THE CRYSTAL MAZE, C4, 8pm
I AM still laughing from last week’s episode when that poor asthmatic geek went helplessly twirling around on a swinging planet.
When we saw that a team of nerds were competing last week, I was sure they’d crack every game, scoop every crystal, grab millions of gold tickets and zip off home to spend their prize money on inhalers and Dungeons and Dragons – but the geeks were surprisingly rubbish, and our expectations were totally wrong. They strolled in, confident as only nerds who’ve painstakingly studied every episode can be, and they failed miserably.
So what about this week, when we have a team of cheerleaders? Our image of a gang of cheerleaders may well be of a team of giggly, glamorous girls – but, as with last week’s nerds, will they upset all our predictions? Let’s see how five young women fare as they swap their cheerleading costumes for those serious grey jumpsuits.
ROCK AND ROLL, SKY ARTS, 9pm
MY dad swears Marc Bolan is the greatest, and while I admit he had the tunes, the style and the glamour, his lyrics were often a bit daft: “Well she ain’t no witch and I love the way she twitch”. What’s that supposed to mean?
I require brilliant lyrics in a song, and that’s why Morrissey is my man. A good pop tune without deep lyrics can never be a great song; the two elements must go hand in hand, and that’s what this programme is all about.
Musicians talk about how pop lyrics became “the poetry of the modern age”. Joni Mitchell and Pete Doherty feature, giving insight on the power of lyrics, and how they can tell a devastating story in three minutes.
We begin with Bob Dylan – obviously – and we’re told he “elevated rock ’n’ roll to an art form”. The programme is also brave enough to step away from traditional rock music and look at the lyrics from hip hop.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here