Thursday

The film’s subjects are putty in the sculptor’s hands, perhaps because he treats their thoughts with such care; and his obvious respect for the folk art of the region then inspires him to make a stunning pair of works that are revealed in a ceremony at Durham Cathedral.
Helen Stewart

French connection
Marseille (Netflix)
Gérard Depardieu stars in a Netflix first, the streaming service’s only original European series. As the outgoing mayor of Marseille he is sublime from the off, swearing undying love to the city whose politics he has dominated for 20 years. The actor’s silverback physicality is magnificent — pawing at his mistress, cutting deals or downing huge meals — and the supporting cast of glamorous women and grey men is augmented by Benoît Magimel as the shiny-suited deputy mayor who will stop at nothing to inherit the older man’s position.

Fair dinkum bushman
Natural World (BBC2, 8pm)
As nicknames go, Kangaroo Dundee might not have quite the same snap as its toothier crocodile counterpart, but the man otherwise known as Chris “Brolga” Barnes has nothing to prove when it comes to showing off his wildlife-whispering skills. Narrated by Juliet Stevenson, this two-part programme examines Brolga’s work in the Australian bush as he moves towards his dream of building his own animal hospital. While the lovable orphaned joeys are still his nurturing priority, there are also appearances from camels, three emu chicks and — all cuteness bets are off — Pete, a southern hairy-nosed wombat.

Well-tuned effort
Gareth’s Invictus Choir (BBC1, 9pm)
Gareth Malone and the Military Wives choir raised more than £500,000 for armed forces charities when their song made it to the Christmas No 1 spot in 2011, so he is the perfect person to bring together injured, sick and wounded ex-service personnel and encourage them to sing their hearts out at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Invictus Games. His focus is on finding those with “inspiring stories” rather than obvious musical talent, and tonight’s episode sees him meeting with Prince Harry (who possibly has a few tales of his own to tell) at Kensington Palace.

Spellbinding silliness
The Magicians (5 Star, 9pm)
Based on Lev Grossman’s novels, this series crosses Harry Potter with The Secret History, conjuring up an uneasy mix of sex, violence and whimsy. Jason Ralph plays Quentin Coldwater, a mentally fragile graduate who, to avoid the pressures of impending adulthood, escapes into a series of Narnia-style children’s novels called Fillory and Further. The line between reality and fantasy is blurred even more when he finds himself sitting an entrance exam for Brakebills University, an elite institution devoted to magic. It is pleasingly silly until the last few minutes, when the Hogwarts shtick is replaced by a genuine chill as the show’s villain makes a terrifying first appearance.

A very fair cop
Angie Tribeca (E4, 9.30pm)
Following straight after E4’s other imported cop comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, might present a tough challenge, but this show takes an even spoofier approach, evoking the silliness and relentless wisecracking of Police Squad!. Trading on the comedy capital she earned on Parks and Recreation and The Office, Rashida Jones is Detective Angie Tribeca, and tonight she investigates a brutal serial killer who is targeting bakers. The series, created by Steve Carell and Nancy Walls Carell, is also fond of a celebrity cameo or two, so watch out tonight for James Franco and Alfred Molina.
Helen Stewart and Victoria Segal

Sports choice
Madrid Open Tennis (Sky Sports 3, 11am; BT Sport 1, 11am, 9.30pm)
Racing (C4, 2pm)
Darts (Sky Sports 1, 7pm)
Uefa Europa League Liverpool v Villarreal (BT Sport Europe, 7.30pm); Sevilla v Shakhtar Donetsk (BT Sport 2, 8pm)

Radio pick of the day
In Our Time (R4, 9am/9.30pm)
Radio 4 listeners have been bludgeoned for months with relentless promotional puffs for the Rob and Helen storyline in The Archers. Now it looks as if the public relations people have nobbled Lord Bragg as well, for today’s topic is Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, the novel that, according to The Archers’ editor, Sean O’Connor (now returning to EastEnders), inspired his terror-and-stabbing saga in Ambridge. The guests are the literature dons Dinah Birch, Jane Thomas and Francis O’Gorman.
Paul Donovan

You say
The noun “effect” seems to have been completely replaced with the verb “affect” by the broadcasting elite.
Chris Ineson

I find it “absolutely amazing” that nobody has spotted the massively massives. They’re everywhere!
Ruth Owen

The word “like” also is being used every third or fourth word in conversation I hear regularly.
Barbara James

Another thoroughly overused word is “across”. Now the weather forecasters use the word up to 10 times in a couple of minutes.
David Langfield

What about the most overused adverb, repeated twice in quick succession? Really really. What’s wrong with “very”? To the point but rarely rarely used.
Martin Reynolds

Send your comments to: telly@sunday-times.co.uk

FILM CHOICE

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Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Sky Movies Select, 11.20am
Rarely has Hollywood portrayed the transience of silver-screen fame as persuasively as in Billy Wilder’s sublime satire. Gloria Swanson plays a silent-era star clinging to her past glories as she is cruelly left behind by the talkies in a movie of which you can truly say: once seen, never forgotten.

A Star Is Born (1954)
Sky Movies Greats, 2.40pm
Judy Garland shone in George Cukor’s musical about an unknown actress who knows her time has come, just as the man she weds, an alcoholic movie idol (James Mason), realises his has gone. In a film served with such a poignant chaser of irony, one is unsure whether to weep or sing along.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Sky Movies Greats, 6.05pm
A seamless fusion of live action and animation, Robert Zemeckis’s delightful fantasy has a film noir-style plot that sees a gruff gumshoe (Bob Hoskins) aiding a hapless bunny. The movie’s sly wit and wry intelligence are properly grown-up.

Previews by Trevor Lewis

LIVE FOOTBALL

Liverpool v Villarreal (BT Sport Europe, 7.30pm)

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Uefa Europa League Liverpool v Villarreal (BT Sport Europe, 7.30pm)