Mark Ruffalo (left) and Matt Bomer in 'The Normal Heart'.
Mark Ruffalo (left) and Matt Bomer in 'The Normal Heart'.
Drama pick: The Normal Heart
When: Thursday, 8.30pm Where: SoHo What: The merciless effects of the 1980s Aids crisis
Based on Larry Kramer's semi-auto-biographical Tony-winning play of the same name, The Normal Heart is the story of the early days of the 1980s HIV-Aids crisis in New York City, directedby Ryan Murphy.
Mark Ruffalo plays Ned Weeks, a writer who finds himself caught up in the crisis after friends and loved ones start to die at an alarming rate. He teams up with Dr Emma Brookner, a wheelchair bound survivor of polio who is trying desperately to gather more medical knowledge and research to help curb the epidemic, and, like Weeks, believes they need more support and attention from the wider public, and government.
It's also about the struggle within the gay community, as Weeks' bold, confrontational approach alienates others, like his lover Felix Turner (Matt Bomer), his brother Ben (Alfred Molina), and powerful but closeted banker Bruce Niles (Taylor Kitsch). It's a poignant, unflinching portrait of a community exasperated by their powerlessness, and fighting to get a nation in denial to acknowledge the truth of the crisis.
When: Friday, 9pm Where: SoHo What: The best insight into TV land
Stephen Mangan, Tamsin Greig and Matt LeBlanc star in 'Episodes'.
Having been separated and thoroughly derailed by a comedy of errors in the first two seasons, Sean and Beverly are back together, only to discover that it's not so easy to heal old wounds, especially when additional secrets are revealed about their time apart. Add to that the fact that the network is once again meddling with their show Pucks, and it's not hard to see why Beverly is keen to leave LA as soon as possible. On Matt's part, things are getting no easier this year, as his career and ego continue to be pummelled. His character is being superseded by the young stars of the show, he finds his part shrinking, and he still has a wandering eye (and other body parts) which pushes his relationship with Jamie on to thin ice. This puts the one good thing in his life in jeopardy -- and things go from bad to worse when it comes to his ex-wife and kids. As the series progresses, and both network execs and journalists plunge the knife in, chaos once again becomes the reigning state of affairs.
When: Sunday, 9.30pm Where: TV One What:Mad Men meets Masters of Sex
Despite its clinical exterior, it turns out that a London gynaecology unit in the 1960s holds plenty of secrets, passion, and glamour beneath the surface, in this new series which sounds a bit like Mad Men meets Masters of Sex meets The Hour. With Britain on the brink of a sexual revolution, the doctors and nurses of the unit are being kept very busy, but away from the hospital, they're fighting all the usual complex personal battles of their own. Admired and envied, charismatic surgeon Otto Powell (Jack Davenport) seemingly has the perfect life, but of course, a secret lurks beneath the immaculate surface. Otto's best friend Charlie (Shaun Dingwall) is starting to buckle under pressure, while the dream marriage of sexy nurse Jean (Zoe Boyle) to ambitious doctor, Richard (Oliver Chris), is under threat before it has even begun. With all the colleagues doing a delicate social dance around their various secrets and lies, when Otto's head is turned by a new arrival at the hospital, temptation threatens to derail everyone.
Documentary pick: Idris Elba: King of Speed
Idris Elba in documentary series Idris Elba: King Of Speed.
When: Thursday, 8.30 pm Where: Prime What: Why we love to go fast
Most of us can only imagine what it would feel like to be in a car when the speedometer is heading towards 200km/h, but you have to admit, there are times when you're tempted to push that pedal to the floor -- after all, the drive to go faster and faster has long been part of the modern world. In this three-part documentary series, Idris Elba (The Wire, Luther, Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom) taps into that desire, and examines the culture behind speed, the history of racing, and what makes people want to risk their lives for a few moments of adrenaline. He checks out the colourful origins of the underground racing scene in the US, and sets out to investigate how boy-racers have shaped the cars we drive today. The first episode sees him share his East London childhood memories of his obsession with cars, before heading off to race and rally across the world, and meet some legends, while uncovering how smugglers, lawbreakers, and underage drivers have shaped the world of motoring.
