HD Heads-Up: November 4-10

➢➢ Fishing and friendship are at the heart of a new feelgood Saturday night series, Gone Fishing (TVNZ 1, 8.30), in which experienced angler Paul Whitehouse takes novice and lifelong chum Bob Mortimer on a tour of the UK’s finest fishing spots following major heart surgery for each. Why TVNZ’s taken so long to land it here is puzzling given it’s run for six acclaimed seasons on the BBC. The Guardian thought S1 an “effortlessly funny, profoundly life-affirming meditation on friendship, leisure and mortality” and dubbed a later season “like The Trip on statins“. The Telegraph said, “Gone Fishing felt a bit like eavesdropping on two old mates talking nonsense” but agreed “there was nothing fishy about this warm portrait of friendship” …

➢➢ S14 of The Great British Bake Off  is the lead-in to Gone Fishing (TVNZ 1, 7.00) while the Jo Brand spin-off,  An Extra Slice, screens the next night but on a different channel (TVNZ 2, 6.00). And the culinary comebacks continue with S2 of BBQ contest Cooks on Fire S2 (TVNZ 1, 7.30 Thursday) …

➢➢ Also back is SEAL Team S6 (TVNZ 2, 10.15 Sunday) while ending their runs are Nick Knowles Heritage Rescue, The Dog House Australia, Build Your Dream Home, Passport to Freedom, Moving Houses Special, Travel Guides, Night Coppers and Bel Air …

➢➢ New to TVNZ 2 are For The Love of Pets (6.00 Saturday), a reality series about animal welfare workers, and the brilliant Sharon Horgan comedy Catastrophe (11.25 Monday), which wins its first free-to-air run after screening on Sky and streaming on TVNZ+ …

➢➢ Patrick Stewart, Ralph Fiennes, Bella Ramsey, Layton Williams, Dame Joan Collins and Zak Abel guest on Thursday’s The Graham Norton Show (Three, 7.30) ahead of stand-up comedy special Kirsty Webeck: Silver Linings (8.30) …

➢➢ Gem Hunters Down Under (Duke, 8.30 Sunday) tests the limits of sapphire hunters in Central Queensland while The Fast And The Farmer-ish (Duke, 9.30 Sunday) showcases petrolheads on turbo-charged tractors …

➢➢ Whakaata Māori is teaming Haututū Hunters (9.00 Tuesday), a new lifestyle series about four city slickers connecting with their whenua, whānau and each other to learn hunting and gathering skills, with S17 of Hunting Aotearoa (9.30 Tuesday) …

➢➢ HD coming attractions include:

• SamSam (Whakaata Māori, 7.00 Saturday)
• Charlie’s Angels (2000) (TVNZ 2, 8.10 Saturday)
• V For Vendetta (Three, 8.30 Saturday)
• Unlocked (Eden, 8.30 Saturday)
• Troll Hunter (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Saturday)
• The Chronicles of Riddick (TVNZ 2, 10.00 Saturday)
• After We Collided (Three, 11.05 Saturday)
• U-Turn (Duke, 11.30 Saturday)
• The Dark Knight (TVNZ 2, 12.15am Sunday)
• The Apparition (Duke, 1.35am Sunday)
• Dolphin Tale 2 (TVNZ 2, 4.00 Sunday)
• The Karate Kid: Part II (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Sunday)
• Seberg (Eden, 8.25 Sunday)
• Lamb (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Sunday)
• Fresh Meat (TVNZ 2, 11.20 Sunday)
• Girls Can’t Surf (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Monday)
• Backdraft (Duke, 10.00 Tuesday)
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Whakaata Māori, 8.30 Wednesday)
• Magic Mike (Three, 8.30 Friday)
• The Nutty Professor 2 – The Klumps (Duke, 9.55 Friday).