Geek shows and movies on UK TV in the coming week

As many of our favourite shows finish or break for the winter and holiday hiatus, we reach the short lull before the madness of Christmas scheduling.

But there's still lots of great telly to be found in the upcoming week and we give you the highlights of the next seven days' worth of televisual delights and curiosities.

Tonight, Friday, December 10th, The Walking Dead finale airs at 10:00pm on FX. Entitled TS-19, the episode begins with our group of survivors finally reaching what appears to be a zombie-free haven. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it? It was far too short a series with far too long to wait until it starts again, but have a look and see if you agree with our review and the commenters' opinions.

If the Millennium Trilogy (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, etc) left you either unfulfilled or wanting more mysteries of the Swedish variety, or you enjoyed either the original Wallander series or the remakes with Kenneth Branagh, you may enjoy the film versions, the first of which airs at 9:00pm on BBC4 on Saturday,  December 11th. Wallander: The Man Who Smiled is then repeated on Thursday, December 16th at 10:00pm, again, on BBC4.

Another repeat, and one that left us dangling, waiting for its return is the final, cliffhanger episode of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in the rejuvenated Sherlock series. The Great Game is rebroadcast on Sunday, December 12th at 8:00 on BBC3. Repeated Sherlock is better than no Sherlock, surely.

If Shakespeare is more to your liking, or you've got the Sherlock boxset wrapped up, you'll have an easier decision and can instead go with Macbeth on Sunday, December 12th at 7:30pm on BBC4. Like Sherlock, this is a modern retelling of the play and stars Patrick Stewart. The setting is switched to a 20th century warzone, with similarities to Hitler's bunkered days. If you enjoyed Hamlet with David Tennant last Christmas, you'll probably want to see this new treatment as well.

Our next entry is a bit of another mystery, and, although it stars a detective, that's no attempt at clever wordplay on our parts. Another BBC4 offering, there's very little information known about Dirk Gently, based on the Douglas Adams books. We know it's an hour long starting Thursday, December 16th at 9:00pm on BBC4, and that it's inspired by the novels, rather than being an adaptation. But how many more may air and whether they'll cover both Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul we don't yet know. We did find a trailer video that may help plan your week's viewing and we're informed this episode features a cat. Is that enough to go by?

The always impressive, potty-mouthed Misfits finishes its second season on Thursday, December 16th at 10:00pm on E4. Sort of. Although that will be the end of its 6-episode run, with a story wherein the ASBO Five achieve fame and get a sniff at fortune, the show returns with a Christmas special, giving us a seventh chance to watch these most improbable and randy superheroes.

Now, on to the films showing through the weekend and beyond. There are a few early Christmas comedies to share with the kids and a collection for Jim Carrey fans too. As always, if we missed anything interesting, have a shout in the comments, with our thanks.

Please also note: the ordinal numbers for dates will help you scan through this simple list with your browser's search function. Enter '11th' in your browser's Find box or window to highlight and/or tab through all movies shown on Saturday. Enjoy!

Apollo 13
On: ITV2  
Date: Sunday 12th December
Time: 08:50am (and 9:50am ITV2+1)

Bad Day At Black Rock
On: more4   
Date: Friday 10th
Time: 11:50am

Bananas
On: TCM
Date: Monday 13th December
Time: 02:30am

Blade
On: TCM   
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 11:30pm

Blade: Trinity
On: Film4  
Date: Sunday 12th December
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1)

Bruce Almighty
On: BBC 3   
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 7:25pm

Catch Me If You Can
On: BBC 3
Date: Wednesday 15th December
Time: 8:00pm

Children Of Men
On: ITV4
Date: Tuesday 14th December
Time: 00:35am (and 1:35am ITV4+1)

Crank
On: ITV4
Date: Thursday 16th December
Time: 11:35pm

Deathwatch
On: Film4
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 02:00am (and 3:00am Film4+1)

Dogma
On: Film4
Date: Wednesday 15th December
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1)

Dressed To Kill
On: TCM
Date: Thursday 16th December
Time: 11:15pm

Elf
On: Channel 4
Date: Sunday 12th December
Time: 5:40pm (and 6:40pm 4+1)

Falling Down
On: ITV1  
Date: Wednesday 15th December
Time: 10:35pm

Flash Gordon
On: ITV4
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 3:40pm (and 4:40pm ITV4+1)

From Hell
On: Five USA    
Date: Monday 13th December
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Five USA+1)

Identity
On: Bravo
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Bravo+1)

Isolation
On: Channel 4
Date: Thursday 16th December
Time: 00:50am (and 1:50am 4+1)

Jackie Chan's Police Story 2
On: SyFy   
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Syfy+1, 00:30/1:30am 12th Dec)

Jingle All The Way
On: Film4
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 7:20pm (and 8:20om Film4+1)

Krull
On: SyFy
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 4:40pm (and 5:40pm Syfy+1, 2:20/3:30pm 12th Dec)

Lethal Weapon
On: ITV4    
Date: Wednesday 15th December
Time: 11:00pm (and midnight ITV4+1)

Liar Liar
On: ITV1  
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 4:00pm

Macbeth (2010)
On: BBC 4   
Date: Sunday 12th December
Time: 7:30pm

Mad Max
On: ITV4    
Date: Sunday 12th December
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm ITV4+1)

Miller's Crossing
On: Film4   
Date: Thursday 16th December
Time: 01:20am (and 2:20am Film4+1)

Never Say Never Again
On: ITV4   
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 7:20pm (and 8:20pm ITV4+1)

Once upon A Time In The West
On: Film4
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 10:50pm (and 11:50pm Film4+1)

Passenger 57
On: ITV2
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm ITV2+1, 00:45/1:45am 15th Dec)

Queen Of The Damned
On: TCM
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 9:00pm (and 00:55am 11th Dec)

Rambo: First Blood Part II
On: ITV4
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 11:00pm (and midnight ITV4+1, 10:35/11:35pm 13th Dec)

Run Lola Run
On: Sky Movies Indie  
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 08:00am

Se7en
On: Five USA   
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 10:05pm (and 11:05pm Five+1)

Spider-Man 3
On: FIVER
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Fiver+1, 4:20/5:20pm 11th Dec)

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
On: Film4
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 7:00pm (and 8:00pm Film4+1)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 12th December
Time: 1:00pm (and 2:pm Film4+1, 6:40/7:40pm 15th Dec)

The Addams Family
On: LIVING     
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 4:00pm (and 5:00pm Living+1, 3/4:00pm 12th Dec)

The Beach
On: Channel 4  
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 10:40pm (and 11:40pm 4+1)

The China Syndrome
On: Five USA  
Date: Sunday 12th December
Time: 1:50pm (and 2:5-pm Five USA+1)

The Fog (1980)
On: ITV4
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 01:00am (and 2:00am ITV4+1)

The Island Of Dr. Moreau (1977)
On: TCM  
Date: Thursday 16th December
Time: 01:15am

The Legend Of Drunken Master
On: Sky Movies Indie   
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 8:05pm (and 6:35pm 13th Dec)

The Outrage
On: more4   
Date: Wednesday 15th December
Time: 11:20am

The Mask
On: TCM
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 7:00pm (and 10:55am 12th Dec)

The Matrix
On: ITV2
Date: Monday 13th December
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm ITV2+1)

The Matrix Reloaded
On: ITV2
Date: Tuesday 14th December
Time: 10:00pm (and 22:00pm ITV2+1)

The Matrix Revolutions
On: ITV2    
Date: Wednesday 15th December
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm ITV2+1)

The One
On: Five
Date: Sunday 12th December
Time: 7:50pm

The Silence Of The Lambs
On: Universal Channel  
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 01:00am (and 2:00am Universal+1, 10/11:00pm 11th Dec)

The White Ribbon
On: Sky Movies Premiere
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: midnight (and 1:00am 11th Dec Premiere+1, then daily through 17th Dec)

The Wolfman
On: Sky Movies Premiere   
Date: Friday 10th December
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Premiere+1, then aily at similar times through 16th Dec)

Three Amigos!
On: TCM
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 5:10pm (and 9:00am 12th Dec)

Transformers
On: Film4
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1)

Valiant
On: Film4   
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 1:00pm (and 2:00pm Film4+1)

Waterworld
On: SyFy
Date: Saturday 11th December
Time: 8:00pm (and 9:00pm Syfy+1, 4:40/5:40pm 12th Dec)

Zatôichi
On: Film4
Date: Wednesday 15th December
Time: 01:30am (and 2:30pm Film4+1)

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