Geek shows and movies on UK TV in the coming week
Being Human is back! Survivors is back! And there are great movies coming up this week, too! Hurray!
We’ve come out the other side of a pretty spectacular couple of weeks for telly entertainment and are headed into a year paved with promise, even if some of our favourite shows withered by the roadside.
In the US, the new season of shows yet to make it to our shores starts up, with Chuck being the leader of the pack. We’ll need to wait a bit for Chuck and others, but worry not, because some great, unique UK TV is ready to roll out on home ground.
Comedy quiz panel show, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, hosted by Jimmy Carr and featuring Sean Lock and Jason Manford, returns for a ninth series tonight, Friday 8th January at 10:00pm on Channel 4 to get your grin muscles in shape.
Then, on Sunday 10th January, BBC3 serves up a second series of Being Human at 9:30pm. The supernatural flatmates have more mortal (though likely immoral) adversaries this lease renewal, we hear. We have no doubt humans can be a bigger threat than vampires, werewolves and ghosts put together, when put to the test, and we’ll be there from this new beginning to find out.
Also making a second series appearance is Survivors. The post-apocalytpic drama picks up from its tenuous, dangling cliffhanger on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Tuesday, 12th January.
US imports are still on the schedules, too, adding even more value to those contentious TV licenses.
The Fantasy Worlds Of Irwin Allen, a documentary on the sci-fi series creator of such classics as Land Of The Giants and Lost In Space, should be a real treat, with geeky behind-the-scenes and outtake footage and a look at Allen’s disaster films as well, airing tonight, the 8th, at 7:30pm on BBC4.
Heroes returns here on Saturday, 9th January at 10:10 on BBC2 with Orientation and Jump, Push, Fall, the fourth season’s first two episodes that launch the Volume 5: Redemption arc of the series.
A non-BBC entry(!), The Simpsons: Access All Areas celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the world-widely well-known cartoon, airing on Sky1 Monday 11th January at 7:00pm, with a look into how the show is made. This is the first of a series of specials, narrated by Ricky Gervais.
Lastly, the 21st Simpsons season opener, Homer The Whopper starts showing on Thursday, January 14th at 7:30pm on Sky1. Comic Book Guy features in this premiere ep co-written by a guest-starring Seth Rogen.
Now, on to the films showing through the weekend and a bit beyond. 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 ‘9th’ in your browser’s Find box or window to highlight and/or tab through all movies shown on Saturday. Enjoy!
Alien: ResurrectionOn: Film4Date: Saturday 9thTime: 11:15pm (and 00:15am 10th Jan Film4+1, 10:50/11:50pm 14th Jan)
Along Came A SpiderOn: more4Date: Friday 8thTime: 9:00pm (and 00:05am 9th Jan)
Beneath The Planet Of The ApesOn: Film4Date: Sunday 10thTime: 01:20am (and 2:20am Film4+1)
Blades Of GloryOn: BBC 1Date: Friday 8thTime: 10:45pm
Burn After ReadingOn: Sky Movies IndieDate: Friday 8thTime: 12:40pm (and 10:00pm)
Chain ReactionOn: Film4Date: Sunday 10thTime: 10:50pm (and 11:50pm Film4+1)
Dumb And DumberOn: G.O.L.D.Date: Saturday 9th JanuaryTime: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm and Gold+1, 9:05/10:05pm 10th Jan)
Forrest GumpOn: Channel 4Date: Sunday 10thTime: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm 4+1)
HannibalOn: DaveDate: Saturday 9thTime: 011:10pm (and 0:10am 10th Jan Dave Ja Vu)
HostageOn: Channel 4Date: Saturday 9thTime: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm 4+1)
Hot Shots!On: Film4Date: Saturday 9thTime: 7:25pm (and 8:25pm Film4+1)
Iron ManOn: Sky Movies Action/ThrillerDate: Sunday 10th JTime: 11:05am (and 6:50pm)
Jack-Jack AttackOn: BBC 3Date: Sunday 10thTime: 7:35pm
Kiss The GirlsOn: Film4Date: Saturday 9thTime: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1, 9:00/10:00pm 13th Jan)
L.A. StoryOn: ITV3Date: Friday 8th January 2010 (starting in 1 day)Time: 11:05pm
MirrorsOn: Sky Movies PremiereDate: Friday 8thTime: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Premiere+1, then nightly at same times through 14th Jan)
Ocean’s TwelveOn: ITV2Date: Friday 8thTime: 11:10pm (and 9:15pm 14th Jan)
Requiem For A DreamOn: BBC 2Date: Sunday 10thTime: 00:40am
RocknRollaOn: Sky Movies Action/ThrillerDate: Friday 8thTime: 1:00pm (and 7:05pm)
Role ModelsOn: Sky Movies ComedyDate: Friday 8thTime: 11:15am (and 9:40pm)
Shallow GraveOn: Film4Date: Thursday 14th JanuaryTime: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1)
Sky Captain And The World Of TomorrowOn: Film4Date: Sunday 10thTime: 7:00pm (and 8:00pm Film4+1)
SpaceballsOn: Virgin 1Date: Saturday 9thTime: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Virgin+1)
Star Trek: The Motion PictureOn: Sky Movies Sci-Fi/HorrorDate: Friday 8th)Time: 09:30am
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of KhanOn: Sky Movies Sci-Fi/HorrorDate: Friday 8thTime: 11:40am
Star Trek III: The Search For SpockOn: Sky Movies Sci-Fi/HorrorDate: Friday 8thTime: 3:35pm
Star Trek IV: The Voyage HomeOn: Sky Screen 2Date: Friday 8th JanuaryTime: 05:10am (and 8:30am 9th Jan)
Star Trek V: The Final FrontierOn: Sky Screen 2Date: Friday 8thTime: 1:45pm
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryOn: Sky Screen 2Date: Saturday 9thTime: 10:40am (and 5:00am 10th Jan, 9:55am 11th Jan)
Star Trek: First ContactOn: Sky Screen 2Date: Sunday 10thTime: 10:45am
SwordfishOn: Five USADate: Friday 8thTime: 9:00pm (and 9:00pm 13th Jan)
TakenOn: Sky Movies Action/ThrillerDate: Sunday 10th JanuaryTime: 9:00pm
The Chronicles Of RiddickOn: ITV2Date: Sunday 10thTime: 11:30pm
The Dark KnightOn: Sky Movies Action/ThrillerDate: Friday 8thTime: 9:00pm (and 10:45am 9th Jan, 9:00pm 11th Jan, 6:25pm 12th Jan)
The Day Of The JackalOn: ITV1Date: Saturday 9th JanuaryTime: midnight
The ExorcistOn: Five USADate: Saturday 9th JanuaryTime: 10:20pm
The Hudsucker ProxyOn: DaveDate: Saturday 9thTime: 21:00pm (and 10:00pm Dave Ja Vu, 6:00/7:00pm 10th Jan)
The IncrediblesOn: BBC 3Date: Sunday 10thTime: 7:40pm
The MaskOn: G.O.L.D.Date: Saturday 9thTime: 8:00pm (and 9:00pm Gold+1, 7:00/8:00pm 10th Jan Gold/+1)
The Mummy ReturnsOn: ITV2Date: Sunday 10thTime: 9:00pm
The Simpsons MovieOn: Channel 4Date: Saturday 9thTime: 7:15pm (and 10:00pm 4+1)
Thunderbirds Are GOOn: Film4Date: Friday 8thTime: 4:25pm (and 5:25pm Film4+1, 11:00am/noon May 9th Film4/+1)
Wallace And Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And DeathOn: BBC 3Date: Sunday 10thTime: 7:05pm (and 8:30pm 11th Jan)
War Of The Worlds (2005)On: BBC 3Date: Friday 8thTime: 8:20pm
X-MenOn: Sky Movies Modern GreatsDate: Friday 8th JanuaryTime: 10:15am (and 8:00 pm)
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