A week on the box: April 27 - May 3

Reviewer James Croot checks out the best shows and films on New Zealand television screens for the week of Tuesday, April 27 to Monday, May 3.

Tuesday, April 27

Grey’s Anatomy
8.30pm, TV2
Katherine Heigl visits Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital for the final time tonight. During six seasons on the show that made her a household name, Heigl’s Izzy has become engaged to a dying patient, been diagnosed with incurable cancer, married her on-again-off-again love interest Alex and ‘died’ on the operating table. Having recently been fired, she returns to Seattle hoping to reconcile with Alex.

House
8.30pm, TV3
That 70s Show’s Laura Prepon is the patient of the week. She plays a blogger who is admitted to Princeton-Plainsboro with unexplained bruises and bleeding. Following her hospitalisation Frankie begins blogs about her symptoms and possible diagnoses - and about the doctors treating her. 

The Good Wife
9.30pm, TV3
Meryl Streep’s daughter Mamie Gummer guest stars on tonight’s episode. She plays a wily young lawyer who seems to have the judge wrapped around her little finger when she goes up against Alicia and Will in a civil case against a man who was found not guilty of murdering his wife.

The Rainman Twins
9.30pm, Prime
2008 British documentary that tells the tale of the only identical twin autistic savant sisters known to exist. From the moment they were born, Flo and Kay Lyman were unlike any sisters on Earth. Thought to be mentally retarded, they were tormented by kids. However, over a span of 50 years they have memorized the world around them. They never forget a date, never forget a song, never forget what they eat, never forget the weather on any day.

Wednesday, April 28

Masterchef New Zealand
7.30pm, TV One
The knives are out, and the pressure is on as the two finalists face their ultimate test which considers their knowledge, skill and all-round cooking ability. They face four challenges: a taste test; a lamb invention test; a sausage-making challenge; and finally, a croquembouche challenge, in which they must create a traditional French profiterole cone complete with handmade choux pastry profiteroles, crème patissière filling, caramel and spun sugar.

Cadbury Crunchie Comedy Gala 
8.30pm, TV3
Hosted by Rove McManus, this night of hilarity unites more than 20 acts on one stage. Those scheduled to appear include Irish-Australian Jimeoin, Cripple Creek’s country and western star Wilson Dixon and the cream of New Zealand stand-up talent including Jeremy Corbett, Ben Hurley, Ewen Gilmour and Dai Henwood.

Lost
9.30pm, TV2
Hurley is the focus of tonight’s episode which has the portly lottery winner pleading with the others in his group to abort their plan to blow up the plane on the nearby Hydra Island. His fears come from a vision of a long-Lost original character who warns that such a move will cause plenty of death and destruction.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl
9.30pm, Prime
On tonight’s Series 3 finale, Bambi (Ashley Madekwe) has reached her wedding day. However, much to her horror Belle (Billie Piper) decides to bring her publisher Duncan (James D’Arcy) to the ceremony which forces Bambi to confess the truth – that Duncan was her client.

Thursday, April 29

Three Amigos
8.30pm, Comedy

Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short combine for this 1986 comedy about three unemployed actors who accept an invitation to a Mexican village to replay their bandit-fighting roles, unaware that it is the real thing. Slapstick and corny lines abound. For example: “We could take a walk and you could kiss me on the veranda." “The lips would be fine."

The Devil Dared Me To
9.30pm, Prime

Inspired by little-known 1981 Canadian documentary The Devil At Your Heels, this 2007 film also splices elements of Star Wars: A New Hope and 70's-style B-Movies to create a riotous, Society for the Promotion of Community Standards-baiting whole. The easily offended should steer well clear of this expletive, explosive and excrement-fuelled Kiwi comedy from the Back of the Y boys, but fans of that series will be more than satisfied.

America’s Sweethearts
9.30pm, Vibe

Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones and John Cusack star in this 2001 comedy about a movie publicist dealing with the messy public split of a film’s co-stars. The amazing supporting cast includes Billy Crystal, Stanley Tucci, Hank Azaria, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin and Seth Green.

Project Runway
9.30pm, TV3
The five remaining designers face their final challenge before New York Fashion Week. Los Angeles’s famed Getty Museum provides the backdrop and the inspiration. The guest judge is former supermodel Cindy Crawford. Only three designers will make the cut for Bryant Park and the chance at winning the competition.

Friday, April 30

America’s Next Top Model
7.30pm, TV3
Will the winner of Cycle 12 be Aminat Ayinde, Teyona Anderson or Allison Harvard? In order to win they’ll have to excel at both a CoverGirl commercial and print ad and a swimsuit fashion show where they’ll be expected to strut a sultry walk, dance in samba movement and crawl provocatively.

World War II in Colour
7.30pm, Prime
This major new documentary series features rare and unseen footage of World War II, treated with the very latest colorization techniques. The very latest satellite delivered terrain mapping and state of the art graphics bring viewers the full story of World War II as it could never be told before.

The Last Supper
8.30pm, Vibe

Cameron Diaz stars in this 1995 black comedy about a group of idealistic, but frustrated, liberal graduate students who host a series of weekly dinner parties to see how the other half thinks. “It’s a Swiftian attempt to slap us all in the face and get us to admit that our own freedoms depend precisely on those of our neighbours, our opponents and, yes, our enemies,” wrote the Chicago Sun-Times’s Roger Ebert.

20/20 World Cup Cricket: NZ v Sri Lanka 
5am, SkySport 2
The Black Caps kick off this two-and-a-half week long, 12-team tournament in the Caribbean with a game against last year’s losing finalists. Zimbabwe are the other team in the group with two teams qualifying for the Super 8s. Pakistan are the defending champions with Afghanistan making their debut in the competition.

Saturday, May 1

Great Scenic Railway Journeys US and Canada
Travel, 7pm
Sky kicks off its new Travel Channel (77) with this stunningly shot six part series. Musician David Holt takes viewers on a journey from the frozen tundra of Alaska to the high desert of Arizona. Things kick off tonight on the oldest operating tourist railway in North America – South Dakota’s Black Hills.

Super 14 Rugby: Hurricanes v Chiefs
7.30pm, Sky Movies
It’s game over for the loser of this match in Wellington with both sides still harbouring faint hopes of a late run to the semi-finals. They will also be praying the Crusaders have done them a huge favour earlier in the day (5.05am) by knocking over the fearsome Stormers in Cape Town.

The Graham Norton Show
9.30pm, UKTV
New Zealand premiere of last year’s Series 5 and 6 of the multi-award winning comedian’s popular talk show. Expect trademark Norton comedy monologues, celebrity chat, eccentric stories and characters, and home-grown weirdness from the British public. Guests include Lily Allen, Isabella Rossellini, Kurt Russell, Anna Paquin and David Tennant.

Goodnight, and Good Luck
11pm, TV One

George Clooney directs this searing 2005 black-and-white recreation of broadcast journalist Edward R Murrow’s attempts to bring down communist hunting Senator Joseph McCarthy. David Straithairn is simply superb as Murrow while Clooney cleverly sticks to archival footage to portray McCarthy.

Sunday, May 2

Priceless Antiques Roadshow
7pm, Living
Everyone has their favourite moment from the long-running Antiques Roadshow; the exquisite jewellery found on a rubbish tip worth thousands; the cracked teapot worth enough for its owners to buy their house; the blood-spattered Boer War book that saved the life of the owner’s grandfather by stopping a near fatal bullet.  In this very special 15-part half-hour series, the greatest moments from the 30-year archive are revisited.

Doctor Who
7.30pm, Prime
Series 5 of the new format Doctor Who marks a crossroads in the production. Onboard are a new producer, a new Doctor (Matt Smith) and a new companion – Amy Pond (Karen Gillan). In tonight’s episode danger strikes before the Doctor can even recover from his regeneration. The Tardis is wrecked, the sonic screwdriver destroyed and he only has 20 minutes to save the world.

Monty Python Almost the Truth
8.50pm, Prime
Made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their television debut, this six-part series features interviews with all the surviving comedy troupe members. Throughout the series the Pythons will tell their life story and reveal deeper truths alongside the more tried and tested Python history lessons. Tonight they recount how it all began.

Inside Deep Throat
9.30pm, Documentary

Fascinating 2005 documentary about one of the most controversial and profitable movies of all time.  Released in 1972, Deep Throat was filmed in six days for US$25,000 thousand dollars. Despite being banned in 23 states it made more than US$600m. meanwhile, The Deer Hunter kicks off Rialto Channel’s Classic Film Sundays season at 8.30pm.

Monday, May 3

Who Do You Think You Are- Australia
7.30pm, UKTV
Series 2 of the Ocker version of this popular show kicks off with AFL legend and latter day ‘knight in shining armour’ Ron Barassi. He embarks on a journey into his ancestry tracing the Barassi family line back to the Victorian Gold Rush. Other celebrities featured during the six-part season include actress Sigrid Thornton, cook Maggie Beer and musician John Butler.

Desperate Housewives
8.30pm, TV2
In the aftermath of last week’s deadly plane crash, the residents of Wisteria Lane reflect on what their lives might have been had they made different choices. As well as these fantasies, there is also the reality of the physical and mental toll the disaster has left behind as almost everyone is touched by the incident.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
8.30pm, TV3
Country music supergroup Rascal Flatts guest star as themselves on this week’s episode. They need the Las Vegas crime lab’s help when one of their number is electrocuted by his own guitar during a concert. And it turns out that the evidence points to it being more than just a simple electrical accident.
 
V 48 Hour TV
10.30pm, C4
Tonight marks the first of 10 half-hour episodes showcasing three of the best short films in each genre from New Zealand’s largest and richest filmmaking competition. City finalists begin screening at the same time on May 17, building to the Grand Final at 9.30pm on May 20.

- © Fairfax NZ News