OLYMPIC GRANDSTAND
BBC One, 7.45am/
BBC Two, 6pm
It’s the men’s triathlon today (7.50am) and Andrew Johns leads a highly rated British trio with high hopes of medal success. Later Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks are guaranteed a medal in the final race of the 49er class (2.50pm), but will it be gold, silver or bronze for the British sailors? Tonight on the track, Kelly Holmes will be trying to stay on track for a historic double in the semi-finals of the 1,500m (6.30pm), while Steve Backley will be aiming to qualify for the javelin final in his last Games (6.25pm).
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EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY
Five, 7.30pm
When Manet’s Le Déjeuner Sur l’Herbe was first exhibited in Paris in 1863, the critics described it as idiotic, obscene, incoherent and childish. Not so Waldemar Januszczak. “Without this picture,” he says, “there would have been no Impressionism, and without Impressionism there would have been no modern art.” He stands in front of the picture and goes soggy with longing at the naked beauty of Manet’s model, Victorine (“all right, so I fancy her, OK?”) while explaining how and why Manet updated the Old Masters in a conscious attempt to shock. Januszczak, informed and irreverent, is in his element.
EDGE OF THE CITY
Channel 4, 9pm
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The film-maker Anna Hall spent 18 months following teams from Bradford social services as they made superhuman efforts to aid the vulnerable and dispossessed. A young Asian acts as the mentor to a 17-year-old boy with 96 convictions. A dysfunctional couple — an alcoholic living with a woman suffering from myotonic dystrophy — are involved in a desperate love story. A child protection agency works to turn young girls away from prostitution, and an elderly gentleman with no family or friends clings to his dignity. It is a complex, uncomfortable and moving film.
SPORT IN THE SIXTIES
BBC Two, 11.20pm
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In this interactive, sport-saturated age, armchair fans are spoilt for choice, so it’s hard to believe that programme planners for the 1966 World Cup were initially wary of giving the championship too much airtime. This race down memory lane shows how televised sports coverage took off in the 1960s and has improved in leaps and bounds ever since. All the big events on the small screen are here, including the 1960 Grand National, the launch of Grandstand, Harry Carpenter’s interviews with the then Cassius Clay and, of course, England’s World Cup triumph over West Germany.
SATELLITE, CABLE AND DIGITAL
JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM
Adventure One, 8pm
This documentary follows a family’s epic pilgrimage from Copenhagen to Jerusalem. In 1977 Johnny Noer uprooted his wife and children to take them on a mission to unite Christians and Jews around the world. It would take 18 years to complete. As they crept towards the promised land they were joined by other missionaries, and became known as the Pilgrim Convoy — a group of happy, intelligent people who wanted nothing more than to invoke peace. Unfortunately, their enthusiasm could not prevent the hostility they faced in Jerusalem.
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LOMO: SHOOT FROM THE HIP
BBC Four, 8.30pm/11.40pm
An insight into the bizarre world of lomography — the art of taking low quality, out-of-focus photographs. When the Lomo Kompakt Automat Soviet camera was discovered by a group of Viennese students in 1991, it triggered a worldwide craze that continues today. Known as photo- adventurers, lomographers around the globe attend lomo events, send in crazy lomo snaps, and generally have a lomo good time.
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TERROR ALERT: COULD YOU SURVIVE . . .?
Sky One, 9pm
Last year, more than 50 million North Americans were hit by a total power cut, but the majority coped well — due, some say, to the general air of unease in the country since September 11, 2001, which has prepared Americans for anything. But could the British struggle through a collapse of the national grid? Blitz survivors may scoff, but for their less rugged descendants Chris Ryan has some handy tips.
PHILIPPA NORMAN