Jesus Camp

There can be few subjects that prompt such differing opinions as religion and politics, but when you mix the two together in the United States of America you have the potential for real fireworks. Jesus Camp is an interesting and often disturbing look into the fundamentalist Christian movement in the US and their attempts to teach children how to become the future foot soldiers of “God’s Army”.

This documentary follows the lives of devout Christians Levi and Rachael as they head off to Pastor Becky Fischer’s summer camp in the bizarrely named Devil’s Lake area of North Dakota (even more alarmingly, the camp is commonly referred to as “Kids on Fire” camp). The program tracks the two new entrants through their time at the camp and allows them to express their thoughts as they progress.

Those who have covered the US Christian movement at length will know that it has a strong moral, religious and politic standing in the United States. Jesus Camp is one of many such camps across the country and Pastor Becky Fischer is only the tip of iceberg for her chosen profession.

The Christian movement in the US has been at the forefront of an array of controversial subjects from abortion to casinos and everything else in between. They hold a very powerful position in many states and cities across the US and have a substantial input when it comes to events such as the Presidential Elections. These very secretive associations have rarely allowed access to their inner working and camps such as “Kids on Fire” so tonight’s show should be an eye opener to those not aware of what happens.

Strictly Baby Fight Club

This Channel 4 documentary from Cutting Edge has already inspired controversy in the UK, with many expressing disgust at what has been reported in the papers. Tonight we get the chance to see the documentary in full, and many of the people involved are adamant that they have been unfairly portrayed by the media.

Thai boxing has become increasingly popular in the UK. Now many people are concerned that the art is being taught to children as young as four. As well as being coached in the martial art they are taking part in pre-arranged fight tournaments (all legal with referees and doctors) in which they are encouraged to kick and wrestle their opponents to the floor.

Strictly Baby Fight Club tells the story of four families, each with a child destined for future success in the ring. Camera crews have been following them over a period of time to provide an insight into the lives of the children who take part in this controversial sport. The show also highlights the demise of youth football and other more tradititonal sports due to local councils selling pitches to land developers.

The parents of these juvenile fighters believe that the strict martial arts regime has given their children self-respect and discipline which is missing in so many young people today.

Strictly Baby Fight Club is an intriguing portrait of a sport which is growing steadily in popularity. Whether the show will change the opinions of the sport’s detractors remains to be seen.

EastEnders Teaser

Lucy’s back and it’s like she’s never been away. This week Steven goes to great lengths to keep her away from Ian - maybe worried that he’ll hit her again. After all Steven and Lucy have a bond these days, especially since she passed him the gun with which he kidnapped Ian - and shot Jane. All of which raises the question: Steven or Lucy – who is crazier? Talking of crazy, Sean Slater’s on the rampage again. Can the Millers stand up to him? And who’ll be bad boy Sean’s next target? He’ll run out of victims if he carries on at this heady pace.

Meanwhile at the Vic, Roxy is acting oddly. Even more oddly than usual… But then, after sleeping with her sister’s main squeeze, she would be feeling more than a little odd - especially after she has an examination at the hospital. Things are going to get extremely tough for Roxy very soon. Pat has had her heart broken by the death of Frank - and now has had her leg broken after being knocked down accidentally by Roxy (it’s not Roxy’s week, is it?) At the hospital, something sinister looks set to occur in Pat’s cubicle.

Elsewhere Ben hopes that Phil doesn’t find out about his dancing exam, while Roxy and Peggy try to reassure Ben that real men do dance. Of course Phil would beg to differ on that point. Bianca is broke and is struggling to find another job in Walford. Yes, the carefree wild-child of yesterday has well and truly been replaced by the downtrodden single mum we see before us now. Scheming Clare has tricked Bradley into a very dodgy visit. Will it all end in tears?

Neighbours Teaser

Toadie is a Ramsay Street resident who has never been lucky in love. Always the joker, he never seemed to get the girl. From his early obsession with Steph Scully to his fling with married Maggie Hancock, Toadie always ended up a shoulder to cry on rather than the man of anyone’s dreams. After a string of failed relationships Toadie appeared to have finally hit the jackpot when he married Dione Bliss. However, in one of the biggest tragedies to rock Ramsay Street, he was distracted by a kiss from his new missus and drove their car off a cliff. Oops. Now though, his luck might be about to change. When Libby learns that Steph has kept news of her divorce from Toadie, she forces her friend to ask herself if she sees Toadie as a friend or a lover. Meanwhile Toadie fears they are on the verge of breaking up. Matters come to a head when Steph returns from Shepparton and stuns everybody by declaring that she wants to marry Toadie. The neighbourhood celebrates the news but Libby and Valda wonder if Steph is ready for such a big step.

A bidding war breaks out as the auction of the Timmins’ house gets underway. The Parkers intend to make a bid, as do Carmella and Marco who see the house as a place where they can raise baby Chloe. But the Ramsay Street locals are outbid by smooth lawyer Tim Collins who plans to build three houses on the site. Just when it seems Tim is about to get his hands on the property, Steve loses his cool and makes a shock bid way above his budget. A furious Miranda confronts her husband and accuses him of him putting their future on the line. As the pair trade insults that cannot be taken back, their marriage seems to be in danger of falling apart.

Elsewhere Elle is tormented by disturbing flashbacks of the roof collapsing at the dance party. Riley suspects she is hiding the extent of her trauma so he challenges her to re-enter the crumbling warehouse to prove she does not have a problem. But Riley’s plan backfires…

Emmerdale Teaser

Poor old Pollard is shocked to his very core when he receives a blackmail letter containing incriminating photos of him with Rosalind. But who on earth could have sent it? To find out Pollard lies in wait for the culprit after dishing up the blackmail cash. Seeing Val, Pollard jumps to the conclusion that she is the blackmailer. As it becomes clear that he has got the wrong end of the stick, Pollard tries to explain himself and inadvertently lets the cat out of the bag by mentioning Rosalind. Horrified at what he has done, he begs her forgiveness saying that he loves her deeply. But will Val ever be able to forgive her fiance?

Elsewhere, Greg tells Mel that they need to go to the hospital to get some answers. Mel reluctantly agrees but it is clear she is terrified. At the hospital the doctor admits that there is a possibility that Arthur could be Laurel and Ashley’s baby and that they need to do a DNA test. Fearing the worst, Mel decides to flee the village with Arthur and persuades Greg to leave with them. Shadrach agrees to drive the couple to the airport, unaware of what they are up to. Back at the village, Ashley twigs what’s going on when he sees Jake loading Mel and Greg’s suitcases. Will he get to the airport in time to stop the couple leaving the country with his possible son?

As Gennie and her mother Brenda are leaving Paddy’s they witness a drunken Shadrach being led home by Lisa and Zak. Will Gennie introduce her adoptive mother to an inebriated Shadrach or will she snub the Dingles? When Donna tells Viv that there is still no news on Freddie, Viv is distraught and asserts that if the police aren’t going to do anything about finding Freddie, she will have to take matters into her own hands.

Hollyoaks Teaser

Calvin struck up a relationship with Carmel McQueen and started dating after he rescued Carmel’s ring from a drain. Now Carmel may well end up wearing his ring on her finger. Calvin has been missing Carmel like crazy in the wake of their tiff, and when they bump into each other Calvin is stunned as Carmel asks him to marry her. Meanwhile Sasha is avoiding Calvin like the plague. She’s worried that he’ll be able to tell that she’s been back on the gear. Michaela sees a wasted Sasha and Fletch at the park and pities her foolish friends.

A few weeks ago, stupid Ste was caught stealing a purse and lied that he needed money for Leah’s leukaemia so he wouldn’t get into trouble. The fib quickly spread out of his control, and Ste and Amy began raking in money as they wondered when everyone would find out the truth. Now Amy decides to go along with Ste’s plan to pretend that Leah has recovered from leukaemia, but insists they tell Mike first - which could be a bad move…

Elsewhere, Max presents Steph with a portfolio of pictures, but since Steph has been worrying about an audition instead of putting her efforts into making Tom a costume, Max is left feeling disgruntled. But not as disgruntled as Steph would be if she new that Newt had ruined her portfolio. Newt feels a little guilty about this but Eli shows no remorse and hides the portfolio under Newt’s bed. Steph searches high and low for it, taking no notice of Max as he talks about Tom and marriage lessons.

Jacqui and Dom remain uncomfortable in each other’s company. Tina and Tony pick up on the animosity and insist that they all spend the day together.

Coronation Street Teaser

Maria has lost the baby and isn’t telling anyone about it. But Audrey, to whom Maria has fled, finds some very disturbing things in Maria’s overnight bag. But Audrey’s shock is nothing compared to Liam’s when a midwife turns up at the house looking for Maria to check that she is okay after the stillbirth. On the day of the baby’s funeral, Maria is insisting that she won’t attend. Audrey tries to convince her that it’s a bad idea but Maria is sure she’ll make things worse with Liam by going. Carla offers her support to Liam and accompanies him to the church. Will Maria change her mind and be there to bury her son?

The Corrie writers probably started working on a credit crunch crisis storyline as soon as the subprime mess spread to the UK. And here it is. Ashley arrives home from work to find Claire in a state of panic cutting up their bank and credit cards. She explains that someone has cleared out their accounts and she can’t get to see the bank until tomorrow. She is stunned when Ashley tells her that no one has got access to their accounts - he has used all the money to shore up the business. He assures her they will work it out. Yeah right.

Marcus is delighted by the early return of Sean, whose protestations that he just wanted to come home don’t ring true. It isn’t long before Marcus discovers the real reason Sean has caught an early flight home. At the detention centre, dotty David is delighted when Tina turns up for her visit. The two are nervous with each other and he is still unsure of why she’s come to see him. Does she want to give it another go? If she does, she’s as crazy as he is… Gail is determined to get to the bottom of her mum’s meetings with Ted Paige and quizzes Rita on what’s been going on.

Rock Rivals Hotting Up

As we near the final of Rock Rivals it all seems to be going wrong for Mal, with Karina looking as though she has the upper hand. However, this is TV and this is Rock Rivals where nothing goes to plan, and it’s difficult to see where the plot will go next.

Michelle Collins and ex-Coronation Street star Sean Gallagher star in this tongue in cheek swipe at the popular reality TV shows Pop Idol and X Factor. Quite who is supposed to be Simon Cowell is a bit of a mystery. Rock Rivals is from the same stable as Footballers Wives, Bad Girls and Waterloo Road, and has attracted decent viewing numbers during its current run. Whether it is the kind of show which can return to the screens next year remains to be seen.

However, tonight’s episode is something of a first for mainstream TV with viewers encouraged to vote for their winner on the ITV website. When voting has been counted ITV will show one of two endings which are already in the can – each containing a twist in the plot.

On a wider note, it’s refreshing to see ex-soap stars appearing in something other than The Bill, which seems to be the first port of call for many. Michelle Collins has been one of the more successful ex-soap stars, and after this performance it looks as though Sean Gallagher will have a bright career ahead of him as well. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for these two stars.

Heather Mills : What Really Happened?

They held the front pages for over two years, their public spats becoming more and more personal, and then finally they thrashed out a deal which saw Heather Mills awarded somewhere in the region of £24 million from her husband Paul McCartney. However, if you thought that was the end of the story, think again as Heather Mills : What Really Happened? is sure to be the first in a series of shows about the celebrity couple and the controversy and mystery which has followed Heather in particular.

Tonight’s show sees journalist Jacques Peretti trying to get to the bottom of the mystery which is Heather Mills, with exerts from her father and Pamela Cockerill, the lady who ghost wrote her autobiography. There are many in the industry who are surprised to see this show make it to the screens when you consider that Ms Mills has threatened to sue anyone who makes even the slightest derogatory remark against her – and she now has the money to carry out those threats.

It will be interesting to finally speak to the people who you would guess should know Ms Mills the best, her father and the writer of her autobiography. However, she is rumoured to have been estranged from her father for over 20 years and the press comments attributed to him along the way have been anything but supportive.

Will we finally get to the truth about Ms Mills claims to be a substantial supporter of charities, even though her tax returns shown in court indicated otherwise, along with a number of claims she made about her treatment at the hands of Paul McCartney. It promises to be an interesting show and something which will no doubt create a barrage of new headlines in the newspapers later in the week.

Headcases - spitting image of a classic show?

ITV is hoping to corner the market for satire with its new offering Headcases, a modern version of award winning show Spitting Image - the latex puppet show which ran from 1984 to 1996 making fools of politicians and showbiz stars. So influential was Spitting Image that it actually contributed to the fall of some politicians. Many of the show’s caricatures making the lives of public figures very difficult.

Headcases takes a similar format with topical news stories and voice-overs from some great comedians. One of the reasons the show is predicted to be smash hit for ITV is that the program is produced later in the day so it catches the latest news.

So far episodes look to be centring on the Beckhams, Robert Mugabe, the Royals and Piers Morgan. It seems that in the world of showbiz you haven’t made it until you have someone impersonating you. Sunday nights have never quite been the same since Spitting Image was axed in 1996, with rumours that the show was sailing a too close to the wind with regard to libel and legal issues.

It will be interesting to see which well known faces appear over the coming weeks, and how much the public will actually relate to the “puppets”. They have already brought in Gordon Brown and David Cameron, with Brown cast as the miser and Cameron as the sound-bites man with no substance behind his policies.

Times may change, but very little alters in the world of politics and celebrity!

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