TV highlights 24/08/2012

Parade's End 9pm, BBC2 Tom Stoppard writes and Benedict Cumberbatch stars with Rebecca Hall in this superb Edwardian love-triangle saga, a co-production by the Beeb and HBO. Christopher (Cumberbatch) is unhappy with his icy wife Sylvia (Hall) and her predilection for frequent and blatant affairs. She throws a plate because she's bored. She lazily cheats on him, trying to provoke a reaction. But, unbeknown to her, he falls for a young suffragette. The photography, Stoppard's script and the leads' performances are all gripping. Julia Raeside Idris Elba's How Clubbing Changed the World 10pm, Channel 4 "Look at this chair," says filmmaker Jacques Peretti. As he points out, it's the kind of chair that would have once graced the chill-out room of a nightclub, but is now standard in modern offices. This Idris Elba-fronted tribute to clubland's legacy, featuring the likes of Pete Tong and Nile Rodgers, demonstrates how club culture shaped not only the music of the past 30 years, but everything from football to the drinks industry. It's not all Chicago nightlife though; as Pete Waterman during archive footage of The Hitman And Her declaims, "We're in Chorley at Camelot!" Ali Catterall House Party 12midnight, Channel 4 There might well be a reason why club nights haven't received primetime or witching-hour coverage on telly since the days of Normski's Dance Energy. If so, Channel 4 is ignoring it, going in for a night of watching people dancing and DJs playing records, for an arguably excessive six hours. The more physical turntablists , such as Grandmaster Flash and A-Trak might prove better telly than Erick Morillo or Horse Meat Disco, whatever the tunes they might have on offer. Ben Arnold Reading Festival coverage From 8pm, BBC3 If ever a festival came with L-plates, it's Reading; the one rock festival your mum's happy to wave you off to, in the certain knowledge no one is liable to get into any hot water, metaphorically or literally. As befits such a relatively cosy outing, this year's headliners are those dependable veterans the Cure, moaning beatifically across a field of mud and oomska; plus the Hives, Paramore and the Maccabees – all introduced by Greg James, Fearne Cotton and Fearne's new bump. Ali Catterall The Seahorse Man 9pm, Eden Seahorses are a fascinating if bizarre species – the males get pregnant, giving birth to 1,000 babies at a time – but one that is under threat, facing possible extinction within the next 20 years as the animals are harvested for Chinese medicine. Enter Irish marine biologist Kealan Doyle, who attempts to save the fish with an ambitious breeding programme built around a marine business. Charismatic and passionate, Doyle understands the complexity of the seahorse trade, and doesn't condemn the poor communities in Indonesia who fish for the creatures, nor the Chinese culture whose insatiable demand threatens their existence. Martin Skegg Celebrity Bitchslap News 10pm, BBC3 A well-worn spoof format, with roving reporters unearthing grainy footage of lookalikes cavorting riotously in the guise of the rich and famous. So, we see Camilla and Kate getting drunk in a studio, Simon Cowell sitting on a toilet seat carefully layered with black loo paper and Prince William at an all-night garage, in an abysmal scene featuring a turbanned sales clerk who is a throwback to Amusing Asian stereotypes of the 70s. If you love the worst elements of BBC3, you'll love this. The rest of you will not. David Stubbs