Things to do
This week’s TV: Some of them will make it, some won’t
This article is more than 9 years old.
SOMM
DR2, WED 00:40
Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Bourgogne Blanc – while most of us have problems even pronouncing these wines, there are many who can tell the difference blindfolded.
And not only that, they can distinguish the country, year, oak and a lot more, leaving no doubt that becoming a master sommelier means passing the most difficult test in the entire world – there are currently only 230 that have passed.
The US documentary SOMM follows four men on their way to take the Sommelier Test in Texas.
With three weeks until the final exam, the film follows their intense preparation.
With 7 on IMDB, SOMM received many positive reviews. At times it’s so intense you’ll crave a nice glass of wine. So grab a bottle and take a look – it’s more than worth it.
Also New
Join us for a whistle-stop tour starting with cuisine travel show Parts Unknown, which is taking in Vietnam, Tanzania, Paraguay and, err, Massachusetts (DR2, Mon-Thu 19:15, in that order), followed by Networks of Power (DR2, Tue 18:30), which is visiting London, and then Bad Things: The Rape of Pakistan’s Boys (DR2, Tue 23:00), for which you need no directions, unless it is to the toilet to be sick.
The compelling docs continue with The American Terrorist (SVT1, Mon 21:55 or Wed 23:40), a profile piece on David Coleman Headley, the one who was scouting the Copenhagen offices of Jyllands-Posten in 2009 (while the Weekly Post was based there!), Cosmonauts: How Russia won the space race (DR3, Sun 23:10 or Mon 23:45) and Don’t panic: the truth about population (DR2, Thu 23:00).
Elsewhere, British crime series Black Work (SVT1, Fri 22:00) was a little hackneyed according to most reviews; we’ve got S3 of Mistresses (K4, Mon 22:00), S2 of Accused (SVT1, Thu 23:30) and S2 of Line of Duty (SVT2, Mon 22:45); and there’s another chance to see acclaimed doc Queen of Versailles (DR2, Tue 23:50) the riotous miniseries House of Saddam (DR2, Mon 23:00), Beyonce: Life is but a dream (SVT1, Fri 23:05), and Fry’s Planet World. (BH)
Coming Soon
Vinyl
It’s still some way around the corner, but we’re confident that HBO’s new series Vinyl will be the one everyone’s talking about in 2016.
Midas touch producer Terence Winter (The Sopranos) has cast Bobby Cannavale (his villain in S3 of Boardwalk Empire) as a record label president struggling to save his company admist all the sex, drugs and violence in the New York music scene in the 1970s.
With a supporting cast that includes Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano and Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, and producers Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger on board, will be the talk of the town. Check out the teaser online.
Sport of the Week
As the World Athletics Championship (DR3 & SVT1, ends Sun) World Athletics Championship come to an end, let’s join hands and pray Justin Gatlin doesn’t win anything. There are no obvious bad guys in tennis, unless (like most Hollywood films) it’s the Brit and some of us are a little blindsided! Given recent results, the US Open could be close. Elsewhere, La Vuelta (TV2) is well underway and La Liga and EPL (TV3 Sport 2, Sun 16:55 EPL: Swansea City vs Man Utd) continue. (BH)
Film of the week
That’s good going. According to IMDB, Bruce Willis is in the worst two films this week: Die Hard 5 and Setup (TV3, Sat 22:45), a film so bad 50 Cent used his real name on the posters. At the other end of the spectrum, David O Russell’s The Fighter is riveting, and legal drama Conviction (K4, Thu 20:00) and Zaytoun (DRK, Thu 21:30) are also recommended. (BH)