** Baby, it’s you: Martin copes with news of Louisa’s pregnancy on Doc Martin, Jan. 20 **
** Where it all started: catch the original Doc Martin movie, Jan. 18 **
** Unscripted guests include bestselling author Faye Kellerman, Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Kris Jenner **
** Ralph Benmergui examines faith and politics in America, Israel: Jan. 19 & 20 **
** Get in a Winter Olympics mood with everyone’s favourite figure skating rom-com, The Cutting Edge, Jan. 20 **
Monday, Jan. 18
Retro TV Classic – Murder, She Wrote
7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
Legendary stage and screen actress Angela Lansbury cemented her iconic status playing mystery author and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher in this long-running whodunit series. Tonight: The Mexican “Day of the Dead” festival lives up to its name, as Jessica finds herself on the trail of a killer. Oscar winner James Coburn (Affliction, Our Man Flint) guest stars.
The Best of British Comedy – My Husband and I
8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
Mollie Sugden (best known as Betty Slocombe on the long-running Are You Being Served?) stars here as Nora Powers, the officious head of personnel at a prestigious advertising agency. Nora’s personal and professional lives collide unhappily when her husband George (played by Sugden’s real-life husband, William Moore) joins the company as chief doorman. Tonight: Panic sets in at Ashvale Advertising when Nora becomes convinced the firm is being taken over.
** VISIONTV PREMIERE **
Doc Martin: The Movie
9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
Here’s a special bonus for fans of Doc Martin (see Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET): one of the original TV movies that served as the inspiration for the hit comedy-drama series. A spin-off from the Golden Globe Award-nominated feature film Saving Grace, this 2003 production follows the misadventures of London obstetrician Dr. Martin Bamford (Martin Clunes), who retreats to a fishing village in Cornwall after his marriage cracks up.
Movie – Raging Bull
Midnight ET / 9 p.m. PT
Martin Scorsese’s 1980 biography of prizefighter Jake LaMotta is his masterpiece – and to many critics, one of the greatest American films ever made. Robert De Niro claimed an Oscar for his virtuoso performance as LaMotta, a force of nature who rose from the slums of the Bronx to become middleweight champion of the world, but was brought to ruin by his own uncontrollable passions. With Cathy Moriarty and Joe Pesci.
Tuesday, Jan. 19
Retro TV Classic – Murder, She Wrote
7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
Tonight: Darren McGavin (A Christmas Story, Kolchak: The Night Stalker) guest stars as a playwright haunted by visions of his late wife.
** VISIONTV PREMIERE **
The Best of British Comedy – Only When I Laugh
8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT
Meet Roy Figgis (James Bolam), Archie Glover (Peter Bowles) and Norman Binns (Christopher Strauli), the bed-ridden heroes of this classic British comedy series, and three of the best arguments against socialized medicine you’ll ever meet. Set entirely in a hospital ward, the series follows the misadventures of these three long-term patients, who somehow manage never to find themselves in danger of getting better or going home. Tonight: A conversation about a sick dog becomes garbled in the rumour mill, leading Figgis to believe he’s about to die.
Retro TV Classic – Quantum Leap: “Killing Time”
9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
This classic sci-fi drama stars Scott Bakula (The Informant!) as Sam Beckett, a scientist trapped in the past by a time travel experiment gone wrong. Sam can leap into any person’s life, at any point within his own lifetime – but he can’t predict where he’s going to land next. Tonight: Sam leaps into the body of a mass murderer who has escaped custody and taken a mother and her daughter hostage. 7th Heaven’s Beverley Mitchell guest stars.
** NEW EPISODE **
Talk Series – Unscripted
10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
In this intimate talk program, some of the entertainment world’s most iconic figures – from Bob Newhart to Florence Henderson – reflect candidly on their lives and careers. Tonight: Kris Jenner, star of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, shares the truth about life inside the reality TV fishbowl.
Documentary Series – Ralph Benmergui: My Israel
10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT
In this five-part documentary series, renowned journalist Ralph Benmergui examines the past, present and future of the Jewish state. Tonight: When it was founded, Israel represented the expression of a socialist utopian dream. Now, like all modern democracies, it grapples with issues of race and class. This episode shines a light on the experiences of the Ethiopian, Moroccan and Arab Israeli minorities, and asks what the future holds for Israel’s utopian vision.
Movie – Toys
Midnight ET / 9 p.m. PT
If you loved Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, you’ll want to check out this eccentric 1992 fantasy from director Barry Levinson (Diner). Robin Williams stars as the childlike son of a dying toy factory owner (Donald O’Connor) who must grapple with his sinister uncle (Harry Potter’s Michael Gambon) for control of the operation. With Joan Cusack, Robin Wright Penn and LL Cool J (NCIS: Los Angeles).
Wednesday, Jan. 20
The Best of British Comedy – Open All Hours
8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT
Comedy legend Ronnie Barker (The Two Ronnies) stars in this well-loved series from Last of the Summer Wine creator Roy Clarke. Barker plays penny-pinching corner shop owner Arkwright, while David Jason (The Darling Buds of May) co-stars as his hapless nephew Granville. Tonight: While Arkwright is away with Nurse Gladys, Granville entertains the milk-woman.
** NEW EPISODE **
Comedy/Drama Series – Doc Martin: Season Four
9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
Has living in the beautiful seaside village of Portwenn improved Dr. Martin Ellingham’s disposition? Not a chance. Fans of this acclaimed British comedy-drama series will be relieved to learn that the foul-tempered physician (played by Martin Clunes) hasn’t mellowed in the slightest. In fact, since schoolteacher Louisa Glasson (Caroline Catz) left him at the altar, he’s nastier than ever. Tonight: Martin struggles to deal with the news of Louisa’s pregnancy. Louisa goes for a checkup with Dr. Edith Montgomery (Lia Williams) and learns something shocking about Martin and Edith’s relationship in medical school.
** NEW EPISODE **
Talk Series – Unscripted
10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
Tonight: Acclaimed mystery author Faye Kellerman describes her journey from dentistry school to the New York Times bestseller list.
Documentary Series – God Bless America
10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT
In this six-part documentary series, award-winning Canadian journalist Ralph Benmergui asks: why does religious faith play such an important role in American political life? Tonight: America’s Evangelical Christian movement wields enormous political and social influence. This episode spotlights the efforts Evangelicals are making to get subjects like “intelligent design” onto school curricula. Does God belong in the classroom?
Movie – The Cutting Edge
Midnight ET / 9 p.m. PT
Here’s something to get you in the mood for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games. This 1992 romantic comedy stars D.B. Sweeney as a former hockey star who’s recruited to partner with a figure skating prima donna played by Moira Kelly (One Tree Hill). Love blossoms between the mismatched couple as they train for a bid at Olympic gold. Terry O’Quinn (Lost) also stars.
Thursday, Jan. 21
The Best of British Comedy – On the Buses
8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
In this charmingly unpretentious slice of working-class British life, bus driver Stan Butler (Reg Varney) and cheerfully lecherous conductor Jack Harper (Bob Grant) conspire to do as little real work as possible while avoiding the wrath of their nemesis, the tyrannical Inspector Blake (Stephen Lewis). Tonight: All of the men at the depot are slavering after the pretty new hire, unaware that she’s the Inspector’s niece.
Movie – The Perez Family
9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
Director Mira Nair (Amelia) explores the immigrant experience in this 1995 romantic comedy. Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2) stars as Juan Raul Perez, a Cuban political prisoner who is freed after 20 years and joins a boatload of exiles bound for the U.S. At a temporary refugee camp in Miami, he meets Dorita (Marisa Tomei), a vivacious sugar cane worker and occasional prostitute, who recruits him to join her makeshift “family” in the hope of exploiting an immigration loophole and finding an American sponsor more quickly. With Anjelica Huston and Chazz Palminteri.
Movie – A Dry White Season
Midnight ET / 9 p.m. PT
Donald Sutherland stars in this 1989 drama about a complacent white South African schoolteacher who is awakened to the realities of apartheid when the son of his loyal gardener (Winston Ntshona) disappears following a political demonstration. With Marlon Brando (in an Oscar-nominated supporting turn) and Susan Sarandon.
Friday, Jan. 22
The Best of British Comedy – Father Ted
8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT
God must really hate the parishioners of Craggy Island. Why else would He send them the scheming Father Ted (played by the late, great Dermot Morgan) and his colleagues, dim-witted Father Dougal (Ardal O’Hanlon) and demented Father Jack (Frank Kelly)? Voted one of the best Britcoms of all time, the irreverent, award-winning Father Ted is sinfully funny. Tonight: The parish house is infested by rabbits just as Bishop Brennan (Jim Norton) arrives to investigate reports of Father Jack sleepwalking naked.
** NEW EPISODE **
Talk Series – Unscripted
10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
Tonight: Veteran standup comic and actor Bobby Slayton reveals how he earned his nickname “The Pitbull of Comedy.”
Movie – Fires Within
Midnight ET / 9 p.m. PT
Jimmy Smits (Dexter) stars in this 1991 drama about a Cuban dissident who arrives in the U.S. after eight years of imprisonment in his native country. With Greta Scacchi (The Player) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Law & Order: Criminal Intent).
