Friday 7 December TV Highlights

6pm

ITV4 Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) “Never Trust a Ghost” – ’60s series about a cop and his ghost buddy: a murdered man turns out to be very much alive.

SKY ONE Futurama “Amazon Women in the Mood”

7pm

BBC3 Doctor Who “The Runaway Bride” – Last Christmas’s festive special. Your chance to get used to Catherine Tate as Donna again before she returns in season four.

ITV4 Space: 1999 “Matter of Life and Death” – Season one (so good music, but no shapeshifting aliens): the Alphans meet an alien who seems to offer salvation for them in a new civilisation.

LIVING The X-Files “Teso dos bichos” – Season three, spooky shenanigans with a Shaman spirit.

SCI FI Mysterious Ways “Spirit Junction” – ghostly kids go on a road safety drive. Starring Adrian Pasdar.

SKY TWO Stargate SG-1 “Enemies” – Season five opener and the middle part of a big three-part epic which concludes at 8pm.

7.30pm

ZONE HORROR Beastmaster “Gemini” – Anybody care?

8pm

BBC3 Doctor Who “Smith and Jones” – First episode of season three, with the hospital on the moon, deadly drinking straws and the first appearance of Martha. (Followed by Doctor Who Confidential.)

FX Charlie Jade “Identity” – First UK run for Canadian series about a detective from a parallel universe.

SCI FI The Dead Zone “A Very Dead Zone Christmas” – Bizarre, whimsical festive episode with psychic Johnny Smith helping a very confused Santa.

SKY TWO Stargate SG-1 “Threshold” – Last part of a three-pert story: Bra'tac must perform a Jaffa ritual bringing Teal'c to the brink of death to restore his true self.

TROUBLE Charmed “Charrrmed” – Season seven, fun with pirates and the Fountain of Youth. First episode to feature Agent Kyle Brody.

VIRGIN 1 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine “The House of Quark” – Season three, Ferengi comedy episode (and don’t those three words fill you with fear?). Quark becomes betrothed to a Klingon widow. WARNING! WARNING! Whinging Keiko O’Brien alert!

8.30pm

ZONE HORROR Tales From The Crypt “Mournin’ Mess” – A hard-drinking, down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter gets a tip that could help him break the mystery of the homeless killer who stalks the city.

9pm

BBC3 Torchwood “Combat” – Owen does Fight Club with Weevils. (Followed by Torchwood: Declassified)

TROUBLE Kyle XY “This is Not a Test” – First UK run for the US show about a boy with no memory.

10pm

SKY TWO Journeyman “The Legend of Dylan McCleen” – new time travel drama from the States. Decent enough show, but it looks like it’ll be cancelled soon.

10.30pm

BBC3 Heroes “How To Stop an Exploding Man” – Tell him you love him. Season one finale. (Followed by Heroes Unmasked)

11.35pm

BBC4 Batman “The Ring of Wax”/”Give ‘Em The Axe” – ’60s campery, with the Riddler.

Midnight

LIVING The X-Files “Teso dos bichos” – See 7pm.

12.15am

UK DRAMA Sea of Souls “Mind Over Matter” – Underrated, but slightly po-faced, UK supernatural series with Bill Paterson. Both parts of a season one two-parter edited together.

1.05am

FX Charlie Jade “Identity” – See 8pm.

1.55am

SCI FI Star Trek “That Which Survives” – Which with minimal changed could be a Charmed episode title.

2.15am

BBC2 Star Trek: The Next Generation “Reunion” – Slushy episode about Worf and his son.

FILM PICK

ITV4, 10pm Christine – John Carpenter directs the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s spooky car novel.