Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention | Edwardian Farm | John Lennon Night | Ancient Worlds | Al Murray's German Adventure | Robbie Williams' Crazy 2010
Wallace & Gromit's World Of Invention
7.30pm, BBC1
With excruciating puns ever in the driving seat, Wallace & Gromit turn their attention to unconventional forms of transportation. These include the pedal-powered miniature sub secretly constructed by inventor Mikhail Puchkov in Soviet-era St Petersburg, Clive Sinclair's X-1 and a flying saucer powered by laser. Great fun, never more so than when Jem Stansfield explores the science behind Brunel's atmospheric railway, which used air pressure to give power for propulsion. It didn't work too well back in the Victorian era, but was clever Isambard on to something? JWJohn Lennon Night
From 8pm, Sky Arts 1;
10pm, BBC4
Both Sky Arts and BBC4 are marking the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's death tonight. Sky Arts starts things off with a Classic Albums documentary (8pm, Sky Arts 1) looking at the making of his first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. It's followed by Gimme Some Truth: John Lennon (9pm) on the making of Imagine in 1971; Discovering Lennon (10.05pm), a compilation of TV interviews; and John Lennon: Bed-In (11.05pm), tracing the Montreal hotel peace protest. Over on Freeview, BBC4 is re-running its thoughtful drama starring Christopher Eccleston and Naoki Mori, Lennon Naked (10pm); it's followed by a TOTP2 Lennon Special (11.25pm) from 2000 featuring Imagine, Jealous Guy, Instant Karma, Mind Games and Stand By Me. RVAncient Worlds
9pm, BBC2
For all that they ended up being ruled by mad-and-bad warlords, the Romans, argues Richard Miles, were "instinctive king haters". So how did the republican-inclined inhabitants of a few hills come to control an empire? The roads and aqueducts certainly helped, as did the Romans' novel approach to warfare: "They came, they saw, they conquered ? and then they assimilated." Ancient Borg, then. And when an enemy refused the offer to become Romans? They were also capable of ruthless suppression. JWAl Murray's German Adventure
9pm, BBC4
With a title like that you'd be forgiven for expecting a xenophobic riot of Bosch-bashing and Churchill speeches. But in fact, this is a thoughtful and enlightened walk through centuries of German art and culture from the Oxford history graduate who really couldn't be more different from his Pub Landlord creation. From Bach to Bauhaus and the Brothers Grimm, Murray reveals "a nation of dreamers whose golden age struck Europe like a beam of light". And unlike Basil Fawlty, he never once mentions the war. AJC
Robbie Williams' Crazy 2010
9pm, Living
Yes, what could be crazier than being a pop star and deciding to re-join a pop band you used to be in, and then finding that all the tickets sell out mega-fast and everyone's really quite pleased about it? How about getting married to your girlfriend and then getting a Brit for your contribution to music? Woah. Next week, it's Cheryl Cole's Crazy 2010. RV
Elena Lyons Brooke Burns Lena Headey Ali Larter Angelina Jolie
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