Week 34 Highlights

10 August 2011

The Pet Detectives

 

 

There are no interesting facts about this week's number, as 34 is almost certainly the most boring number there is. With the possible exception of 11,367.

 

Saturday, 20/08/2011
8pm
Great Migrations 1/4: Born to Move
Filmed in more than 20 countries across a three-year period, Great Migrations follows the journey millions of animals undertake to ensure the survival of their species. Following a variety of species, the first episode spans the globe, revealing four of the most remarkable animals' movements: sperm whales travelling over a million miles in a lifetime; red crabs overcoming horrific obstacles on a daily basis; monarch butterflies taking four generations to cross a continent; and wildebeest that, against all odds, avoid the gaping jaws of ravenous crocodiles.

 

Sunday, 21/08/2011
8pm
Holiday Hijack 4/6
Jewellery shop owner 49-year-old Tracy from Essex and her three children, 25-year-old Morgan, 22-year-old Joe and 17-year-old Ollie, love to holiday in five-star luxury. The family has travelled to exotic locations around the world but when they're on foreign soil they hardly ever venture further than their hotel pool. When they have their Kenyan holiday hijacked by the Maasai Mara tribes people they are very upset to leave their luxury lodge for a hut made of cow dung and infested with cockroaches. But after a week experiencing life with this unique tribe and their culture, their own lives are changed for ever.

 

Sunday, 21/08/2011
9pm
Sex and the City
And so the story of the quartet of friends and their sex lives recommences, in this comedy drama set four years after they were last seen in the finale of the hugely successful TV series. All the key characters are present and (mostly) correct in the first big screen version of the franchise, directed by Michael Patrick King (who also directed 10 of the TV episodes). Unsurprisingly, things have moved on in the interim for Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), but there will be plenty of plot twists for each of the characters (as well as laughs and the occasional tear for the viewers) before the credits roll.

 

Monday, 22/08/2011
8pm
The Pet Detectives
Britain is a nation of animal lovers, but across the country pets are being targeted by criminals who know that where there are pets there are big profits to be made. Driven by a difficult economy and our craving for increasingly flashy 'designer' pets, thefts and kidnappings are on the up. Millions of pet owners are left with no one to turn to if their beloved pooch or kitty is stolen or goes missing. But now a new breed of entrepreneurs has come to their rescue: they are Pet Detectives. Offering tragedy, comedy, loss and redemption as it follows the fortunes of three very different agencies, this documentary films the country's leading pet detectives as they attempt to unravel some of the most compelling and dramatic cases in the country: from the theft and murder of a champion budgerigar collection, to a street in Stourbridge where more cats have gone missing than in any other place in the UK.

 

Monday, 22/08/2011
9pm
Jamie Cooks Summer
When the sun's shining, cooking and eating outdoors is a joy, whether you're going to a festival, camping or just having a barbecue in your back garden. In this one-hour special, Jamie Oliver whips up some amazing, simple dishes to make al fresco food a treat. The programme celebrates getting back to basics with some real 'Huckleberry Finn' cooking - whether it's spit-roasting meat over a fire, smoking your own fish in an old bucket or getting your kids to make cake in the garden without an oven. Jamie Cooks Summer, which was partly filmed at the chef's Big Feastival event in London, is jam-packed with great grub that captures the buzz, energy and excitement of summer - from jerk chicken to Moroccan-style lamb burgers and crispy skewered trout to amazing Indian dosa, plus puds and loads more.

 

Tuesday 23/08/2011
9pm
Seven Dwarves 2/7
This observational documentary series follows the lives of seven dwarf actors as they live together and perform in a production of Snow White at Woking's New Victoria Theatre. Nineteen-year-old Josh Bennett is throwing a 20th birthday party. He may be the youngest of the seven, but he has been appearing in Snow White since the age of 13. However, this is the first year he's without any of his family and it will be a daunting prospect.

 

Tuesday 23/08/2011
10pm
Random
An adaptation of her own stage play, Debbie Tucker Green's visually arresting film Random is set over the course of one spring day and tells the story of an ordinary family whose lives are devastatingly interrupted by the impact of one random event on what starts out as an ordinary day. Starring Nadine Marshall, Jay Bird, Daniel Kaluuya and Louis Mahoney, the film moves seamlessly between two worlds: the world of Sister (Marshall), filmed in a stark studio setting where she presents her version of events, and the 'real world', where Brother (Kaluuya), Mum (Bird) and Dad (Mahoney) join Sister in their daily routines.

 

Wednesday 24/08/2011
9pm
Wallis Simpson: The Secret Letters
Wallis Simpson found herself at the centre of a national scandal when she was seen to ensnare Edward VIII and lure him from the throne of England. But in this explosive new film, biographer Anne Sebba sifts through a newly discovered cache of documents containing 15 secret letters written by Wallis Simpson herself around the time of the abdication. These extraordinary personal missives will rewrite both history and our perception of Wallis. They reveal she was deeply in love with another man, and chart her fear and loneliness as she found herself becoming trapped into marrying the man who should have been king.

 

Thursday, 25/08/2011
10pm
Undercover Boss USA
The second series of Undercover Boss USA follows more high-flying executives who take extraordinary steps to ensure their companies are fighting fit by going undercover in their own businesses. In the first episode, Sheldon Yellen, the CEO of Belfor, the world's largest property disaster restoration company, goes undercover. He is proud of keeping his employees in work through the economic crisis by immediately enacting a wage and hiring freeze, and goes undercover to ensure his employees are being treated well. Sheldon finally sees first-hand the testing tasks his workforce undertake daily. But can he keep his emotions in check while meeting his devoted employees and make sure his cover isn't blown?

 

Friday, 26/08/2011
7:35pm
The Merits of Ferrets
Becky Lomax's First Cut film tells the story of the lives of three friends and their rescue centre for traumatised ferrets, based in the suburbs of Bristol. Many people think ferrets are smelly, vicious animals, but Maria, Kelly and David don't. These best friends love ferrets and have dedicated their lives to rescuing and rehabilitating Britain's most mistreated. They run 2nd Chance Ferret Rescue in Bristol, and this film joins them at one of their busiest times: ferret show season. First Cut is the critically acclaimed, eclectic documentary strand that showcases distinctive new films by up and coming directors.

 

Friday, 26/08/2011
1am
Live Athletics: IAAF World Championships
Channel 4's exclusive coverage of the 13th IAAF World Athletics Championships from Daegu, South Korea, begins with live coverage of the first morning session of the competition. And within two and a half hours of the games starting, the first gold medal will have been won in the Women's Marathon. Over the course of the coming week Channel 4 is broadcasting every session live - more than 65 hours in all - and Britain's top names, including Jessica Ennis, Phillips Idowu and Mo Farah, are going head-to-head with the best in the world.

 

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