HD Heads-Up: October 31 – November 6

➢➢ True crime stories will dominate primetime in the first week of November. TVNZ 1 will launch the Bain family murders dramatisation Black Hands (8.30 Sunday) on a double-bill with Australian Crime Stories (9.30 Sunday), and premiere the latest seasons of Motorbike Cops (8.00 Monday) and Cold Case (8.30 Tuesday). TVNZ 2, meanwhile, will premiere Police Code Zero (10.05 Thursday), a British documentary series exposing the dangerous situations faced by police forces …

➢➢ Black Hands will go against genre type by focusing on the lives of David Bain’s family rather than their deaths, revealing what went on behind closed doors in the 16 months before the murders. Promises the publicity: “Through the eyes of the victims and the accused, viewers will get to know the Bain family like never before” …

➢➢ Cold Case will return to re-examine four unsolved crimes, opening with the death of 88-year-old Russell Allison in a suspicious house fire, while Police Code Zero will explore the rising number of assaults on police officers in Britain, revealing what they face in the line of duty and the emotional toll these incidents take …

➢➢ Australian Crime Stories will explore some of Australia’s most captivating, terrifying and inexplicable crimes. The premiere investigates what happened to a Miss Tasmania wannabe who disappeared from a bus stop in Tasmania in 1969. The eight-part series is a free-to-air rebranding of Foxtel’s Tough Nuts: Australia’s Hardest Criminals …

➢➢ Also new in November will be the Rich House Poor House spin-off, Rich Holiday Poor Holiday (TVNZ 1, 8.45 Thursdays from November 5). The premise? People with vastly different incomes swap holidays for a week. “This set-up couldn’t be simpler,” said the Daily Mail. “We meet the families and watch their holidays: it is undemanding and entertaining.” The Channel 5 show was a hit in the UK and a second series is in the works …

➢➢ Three will go head-to-head with TVNZ 1 with its US election coverage on November 4. Paul Henry will front America Decides alongside Newshub Political Editor Tova O’Brien and National Correspondent Patrick Gower from 4.00-8.30 (excluding Newshub Live from 6.00-7.00) …

➢➢ Duke will celebrate Halloween with 11 of The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror classics from 7.30 on October 31 (which is some consolation for TVNZ 2 not screening this year’s). Among the storylines: Homer battles mutants after Springfield is annihilated by a neutron bomb, Bart has his DNA mixed with a fly, and Marge is revealed to be a witch in colonial Springfield. Duke will bookend the marathon with Halloween episodes of Family Guy (7.30 Saturday, 12.40am Sunday) …

➢➢ The same night the networks will light up their Halloween lanterns with the free-to-air premiere of Halloween (Three, 10.40) and the quirky horror marathon of Beetlejuice (TVNZ 2, 7.00), It (TVNZ 2, 8.45) and Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (TVNZ 2, 11.25), followed the next day by Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TVNZ 2, midday) and Don’t Breathe (TVNZ 2, 11.40) …

➢➢ That weekTVNZ 2 also will premiere the movie Mile 22 (9.45 Sunday) and Maori TV The Fool (8.30 Sunday) and Dark Horse – The Incredible Story of Dream Alliance (8.30 Monday). Other HD coming attractions will include:

• Moshi Monsters: The Movies (Maori TV, 7.00)
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Three, 8.30 Saturday)
• American Sniper (TVNZ 2, 12.55am Sunday)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Sunday)
• Skyfall (Three, 7.00 Sunday)
• Rambo (Duke, 10.20 Sunday)
• Drive Angry (Prime, 9.35 Monday)
• Clear and Present Danger (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
• X-Men: Apocalypse (Three, 8.30 Friday)
• Clear and Present Danger (Duke, 8.30 Friday)
• Miss You Already (Maori TV, 8.30 Friday)…

➢➢ Cruising With Jane McDonald (Prime, 7.30 Sundays from November 1) returns with a two-part voyage around these shores and Australia’s. Also back for new episodes that weekend will be Ice Road Truckers (Prime, 6.00 Saturday) and Pawn Stars (Prime, 7.00 Sunday) while ending their runs will be TradeZone Addicted To Fishing, The Trump Show, The Red Stag Timber Hunters Club, Mean Mums, Golden Boy, White House Farm and 7 Days.