Jonathan Wright, Phelim O'Neill, John Robinson, David Stubbs and Mark Jones 

TV highlights 06/09/2012

BBC Proms 2012 | Good Cop | Hilary Devey: Women At The Top | The Bletchley Circle | The British | Deals From The Dark Side
  
  

Rachael Stirling as Millie in The Bletchley Circle
Rachael Stirling as Millie in The Bletchley Circle. Photograph: ITV1 Photograph: ITV1

BBC Proms 2012
7.30pm, BBC4

Leonard Bernstein's Mass receives its first complete performance at the Proms. As to why it's taken more than four decades to get to the classical music festival following its New York debut in 1971, this may have something to do with the sheer complexity of staging an unconventional work (some Catholics initially saw it as blasphemous) rooted in great part in musical theatre. Expect conductor Kristjan Järvi to be taking a deep breath then, as he steps up to conduct the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, sundry choirs and choruses, and even a rock group. Jonathan Wright

Good Cop
9pm, BBC1

Good Cop doesn't have time to hang around: two episodes in and officer Rocksavage is being put through the wringer. Cop shows are always effective at showing mounting pressure and this one is really laying it on thick. A rooftop jumper, investigations into the death of mob boss Finch, some "I know what you did" phone calls, and soon Rocksavage is ducking out of the office to throw up. As if he didn't have more than enough on his plate, his ex and child are in town. Phelim O'Neill

Hilary Devey: Women At The Top
9pm, BBC2

Men hold the majority of top jobs in British business. How do you explain this if, like Hilary Devey, you reckon there's "no glass ceiling"? Searching for an answer, the Dragons' Den presenter travels the country to research such subjects as maternity leave and why gender-mixed teams perform better than male-only and female-only teams. A documentary that's in many respects admirable, yet somewhat depressing as it approaches work-life balance with the emphasis firmly on the paid-employment side of the equation. JW

The Bletchley Circle
9pm, ITV1

If the Kate Winslet film Enigma had starred Miranda Hart instead, then it might have been a bit like this: a lowbrow period piece in the vein of All Creatures Great And Small. Here, Anna Maxwell Martin plays the (entirely fictional) Susan, a logician whose codebreaking helped give the Germans what for in the second world war. By 1952, Susan is a housewife but can't turn off her skills. When she believes she can see a pattern emerging in a series of north London murders, it seems a good moment to get her old gang of super-smart gal chums back together to help the police solve crime. Jolly good fun. John Robinson

The British
9pm, Sky Atlantic

Yet another series on these isles from Roman times to the present day. This one, however, attempts to jazz things up for an audience potentially bored of Oxbridge dons pointing at maps of Mercia by staging re-enactments of major historical turning points through the ages. We begin in 58AD and the arrival of a 10,000 strong Roman army to come, see and conquer Britain, probably for the better. The programme also looks at pre-Roman achievements such as Stonehenge and examines the social set-up of the earliest Britons. David Stubbs

Deals From The Dark Side
10pm, Watch

Ever wondered what Bargain Hunt would be like if the target demographic were Cradle Of Filth fans? Wonder no longer, with Watch's latest US import looking at the work of "dark relic" collector Steve Santini, who makes a living buying and selling items that could turn David Dickinson's walnut fizzog pale. The focus of this opener is what might just be a genuine deckchair recovered from the Titanic. While parts of the episode feel a little too stagey - using a "psychic consultant" to help prove an object's authenticity? Really? – this makes for a refreshing change from your average antiques show. Mark Jones

 

Leave a Comment

Required fields are marked *

*

*