CRITICS’ CHOICE
Pick of the day
Ethel & Ernest (BBC1, 7.30pm)
In 1982’s When the Wind Blows, Raymond Briggs imagined the Bloggses, a working-class couple based on his mum and dad, experiencing a nuclear war. Sixteen years later, his parents were elevated from models to stars in a non-fictional graphic novel with the real war against Hitler at its centre.
Now turned into an animated film, Ethel & Ernest traces their lives together, from their first date in 1928 to their deaths in 1971, and shows their different reactions to political and social developments — Ethel (voiced by Brenda Blethyn) aspirational and prim, Ernest (Jim Broadbent) proudly proletarian. Raymond (Luke Treadaway), meanwhile, is evacuated during the war, goes to art school, does National Service and brings a girlfriend home. The cast is first-rate and the characters and backdrops are adroitly turned into moving images by well over 100 animators.
John Dugdale
All human life is there
The Arrivals (C4, 7pm)
A documentary about people waiting in arrivals at Heathrow and those they are waiting for. Included are a bridegroom flying in for his nuptials; boyfriends who live in different countries from their girlfriends; parents and grandparents longing to see loved ones; and travellers returning from long trips. Arguably, we see too many meetings, which can give the film a weary one-thing-after-another feel, but the most poignant stories stand out from the glut, notably a refugee from the Middle East reunited with his tiny son thanks to the Red Cross.
More tea, vicar?
Jonathan Creek (BBC1, 9pm)
An enthusiastic Warwick Davis guest stars as the Creek fan Rev Wendell Wilkie, a man who remembers every mystery his hero has ever solved and is only too happy to chat about them over a cup of tea. Unfortunately, if anything, his character’s recollections of the sleuths knotty puzzles of the past only serve to underline how unpleasant the solutions have become in recent years. Tonight, circumstances contrive to take Jonathan (Alan Davies) and his wife, Polly (Sarah Alexander), to the home of an elderly horror-film director.
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He’s got a screw loose
The Christmas Reassembler (BBC4, 9pm)
James May, aka Captain Slow, truly finds his pace in this show, in which he puts together the 138 component parts of the Triang Hornby Flying Scotsman railway set, all while chuntering away to the crew members who pop up in shot or are heard snorting at his more appalling jokes. “Bolt or screw,” he asks, holding up a threaded tube of metal and promising: “We’ll come on to that discussion in a minute.” It proves to be a controversial topic, and he does not pretend to have all the answers, but his explanation is compelling.
Parents’ torment
Disappeared — The Search For Cody Dial
(National Geographic, 9pm)
On a journey through Central America in 2014, Cody Dial, 27, went missing, having last been seen embarking on a hike through a jungle. His father, Roman, a seasoned explorer, joined the hunt by a search-and-rescue team. In this series, he and his wife, Peggy, return to Costa Rica to look again with two American investigators. Rejecting theories that Cody got lost or vanished on purpose, Roman believes “foul play” was involved.
John Dugdale and Helen Stewart
Radio pick of the day
Late Junction (R3, 11pm)
Verity Sharp reveals the 12 best albums of the year – in the opinion of the programme’s presenters and producers, that is. Expect folk, jazz, punk and electronica, but will any of their choices mirror those of Culture’s critics three weeks ago? Libby Purves’s Midweek (R4, 9am/9.30pm), the last edition of 2016, will be a somewhat melancholy one for its production team and listeners given that Radio 4 has decided to axe the show (thought to be rather tired) after 34 years. Its last ever episode will be in March.
Paul Donovan
FILM CHOICE
Wallace & Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (2005)
(BBC1, 10.30am)
The clay-modelled duo’s only feature film to date is fully worthy of them: the utterly British humour is as lovable as ever and the action even more dynamic than usual. In a parody of monster movies, they pursue a rabbit-like beast that is never seen at the same time as Wallace. Co-dirs: Steve Box, Nick Park
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Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
(BBC1, 3.35pm)
The sequel to the Muppets’ 2011 comeback movie lacks a storyline to rival that film’s apt and endearing tale of the gang reuniting: what we have here is a generic caper that takes Kermit and co on a tour of Europe. Our old friends are still fun, though, and the success of the previous film seems to have helped them recruit more guest stars this time round: we see Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey and countless cameos. Dir: James Bobin (2014)
Song For Marion (2012)
(BBC2, 11.30pm)
A sentimental drama about an old grouch (Terence Stamp) whose terminally ill wife (Vanessa Redgrave) sings with an a cappella pop choir, Paul Andrew Williams’s film is as trite and contrived as a tacky ballad, yet Stamp’s tender performance hits a few surprisingly strong notes.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013)
(Film 4, 12 midnight)
A love story about a teenage girl (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and a slightly older and more confident woman (Léa Seydoux), this French drama brings bracing realism to its study of the joys and pitfalls of romantic passion. Dir: Abdellatif Kechiche
Edward Porter
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