In Search of Arcadia
9pm, BBC4
Charming documentary in which an angler (John Bailey) and an art historian (Janina Ramirez) make a case that a stretch of the River Thames rewrote the culture of 18th-century Britain. The painters, poets, architects and gardeners they identify as Arcadians were pre-Victorian hippies, interested in reconnecting civilisation with the country – using a fishing manual as a spiritual and practical guide. Includes a cameo from Sir David Attenborough, who lives in the vicinity, appropriately. Andrew Mueller
Super Small Animals
8pm, BBC1
Some nature documentaries glorify the grandiose, but biologist Patrick Aryee brings us a series focused on the animal kingdom’s Subbuteo-sized members. These creatures might be diminutive, but their stature belies their strength, from a hummingbird evading predators to pink fairy armadillos mastering underground architecture. Capturing such small acts of animal artistry may have been a herculean task, but one definitely worth the trouble. Mark Gibbings-Jones
My Family, Partition and Me: India 1947
9pm, BBC1
Anita Rani examines the impact of the partition of India in 1947; the death throes of empire and the birth pangs of independence, which saw the country divided along religious lines, resulting in a million deaths. Survivors, children and grandchildren from four families revisit the country they had to flee, revisiting homes and hearing stories of courage from those who put humanity above religion. More emotion than history but that’s no bad thing. David Stubbs
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City
10pm, BBC4
Town planning is finessed into a gripping documentary in this film exploring the epic mid-20th-century battle – for the soul of New York, no less – of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs. Moses embodied autocratic, top-down urbanisation whereas the visionary Jacobs was more concerned with what served the interests of the city’s communities. With cities all over the world growing at an unprecedented rate, this is full of contemporary resonance. Phil Harrison
Paleo-Sleuths
7.50pm, PBS America
Africa is acknowledged as “the cradle of civilisation”, but the Nebraskan plains are a surprisingly bountiful site for mammal fossils up to 35m years old and once rivalled the tropics in terms of wildlife variety. This film joins a team of palaeontologists carefully poking about in the volcanic ash, hoping to find out not only how the four-tusk elephant and its ilk got there, but also how they disappeared. Sharon O’Connell
The Coroner: I Speak for the Dead
10pm, Investigation Discovery
“They say everybody has a story to tell,” says Dauphin County coroner Graham Hetrick in the opening titles of this ghoulish real-crime series. “But I say every body has a story to tell.” See what he did there? It’s not the only eye-roll moment. Hetrick, who with his jazzy collection of bowties clearly likes the attention, has an actual lookie-likey who plays him in the tacky reconstructions of actual bloody murders he’s worked on. Ben Arnold
Long Lost Family
9pm, ITV
Another episode of the reunion show that essentially tells the same story over and over – but, hey, it’s a powerful story. Tonight’s parent who has always wondered about the child they gave up is Corine, who was 15 when she said goodbye to baby Mark and then went on to adopt two kids herself. The grownup who yearns to meet the parent who couldn’t raise them is Steve, who has known since childhood that his birth mother was named Frances. Can she be found? Jack Seale
Film choice
Throw Momma from the Train (Danny DeVito, 1987) 1.30am, 5Star
College lecturer Billy Crystal hates the ex-wife who stole his novel, while his student, Danny DeVito – who is a few chapters short of a full book – lives in fear of his loathsome, overbearing momma (Anne Ramsey). So when Crystal sends him to see Hitchcock’s murder-swap thriller, Strangers on a Train, an evil idea starts to form. The two stars have huge fun in this likable, slapstick comedy. Crystal’s how-I-hate-my-wife standup routines are droll, but Ramsey’s portrait of an ogre takes the cake. Paul Howlett
Live sport
Cricket: Under-19s One-Day International: England v India 1.55pm, Sky Sports Cricket. Second match of the series.
Athletics: World Championships 2017 6pm, BBC2. More from the London Stadium with Allyson Felix chasing her 10th World Championship gold.
League Cup Football: Colchester United v Aston Villa 7.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event. Action from the now eccentrically named Carabao Cup.
