Monday, February 15, 2016

Thursday’s best TV: Cats v Dogs: Which is Best; Death in Paradise; Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons

Robert Capa’s photographs; meet a feline channel-changer, DI Goodman serves up a gastronomic murder. Plus: Paul Connolly breaks in to Poland’s hardline Piotrków jail

The Light Of Dawn: The Normandy Landings
6pm, Yesterday

“When the noise of the first shell hit our ears, we hit the deck and lay in our own vomit,” recalled Robert Capa, the only photographer to accompany the first wave of the 1944 Normandy landings. Capa’s extraordinary pictures feature in the opener of this excellent two-parter, chronicling the lead-up to the 6 June touchdown – and the human stories therein: the influx of American GIs meant there had never before been so many illegitimate births seen in England. Ali Catterall

Cats v Dogs: Which Is Best?
8pm, BBC2

Dog-lover Chris Packham fights his corner against cat champion Liz Bonnin as they conclude their friendly battle to find out which pet is the best. Some might argue the question is answered pretty early on by the cat who can use a remote control, but then there’s a heaphone-wearing dog who’s trained to lie still during a brain scan. Barks and miaows are interpreted; a dog who knows as many words as a toddler shows off; and Packham’s beloved poodles, Itchy and Scratchy, demonstrate separation anxiety. Hannah Verdier

Jericho
9pm, ITV

The idea of the past never staying buried is central to Jericho. It’s a trope that’s in evidence again tonight as Charles employs a surveyor to find a spot to quarry stone for the viaduct. As this proves to be the site where – along with the remains of Skinny and Happy Jack – Red’s body is secreted, Annie and Johnny have a problem. If Johnny oversees an exhumation, will disaster be averted? Although Jericho continues to be an uneven drama, it’s certainly not one that wants for incident and intrigue. Jonathan Wright

Death in Paradise
9pm, BBC1

Tonight, DI Goodman must solve the puzzle of the deep-frozen chef as local gastronome Robert Holt is found, stiff as a board, and acting as a human knifeblock after the opening of his new eatery. Who had a beef with the irascible foodie, and when was the deed done? With his family gathered for the opening, the finger of blame points in multiple directions, but can Humph slice through their untruths and skewer the killer? Exactly what a rainy February evening needs. Julia Raeside

Keeping Up With the Khans
9pm, Channel 4

This series gives immigrants and asylum-seekers enough of a platform to defuse any suspicion of exploitation. Tonight, the focus is on a group much despised by tabloid-waving bulldogs: Roma. These are from Slovakia, and more than 1,500 have come to Page Hall, Sheffield in five years. We meet asprirant singer Erik and Sebastian, who washes cars. Says his boss, a second-generation Pakistani: “It doesn’t matter where you come from. If you’ve got that work ethic, you’re welcome. Bums, we don’t deal with.” Jack Seale

Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons
9pm, Channel 5

In the first in a new series, crime journalist Paul Connolly heads inside the maximum-security Piotrków prison in Poland. Built in 2003, it houses 700 of the country’s most dangerous criminals, and operates a high-discipline, zero-tolerance regime to try and break the ingrained gang culture. Connolly is strip-searched before spending five days behind bars, during which he interviews inmates and encounters the prison’s in-house riot squad. Ben Arnold

The Keith Lemon Sketch Show
10pm, ITV2

The second series of Marmite showbiz send-ups continues. The unlikely Big Fat Gypsy Kardashian mash-up lives on, with ex-Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts joining the fold as Caitlyn Jenner. Elsewhere, there are more potentially slanderous sketches featuring “Olly Murs”, “Caroline Flack” and “Martin Clunes”, and Yvette Fielding parodies her ghost-hunting gig with Probably Not Haunted. Unless you’re a fan of Leigh Francis’s titular irritant or share his obsession with the likes of Ant & Dec, it’s unlikely to appeal. Hannah J Davies

Film choice

Intolerable Cruelty
(Joel Coen, 2003) 10pm, Watch

Here’s Clooney again, in the Coen brothers’ delightfully cynical screwball comedy. George plays high-flying divorce lawyer Miles Massey, who has never lost a case. But then he falls for Catherine Zeta-Jones’s gold-digging Marylin Rexroth. The pair interact electrically, but will they live happily ever after? It’s a tall order in this witty tale.

Today’s best live sport

Tennis: The Rotterdam Open Coverage of day four at the Ahoy Rotterdam, where the second-round matches continue. 10am, Sky Sports 3
World Rally Championship Coverage of the Rally Sweden. 7pm, BT Sport 2
Rugby League: Salford Red Devils v St Helens The top-flight clash between the local rivals at the AJ Bell Stadium. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 2
Test Cricket: New Zealand v Australia The first Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. 9pm, Sky Sports 3

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