Sunday 28 November 2021
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire celebrity special ITV 8 pm
My fascination in watching this will be to see Alexander Armstrong (who is the co-host of Pointless) gets in answering 15 questions to win £1 million for charity. How will he fare when the tables are turned? Will he do better than Sports Presenter Gaby Roslin?
Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser Sky Arts 8 pm
Delve into the journey of Alice’s adventures in Wonderland through its origins and reinventions over the last 157 years. See our review here.
American Rust Sky Atlantic 9 pm
I’m following the post-industrial decline of what is known as the ‘rust belt’ in America.
The Rust Belt is a colloquial term used to describe the geographic region stretching from New York through the Midwest that was once dominated by the coal industry, steel production, and manufacturing.
This drama is set in a former steel town in Pennsylvania and is seen through the eyes of a local sheriff. I’m guessing somewhere in western Pennsylvania as that’s where the once-mighty steel mills, coke plans, and machine shops mainly were.
Channel 4 11 pm The Vanishing
Three Lighthouse keepers on a remote rock in the outer Hebrides discover a corpse and a locked chest. Perhaps foolishly they decide to open the casket.
Olympic pride American prejudice 11 pm PBS America
Discover the untold story of 18 African Americans who defied US racism to compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Tuesday 30 November 2021
Who Do You Think You Are? BBC One at 9 pm
This is the seventh of seven programs in the current series and features Ed Balls the former Labour MP, advisor to Gordon Brown, and ‘Strictly’ dancing favourite. On his mum’s side, he finds a deep connection with agricultural labourer Christopher Green who went on trial at Norwich Castle after standing up to defend his livelihood and community (by way of arson!). Did he have a real choice given the power imbalance between farmers and labourers? An interesting discussion from the programme here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0b4kyk1
National Geographic 9 pm The Hot Zone: Anthrax
Just weeks after 9/11 the US is rocked by another terrorist act as letters containing anthrax are sent to journalists and politicians. The first fatal letter killed a National Enquirer editor. FBI agent Matthew Ryker tries to convince his superiors the country is under attack again.
Thursday, December 2 2021
Cancelled 10 pm Channel 4
Sacked blacklisted ostracised or no-platformed, I’ve suffered some of those so I will be interested to see this look at Cancel culture and how it’s affecting our lives. When I spoke about how ‘No Platform’ would slowly expand many on the ‘Left’ were skeptical and smug. Now they are the new victims.
Picked by Patrick Harrington
Counter Culture 