crime watching
week 95
april 19th - 25th
Written for Bright by Annette White.
Schedules may be subject to change, so it's worth checking a daily paper or www.radiotimes.com for up-to-date listings.

television programmes
classics, "Must See Films" on tv
None this week.

programmes worth watching out for, which don't make it to MSTV status
Sunday April 20th, 20.00, C4 A Second Chance
Final programme in this three-part series following several children who have been excluded from school and are being given a second chance. Three allegedly "unteachable" children are given hope and practical help by a south London charity called Kids Company - which is sadly facing closure.
Director: Ambreen Hameed

criminal justice programmes
Monday April 21st, 21.00, ITV Millionaire: a Major Fraud
Proving that the painful pun in the title is not dead, this programme picks over the bones of the recent trial of Major Ingram & Co and shows clips from the controversial game show, complete with all the cheater's coughs. Producer: Ingrid Kelly

Tuesday April 22nd, Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th, 19.55, C4 Stephen Lawrence - Ten Years After
Short documentaries focusing on the family and friends of the murdered teenager, who talk about the way their lives have changed.
Director: Chloe Leland

Tuesday April 22nd, 22.00, C4 The Real Winona Ryder
Biographical documentary about the actress who was convicted of shoplifting in Beverley Hills last year. If I were her, I would sue for being sandwiched between The Real Blair Witch and The Real Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Tuesday April 22nd, 22.50, C5 Crime and Punishment
Real-life court cases are shown through film footage shot in an American court.

Wednesday April 23rd. 22.00, C4 The Real Texas
Chain Saw Massacre
An extreme example of American gun culture shows how a man with a gun crime record was allowed to build up an arsenal and commit a brutal crime.

Thursday April 24th, 21.00, C4 Georgian Underworld
The tale of the dashing highwayman Jack Sheppard, who ended up being hanged at Tyburn in front of 200,000 Londoners. Well, they didn't have Pop Idol to watch then.
Director: Justin Hardy Producer: John Toba

real life documentaries/docusoaps
Saturday April 19th, 22.30, BBC1 The Murder Game
Daft elimination game show centered around a murder mystery.
Website: www.bbc.co.uk/murdergame

Thursday April 24th, 20.00, BBC1 Bailiffs
Viewers of a sadistic bent will enjoy the sight of these private bailiffs stalking and entrapping their prey in order to collect outstanding court fines.

social issues documentaries
None this week.

crime dramas/serials
Sunday April 20th, 21.00, and Monday 21st, 21.10, BBC1
Final Demand
Silly drama about a young, bored and greedy woman who hits on a scam to appropriate other people's money.
Director: Tom Vaughan

Tuesday April 22nd and Thursday 24th, 20.00, ITV The Bill
The show that portrays police officers involved in all kinds of crime focuses on the drug addiction of PC Klein.
Director: Ged Maguire Producer: Susan Tully

Tuesday April 22nd, 23.05, C4 The Sopranos
Paulie is released from jail and the boys throw him a party.

Thursday April 24th and Friday 25th, 21.00, ITV Thursday the 12th
Implausible yarn about four relatives of a family who each want to bump off another member of their family.
Director: Charles Beeson Producer: Emma Burge

0ther programmes of interest
None this week.

annette's personal choice of the week
Friday April 25th, 21.30, BBC1 Have I Got News For You
New series of this enjoyable news quiz which lost its waspish presenter last year after his team captains failed to forgive him his much publicised encounters with forbidden substances (cocaine and prostitutes). This series will continue to try out various guest presenters, the first of whom is Martin Clunes, who will be able to lend a generous ear to each team. Glenda Jackson will add a touch of class, and Ruby Wax will stop anyone else from getting a word in edgeways. As long as she doesn't singŠ!

criminal justice story lines in the main soaps, dramas and sitcoms during april
In Coronation Street, the evil serial killer was hardly cold in his urn when there was another instance of bloodshed. The boring witness protection family were held hostage at gunpoint by disgruntled colleagues of the man Angela gave evidence against. Meanwhile there is another girl fight in the Rovers when Maria throws beer over her landlady. Is this a wise career move? In Eastenders Dot Cotton became the victim of a bogus caller who stole from her. Phil finds out about a mysterious family member, Dennis Rickman, who is serving three years for grievous bodily harm. Emmerdale's hapless builder Mack appropriated the Church Roof Repair Fund. Brookside saw Tim and Steve catch up with the evil drug-dealing Terry who was responsible for the hostage crisis, the helicopter crash and the demise of a number of well-loved denizens of the close. Tim intended to make the bounder eat a kilo of his own cocaine, but conscience got the better of him, and it all ended with a minor gunshot wound, actually an own goal.
The CSI: Miami [Saturday, 21.10, C5] team deal with the murder of a prostitute
and the killing of a German tourist in an apparent carjacking. Law and
Order concerns the murder of a popular Harlem community leader. In Holby
City [Tuesday, 20.00, BBC1] a joy ride leads to tragedy. CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation [Tuesday, 21.00, C5], features a decapitated woman and a man
who wakes up in the middle of his autopsy. Let's hope this happens before they
have taken his liver out and weighed it on the scales. In Boomtown [Tuesday,
21.55, C5], there is a trio of murderers who prey on people while they sleep. The
investigators are hampered by a journalist hoping for an exclusive and NYPD Blue
[Wednesday, 00.15, C] investigate a shooting. How mundane.

Related websites:
www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders
www.corrie.net
www.brookside.com
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers
http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/
http://abc.abcnews.go.com/primetime/nypdblue (learn cop talk!)

radio programmes
must hear radio
None this week.

criminal justice programmes
Tuesday April 22nd, 09.00, Radio 4 Unreliable Evidence
Clive Anderson ponders the pros and cons of making corporate and public manslaughter a statutory offence. Producer: Cathy Packe

social issues documentaries
Thursday April 24th, 20.30, Radio 4 Analysis
With the rise in the use of counselling and chemical fixes such as Prozac or Ritalin, are we becoming a neurotic nation, or are the stresses of modern life too much for us? Producer: Jim Frank

crime dramas/serials

Wednesday April 23rd, 23.00, Radio 4 Crème de la Crime
Comedy drama features murder, Bolsheviks, murder and maybe a bit more
murder. Producer: Adam Bromley

Friday April 25th, 21.00, Radio 4 The Friday Play: Heart - Attack
The story of a brutal murder case is told from two different perspectives.
Director: Mark Lambert

other programmes of interest
Friday April 25th, 16.30, Radio 4 The Message
Jenny Murray and guests engage in conversation about current media trends. Producer: Cecile Wright
Related website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/themessage.

crime writing in the tv guides
The Radio Times throws some light on the reasons for the recent overly dramatic developments in The Bill.

daily listings
NB As schedules may be subject to change, it's worth checking a daily paper or www.radiotimes.com for up-to-date listings.
saturday april 19th
21.10 C5 CSI: Miami
22.05 C5 Law and Order
22.30 BBC1 The Murder Game

sunday april 20th
20.00 C4 A Second Chance
21.00 BBC1 Final Demand
20.30 C5 Swag

monday april 21st
21.00 ITV Millionaire: A Major Fraud
21.10 BBC1 Final Demand

tuesday april 22nd
09.00 BBCR4 Unreliable Evidence
19.55 C4 Stephen Lawrence - Ten Years
After
20.00 BBC1 Holby City
20.00 ITV The Bill
21.00 C5 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
21.55 C5 Boomtown
22.00 C4 The Real Winona Ryder
22.50 C5 Crime and Punishment
23.05 C4 The Sopranos

wednesday april 23rd
00.15 C4 NYPD Blue
19.55 C4 Stephen Lawrence - Ten Years After
22.00 C4 The Real Texas Chain Saw Massacre
23.00 BBCR4 Crème de la Crime

thursday april 24th
19.55 C4 Stephen Lawrence - Ten Years After
20.00 BBC1 Bailiffs
20.00 ITV The Bill
20.30 BBCR4 Analysis
21.00 ITV Thursday the 12th
21.00 C4 Georgian Underworld
friday april 25th
16.30 BBCR4 The Message
21.00 ITV Thursday the 12th
21.00 BBCR4 The Friday Play: Heart - Attack
21.30 BBC1 Have I Got News for You