Throng

Weekdays at 8.50am - Starting Wednesday 3rd March

Beginning on Five this week is a whimsical new animated series set on an idyllic country farm in the grounds of a castle. The stories centre on Farm Girl and her best friend Piggy as they enjoy a series of comedic adventures with their friends.

Based on the original watercolour artwork of award-winning designer, writer and illustrator Corrina Askin, ‘Castle Farm’ has a unique style of animation and charming and engaging stories. Handdrawn watercolour elements and a mixture of 2D and 3D images are blended with CGI techniques and models to create a distinctive look and feel.

Friday 19th February 9.00pm

This week sees the long-awaited return of the hit US drama series following the work of CBI consultant Patrick Jane (Simon Baker). In the opening instalment, a woman accused of stealing $1million from her place of work turns up dead. In order to catch the killer, Jane employs some typically dubious tactics, casting what he calls a ‘wide, invisible net’. Elsewhere, a messy result in another case sees Lisbon and the team kicked off the Red John case.

Friday 19th February 8.00pm

Continuing this week is the wildlife adventure series with Austin Stevens. In this instalment, the intrepid photographer heads to the Serengeti plains to pit his wits against the ultimate predator. Austin’s challenge is to capture an image of a lion on the hunt – but it is not going to be easy. After spending days with a suitable pride, Austin realises that he will have to work through the night if he is to get his shot.

Austin’s latest adventure takes him to his home continent of Africa and to the Serengeti plains in northern Tanzania. With over 3,000 lions resident in this area, photographing one should not be a problem. However, whereas most tourist images capture the predators at rest, Austin needs to catch them at their very best – during a hunt. “It’s going to be the ultimate test and extremely dangerous,” he says.

Friday 19th February 3.00pm

Romantic drama. A young wife cares for her terminally ill husband (James Wilby, ‘Gosford Park’) in the wilds of Scotland. The couple ask an old friend to join them from London and manage their business affairs. But the woman soon realises that she harbours feelings for the friend, even as her husband struggles to fight his disease.

Director
Paul Seed
Starring
Muriel Baumeister, James Wilby, Tim Dutton

Thursday 18th February 10.30pm

The drama-documentary series that tells the real-life stories of travellers detained overseas returns. The first episode recounts the tale of musician David Evans, who agreed to smuggle cocaine out of Venezuela – only to be arrested and imprisoned in one of the toughest penal systems in the world.

In 2006, David Evans was a struggling musician playing small-time gigs in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. “I felt like a failure,” he recalls. Financial pressures were bearing down on David and his girlfriend, Julie Goldstein. At one point, Julie was forced to pawn her beloved saxophone. “To pawn it was a sign we were deeply in trouble,” David says.

Thursday 18th February 7.30pm

The knockout stages of the Europa League begin with this Round of 32 clash between Liverpool and Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni. The Reds make their bow in the competition with Rafa Benitez in desperate need of silverware. The action is presented by Colin Murray with Pat Nevin and Stan Collymore. Commentary comes from Dave Woods and Graham Taylor.

The latest twist in a season of strife at Anfield sees Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool making their debut in the Uefa Europa League. The Reds were dumped out of the Champions League before Christmas having taken just seven points from six games. Losses to Fiorentina and Lyon conspired to send Benitez’s misfiring team out of a league that was once their natural stomping ground.

Thursday 18th February 3.05pm

Mystery thriller. Former secret agent Cathy Davis (Lea Thompson) – code name Jane Doe – is called back into undercover work when the wife of a prominent lawyer is kidnapped. But the nefarious owner of a construction company throws a spanner in the works, and Cathy soon finds herself facing one of the most baffling puzzles of her career.

Director
Armand Mastroianni
Starring
Lea Thompson, Joe Penny, William R Moses

Wednesday 17th February 10.00pm

Continuing this week is the sixth season of the explosive crime drama. In this instalment, the agents investigate a mysterious death at a decommissioned military airbase. Elsewhere, Alan welcomes Amita into the Eppes family.

The agents are called to the decommissioned Goathart airbase when a woman is killed by a bolt of electricity. The team is surprised when a man named Floyd Mayborne appears on the scene, claiming to be from ‘Department 44’ in the Pentagon. Mayborne insists he is not allowed to describe the current responsibilities of the department. “Then why are you here?” David asks. “This incident involves military property,” Mayborne replies.

Wednesday 17th February 9.00pm

Continuing this week is the hit US drama series based on the work of the navy’s dedicated federal agency. In this instalment, a serial killer who posts footage of his crimes online engages Gibbs and the team in a murderous game of cat and mouse. With each video comes a series of clues pointing the agents to the next victim and crime scene – until NCIS HQ is itself breached.

Wednesday 17th February 3.10pm

Drama in which a former nun becomes embroiled in a murder mystery surrounding savant twin brothers who are serving life sentences for killing their mother. When one of the twins protests his innocence, she vows to find out the truth.

Director
Kevin Connor
Starring
Megan Ward, Patty Duke, Morgan Weisser

Tuesday 16th February 10.00pm

In the first of a groundbreaking three-part CSI crossover, Horatio and the team search for a missing young woman. When a severed leg found in the Everglades matches a girl who went missing in Las Vegas a week earlier, Horatio calls Vegas CSI Dr Ray Langston for help. The story continues next week on ‘CSI: NY’ and ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’.

Desperate mother Brenda Tanner visits the precinct and begs for Horatio’s help finding her missing daughter, Ashley. Brenda explains that Ashley recently found work as a model in Miami. She then plays Horatio a panicked phone message from her daughter. Calleigh finds Ashley’s car in the Everglades and new CSI Jesse Cardoza (Eddie Cibrian, ‘Third Watch’) spots a parking ticket from a hotel on the windscreen. “There’s a lot of overlapping footprints. I think she was attacked,” Calleigh says.

Tuesday 16th February 9.00pm

The hit crime drama continues its tenth season. This week, the CSIs investigate the case of a young man who has been brutally raped and beaten. When a shooting in an electronics store is connected to the assault, the CSIs must unravel three separate confessions in order to get to the truth.

Nick and Catherine are called to a vicious assault on a young man in an alley. “Somebody beat the crap out of him,” Brass tells them. Nick goes to the hospital to speak to the victim, Tommy Baker, but he reacts violently to questioning and breaks Nick’s camera. Back at the crime scene, Catherine finds several patches of blood on the ground and takes some samples for analysis.

Tuesday 16th February 8.00pm

The documentary series examining the dangerous job of driving trucks on Alaska’s Dalton Highway continues. This week, Lisa hauls another heavy load bound for Prudhoe Bay. George and Tim head north into a heavy Arctic storm. Travelling in the opposite direction, Hugh and Phil find their way blocked on Atigun Pass. And Alex must go it alone when his mentor drives off in the middle of the storm.

The truckers are on high alert as an Arctic storm blows across Alaska. With the road in danger of being closed, drivers scramble to complete their journeys. Lisa has been tasked with delivering another heavy load to Prudhoe Bay. She is optimistic that she can cover the 400-mile drive before the bad weather hits. “We’re gonna fight weather, we’re gonna fight night-time and we’re gonna get there,” she says.

Tuesday 16th February 7.30pm

The series focusing on the joys of Chinese cookery continues. In each episode, Ching-He Huang coaches two novices who have never before cooked Chinese food. Can she separate the Szechuan supremos from the dumpling dunces? In this episode, two barmen tackle a chicken and snake bean stir-fry.

Chinese food was recently declared the nation’s favourite takeaway. With more and more people turning to the joys of cooking at home, chef and bestselling author Ching-He Huang is set to bring her mouthwatering recipes into British homes.

Tuesday 16th February 3.00pm

Moving drama about four people who try to save Jews from the Nazis during the Holocaust. In Amsterdam, a couple risk their lives to hide Jews in their house, while in Belgium, a couple run a school for boys, most of them Jewish.

Directors
Tim Hunter, Lynne Littman
Starring
Martin Donovan, Dana Delany, Alfred Molina