Top TV picks: Jan 15 - 21

Reuters

EVER THE SHOWGIRL: Pop princess Kylie Minogue stars in The Kylie Show on Prime, Thursday at 8.30pm.

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Television critic Philip Wakefield chooses the 10 best shows on the box this week, for Tuesday, January 15 to Monday, January 21.

1. See No Evil: Shameless' Maxine Peake plays Myra Hindley in a Bafta-winning two-part dramatisation of the Moors Murders she committed with Ian Brady (Sean Harris). British critics dubbed it grim, compulsive and admirable.
TV One, 8.30pm Sunday & Monday.

2. Life: Premiere of a whimsical detective drama starring Damian Lewis as an ex-con-cum-cop who rejoins the force after being framed. The Hollywood Reporter called his charismatic character "both unpredictable and impossible to pigeonhole".
TV3, 8.30pm Monday.

3. Prison Break: Season three opens by stetting up a shocking revenge motive for Michael Scofield when he finds himself imprisoned in Panama. It so startled fans in the United States that the show suffered a backlash.
TV3, 9.30pm Monday.

4. 24: Season finale of a series whose star, Kiefer Sutherland, has gone from being a model hero to a model prisoner while serving 48 days in jail for drink-driving. However, it wasn't this that's thwarted filming of the next series but the Hollywood writers strike.
TV3, 10.25pm Sunday.

5. Real Life: An Abbreviated Life: Documentary about a Wellington teenager who lives life to the full under the threat of sudden death from cystic fibrosis.
TV One, 9.30pm Wednesday.

6. NZ Festival: A Tall, Long Faced Tale: Children's writer Margaret Mahy is interviewed by some of her fictional characters in a scenario that sounds ripe for mischief and mayhem.
TV One, 9.45pm Saturday.

7. Absolute Power: Series two opens on a new night with Stephen Fry's PR firm negotiating the sale of British Airways to a rich Saudi - who turns out to be a member of the bin Laden family. Double-billed with series two of Saxondale.
UK TV, 8.30pm Friday.

8. Hidden Palms: Sexy new teen soap that most United States critics dismissed, prompting Newsday to warn: "Don't believe the critics who tell you Hidden Palms stinks after they watched only the first episode ... This is a seriously involving serious show."
Prime, 8.30pm Thursday.

9. A Flock of Students: From Dunedin, the home of Natural History NZ, comes this off-the-beaten track documentary that portrays scarfies as wildlife.
TV One, 11.30pm Sunday.

10. The Kylie Show: The pop princess stars in a sizzling special that includes send-ups of Dynasty (with sister Dannii) and Neighbours (with former co-star Jason Donovan). Queen fans will be equally rhapsodic about the Bohemian Rhapsody documentary it precedes.
Prime, 8.30pm Tuesday.

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