returns to Holby tonight as disgraced surgeon Abra Durant, somewhat battered and bloody. Maybe he ran screaming from the set of Teenage Kicks and the floor manager tried bringing him down. Watching Edmondson here and his turn last night in Miss Austen Regrets, you realise that the actor is so much better than his childish gurning to camera in TK. That shtick was funny 25 years ago, but it doesn’t cut it now, so it’s probably best to stick to the grown up stuff from now on.
Battlestar Galactica (Tuesday 9pm, Sky One)
Having found its mojo again sometime between the end of season three and the fabulous TV movie Razor, BSG is on brutal and blistering form in the first slice of this fourth and final season. Baltar desecrates a temple, an act which threatens to escalate into a full-on religious war, while the recently revealed Cylons are dealing with things in their own way. It’s a hard watch sometimes, but never less than rewarding. With BSG, who needs a remake of Blake’s 7?
The Apprentice (Wednesday 9pm, BBC1)
With the ratings soaring week after week, this is easily the most successful series of The Apprentice yet, so it’s a good job the tasks seem to be upping the ante accordingly. Tonight’s task is a case in point - it’s no mean feat to create a new occasion from scratch and market a greetings card to three of the country’s card manufacturers. The egos and guile on display in this series continue to be gob-smacking, and some of tonight’s team discussions raise the bar of stupidity to dizzying heights.
Sex and the City (Wednesday 9pm, Fiver)
Stupid name for a channel - makes it sound cheap as chips - but this digital spin-off from Five is embarking on a showing of Sex and the City. With the movie imminent, it’s a perfect time to go back and look at the series from the beginning. This double-bill of the first two episodes is eye opening and highlights the startling distance the adventures of Carrie and Co travelled by the final episode.
The Invisibles (Thursday 9pm, BBC1)
A promising new comedy drama starring Anthony Head, Warren Clarke and Dean Lennox Kelly. Safe cracker Maurice Riley (Head) and his best mate Syd return from a life of leisure on the Costa del Crime and pitch up in a small Devonshire village intending on going straight. But naturally, that would make a very boring series, so Maurice and Syd are soon on the rob again, helping out Sid’s son who’s in a spot of bother.
The Graham Norton Show (Thursday 10pm, BBC2)
Be still my beating heart! Sunday night TV idols Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, aka self-made millionaire Jonathan Hart and his wife Jennifer (she gorgeous!) turn up for some sofa time with our favourite chat captain. TV legends don’t come much-bigger than these two, and Norton is sure to keep the fun factor high.
The Inbetweeners (Thursday 10pm, E4)
E4 steps into the fray with its own original sit-com about a group of teenagers at school on a quest to lose their virginity. Sounds like an episode of Hollyoaks if you ask me. Probably best avoided if you’re over the age of 15.
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