HD Heads-Up: May 20-26

➢➢ Said the Wall Street Journal of the new woke-era costume drama Tom Jones (TVNZ 1, 8.55 Saturday): “A rollicking romp through lusty, dusty, busty Georgian England is what one would like to call the new Tom Jones. But it is a far more gentle-bordering-on-bloodless treatment of the 1749 Henry Fielding novel than, say, the 1963 Best Picture with which it will inevitably be compared.” The Guardian called it “four hours in workmanlike pursuit of nothing much” …

➢➢ The Telegraph asked: “Tom Jones is one of the funniest, lustiest novels of all time – so why have ITVX stripped it bare? … It is perfectly diverting, light-hearted and sunny, with lovely locations and clothes. Yet for a costume drama based around a handsome young man who is irresistible to the opposite sex, it lacks a certain lustiness. Tom Jones should be a romp but, for long stretches, it’s positively boring” …

➢➢ Quipped Variety: “While Tom Jones contains themes of identity, class and what it means to be a woman of the time, at its core this is just another situational romcom in britches.” Solly McLeod (House of the Dragon), Sophie Wilde (You Don’t Know Me), Shirley Henderson (The Mandalorian), Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) and James Fleet (Bridgerton) star …

➢➢ Three’s rolling out a slew of new series and specials for winter viewing. The Vinnie Jones-fronted Tracked (7.30 Monday-Tuesday) is billed as “the ultimate adventure race as international teams run, hide and survive in NZ’s wilderness”; Paddy Gower Has Issues (7.30 Wednesday) promises to be an irreverent take on current affairs; and The Great Comedy Debate (8.30 Thursday) features Josh Thompson, Jesse Mulligan, Michele A’Court, Courtney Dawson, Dai Henwood, Perlina Lau and Eli Matthewson …

➢➢ Three’s also awarding late-night runs for two series that stream on ThreeNow: the alien invasion thriller Falling Skies, which screens in double-episodes (10.20 Saturdays); and the DC Comics adaptation that lasted only one season, Swamp Thing (10.30 Sunday) …

➢➢ New for music fans are the documentaries Citizens of Boomtown: The Story of the Boomtown Rats (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Monday) and Classic Albums: Don McLean (Prime, 8.30 Thursday) …

➢➢ Returning for a new season is Lap of Luxury (TVNZ 1, 8.25 Saturday) while ending their runs are Aussie Bull Catchers, Yellowjackets, Murder in the Family, Location Location Location and Young Rock  …

➢➢ HD coming attractions for the third week of May include:

• Khumba (Whakaata Māori, 7.00 Saturday)
• Rush Hour (TVNZ 2, 7.30 Saturday)
• Midnight In Paris (Eden, 8.30 Saturday)
• The Straight Story (Whakaata Māori, 8.40 Saturday)
• The Spy Who Dumped Me (TVNZ 2, 9.20 Saturday)
• Saw 6 (Duke, 9.30 Saturday)
• Aeon Flux (TVNZ 2, 12.40am Sunday)
• What a Girl Wants (TVNZ 2, 2.15am Sunday)
• Pixels (TVNZ 2, 4.00 Sunday)
• Bad Neighbours (TVNZ 2, 8.30 Sunday)
• Brexit: The Uncivil War (Eden, 8.30 Saturday)
• Buoyancy (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Sunday)
• Due Date (Three, 8.40 Sunday)
• Seven Psychopaths (TVNZ 2, 11.15 Sunday)
• Half Past Dead (Prime, 8.30 Monday)
• Dawn Raid (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
• Slam (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Wednesday)
• Ghost Town (Three, 7.30 Friday)
• Big Momma’s House (Duke, 9.30 Friday).