22nd December 2025

1305 - Film4

Yeah its not Christmas Carol or Treasure Island but its still one of the good Muppet films, and well worth starting your day with

1350 - BBC1

The leap from A Grand Day Out to The Wrong Trousers really can’t be overstated. Day Out in many ways is what it is; a long gestating project from Nick Park that started as a student graduation film. Trousers is a whole other beast, an immensely confident piece of cinema that really, if we’re honest, still hasn’t been bested

1610 - PBS America

A whole day of documentaries about Pirates? Yes mate!

1835 - ITV2

Two films about a guy pretending to be someone else going about and having adventures. I admit that might be the limit of the similarities of the two films but I think this works as a double bill. I’d argue that Pierce Brosnan is more of a villain than Heath Ledger but thats for an upcoming 4 hour video essay.

1900 - BBC2

I do love a bit of House of Games so have to recommend a Christmas one. It can border on being a bit smug but the good quizzing keeps everything on side

1900 - BBC4

More fun archival shows from the BBC; to be honest that ‘78 Top of the Pops looks like it might be a rough ride but a bit of Hyacinth Bucket afterwards should sort everything out

2015 ITV4

An up and down series of films here; thankfully Rocky didn’t end on this damp squib of a sequel which is yet another tonal shift in the series after IV cured the world of communism. Hot Fuzz is the second of the Cornetto Trilogy which doesn’t quite beat Shaun but it still a great watch. And then some more shooting, although I’m sure it was called Exp3ndables or something along those lines

2100 - Channel 4

Speaking of daft quiz shows, it doesn’t get any better than Taskmaster so get this on your list of things to watch. And you can follow it up with an absolute belter of a Christmas film as you have Santa beating up a load of mercenaries. Its a hoot of a film, one that Leguizamo all but steals right out of Santa’s sack

2200 - BBC4

Not one, not two, not three, not four but five back to back spooky Christmas ghost stories! An absolute treat, though I think my highlight is the last one but really you should have a good time with any of them

2245 - BBC2

More spooky fun with Beetlejuice which has one of Keaton’s best performances of the 80s. Really its a great cast top to bottom, so worth a watch as we head into the midnight hour. Another great cast is in the next film, although the tone is somewhat different given its an iconic film about drag queens driving across Australia.

0325 - Great Action

Listen, I can’t tell you why something catches my eye when I’m going through the listings but for whatever reason this one did. Stonados, right? Its a plural which you’d expect if this is a sequel but who knows if thats the case. Buyer beware on this one