Geek shows and movies on UK TV in the coming week

Dexter, Misfits and That Mitchell And Webb Look are some of the highlights of the UK TV week. Plus there's a whole lot of good movies to watch...

With the finish of Ashes To Ashes and Doctor Who in weeks past, there isn’t much gripping television to look forward to come the weekends, until the new seasonal schedules start up.

But does that mean we’ll shut off our tellies and rush into the sunshine for fresh air and exercise? No. No, it does not. Instead we’ve put our energy into scouring the schedules to find anything to replace those UV rays with TV signals.

Those who are catching up or reliving (although that’s probably a poor choice of words) the antics of our favourite carver, Dexter, can move with him and his blades, plastic sheeting and rolls of tape to the third season, being reshown on FX. Season opener, Our Father, at 10:00pm tonight, Friday July 16th, is followed by the second episode Finding Freebo, at 11:00pm. Will Dexter maintain the Code of Harry or deviate dramatically? Only tuning in will tell.

A holiday last week temporarily interrupted the telly listing, a week wherein our own equally brilliant series, Misfits, could be rewatched from that first freaky weather occurrence. The series about ASBO owners with abilities beyond awesome tagging skills is airing on Saturdays, with episode two next at 10:00pm, July 17th. But don’t worry if you missed the start, as you can watch it from the beginning online at Channel 4 here, although you’ll have to sit through a few thirty second ads first. A strategically timed kettle boil will take care of that nicely.

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Another missed kick-off was the launch of the fourth series of That Mitchell And Webb Look, but the BBC iPlayer comes to the rescue for the first episode here. We particularly enjoyed the sign language-assisted show, the “I don’t know what you want anymore” retakes and the aggressively pedantic boss skits. The second episode airs Tuesday, July 20th at 9:00pm.

Now, on to the films showing through the weekend and a bit beyond. You should find something for everyone and a few films to share with the smallest of the geeks-to-be.

As always, if we missed anything interesting, have a shout in the comments, with our thanks.


Please also note: the ordinal numbers for dates will help you scan through this simple list with your browser’s search function. Enter ’17th’ in your browser’s Find box or window to highlight and/or tab through all movies shown on Saturday. Enjoy!


Ace VenturaOn: FIVERDate: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 2:00pm (and 3:00pm Fiver+1)

Apollo 13On: ITV2  Date: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 12:45pm (and 1:45pm ITV2+1)

Benny And JoonOn: TCM  Date: Friday 16th JulyTime: 11:05amBill And Ted’s Excellent AdventureOn: ITV2Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 6:40pm (and 9:25pm ITV2+1, 7:10/8:10pm 18th July)

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Blue VelvetOn: TCMDate: Friday 16th JulyTime: 9:00pm

CellularOn: Film4Date: Friday 16th JulyTime: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1, 9/10:00pm 20th July)

CrankOn: ITV1  Date: Wednesday 21st JulyTime: 10:35pmDirty HarryOn: ITV4   Date: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm ITV4+1)

Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsOn: Virgin 1Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Virgin1+1, 3/4:00pm 18th July)Dr. Terror’s House of HorrorsOn: BBC 2   Date: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 01:25amEastern PromisesOn: BBC 2Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 10:00pmFinding NemoOn: Five  Date: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 4:55pmGangs Of New YorkOn: Film4   Date: Friday 16th JulyTime: 10:45pm (and 11:45pm Film4+1)Godzilla (1998)On: Five USADate: Friday 16th JulyTime: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Five+1, 6:20/7:20pm 17th July)Honey, I Shrunk the KidsOn: Film4Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 7:05pm (and 8:05pm Film4+1)

Inglourious BasterdsOn: Sky Movies Premiere     Date: Friday 16th JulyTime: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Premiere+1, then daily at similar times through 22nd July)MementoOn: Film4Date: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 01:45am (and 2:45am Film4+1)Mystic RiverOn: ITV3Date: Friday 16th JulyTime: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm ITV3+1)On The WaterfrontOn: Five USADate: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 2:15pm (and 3:15pm Five USA+1, noon/1:00pm 18th July)

ParenthoodOn: Hallmark  Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 4:40pm (and 5:40pm Hallmark+1)Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s ChestOn: BBC 1   Date: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 8:00pmRomeo Is BleedingOn: TCM   Date: Saturday 17th July Time: 11:15pm

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Slither On: Film4 Date: Thursday 22nd July Time: 11:35pm (and 00:35am 23rd July Film4+1)

SpaceballsOn: Comedy CentralDate: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 02:20am (and 3:20am CC+1)

Star Trek V: The Final FrontierOn: Channel 4  Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 11:05pm (and 00:05am 18th July 4+1)Superman 2On: FiveDate: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 2:25pmThe Bourne SupremacyOn: ITV2Date: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm ITV2+1, 9/10:00pm 20th July)

The CoreOn: Film4  Date: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 6:25pm (and 7:25pm Film4+1)The CoveOn: more4  Date: Tuesday 20th JulyTime: 10:00pm (and 01:05am 21st July)The Damned UnitedOn: BBC 2   Date: Sunday 18thTime: 9:00om

The EnforcerOn: ITV4Date: Friday 16th JulyTime: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm ITV4+1, 9:10/10:10pm 19th July)

The Fly (1986)On: Film4Date: Sunday 18th JulyTime: 11:00pm (and midnight Film4+1)

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The FugitiveOn: ITV2Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 10:30pm (and 11:30pm ITV2+1)

The Hitcher (1986)On: ITV4Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 11:35pm (and 00:35am 18th July ITV4+1, 00:10/01:10am 19th July)

The JackalOn: FiveDate: Monday 19th JulyTime: 9:00pm

The RainmakerOn: BBC 1    Date: Friday 16th JulyTime: 11:45pm

The RockOn: BBC 1   Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 10:55pm

Thelma And LouiseOn: Sky Movies Modern Greats   Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 11:00am (and 8:00pm)

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Toy Story 2On: BBC 1  Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 5:35pm

V For VendettaOn: BBC 3Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 9:35pm

Walk The LineOn: Film4Date: Saturday 17th JulyTime: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1)

X-Men Origins: WolverineOn: Sky Movies Premiere  Date: Friday 16th JulyTime: 8:00pm and 9:00pm Premiere+1 and daily at similar times through 23rd July)