Secrets Of The Ancients: Viking Voyage World, 9pm With today's progressive technological advancement, we tend to take almost everything for granted. But just how did ancient seamen navigate without modern-day satellite systems? How were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon kept lush and green in a near-desert climate? Did Caesar really manage to build a massive bridge in just 10 days? This intriguing BBC series explores the feats and endeavours of ancient civilisations and pits modern-day minds against the wisdom of the past. From the eighth to the 12th centuries, the Vikings were the masters of the northern seas, sending their slender ships into the uncharted waters of the north Atlantic. They discovered the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and even found their way to North America. But how did they make such voyages in the days before even the simple magnetic compass? The navigational techniques used by the Vikings remain shrouded in mystery. Tonight's episode follows mariner Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and a Norwegian crew on a journey across the North Sea in a replica Viking ship. Not only do they navigate without modern charts and compasses but they also put to the test the Viking practice of portaging, by attempting to haul a nine-tonne cargo ship across a narrow strip of land in Shetland from the North Sea to the Atlantic. Will they succeed as did their Viking ancestors? Fair Game Pearl, 9.35pm OK, I really shouldn't be highlighting what critics have described as 'arguably the worst movie of 1995'. But Cindy Crawford plays a dedicated family lawyer who 'relies on her wits and willpower' (according to the production notes) to out-manoeuvre a hi-tech Russian gang headed by British playwright and actor Steven Berkoff. How can anyone resist? An action thriller with a little action (Crawford jogging) and few thrills, it almost looks as if producer Joel Silver is trying to satirise himself. William Baldwin (above with Crawford) stars as Crawford's love interest. Death Becomes Her HBO, 9pm A black comedy directed by Robert Zemeckis about a glamorous, egomaniacal star (Meryl Streep) who is obsessed with staying young. Her terror of growing old is surpassed only by her hatred of her nemesis (Goldie Hawn), who herself harbours a murderous grudge against Streep over a love affair gone bad. The two women plot to do in each other with the blessing of Streep's jaded husband (Bruce Willis, above with Streep and Hawn), and the help of an astoundingly strange and mysterious sorceress (Isabella Rossellini). But what is the price of staying forever young? Oscar-winning visual effects - including the spectacle of Streep's head spinning around and a massive hole burning right through Hawn's body - are entertaining. Film director Sydney Pollack is also funny in an unbilled appearance as a Beverly Hills doctor. (1992)
