Top 10 TV picks: September 30 - October 6

Reuters

LIFE GOES ON: David Attenborough gets under the skin of reptiles and amphibians in his final Life series.

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Television critic Philip Wakefield chooses the 10 best shows on the box this week, for Tuesday, September 30 to Monday, October 6.

1. The Family Who Vanished: The Guardian’s critic was so “gobsmacked” by this docudrama with a Kiwi connection that “I had to watch it straight through again, mainly to make sure I hadn’t imagined it.” It chronicles the murder of a British businessman and his family that was investigated only at the urging of the victim’s New Zealand brother-in-law. Precedes the award-winning Murder on the Blade.
TV One, 11.30pm Sunday.

2. Life in Cold Blood: David Attenborough gets under the skin of reptiles and amphibians in his final Life series. Acclaimed the Daily Mail: "You couldn't do much more than watch and say, 'Wow!'"
Prime, 8.35pm Sunday.

3. Coronation Street: Friday becomes the new Coro St catch-up night, with a third weekly instalment screening over the next few months.
TV One, 7.30pm Friday.

4. Top Gear: Britain’s speed freaks return to test-drive a Ferrari 430 Scuderia and challenge the Austin Allegra reverse jump world record. Or, as executive producer Andy Wilman says: "Think of the forthcoming series then as a familiar friend, your favourite old jumper that brings comfort, warmth, and things you’ve seen before."
Prime, 7.30pm Sunday.

5. The Big Food Fight: Hugh’s Chicken Run: River Cottage’s Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall ruffles the feathers of poultry farmers in an expose that’s food for thought but falls short of the roasting Jamie Oliver gave the industry.
TV One, 9.30pm Wednesday.

6. Half Ton Dad: Meet the unbelievably obese American who makes Monty Python’s Mr Creosote look wafer-thin. If this doesn’t put you off chilli cheese fries for breakfast, nothing will.
TV3, 9.30pm Thursday.

7. Real Life: The Girl Who Didn’t Grow: Documentary about a nine-year-old whose primordial dwarfism means she’ll never be more than a metre tall.
TV One, 9.30pm Wednesday.

8. Prime Rocks: The Beatles’ Women: The Biography Channel catches up with the chicks who just wanted to hold the Fab Four’s hands.
Prime, 8.55pm Monday.

9. The Larry Sanders Show: It’s great to see a classic like this talk show spoof continue for its second season but such programming shouldn’t be at the expense of new cult comedies, like Curb Your Enthusiasm.
TV2, 12.05am Wednesday.

10. The Late Show With David Letterman: Guests include Paris Hilton (Tuesday), Kristen Wiig
(Wednesday), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Thursday), Kate Walsh (Friday) and Tim Robbins (Monday).
Prime, post-11pm weeknights (1.35pm weekday repeats).

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