Skip to content
Wednesday December 31st
Celebrity Mastermind (BBC1, 6.35pm)
Yes, there’s several episodes of this show on over the Christmas period, but despite featuring Kate Thornton, those who are worth watching are comedian Tony Law, The League of Gentlemen‘s Steve Pemberton and The Simpsons‘ Harry Shearer (right).
Queen and Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live (BBC1, 11.15pm)
Continuing after the midnight gongs, as 2014 draws to a close, rock legends Queen and charismatic vocalist Adam Lambert welcome in the new year as they perform a collection of their greatest hits at a specially staged concert in central London in front of two thousand people. Greg James and Gemma Cairney are on hand to introduce the concert and count down to the spectacular annual fireworks display over the Thames at midnight.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (BBC1, 7.05pm)
Mentioned only because the first three are also on, but this is the only one that you can miss without missing anything.
Dross includes The Help (BBC2, 8.30pm), the lazy Britain’s Favourite Sitcoms (C5, 9pm), the unfunny Jason Manford hosting A Funny Old Year 2014 (ITV, 9pm), Mock the Week New Year Compilation (BBC2, 10.45pm) and recorded-in-June Jools’ Annual Hootenanny 2014 (BBC2, 11.20pm).
Thursday January 1st 2015
New Year’s Day Concert Live from Vienna (BBC Red Button, 10.10am & BBC2 from 11.15am)
I wish they’d show the whole thing on BBC2 so we can see it in HD from the start, but there is a BBC4 repeat at 7pm, slightly shorter but that’s because they cut out the intermission. Still, I’d rather see it LIVE in HD.
Petroc Trelawny presents as Zubin Mehta returns to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for the fifth time in their traditional start to the new year, live from the Musikverein in the heart of Vienna. The orchestra performs the Strauss family’s traditional and hugely popular waltzes, polkas and marches culminating in the perennial favourites By the Beautiful Blue Danube and the Radetzky March. Featuring performances from the Vienna State Ballet at the Vienna University, there are also images celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Vienna University of Technology where both Johan Strauss senior and junior were students.
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (BBC1, 4.25pm)
Having bought a model ship, the Unicorn, for a pound off a market stall Tintin is initially puzzled that the sinister Mr. Sakharine should be so eager to buy it from him, resorting to murder and kidnapping Tintin – accompanied by his marvellous dog Snowy – to join him and his gang as they sail to Morocco on an old cargo ship.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, it stars Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nicholas Frost, Simon Pegg and Daniel Mays.
The Dark Knight (ITV, 9pm)
Like the recent Gran Torino premiere on C5, it’s taken six years for Christopher Nolan‘s dreary and overlong Batman sequel to premiere on TV. How long until The Dark Knight Rises, I wonder?
The Dark Knight will no doubt be shown in 16:9, but a lot of the scenes open up to that format as they were shot in IMAX, so were actually filmed in 1.44:1 but the Blu-ray switches between 16:9 and 2.35:1. It’ll be interesting to see how this film is presented.
The film stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart and Michael Caine.
Other films include Snow White and the Huntsman (C4, 8pm), The Wizard of Oz (C4, 4.10pm), and dross includes Mrs Brown’s Boys (BBC1, 9.35pm) and Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot (BBC1, 6.30pm) starring Judi Dench and Dustin Hoffman, which has been advertised to death and I’m sick to the back teeth of it. It’s also got bloody James Corden, like everything else!
Friday January 2nd
How the West Was Won (BBC2, 2.05pm)
A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the nineteenth century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.
This film stars Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Carolyn Jones, Karl Malden and Gregory Peck, and was shot in the 3-screen Cinerama process with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.89:1 and it was premiered in this correct ratio, and in a restored print, for the first time last Christmas. Even if you only have a passing interest in Westerns, like me, this is a great movie to watch for an easy afternoon.
The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz (C4, 9pm)
The Big Fat Quiz returns for a 10-year anniversary special. Jimmy Carr hosts alongside an A-list team of panellists: Russell Brand, Noel Fielding, Jonathan Ross, Jack Whitehall, Warwick Davis and Claudia Winkleman, who take on the events of the last decade, covering everything from Chico-time and the horsemeat scandal to sexy spies and royal weddings. So whose sex was on fire? Which celebrity claimed to have tiger blood and Adonis DNA and why on earth did a lot of people start wearing white wristbands? Put the Christmas diet on hold and enjoy a big fat helping of a festively funny feast – it’s the perfect way to see out 2014.
Dross includes new series of Room 101 (BBC1, 8.30pm), The Musketeers (BBC1, 9pm) and Benidorm (ITV, 9pm).
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.