One to Watch: The History of Comedy: Family Friendly, 9pm, Sky Arts
The final episode of the current run tonight explores family-friendly comedy and the struggles of abiding by strict network censors in this second series of the stateside comedy reflective.
There has always been a need for this kind of comedy and many artists have taken on the task despite the inherent challenges. Comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, Ellen DeGeneres and Sinbad have all found success on stage “working clean”.
However, some comedians, like Bob Saget, Tim Allen and Whitney Cummings, found themselves altering their comedic voices when they landed lead roles on network sitcoms.
Writers for TV shows across every era, from I Love Lucy and In Living Color, to Will & Grace and Modern Family, have always found creative ways to use euphemisms and innuendo, while still abiding by the rules set by what were often strict network censors.
 Upstart Crow, 8.30pm, BBC Two
The day of Will’s son Hamnet’s (Joe Willis) confirmation is approaching and Anne (Liza Tarbuck) has made sure it’s been in Will’s diary for months. The only problem is this also turns out to be the night of the first ever London Theatre Awards, and, what with Will being the greatest writer of all time, and what with all the other theatre companies in London being closed all year because of the plague, Will reckons he may be in with a chance of a prize.
And there’s another dilemma: if Will does go the London Theatre Awards, who is going to be his plus one? He’s heard that his favourite dark lady, Emilia Laier, may be free that evening… But as Will wrestles with the temptation of the London theatre there is a far bigger threat to his family’s happiness lurking in the wings. |
Grand Designs, 9pm, Channel 4
In the first ‘healthy’ home project ever seen on Grand Designs, gallery owner Elinor and fitness entrepreneur Born set themselves the near impossible task of creating Britain’s first hypoallergenic house in a leafy back garden plot in south west London.
Driven by the need to alleviate their two young sons’ life-threatening allergies, their new part-submerged, shed-inspired home, will be constructed using low toxin materials and deploy cutting-edge filtration systems to clean the air they breathe. Right from the start, Born and Elinor are up against it, with access issues to their plot and the need to be super strict concerning suitable materials. It’s an immense burden and with the children still suffering weekly allergy attacks, a race against time to get moved in. But will their innovative new house deliver the benefits Elinor and Born are hoping for? |
Joanna Lumley’s Silk Road Adventure, 9pm, ITV, STV and UTV
Tonight its the last episode of the epic four-part series which has seen Joanna Lumley’s grandest and most challenging journey yet, a breath-taking odyssey from Venice to the Chinese border along the veins of the ancient Silk Road.
This final episode sees Joanna Lumley travel across the post-Soviet, Central Asian states of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the heartland of the Silk Road. Almost never seen on television, this little-known corner of the world is blessed with hyperbole-defying scenery – mighty mountains and glittering cities – that have played host to centuries of war, trade, guts, glory and espionage.
Joanna’s journey begins in north-west Uzbekistan’s Kyzl-Kum desert, where she meets some Bactrian camels and visits a windswept 2500-year-old Silk Road fortress called Ayaz Kala. Following in the footsteps of old trading caravans, she travels to Khiva, an ancient desert citadel ringed by formidable adobe walls. Here Joanna meets Shokir, a man whose family have made Khiva’s distinctive sheepskin chugirma hats for centuries, and witnesses a special chugirma dance.
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GPs Behind Closed Doors, 8pm, Channel 5
Documentary series filmed inside the Ridge Medical Practice in Bradford. John thinks his privates are shrinking, and a painful lump on his testicle might be cancer.
Steven’s multiple ailments are likely caused by the fact that he has drunk seven pints of beer a day since he was 18. Tests indicate Caroline may be anaemic, which can be an early sign of cancer. Bradley’s insomnia leaves him exhausted every day, but he can’t remember the last time he ate a proper meal. Elle has a family history of breast cancer and has recently found a lump on her breast.
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Married at First Sight USA, 10pm, E4
The sixth series of the stateside reality show continues tonight. The show sees singletons agree to get married, but have no idea to whom because their spouses have been carefully selected for them by relationship experts.
The three couples who married as strangers have known each other for just over a week, but now they must head back to the USA and decide where to live. Will they be able to compromise and find a new home that meets all of their needs? |
The History of Comedy concludes its second series tonight at 10pm on Sky Arts.
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