Friday, March 1
The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
AppleTV+
Before he was making jokes about cakes, Noel Fielding made his name in the surreal sitcom The Mighty Boosh. He’s older now, of course, but as this six-episode return to his roots shows, he’s no less mature. He plays Dick Turpin, an English bandit whose adventures have become legendary. But Fielding’s version is less interested in robbing people and more interested in taking on the role. He’s a thug in the Adam Ant mold: a cocky, snobbish fashionista.
The first episode, which brings Turpin’s gang together and introduces us to Hugh Bonneville’s burglar catcher Jonathan Wilde, is a slow-paced episode. Still, it’s a fantastic second installment of Fielding’s penchant for absurd visual gags and outlandish puns, still available today. A highlight is when Turpin’s disapproving butcher father (Mark Heap) tells him to “go back to your butcher and work for me.” There’s also a tremendous guest appearance from Greg Davies, whose throat-slitting thug Leslie Duval enlists “silly tit” Turpin to rob the “robberable ram”. His treasure is “an emerald the size of a monkey’s fist,” set next to a cross-section of a monkey for scale. SK
Dead Hot
Amazon Prime Video
This irresistibly twisty, if tonally uneven, six-part UK thriller was written by Charlotte Coben (Harlan’s daughter), who co-wrote Fool Me Once. Five years ago, the love of Elliot’s (Bilal Hasna) life disappeared. So could he still be living in Liverpool? And if so, why is he taunting his twin sister Jess (Vivian Oparah)? Cast includes Penelope Wilton and Peter Serafinowicz.
Masters of the Air
AppleTV+
The lavish World War II drama is going from strength to strength. This week Austin Butler’s incarcerated Buck buildings
A radio from scratch, right under the Germans’ noses. Meanwhile, Major Rosie (Nate Mann) and his men are assigned a series of suicide missions to bomb Berlin, but find themselves on the 22nd catch of their increased mission quota.
Daddy Brown
BBC One, 13.45
The cozy daytime drama takes on a particularly fun tone this week when Mark Williams’ curious priest finds himself reluctantly investigating the existence of vampires. For Bernard (Nicholas Woodeson), this is the only explanation for his daughter’s empty grave. Ray Fearon is delightfully caricatured as a famous vampire hunter.
here we go
BBC One, 20.30
Tonight’s episode of the family sitcom features a hilarious cameo from Jim Howick’s Ghosts co-star Simon Farnaby. He plays his relentlessly show-off brother-in-law, Boyd (or “Void” as he is known), who is famous for never asking questions in conversation. Until an exasperated Paul (Howick) takes it upon himself to trick her into asking a question.
Martin Compston’s Norwegian Escape
BBC Two, 10pm
The second week of Martin Compston’s journey across Scotland’s Northern neighbor takes him to Bergen, where he meets the Scots who have made the Norwegian city their home. They even march in Norway’s National Day parade with bagpipes and stuff.
Eurovision 2024: Graham Meets Olly
BBC One, 22.40
This year’s UK Eurovision nominee Olly Alexander faces chat show king Graham Norton in this one-off special. The highlight for Eurovision fans will be the premiere of the music video for Alexander’s song Dizzy. Then join the Big Eurovision Party: a celebration of the competition led by the likes of Conchita Wurst and Johnny Logan.
Napoleon (2023) ★★★★
AppleTV+
Ridley Scott’s bombastic and frenetic biopic is a magnificently sculpted piece of dad cinema; The battlefield scenes are so shocking that you’ll forget all thoughts of historical inaccuracy—though you’ll probably still be annoyed by Joaquin Phoenix’s soft Californian accent, a slight tinge on it. otherwise an extremely charismatic performance. Vanessa Kirby is his equivalent of his foxy and sensual first wife, Joséphine. Rebel.
Spaceman (2024) ★★★
netflix
Nothing about Spaceman suggests an “Adam Sandler vehicle,” but his attempt to make a Tarkovsky film in the outer reaches of our solar system with Swedish director Johan Renck ( Chernobyl ) is a worthwhile experiment. Sandler’s Jakub is a Czech cosmonaut investigating a dust cloud near Jupiter; Lenka (Carey Mulligan) is his abandoned wife and he is ready to give her up. How can we get it back? Team up with a giant talking spider, of course.
Ferrari (2023) ★★★★
Sky Cinema Premiere, 20:00
Bloody car crashes, Adam Driver’s questionable Italian accent, co-star Shailene Woodley simply refuses
Even trying to use an Italian accent… Michael Mann’s biopic about Ferrari founder Enzo will please enthusiasts and action lovers, and repulse those who like understated drama. Don’t overthink it; the cars have been beautifully redesigned, courtesy of Ferrari, and Penélope Cruz is generally strong in support.
Dune (1984) ★★
Film4, 23.15
It’s a dazzling folly from David Lynch, who was given a $50 million budget to bring Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic to the big screen. Producer Dino De Laurentiis wanted to jump on the Star Wars bandwagon, but the movie about an intergalactic spice war was too weird to pay off. Never mind: Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 version opposite Timothée Chalamet was a triumph; The second equally great movie is in theaters now.
Television previews
Stephen Kelly (SK), Veronica Lee (V.L.), Gerard O’Donovan (TO GO), Poppie Platt (PP) and Gabriel Tate (G.T.)