Killing Escobar – BBC Scotland, Tuesday, 10pm
In 1989, Glasgow-born mercenary Peter McAleese was hired to assassinate drugs kingpin Pablo Escobar. His mission didn’t go according to plan. This 90-minute documentary explains what happened while fleshing out the details of McAleese’s often troubled life. A grizzled raconteur, he understands why many may regard him, a hired killer, as morally reprehensible. But, he argues: “This is the profession I chose.” Killing Escobar makes for uncomfortable viewing. On the one hand it’s a gung-ho celebration of machismo, but on the other it’s a nuanced study of a philosophical and rather lonely man whose early years were steeped in anger and violence. The film ultimately invites viewers to make their own judgment.
The Violence Paradox – BBC Four, Tuesday, 9pm
“Has violence really declined?” asks esteemed psychologist Steven Pinker, who hosts this arresting study of human nature. That does, of course, sound like the sort of deliberately glib and unanswerable question Chris Morris would pose at the start of Brass Eye every week, but Pinker is serious: he really does think that we could be living in the most peaceful time in history. And he has a vast dossier of facts and research to support his controversial hypothesis. Whether he’s right or not – and the programme allows room for dissenting voices – this voyage through history is certainly thought-provoking. Hey, maybe we’re not doomed after all. The vaguely hippie-ish Pinker is someone you want to believe in.
The Money Maker – Channel 4, Tuesday, 9pm
The star of this new series is venture capitalist Eric Collins, who each week throws a lifeline to ailing British businesses. Collins, a suave American gentleman, exudes a sort of benign intensity; Zen and the art of trouble-shooting. His first port of call is a building repair and restoration company in Manchester. I zone out whenever business types start talking about equity stakes – my brain isn’t wired to compute such information – but The Money Maker is more acceptable than the relentlessly sneering Dragons’ Den. At least Collins tempers his essentially self-serving impulses with a certain degree of empathy. But there’s no denying that this is a standard-issue TV format. We’ve seen it all before.
Johnny Vegas: Carry On Glamping – Channel 4, 10pm
In this amiable new series, the comedian and camper van enthusiast follows his dream of setting up a bespoke glamping site full of renovated buses from the 1950s and 1960s. Among his friends and family, Vegas is affectionately known as someone who is always coming up with big ideas before getting bored and abandoning them. But he’s keen to stress how serious he is about this project. It’s not just a lark. Accompanied by his best pal and personal assistant Bev, Vegas searches for a site and travels to Malta to examine their first bus (he bought it online at 2am without checking the location). He also visits his mum, who’s glad he’s doing this instead of “filthy stand-up”.
Bloods – Sky One, Wednesday, 10pm
This new sitcom about paramedics is, while fairly amusing, tonally inconsistent. It veers uneasily between likeable workplace shenanigans and self-conscious gallows humour – patients in episode one include a crack addict and some people involved in a car crash. Our odd couple protagonists are Maleek (Samson Kayo) and his new partner Wendy (Jane Horrocks). Maleek is a short-tempered fool with a high opinion of himself. Wendy is a kindly chatterbox who isn’t quite as naive as she seems. Back at the hospital, the always watchable Julian Barratt plays a lonely widower who doesn’t seem to be aware that his boss is in love with him. Bloods isn’t bad but there’s definitely some room for improvement.
The Dog House – Channel 4, Thursday, 8pm
As the latest series of this wet-nosed comforter concludes, we meet Stanley the Staffie, Ellie the Chihuahua and Zoe the effervescent beagle. As usual, the staff at Wood Green Animal Shelters must manage that careful negotiation between matching these abandoned dogs with the right humans. The main storyline this week involves Dexter from Malaysia, who was shunned by his mother when he came out as gay. He’s now happily married to Aaron. If Ellie accepts him too, their lives could be complete. We all know that these programmes tend to favour neatly satisfying narratives – if only life were really so straightforward – but The Dog House is a quietly profound little show. It has a good heart.
Britain’s Favourite ‘80s Songs: 1989 – Channel 5, Friday, 10pm
And so, this cheap and cheerfully pointless list show comes to an end. As we knew it always must. I suppose Channel 5 should be applauded for doggedly carrying on with the nostalgic pop culture rundown format, which even Channel 4 abandoned about 10 years ago after trampling it into the ground. You don’t need to have seen previous episodes in this series to know what it involves: 1980s pop videos interspersed with talking heads trotting out all the usual cliches. That’s talking heads as in whoever they could round up at the time; David Byrne and Tina Weymouth don’t barge in to declare their love for Jive Bunny. A perfectly adequate way to while away your Friday evening.
