Week 14 highlights

21 March 2012

The Undateables

Here are the best programmes on Channel 4 for week 14, Saturday 31st March - Friday 6th April.

And here is some background information to help you in your journalistic endeavours:

Did you know:

In The Million Pound Drop Live, Davina McCall gets to keep any of the £1 million that the contestants don't win. She spends it on diamond collars for her 23 chihuahuas, and on Pringles. She has a six-packs-a-day habit.

Ironically, considering he plays an American ‘returning hero', actor Damian Lewis' ‘Homeland' isn't America at all. He's Chinese.

There are around three or four babies born in every episode of One Born Every Minute. To avoid accusations of TV fakery, the programme should be named "One Born on Average Every 17.5 minutes".

Werner Herzog's series Death Row was originally conceived as a knockabout sitcom starring Richard Briers.

 

 

Saturday 31/03/2012
6:50pm
Avatar
(2009) James Cameron's spectacular science-fiction film. When disabled ex-marine Jake Sully takes on a mission to the distant world of Pandora, he discovers that a mining company plans to drive off the planet's native inhabitants, the Na'vi, for a precious mineral. With orders to infiltrate the Na'vi, Jake finds himself falling in love with beautiful alien Neytiri, but complications ensue. Also starring Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver.

 

Saturday 31/03/2012
9pm
The Million Pound Drop Live 4/10
The fifth show in the new run of The Million Pound Drop Live. Davina McCall will guide pairs of contestants as they face the daunting Drop in the hope of taking home some seriously big money.

 

Sunday, 01/04/2012
8pm
Disasters at Sea: Why Ships Sink
On the 100th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic, this new documentary examines the disaster and the safety of passengers at sea. In this modern age, huge and extravagant cruise ships tower above the ocean. Yet, despite a century of advanced design and new technology, lessons from the past are being constantly overlooked and these ships continue to sink. This programme examines the complex web of design and construction weaknesses, navigational and human errors, and failures in evacuation plans, which contribute to the sinking of ships and the loss of passenger lives.

 

Sunday, 01/04/2012
9pm
Homeland 7/12: The Weekend
Part seven of the compelling US thriller starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis. Having escaped the shooting at the motel where Faisel was killed, Aileen continues her escape. The CIA have tracked her down, and Saul wants to be the one to bring her in. Meanwhile, Brody has passed the polygraph test, but Carrie knows he's lying because he said he's never been unfaithful to his wife. Carrie and Brody meet up again, and their relationship becomes more complicated when they have a surprising heart-to-heart talk about their lives.

 

Monday, 02/04/2012
8pm
Damien Hirst: The First Look
To coincide with the first major retrospective of his work in the UK, Channel 4 presents two Damien Hirst documentaries. One of the most important and influential artists of his generation, the original Young British Artist helped make art headline news and put Britain firmly on the contemporary art map. Damien Hirst takes surrealist comedian Noel Fielding on an exclusive walk through his new show at Tate Modern, providing a behind-the-scenes look at this landmark exhibition and a body of work spanning more than two decades.
A second programme - Damien Hirst: Thoughts, Work, Life - airs later tonight.

 

Monday, 02/04/2012
9pm
Embarrassing Bodies 5/10
Dr Christian helps a man whose rare genetic condition has left him needing new ears. Dr Pixie meets a patient with a leaky back passage. Dr Dawn meets Helen, who has a very unusual symptom - she can see faeces moving inside her intestines. The mobile clinic visits a music festival in the North East, where Dr Pixie sees a lad whose testicles are causing him trouble and a woman with a sizeable breast problem.

 

Tuesday 03/04/2012
9pm
The Undateables 1/3
Looking for love can be tricky, but some find it harder than others. Add disability to the equation and it can sometimes seem almost impossible. This uplifting three-part series follows the journeys of several extraordinary singletons as they enter the dating circuit in pursuit of love. From a stand-up comedian with Tourette's and a trapeze artist with brittle bones, to a media student with Down's Syndrome, an amateur poet with a learning disability, and a skateboarder with a facial disfigurement, the series follows them as they enter the world of blind dates, matchmakers and speed dating.

 

Tuesday 03/04/2012
10pm
Facejacker 2/6
Kayvan Novak returns for a second series of the ground-breaking BAFTA-nominated Facejacker. Once again Novak dons elaborate prosthetics to showcase his amazing array of characters and voices. Novak takes his characters into real-life situations where they sometimes charm but often baffle members of the public. And this time he's going global by also unleashing some of his best-known characters in America.

 

Wednesday 04/04/2012
8pm
Four Rooms 3/8
The new series continues as more members of the public look to sell vintage treasures for life-changing sums of money. This episode features tiles from Abbey Road featured on the famous Beatles' album cover, a 19th-century wallet made from human skin, original artwork from the film Reservoir Dogs, a 1948 Olympic torch and Richard Burton's fur coat.

 

Wednesday 04/04/2012
9pm
One Born Every Minute 14/14
This episode witnesses the emotional end of a lifetime's career for long-serving midwife Linda Abbott who has been a midwife for 38 years. She's held in high esteem by the other midwives, who refer to her deferentially as Mrs Abbott. Meanwhile, life goes on in the hospital as Michelle (22) is resigned to the idea of being a single mum as her baby's father made it clear he wanted to have nothing to do with the birth.

One Born: What Happened Next? airs tomorrow evening.

 

Thursday, 05/04/2012
9pm
One Born: What Happened Next?
More than 100 babies have been born on the award-winning One Born Every Minute. Now the series visits three One Born couples as their babies approach their first birthday to see how they're responding to an even bigger challenge: parenthood. As their babies grow, so does their unconditional love, but these mums and dads have come to realise that nothing could have prepared them for the sleepless nights, endless nappy changes and lack of sex. The film paints a moving and often hilarious picture of modern parenting: a 'how to' - and at times, 'how not to' - guide to the first year.

 

Thursday, 05/04/2012
10pm
Death Row 3/3
Death Row tells the fascinating and controversial story of crime and the death penalty. Over the period of a year, Werner Herzog interviewed inmates in America as they awaited their death. The third and final portraits are of Joseph Garcia and George Rivas. Garcia's case is one of a tragic outcome from an everyday event, and a punishment out of proportion. While Rivas was executed in February 2012; Garcia sees own his execution as inevitable and irreversible.

 

Friday, 06/04/2012
7:35pm
Marrying Prince Harry
Since Kate Middleton married Prince William, Prince Harry has been thrust into the spotlight as the most eligible bachelor in Britain. Third in line to the throne, the remaining handsome prince has become an object of desire for girls across the globe. Marrying Prince Harry follows five young women determined to snag their Prince Charming.

 

Friday, 06/04/2012
8pm
Come Dine with Me
Four amateur cooks from Preston fight it out for the £1000 prize. Doing battle are customer services co-ordinator Janet, nursery manager Rick, office manager Sue, and theatre and film director Graham. Janet asks everyone to come in their pyjamas. And though her dessert proves a bit of a flop, the fact they all eat it together in bed goes down very well. Rick serves a game-themed menu, but the stuffed fox on the wall is not such a hit. On day three Sue takes her guests back to the swinging sixties, while Rick sets out to ruffle a few feathers.

 

For highlights of programmes on More4, E4, Film4 and 4Music, please visit the Listings section of the site (available to registered users only).