Odd look at life from a bar stool
BRITAIN'S favourite sit-down - as opposed to stand-up - comedian, Jasper Carrott brings his brand of humour to Asian viewers in Canned Carrott (STAR Plus, 10pm, 1.10am and 5am).
The bulk of the show is made up of Carrott's famous monologues in which he airs his views on life's oddities as they strike him - and which could include his Hong Kong taxi-driver story - all from the comfort of his bar-stool perch.
Each show also features the five-minute series The Detectives where he and actor Robert Powell (Jesus of Nazareth ) portray two dim-witted policemen who manage to make the easiest of tasks extremely difficult. THE prime slots on both terrestrial channelsare occupied by the concluding episodes of two mini-series, so if you saw the first half of both get out the VCR.
The better of the two has to be Framed (Pearl, 9.30pm) though it's not quite in the same class as writer Lynda La Plante's recent police drama Prime Suspect.
Instant plot update: Timothy Dalton (The Rocketeer ) is Eddie Myers, playboy and master criminal, who had been hiding out under a new ID in Spain until he was spotted there by holidaying policeman Lawrence Jackson (David Morrissey).
He agreed to return to England secretly and turn supergrass, but would only spill the beans to young Jackson - spurning senior cop and old arch-enemy Timothy West. In the process, Myers has been stealthily manipulating the naive Jackson slowly turning his mind to his own way of thinking.
The cliffhanger at the end of the first half was an attempt on Myers' life by one of the criminals he's grassed on - the question is how did the man know Myers is alive? THE other mini-series Act of Will (World, 9.30pm) is the saga of three women, mother, daughter and grand-daughter. The 70-year tale began in 1907 Yorkshire and follows the dramatic ups and downs of their lives from poverty to commercial success in fashionand finally artistic integrity. ANYONE who watched Eye on Hong Kong (Pearl, 7.20pm) last week may have noticed the programme's contents bore little similarity to what was promised in this column. Gremlins were at work. This week we're assured that an interview with photographer Robert Glover, features on rock-climbing and antique jeans, and a spot of ballroom dancing are definitely on the cards. ANIMAL lovers will be saddened, angered and ultimately heartened by The Urban Gorilla (World, 8.30pm), a study ofthe captive lowland gorillas who exist in the care of humans around the world.
The documentary goes from Tacoma, Washington, where a 24-year-old silverback Ivan lives in solitary confinement as a shopping centre attraction, to West Africa where a baby gorilla is rescued from poachers and raised by hand.
Then there's the case of Willie B who's lived for decades in indoor isolation at Atlanta zoo. Zoos around the world are starting to improve conditions for their charges, and the camera captures Willie taking his first breath of fresh air in 27 years. MTV's Unplugged (2am) presents the second half of the acoustic gig by folk-rock band 10,000 Maniacs fronted by the astounding Nathalie Merchant. The Maniacs incorporate English rock and island rhythm and folk and first found wisdespread fame with their 1985 album The Wishing Chair.
Their Unplugged selections include These are the Days, Dallas (with Talking Heads' David Byrne) and Like the Weather.
