Antiques class

CAN’T tell your Myson from a Meerschaum when it comes to auction bargains? Well, I think most of us feel like that when faced with a fastmoving auction and boxes of dusty items which may or may not include that one star item which would gain a place of glory on Antiques Roadshow.

Around 2,000 such bidables go through Lots Road Auction House in Chelsea and this reality show is an ideal companion for those who enjoy Antiques Roadhunt, Bargain Hunt, or Auction Hunters, but this newcomer is at the pricier end of the market – a bling and buy of millionaires’ cast-offs in the main.

The daily workings of Lots shows a place bursting with artefacts which showcase the ever-changing tastes of London’s super-wealthy. On the positive side is cheerful day-to-day manager Martin. On the down side, and likely to catch the eye, is irritable owner Roger Ross.

He decides his management style as “antiquated, dictatorial and offensive to a lot of people”. Hire him immediately, Boris. Roger feels Lots Road needs a radical facelift, while regular visitors Sam and Lili go in search of furniture for their seven-bedroom mansion and a rather unusual piece of art attracts Lili’s attention.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
(Channel 5, 9pm)

TED Danson continues his search for a few more cheers in the realistic world of crime-crackers as the Vegas-based drama centres on an inferno at struggling music venue, the Lockjaw Club.

What looks like an insurance scam also has an added controversial element of hardcore band White Rising playing on the night when several people died at the venue. There is murder on the dancefloor because one of the victims had been strangled with the only other exit blocked by a car.

It’s no laughing matter as Danson’s fellow Cheers veteran John Ratzenberger makes a guest appearance.

Ratzenberger is no stranger to Blighty, having filmed some of the best-loved blockbusters of the 1970s and 1980s here, including A Bridge Too Far, the first two Superman movies and The Empire Strikes Back.

By 1982, he thought the relatively small role of Cliff Clavin in Cheers would be just that, but the American comedy soon became one of the most beloved shows of the decade, and Cliff Clavin, the pedantic postman with the Boston drawl, was one of its greatest assets.

Horizon: Where Is Flight MH370?
(BBC2, 9pm)

IN these days where we can find an answer to just about anything with a few clicks of a mouse, genuine mysteries are few and far between, especially when it comes to aviation matters.

Until recently we thoughtplanes were tracked to within a millimetre of their location thanks to the wonders of GPS and other assorted gizmos, but the mystery of Flight MH370 changed that.

This film hopes to give us a fresh perspective on the search for the Malaysia Airlines Flight which vanished on March 8 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

We see how the Boeing 777 disappeared in a radar blind spot, and what investigators believe happened to the plane in its final minutes.

There are contributions from British satellite engineers who tracked MH370’s last hours. Plus, viewers get an insight into new technologies, including blackbox streaming and enhanced air-traffic surveillance, which hopefully means no airliner should go missing again.