There is a mixed bag of offerings on the pay TV channels’ small screens in the coming days which cater for a wide variety of viewing tastes and pleasures. Some are humorous, others more serious and, of course, those that offer pure escapism from real-life issues.
The first centres on love – and the drama that can sometimes evolve from it, namely, weddings. These occasions are all about excitement, planning and anticipation, and as many viewers either have already been through the planning of one – or may have to do so some time in the future, BBC Lifestyle’s new offering Don’t Tell the Bride, which starts next week, is believed to be popular viewing for DStv subscribers.
The six-episode series tells the stories of six grooms who face the challenges of organising the perfect day for their brides and who have been given a cash boost by the producers to help them create that dream wedding.
But here is the catch: the bride and groom can’t see each other for the month leading up to the nuptials and the groom has to plan the whole wedding in secret.
The bride will get the first glimpse of the invitations when they come in the mail, she’ll try on the dress hours before she wears it down the aisle, and she’ll view the reception venue and meal when she arrives with the rest of her guests.
Does this sound like a nightmare? Or is this a chance for the groom to impress his bride? When it comes to a wedding, there’s always drama, and Don’t Tell the Bride promises tantrums – and a few unexpected tears of joy before the big day.
The series premieres on BBC Lifestyle, channel 180, on Tuesday, at 9.25pm.
Then also next week, DStv viewers can look forward to a one-episode documentary on BBC Knowledge (channel 251), titled The Genius Sperm Bank. It tells the story of millionaire optometrist Robert Clark Graham, who believed that many intelligent people were dying childless, yet “imbeciles” and “morons” were reproducing more and more, so he wanted to bring thousands of geniuses into the world to ensure the future of the human race.
Together with eugenics proponent Hermann J Muller in 1963, he decided to establish a Repository for Germinal Choice – a sperm bank stocked full of “donations” solicited from some of the world’s most brilliant men.
The documentary features dramatic reconstructions of documented moments featuring Graham, including his meeting with Muller, setting up his Repository, soliciting donors and ultimately lying dead in a hotel bathtub. The story is told through the eyes of the people who helped set up and manage the sperm bank, some of the recipients, and Graham’s lasting legacy – the sperm bank children.
The Genius Sperm Bank starts tonight, at 9.30pm.
But for viewers who prefer to escape reality and look forward to fictional movie fests, there are some good screenings coming up over the next few days which, although not new releases, still offer some top-class entertainment.
The first is 2008’s What Happens in Vegas, which screens tomorrow night on M-Net at 9.30pm. A romantic comedy, the movie is set in Sin City and revolves around two people who discover they have got married after a night of debauchery, with one of them winning a huge jackpot after playing the other’s coin.
In a bid to get divorced and walk away with the spoils, the unhappily married pair does everything they can to undermine each other, but as most romantic comedies go, love always gets in the way. What Happens in Vegas stars Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher.
Going back even further to 1999, TopTV is screening Arlington Road which, despite being 11 years old, is still a gripping movie treat. Starring Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins, the movie centres on a college professor who becomes increasingly obsessed with the culture and sub-society of terrorist groups after his FBI agent wife is killed during an anti-terrorist operation gone wrong.
The arrival of new neighbours, however, gives him new spirit, as they are gregarious and friendly, with two children that his son can be friends with. He is even beginning to see another woman.
However, he begins to suspect something is odd about the neighbours, something about the way they don’t want him to see certain parts of the house, or a set of blueprints they have there.
Arlington Road is on TopTV’s Top Movies channel on Monday night at 7pm.