THE SIMPLE LIFE 2: ROAD TRIP
Channel 4, 7.35pm
It is sometimes said that an Eton education gives a person unassailable self-confidence, for better or worse. Something similar seems to happen if you are the offspring of spectacularly wealthy parents in America. Paris Hilton and her friend Nicole Richie continue to giggle their way through the Southern states of America, cocooned by their wealth and celebrity. Tonight, they mock a stadium filled with baseball fans and appear to be entirely unfazed by the hostile reaction, which is both shocking and strangely admirable. When you throw in the high spirits, it makes (mildly) entertaining telly.
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SCRUBS
Channel 4, 8pm
Why, you might ask, would anyone choose to preview three long-running US comedies on the same night when everyone knows what to expect from them? A fair point. The thing is, the airwaves have been taken over by Glastonbury and Wimbledon and I would rather be rushed to hospital than have to sit through another episode of Johnny Vegas. Besides, I love Scrubs. It is set in a world that is unhinged and benign; all the characters are engaging,the dialogue is fast and sharp and always there are seven seconds of seriousness that never cease to surprise. Tonight’s episode guest stars Freddy Rodríguez (better known as Federico from Six Feet Under) and it is as funny as ever.
WILL & GRACE
Channel 4, 8.30pm
The legendary John Cleese makes a guest turn tonight as a dissolute British cad. With the best will in the world, it is not one of his most memorable performances. All he is called upon to do is make one or two suggestive remarks and take part in a series of embraces with Karen (Megan Mullally), each of which is greeted by whoops from the studio audience. Will it develop into a special relationship? “The only thing I felt,” says Karen afterwards, “was revulsion and sloppy bridgework.” Ah, well. You win some, you lose some. DC
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GLASTONBURY 2005
BBC Two, 9pm/11pm
You really didn’t want to go, anyway, did you? It’s absolutely bound to tip down as it did last year when my welly mission took me as far as Bath. So plonk yourself down on the sofa for full coverage on BBC Two, Three and Four and enjoy a splendid line-up in tie-dye-free comfort. Coldplay are the star attraction this year, and Glastonbury will be the venue for the first festival airing of their mixed new album, X&Y, on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night. Expect fireworks from the White Stripes tonight and Primal Scream on Sunday, while other acts to look out for over the weekend include the Killers, Bloc Party, New Order, the Kaiser Chiefs and Van Morrison. And we’ll see if the new festival closers, Basement Jaxx, can fill the tiny shoes of poor Kylie. PAUL CONNOLLY
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MULTICHANNEL CHOICE
By Angus Batey
GLASTONBURY 2005
BBC Three/Four, from 7pm
Auntie’s coverage of the rock festival/mudbath in Pilton is not just confined to BBC Two: Three dedicates most of this evening to two lengthy visits to the site, kicking off with Bloc Party, Doves and Babyshambles (assuming that their lead singer Pete Doherty makes it) between 7pm and 10pm, and the White Stripes and Fatboy Slim are among those whose performances are featured between 10.30pm and 2am. Over on Four, Elvis Costello and the Imposters get a slot to themselves at 8.30pm.
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GAUDÍ’S BARCELONA
Artsworld, 7pm
From a childhood challenged by arthritis to his death in the middle of creating his masterpiece, Antonio Gaudí remained an enigma. When he was run over by a tram outside the Sagrada Familia, the huge dream-like church that remains an unfinished icon of the Barcelona skyline, the architect was so reclusive and dishevelled that he was mistaken at first for a vagrant. This enticing documentary tells the story of his journey from eccentricity to obsession, of how his studies of natural forms influenced his art, and of his relationship with his most prolific client, the multi- millionaire Eusebi Güell, for whom he created most of his best-known work.
KEVIN BACON
Biography Channel, 7pm
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We are all, allegedly, a maximum of only six relationships’ distance from the Hollywood star Bacon, so it is possible you may see someone you know in this biopic of the the 47-year-old actor who, since Animal House in 1978, has starred in a wide range of films.
THE REAL KING HEROD
Discovery, 9pm/3am
Blamed by St Matthew for the massacre of the innocents, King Herod had one of the worst write-ups in history. This programme suggests that the massacre may never have occurred, and seeks to tip posterity’s balance back a little in favour of a monarch whose achievements — the building of Temple Mount, the re-branding of Judea as a trading state — are still visible. Yet he was by no means a saint: he had two sons and his second wife killed, and may have embalmed her remains in a jar of honey.
BOTHAM ON THE FLY
Discovery Real Time, 9.30pm
In this new series, sort of an anglers’ version of A Round with Alliss, celebrity friends join the former Test cricketer Ian Botham for a day’s fly fishing. In tonight’s first part, the man with 383 wickets for England is joined — appropriately enough — on the River Test in Hampshire by Eric Clapton, a friend of Beefy’s for 25 years.