Geek shows and movies on UK TV in the coming week

There are only a few new shows starting up in the coming week, but the next seven days brings some precious gems of telly programming...

Your humble, scouring servant of the telly schedules is not a huge fan of medical dramas. But last year's first series of Nurse Jackie has undone an admirably long run of avoidance of hospital-set shows and ruined a perfect record. Edie Falco (Oz, The Sopranos) owns the role of pill-fuelled ER nurse, Jackie Peyton, a character who's almost as equally admirable as she is deplorable. Jackie's addiction leads her to make amoral choices, while her nearly ferocious dedication to her job makes her almost heroic at times in her defence and care of patients and family. It's a brilliant performance, first shown on Showtime (which also distributes another grey character in Dexter) and the second season of the dark drama with rays of hope airs here on Saturday, January 22nd on BBC 2 at 10:40pm, with Comfort Food, the first of twelve episodes in the series.

Then, keep your spot on the couch clear for Sunday night, which sees the return of the eagerly awaited supernatural series, Being Human. In the third series opener, Lia, the bitiest of shared housing companions, the vampire and werewolf flatmates, Mitchell, George and Nina, are making a move. Let's hope they get unpacked and settled in sharpish, because Annie's in need of rescuing from her current digs, Purgatory, before she gets sent on to Hell. The excellent series returns Sunday, January 23rd on BBC 3 at 9:00pm for an eight-episode stay, and we hope to have our first review soon after. For now, you can check out Annie's final pleading words and the trailer for Sunday's premiere here.

Have you been searching all your life for a bar or pub where everybody knows your name? Does the girl or guy you fancy from afar disappoint you week on week by refusing to move in slow motion to Dreamweaver? If you can't walk across the street to reach your job, don't hear applause and laughter at every clever utterance among friends and strangers, and still haven't enjoyed your own personal soundtrack to your everyday deeds and chores, Charlie Brooker's new show is for you. How TV Ruined Your Life premieres on Tuesday, January 25th on BBC 2 at 10:00pm and each week, for six weeks, will look at how the chasm of TV versus reality has us either hankering for the small screen version of life, or, as shown in the premiering episode, Fear, has left us frightened by TV's particular spin on the world's goings on, using archive footage, interviews and sketches.

Now, on to the films showing through the weekend and a bit beyond. In a wonderful display of happenstance, there's a run of Arnie films to help you tick off (or rewatch and retick) titles from our recent list, among many other great films. 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 '22nd' in your browser's Find box or window to highlight and/or tab through all movies shown on Saturday. Enjoy!

Aladdin
On: Five
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 3:40pm

Babel
On: more4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 9:00pm (and 00:50am 22nd Jan)

Beetlejuice
On: FIVER
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Fiver+1)

Brassed Off
On: Film4
Date: Tuesday 25th January
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1)

Children Of The Corn
On: horror channel
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 9:00pm

Clear And Present Danger
On: Film4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1)

Crimson Rivers
On: Channel 4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 02:05am (and 3:05am 4+1)

Dog Soldiers
On: Film4
Date: Monday 24th January
Time: 11:10pm (and 00:10am 25th Jan Film4+1)

End Of Days
On: Film4
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 11:05pm (and 00:05am 23rd Jan Film4+1, 10:45/11:45pm 27th Jan)

Eraser
On: TCM
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 9:00pm (and 1:20am 24th Jan)

Eraserhead
On: horror channel
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 02:45am

Falling Down
Channel: ITV4
Date: Thursday 27th January 2011
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm ITV4+1)

Garden State
On: Film4
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 01:30am (and 2:30am Film4+1, 3:15/4:15am 26th Jan)

Goodfellas
On: ITV4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 11:00pm (and midnight ITV4+1, 10/11:00pm 25th Jan)

Gorky Park
On: TCM
Date: Tuesday 25th January
Time: 01:25am

Green Zone
On: Sky Movies Premiere
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 10:00am (and 11:00am Premiere+1 & 8/9:00pm, then daily at similar times through 27th Jan)

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 3:05pm (and 4:05pm Film4+1)

Layer Cake
On: Five
Date: Monday 24th January
Time: 9:00pm

Lethal Weapon 2
On: Sky1
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 9:00pm (and 9:00pm 25th Jan & 9:00pm 27th Jan Sky2)

Logan's Run
On: Five
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 1:20pm

Magnum Force
On: ITV4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 11:00pm (and midnight ITV4+1, 10/11:00pm 24th Jan)

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets
On: BBC 3
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 7:05pm (and 8:00pm 26th Jan)

Night At The Museum
On: Channel 4
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 6:55pm

Pandorum
On: SyFy
Date: Monday 24th January
Time: 01:20am (and 2:20am Syfy+1, 10/11:00pm 24th Jan)

Point Break
On: BBC 1
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 11:30pm

Pulp Fiction
On: BBC 2
Date: Sunday 23rd January 2
Time: 11:25pm

Predator
On: Film4
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1, 11:15pm/00:15am 26th/27th Jan)

Project X
On: E4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 3:55pm (and 4:55pm E4+1)

Radio Days
On: TCM
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 1:15pm (and 5:00am 22nd Jan)

RoboCop
On: SyFy
Date: Wednesday 26th January
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Syfy+1)

Silkwood
On: BBC 1
Date: Wednesday 26th January
Time: 11:35pm

Solomon Kane
On: Sky Movies Premiere
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Premiere+1, then daily at similar times through 27th Jan)

Star Trek: First Contact
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 1:00pm (and 2:00pm Film4+1)

Star Trek: Insurrection
On: Film4
Date: Monday 24th January
Time: 6:45pm (and 7:45pm Film4+1)

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith
On: ITV1
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 3:30pm

Stardust
On: Channel 4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 5:10pm (and 6:10pm 4+1)

The 40 Year Old Virgin
On: ITV1
Date: Saturday 22nd January 2
Time: 10:30pm

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian
On: BBC 3
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 8:00pm

The Commitments
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 11:25pm (and 00:25am 24th Jan Film4+1)

The Eye
On: Film4
Date: Tuesday 25th January
Time: 01:15am (and 2:15am Film4+1)

The Fifth Element
On: Five
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 5:35pm

The Fountain
On: Film4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 11:40pm (and 00:40am 22nd Jan Film4+1)

The Iron Maiden: Flight 666
On: BBC 4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 10:00pm (and 00:30am 24th Jan)

The Neverending Story
On: ITV2
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 12:10pm (and 1:10pm ITV2+1)

The Princess Bride
On: FIVER
Date: Wednesday 26th January
Time: 8:00pm (and 9:00pm Fiver+1)

The Seventh Seal
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 01:35am (and 2:35am 23rd Jan)

The Transporter
On: Five
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 9:00pm

True Lies
On: TCM
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 9:00pm (and 9:00pm 26th Jan)

True Romance
On: Five
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 10:50pm

V For Vendetta
On: Watch
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Watch+1, 9/10:00pm 23rd Jan)

What Lies Beneath
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Fim4+1)

Withnail And I
On: Channel 4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 00:10am (and 1:10am 4+1)

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