Tuesday’s best TV: It’s Not Rocket Science; Back in Time for the Weekend; Happy Valley; Alan Partridge’s Mid Morning Matters (original) (raw)

It’s Not Rocket Science

8pm, ITV

Yes, a science series on primetime ITV is an unlikely sight. And yes, Joey Essex turning up to tackle a thought-powered car doesn’t augur well. But, aside from all that, this is a game effort to bring science to the masses, with hosts Ben Miller, Romesh Ranganathan and Rachel Riley concocting a compound that’s equal parts Brainiac and Top Gear. In reality, despite some headline stunts – an Olympic sprinter racing a Red Arrow or Riley ziplining through a wall of fire – the overall formula feels a little lacking. Mark Gibbings-Jones

Back in Time for the Weekend

8pm, BBC2

“There’s a lot of brown here …” We’ve reached the 1970s, where the wallpaper, the upholstery and even the home-brewing kits are a fetching shade of mud. For mum Steph, it’s a return to her childhood; for women generally, it was a less-enlightened era: homes may have been full of labour-saving devices, but “it was still the woman’s job to push them around”. Plus: butterfly collars, unsupervised children’s play and butterscotch Angel Delight (again, brown!). Ali Catterall

The Secret Life of the Zoo

8pm, Channel 4

With its twinkly music and constant willingness to anthropomorphise its subjects, this series venturing behind the scenes at Chester zoo has repeatedly flirted with cutesiness. But while it’s hard not to question whether zoos really are such benign places, it’s also impossible not to be won over by the personable staff, whose enthusiasm for their jobs is palpable and infectious. Tonight, a giraffe gives birth, the team try to save mountain chicken frogs from extinction and we eavesdrop on the secret world of a trio of aardvarks. Phil Harrison

Happy Valley

9pm, BBC1

The tone may be different, but Sally Wainwright’s police drama shares with Last Tango in Halifax a sense that individual stories may suddenly overlap. Tonight, there are strong hints such plot collisions lie ahead when Catherine gets involved in a human-trafficking case, and troubled copper John feels under pressure. Then there’s the eerie presence of Frances Drummond (Shirley Henderson), who’s clearly up to no good. Light viewing this isn’t, but you find yourself not wanting to miss a moment. Jonathan Wright

My Baby, Psychosis and Me

10.45pm, BBC1

Postpartum depression is perhaps insufficiently understood, but it is at least acknowledged. For one mother in every 500, however, childbirth can trigger something more terrifying: outright psychosis, accompanied by ungovernable moods and paranoid delusions. This film follows two sufferers, Hannah and Jenny, over six months, as the staff of a specialist ward in Winchester work with them to overcome the condition. As the film notes, they’re the relatively lucky ones; winners in the postcode lottery that determines who gets treated. Andrew Mueller

Alan Partridge’s Mid Morning Matters

10pm, Sky Atlantic

The magnificent Mid Morning Matters returns, with north Norfolk’s favourite digital radio host, Alan Partridge, in the finest of fettle. The station has a new boss; Alan has a new “bird” (in Angela, making for some pleasing continuity from the Alpha Papa film); and he’s even flexing his muscles in the realm of radio drama. Alan and Sidekick Simon also welcome Sir Cecil Phillips, the leader of the controversial North Norfolk Hunt, into the booth. It is perfection. Ben Arnold

Heroes Reborn

9pm, 5★

After a strong start, globalised super-soap Heroes fizzled out in 2010 on the back of four increasingly convoluted series. This revival introduces a new crop of Evos, humans with uncanny abilities trying to figure out their place in the world. Jack Coleman, playing conflicted dad Noah Bennett, provides a direct link to the original, while Chuck’s Zachary Levi plays against type as an ice-cold agent. This opener feels a little underpowered, but any show with a crimefighting Mexican wrestler called El Vengador can’t be all bad. Graeme Virtue

Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan in The Karate Kid. Photograph: Columbia Pictures/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

Film choice

The Karate Kid (Harald Zwart, 2010) 6.20pm, Film4

This remake of John G Avildsen’s 1984 film – in which twinkly janitor Pat Morita taught Italian-American kid Ralph Macchio karate via painting the garden fence – relocates the action from LA to a Beijing high school, where the new arrival (played by Jaden Smith, son of Will) is bullied by his Chinese classmates. Jackie Chan is the wise teacher of fisticuffs who shows Jaden how to batter his enemies in a punchy adventure that ramps up the violence.

Rush Hour (Brett Ratner, 1998) 7pm, 5★

Jackie Chan again, here playing a Hong Kong supercop, arriving in LA to find the kidnapped daughter of an old pal. Chris Tucker is the local detective assigned to keep him out of trouble. Amid the usual exuberantly choreographed action scenes, Ken Leung makes a worthy, high-kicking adversary, but the best of it is in the chalk-and-cheese pairing of Chan and Tucker. Paul Howlett

Today’s best live sport

WTA tennis: Dubai Tennis Championship The tournament, won last year by Simona Halep, enters its second day. 10am, BT Sport 1

Snooker: Welsh Open Day two action from the Motorpoint Arena as the tournament, won in 2015 by the veteran John Higgins, continues. 10.30am, Eurosport 1

Champions League Football: Paris Saint-Germain v Chelsea Gus Hiddink’s side visit the runaway Ligue 1 leaders. 7pm, BT Sport Europe. Benfica v Zenit St Petersburg airs at 7pm on BT Sport 2.