Week 27 highlights 2012

20 June 2012

Daredevils: Life on the Edge

Here are the most gloriously groovy programmes on Channel 4 for the week from 30th June to 6th July.

Please talk about, write about, shout about, preview, review and generally publicise these amazing programmes. If they all register over 20 million viewers, we will send you a Twix. If they don't, we will drown these guys. Look at the one second from the right. Look at those pleading eyes. He knows we mean it.

 

Saturday 30/06/2012
11:40pm
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
(2008) Philip Seymour Hoffman stars alongside Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Albert Finney in Sidney Lumet's multi-Oscar-nominated crime thriller. Andy (Hoffman) and his brother Hank (Hawke) are drowning in a multiplicity of problems, the principal of which are financial. Then, just as they are approaching their wits' end, Andy makes a proposal: that they should rob a mom 'n' pop jewellery store. But these sorts of plans tend to take on a life of their own... Network premiere.

 

Sunday, 01/07/2012
1:30pm
T4 On the Beach
T4 on the Beach celebrates 10 years of sun, sand and the sexiest pop stars with a huge gig on Weston-super-Mare beac, featuring all your favourite presenters, past and present (yes, June Sarpong and Vernon Kay are reunited), partying with Taio Cruz, Tulisa, The Wanted, Lawson, Labrinth, Professor Green, Little Mix, Rita Ora, DJ Fresh, Rizzle Kicks and many more.

 

Monday, 02/07/2012
8pm
Cashing in on the Games: Channel 4 Dispatches
The eyes of the world will soon turn to London as the capital hosts the Olympics. It could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to show off the best of Britain and boost our ailing economy. But in the rush for gold, will retailers and businesses out to make a quick profit tarnish our reputation? Reporter Morland Sanders goes in search of the people cashing in on the Games, and questions whether the overall economic benefits of hosting the event have been oversold.

 

Monday, 02/07/2012
10pm
Daredevils: Life on the Edge
Danny MacAskill is a YouTube superstar. His spectacular bike tricks won him fame online. But a decade of daredevil stunts has taken its toll on this young man from the Isle of Skye. He's suffered a series of injuries and is now recovering from surgery on both his knee and his spine. He can't ride yet, and although he sustained his injuries while riding, he dreams of getting back on his bike. Now Danny wants to know why young people take risks by pursuing the ultimate sensations and extreme sports. He meets his heroes - many of whom are also stars of the YouTube era - to understand what drives them to take risks. Why do they seem so fearless compared to 'normal' people? And what do they actually gain from taking these incredible risks? There's more brand new action sports movie-making in The Shooting Gallery: Adrenaline Rush, later on Monday evening.

 

Monday, 02/07/2012
11:10pm
Coming Up 1/7: New Cross
Channel 4's annual talent initiative, which gives up-and-coming writers and directors the opportunity to showcase their work, is now in its 11th year. The new series kicks off with a story of forbidden love that unfolds when 27-year-old Carl (Russell Tovey) meets the girl of his dreams. Their relationship explores thwarted ambition, restlessness and the desire to follow your own path.

 

Tuesday 03/07/2012
10pm
Six Million Dollar Conman: True Stories
After four decades, America's most notorious conman has been caught. His arrest unravelled a shocking and extraordinary story of multiple identities and deception that stretches from a Bavarian village to California, where, in January 2012, he was charged with murder. With exclusive access to many people that knew him at every step of his journey, this True Stories documentary paints a portrait of the man who conducted the most complex con America has ever known.

 

Wednesday 04/07/2012
8pm
River Cottage: Three Go Mad
Three famous actors swap the stage for the kitchen, and fancy shoes for wellies, to join Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in a cookery masterclass at River Cottage farm. Taking part are Philip Glenister, Keeley Hawes and The Good Life's Felicity Kendal: the original poster girl for smallholders.

 

Thursday, 05/07/2012
9pm
Michael Johnson: How Slavery Made Me
Why is it that all the athletes that lined up for the men's 100m final at the Beijing Olympics could trace their ancestry back to the trans-Atlantic slave trade? In this landmark documentary, Olympian Michael Johnson embarks on a personal genealogical and scientific journey in a bid to understand if he and other world-class African American and Caribbean athletes are successful as a result of slavery.

 

Friday, 06/07/2012
9pm
The Million Pound Drop Live 7/10
Davina McCall presents another episode of the series in which just eight questions stand between each pair of contestants and a million pounds. Viewers at home can play with a virtual million pounds alongside the contestants with the hugely successful online game. And those who do will also have the chance to apply for the show and play for real money, live on Channel 4.