Reunited
BBC One, 9pm
Reunited is the pilot for a potential new series by Mike Bullen, the man who wrote Cold Feet and the wonderful Life Begins. It’s classic Bullen territory, featuring the tangled relationships among a group of thirtysomething friends who once shared a house together and are now reunited after an eight-year gap. They’re a smorgasbord of urban types — the married, the engaged, the lonely and desperate, the casually promiscuous, the manipulative and devious, and so on. As they knock back the tequila slammers, they reignite old relationships and scratch at scabs that have never properly healed. Whether a series gets commissioned will depend on how viewers feel about the characters. Personally, I found them a dull and unlikeable bunch, but others may feel entirely differently . . .
EastEnders
BBC One, 8pm
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A Christian disco; a surprise snog; the suggestion of rape in a marriage; a retro mum- and-daughter booze-up; more Archie Mitchell ghost stories; some too-honest observations about new motherhood ... This hour-long ’Enders, in which Owen’s dead foot finally creeps out from underneath Trina’s Tree, is one crazy-paving of an episode. And to counterbalance the slaps, screams and vomit — one lone tear from Lucas, as he realises that his world is about to implode. Across in the Queen Vic, the next body bag might not be too far off, as Glenda and Peggy’s rivalry gets all the more bitter. “You’re a tiny teeny woman with a big gob and a rented room,” Glenda taunts “Tweety” of her reduced circumstances ... AH
Men About the House
BBC Four, 9pm
This is a compilation of clips and talking heads examining the role of fathers in British sitcoms. What makes this programme different from a thousand others is the calibre of the contributors, who talk about each comic incarnation with exceptional insight. Fathers are invariably depicted as hapless dolts, beginning with Steptoe and Son and Till Death Us Do Part, and continuing with Reggie Perrin, The Simpsons, The Royle Family and numerous others. The main difference between then and now is that fathers in sitcoms today are allowed to express emotions other than rage and frustration. But the highlight of the programme is an unequivocal endorsement of Marion and Geoff, the great under-appreciated masterpiece of British television comedy.
The Untold Great Fire of London
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Channel 4, 8pm
After 9/11 the distinguished novelist Rohinton Mistry was forced to cancel a book tour of America because he was singled out and treated so rudely at every US airport. But prejudice was far worse during the Great Fire of 1666 when Londoners — seeing their world go up in flames — were desperate to find a scapegoat. The obvious choice was the Dutch, because Rear-Admiral Robert Holmes had destroyed 130 Dutch merchant ships two weeks earlier. But there was also Britain’s default prejudice to fall back on, the French. Londoners spent more time attacking foreigners than putting out the fire.
Desperate Housewives
Channel 4, 10pm
At the last count, with only one episode to go, a serial killer, a terrorist and a blackmailer were on the loose, all threatening to do their worst and turning Wisteria Lane into almost as deadly a place as Midsomer. But these psychos are nothing compared with Susan’s (Teri Hatcher) latest incarnation as a debt collector. Her household bills are mounting and the taxman is yapping at her heels so she decides to encourage payment by going for the sympathy vote and sprinkling the invoices with tears. When that doesn’t work she adopts a more robust approach. Fairview has never been more lethal.