Unspeakable
9pm, Channel 4
This taut, disturbing one-off drama, written and directed by Bafta-winner David Nath, finds Game of Thrones’ Indira Varma questioning everything she knows – or thinks she knows – about her new boyfriend (played by Luke Treadaway). When she receives an anonymous message telling her that something is going on between her 11-year-old daughter and Treadaway’s Danny, she spirals into a stomach-churning panic as her suspicions begin to consume her. Ben Arnold
Blue Planet II
8pm, BBC1
This week, we venture via an underwater probe into the ocean depths, the largest space on Earth, where 90% of the world’s fish find refuge. In fathoms where the sun can’t filter through we see mysterious creatures who communicate in a code of flashing lights, transparent-headed fish, six-gilled sharks, fearsome squid and worms feeding on a whale carcass. It’s a soberly factual psychedelia; all told, utterly sensational stuff. The apex of the BBC. David Stubbs
The Last Post
9pm, BBC1
Peter Moffat’s righteously stiff drama about British military police in Aden in the 1960s ends with the court martial of Cpt Martin. Amid cross-examination scenes that have a faint tang of Blackadder Goes Forth, everyone must decide whether to do The Right Thing. At risk: their careers. The potential reward: restored self-esteem, surging strings on the soundtrack and the suggestion of genteel but sweaty offscreen redemption sex. Jolly stirring stuff. Jack Seale
Sheridan
9pm, ITV
Old-fashioned variety is alive and well in this glitzy special, starring the likable Sheridan Smith. As well as being one of the finest British TV actors, the star of Cilla and Mrs Biggs is showcasing her tonsils with songs from her new album. There’s something undeniably charismatic about her as she busts out the crowd-pleasers with a live orchestra. Alexander Armstrong is on hosting duties and he gives Smith a gentle grilling about her life and work. Hannah Verdier
Ceremony: Return of Friedrich Engels
9.40pm, BBC4
In the commemorations of the centenary of the Russian Revolution, little attention has been paid to the role of Manchester – but it was there that Friedrich Engels, co-author with Marx of The Communist Manifesto, developed his ideas. This film follows Phil Collins – the artist not the drummer – as he retrieves a statue of Engels from Ukraine and drives it back across Europe, bringing Engels, as Collins sees it, home. Andrew Mueller
Babylon Berlin
9pm, Sky Atlantic
Much-tipped, and with good reason, Babylon Berlin is stately, engrossing and full of surprises. We are in the Berlin of the 1920s, a time (we learn) much like our own: characterised by extreme views, pornography and pretentious restaurants. We follow Rath (Volker Bruch), a jumpy policeman from Cologne, and Ritter (Liv Lisa Fries), doing what she can to make rent. Wonderful scene-setting in this first episode, with surely the best boy-meets-girl yet devised. John Robinson
Countdown to Apocalypse
10pm, History
The Mayans saw 21 December 2012 as a date that fell during an important turning point in the calendar. Fast forward to the year itself and there was mild hysteria over whether it might also be doomsday. It wasn’t, but still offered a hook to this six-part series considering how different societies have thought about the end of the world. Tonight, we learn about the Earth’s magnetic shield and meet Americans learning to live off the grid. Jonathan Wright
TV films
October: 10 Days That Shook the World, (Sergei Eisenstein, 1928), Sunday, 8pm, BBC4
Just the thing to commemorate the centenary of the Russian Revolution: Eisenstein’s magnificent 10th anniversary re-enactment. With the zealous input of the Red Guards, soldiers and sailors who were actually there, it’s a fervent account of epic events in 1917 Petrograd, from the revolution that overthrew the tsar, through Lenin’s messianic arrival from Finland, to the storming of the winter palace. Eisenstein ran into trouble with Stalin for his none-too socially realistic, near-surreal montages, but survived. Paul Howlett
Anna Karenina, (Joe Wright, 2012), 1pm, Film4
Another elegant literary adaptation for Wright to add to his canon beside Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and Stoner. It’s some achievement to turn Tolstoy’s romantic epic into a mere two hours of cinema. Still, Wright’s conceit – to set the action around an 1870s theatre – cleverly refreshes the story and Keira Knightley is alluring as Anna, though saddled with a slightly anaemic lover in Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Count Vronsky. Paul Howlett
Paddington, (Paul King, 2014), 5.15pm, Channel 4
Paddington, the hero of Michael Bond’s books, may be an undersized Peruvian bear but he packs a warm hug in this family-friendly treat. Taken in by the Brown family (parents played by Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins), Paddington (sweetly voiced by Ben Whishaw) indulges in plenty of extreme marmalade-fun, and a moderately scary run-in with menacing taxidermist Millicent (Nicole Kidman). Paul Howlett
The Invention of Lying, (Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson, 2009), 9pm, Syfy
Ricky Gervais takes a leap to Hollywood leading man with this inventive comedy. It’s set in a parallel world where everyone tells the truth, and when Gervais’s tubby loser accidentally comes up with a little fib, then a bigger one, he is swiftly acclaimed a messiah. But that still might not be enough to win the love of his life, Jennifer Garner. It’s sharply written (by the co-directors) and very funny. Paul Howlett
The Ring, (Gore Verbinski, 2002), 11.20pm, BBC2
A chilly and respectful remake of Hideo Nakata’s cult horror movie, with Naomi Watts as a journalist investigating the murders of several teenagers, including her niece. It turns out they all watched a mysterious videotape that results in death seven days after viewing – and since Watts gets to see it too, her inquiries grow increasingly urgent. Paul Howlett
Live Sport
Premier League Football: Manchester City v Arsenal An actual, genuine Super Sunday with Chelsea v Manchester United to follow. 1.15pm, Sky Sports Main Event
Anglo-Welsh Cup Rugby: Saracens v Harlequins A round one game at Allianz Park. 2.45pm, BT Sport 2
Track Cycling: World Cup Coverage of the opening round of the season from Pruszków, Poland. 4.30pm, Eurosport 1
