From John Craven (yes, really) to the return of Hercule Poirot, our critic's personal choice of what to watch over the weekend
Christmas Eve
The John Craven Years (BBC2, 7pm)
The broadcasting titan chuckles his way over anecdotal hill and dale in this clip-heavy curiosity, its blend of politics, pullovers and popular culture offering a sobering reminder that a former Swap Shop reporter is for life, not just for Christmas. While archive bloopers emphasise the lighter side of Craven ? here an encounter with an implacable bull, there a set-to with a Countryfile cagoule ? it's the serious stuff (Lebanon, the Troubles, Noel Edmonds) that best serves the 71-year-old; a benign Alan Partridge who is, he chortles, "terribly grateful" for all that TV has given him. A-ha!
The Many Faces of Les Dawson (BBC2, 9pm)
Bosom-nudger, baritone, erudite monologuist, gameshow underminer, gurner laureate: Dawson's skills spool like handkerchiefs from a magician's sleeve in this pleasingly unfussy tribute. John Cleese and Robert Webb are on celebrity insight duties while vintage clips ? Les battling a recalcitrant piano on Lulu's Back in Town, Les abusing Roy Walker on Blankety Blank ? capture the majesty of the comic's deadpan genius. No "behind the laughter" boohooing or forelock-tugging deference here, just a straightforward celebration of a man, a face and a talent that roundhouse kicked his contemporaries into a skip behind The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. Cracking.
Outnumbered (BBC1, 9.20pm)
Having outgrown the chaotic, precocious trappings of its adolescence, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's creation appears to be easing itself into more traditional sitcom trousers. But even a storyline hewn from bits of Del Boy's Robin Reliant ? will the Brockmans catch their plane to the Costa Del Exposition? ? fails to dim this seasonal special, stuffed as it is with fistfuls of unsweetened bonhomie. Ding dong merrily, then, as Karen enjoys a clandestine shave and Ben tries to cheer up a widower by telling him about his dead stick insect. Boom tish, with bells on.
Timeshift ? Epic: A Cast of Thousands! (BBC4, 10.40pm)
Tom Baker roars his way through a rollicking account of the golden age of swords-and-sandals, an era when no historical representation was too reductive and no beard too unconvincing to merit a green light from cinema's moneymen. Rich in insight, it's a story steeped in bruised hooves, bankruptcy, yawning extras, tumescent ambition and a fittingly heroic lack of self-awareness. Civilisations rose and records fell as innumerable Cecil B DeMillions megaphoned their way through backlot blockbusters that epitomised Hollywood's extraordinary post-war bravado. Andrew Collins and lovely old Christopher Frayling are among the anecdote-dispensers.
Christmas Day
The Gruffalo's Child (BBC1, 6.30pm)
"The Big Bad Mouse is terribly strong," warns Mrs Squirrel of the bewhiskered, forest-dwelling behemoth, turning to the first page of a sequel that is as twinklingly old-fashioned as its predecessor. So it's off to the woods with the titular sceptic, where a dastardly snake, a cowardly fox and an existential crisis on a tree stump conspire to put the kibosh on her tiny-pawed heroics. Ren� Aubry provides another exquisite, understated score, while the expected brass section of celebri-toffs (Helena Bonham-Carter, John Hurt, the wonderful Shirley Henderson) contribute vowels and gravitas. Perfection, really.
Doctor Who (BBC1, 7pm)
From the depths of a silent forest beckons a wintry tale of wartime pluck. Steven Moffat's latest festive panto is a typically lavish affair, with the Doctor and a resilient 1940s widow (Claire Skinner) embroiled in an ingenious take on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The Spielbergian sentimentality (dead pilots, preternaturally sensible youngsters) gets a bit Sensodyne Extra at times, but there are proper chills (time portals, talking trees, pulsing bauble things) and larks (Bill Bailey) and, as with all the best Christms specials, the sense that all is well with the world.
Downton Abbey (ITV1, 9pm)
Bow ties tremble and stiff upper lips crumble in this fraught two-hour special ? a welcome relief, frankly, after the bouncing jalopy of woohoo that was the second series. While innocent, despairing Bates awaits trial for murder, Lady Mary continues to make unrequited cow-eyes at cousin Matthew. Elsewhere there is a ouija board, a shooting party, expert work from Messrs Exposition and Innuendo and, apropos period-specific lolz, Nigel Havers doing Guest Bounder in a blizzard of posh. Set cravats to stun.
Boxing Day
The Borrowers (BBC1, 7.30pm)
The latest adaptation of Mary Norton's timeless family yarn arrives with a kerfuffle of additions and subtractions (plastic guns, a single dad, no rheumatic fever, Stephen Fry going "mnyeh" in a lab coat) but, for once, the bells and bows are informed tweaks rather than foolhardy trendifications. Christopher Eccleston and Sharon Horgan are the beleaguered fun-sizers eager to avoid the clutches of tenacious human beans Fry and Victoria Wood, while spirited daughter Aisling Loftus entails the services of cocky tearaway Robert Sheehan in the exploration of her burgeoning, PG-rated sexuality. Tiptop.
Agatha Christie's Poirot (ITV1, 9pm)
"Eet eez a puzzle," concedes the bulbous Belgian of his latest case and, naturally, Poirot n'est pas wrong. When the corpse of an insurance salesman is discovered in the drawing room of a blind receptionist, the detective finds himself in another investigational peasouper; a corking pre-war mystery thick with knitted tanktops, blackmail, secret identities and a shoal of red herrings so abundant, it becomes difficult to see ze wood for ze trees, oui? Zesty performances from Lesley Sharp, Jason Watkins and the late Anna Massey add bounce to a rich, densely plotted pudding.
Jane Austen: The Unseen Portrait? (BBC2, 9pm)
"Could this be the true face of Jane Austen?" asks Martha Keaney, peering intently at the subject's melting graphite eyes, robust nose and, beneath, a neck that could dislodge the cobwebs from a proscenium arch. The answer ? a firm "possibly" ? is explored in this engrossing documentary; a scholarly detective yarn in which Kearney joins biographer Dr Paula Byrne in an effort to determine the provenance of a modest portrait of Austen previously dismissed as inauthentic. Ink dating and facial recognition techniques are deployed, while Byrne's zealousness is challenged by a rookery of haughty types in tweed. Don't miss.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/dec/22/sarah-dempster-christmas-tv
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