Week 22 highlights 2012

16 May 2012

Come Dine with Me Jubilee Special

 

Here are the best programmes on Channel 4 for week 22, Saturday 26th May - Friday 1st June.

This week's blockbuster, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, is actually based on a book, Fly Fishing by JRR Hartley.

The film is directed by Peter Jackson, one of the original members of The Jackson 5 (the others being Michael, Jesse, Samuel L, and Curtis).

Jimmy and the Giant Supermarket (Tues, 9pm) is an entire series following Jimmy Krankie as he attempts to find his way out of a vast French hypermarket.

 

 

Saturday 26/05/2012
6:30pm
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Part two of Peter Jackson's magnum opus, from 2002. The sequel begins in the hills of Emyn Muil, where lost Hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) discover they are being followed by the mysterious Gollum (Andy Serkis). The Fellowship face unimaginable armies and deception as they stand against the powerful forces spreading from the Two Towers.
Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones airs tomorrow evening.

 

Sunday, 27/05/2012
8pm
Come Dine with Me Jubilee Special
Four monarchy-mad celebrities host a Jubilee-themed dinner party, featuring EastEnders actress Cheryl Fergison, ex-Atomic Kitten Kerry Katona, entertainer Lionel Blair and ventriloquist Keith Harris. Bizarre menu choices, an evening 'by Royal Appointment', relentless joke telling, name-dropping, a pyjama party and a 'royal' appearance ensue...

 

Sunday, 27/05/2012
9pm
The Lovely Bones
After bringing Middle-earth to life Peter Jackson turned his attention to Alice Sebold's best-selling novel. Jackson's contemporary fantasy drama sees the recently deceased Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) watch the aftermath of her brutal murder from on high as her killer (Stanley Tucci) prepares for his next attack.

 

Monday, 28/05/2012
8pm
The Real Mr & Mrs Assad: Channel 4 Dispatches
A portrait of the golden couple who have become global hate figures. When Bashar took the reins of power after his father's death in 2000, the West was drawn into a hope and belief that Syria would be a new force for change in the Middle East. But instead of a transparent and progressive leadership, what has emerged during a year-long bloody uprising is evidence of the regime's gross systematic human rights abuses, including widespread killings and torture, while the Assads look on. Channel 4 Dispatches investigates the extent of the Assad family's culpability and the chains of command that link the President and select inner circle to the brutal crackdown.

 

Monday, 28/05/2012
8:30pm
Gok Cooks Chinese 2/6: Family Favourites
Gok Wan fires up his wok to showcase his other great passion in life: Chinese cooking. Gok grew up with a restaurateur and chef for a father, and over the years has perfected many dishes of his own. In this second programme Gok shares his family's favourite recipes, starting with his own take on his aunt's super healthy pork and ginger soup, which he calls 'health, wealth and happiness in a bowl'.
An interview with Gok is available here:
http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/gok-wan-interview-for-gok-cooks-chinese

 

Tuesday 29/05/2012
8pm
Embarrassing Bodies Live from the Clinic 3/8
Dr Christian Jessen and Dr Dawn Harper are joined by a team of GPs and specialists to provide live consultations to as many viewers as possible via Skype. This time the subject is poo - and the doctors get their hands dirty while encouraging us all to open up our bowels. Dr Christian and Dr Dawn show the best position for a healthy poo and perform a live poo check, explaining how to use the checking kits that help spot the early signs of bowel cancer.

 

Tuesday 29/05/2012
9pm
Jimmy and the Giant Supermarket 1/3
Billing to follow.

 

Wednesday 30/05/2012
8pm
Secret Eaters 3/6
Britain's got a big, fat secret - we are a nation of Secret Eaters. Each year, we're getting fatter, but many of us just don't seem to know why. In this new series Anna Richardson exposes the country's secret eating habits. Each episode helps people who are mystified as to why they're piling on the pounds by uncovering what they're really eating. In this edition Dawn and Mike, a married couple from Hull, plus their best mate and lodger, Gareth, want to solve the riddle of why they're putting on weight.

 

Wednesday 30/05/2012
9pm
24 Hours in A&E 3/14
The RTS award-winning series continues, offering a dramatic and revelatory insight into love, life and loss on the frontline of the NHS. Filmed around the clock for six weeks at King's College Hospital in south London, one of Britain's busiest A&E departments, each programme focuses on people treated within the same 24-hour period. This episode follows trauma consultant Simon on a busy night with a stream of critically ill and seriously injured patients, plus there's fallout from an extraordinary night of violence on London's streets.

 

Thursday, 31/05/2012
8pm
Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 4/5
In his latest secret mission Phil escapes the rat race and heads for the country. Earth mother Oriole's five-bed detached home is nestled in the sleepy Shropshire hills. The picture postcard location should have secured her a sale months ago, but the hippy twist on the property has hidden the 17th century origins of this former coach house. Meanwhile in Worcestershire, Annette's failed to find a buyer for what should be a cosy cottage, but is more like a half-way house.

 

Thursday, 31/05/2012
9pm
Married to the Moonies
With unprecedented access, this revealing film takes viewers inside the little known world of the Unification Church, commonly known to outsiders as the Moonies. The documentary follows three British youngsters as they travel to Korea to be blessed by their messiah, Reverend Moon, at one of the movement's controversial mass weddings as the three undertake a condensed courtship; meeting and making plans for the future with a person they hardly know.

 

Friday, 01/06/2012
7:30pm
Unreported World 7/8: Libya: My Week with Gunmen
Reporter Peter Oborne and director Richard Cookson travel to Libya and reveal a country freed from Gadaffi's dictatorship but still struggling to enforce the rule of law. Six months after the revolution, the armed groups who overthrew Colonel Gaddafi are clinging to territory and power and the country is still riven by factionalism, militias and violence.

 

Friday, 01/06/2012
9pm
Eight Out of Ten Cats 6/11
Channel 4's line-up of cracking Friday night entertainment continues, kicking off with the Jimmy Carr-hosted panel show, featuring guests Johnny Vegas, Vernon Kay, Paul Chowdhry and Katherine Ryan. Then Morgana Robinson and Terry Mynott make an impression in the last episode of the series in Very Important People. Alan Carr is joined by guests Michael McIntyre, Kylie Minogue and Little Mix. And Jon Richardson hosts another edition of the topical Stand Up for the Week.