HD Heads-Up: September 14 – 20

➢➢ Movie fans can look forward to several HD premieres in the week starting September 14, ranging from The Birth of a Nation (Three, 11.15 Saturday) and Transformers: The Last Knight (Three, 8.30 Sunday) to Blade Runner 2049 (TVNZ 2, 9.50 Sunday). BR2049 will be preceded by the director’s cut of the original (midnight Saturday) …

➢➢ Other HD coming attractions will include:

• Turbo (Three, 4.00 Saturday)
• Bridge to Terabithia (TVNZ 2, 7.00 Saturday)
• Kiwi Flyer (Maori TV, 7.00 Saturday)
• Mahana (Maori TV, 8.30 Saturday)
• Troy (TVNZ 2, 8.50 Saturday)
• Christine (Duke, 9.30 Saturday)
• The Founder (Three, 8.55 Sunday)
• Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut (TVNZ 2, midnight Saturday)
• Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (TVNZ 2, 2.10am Sunday)
• Masterminds (TVNZ 2, 8.00 Sunday)
• The Last Witch Hunter (Prime, 8.30 Monday)
• Fair Game (Duke, 8.30 Tuesday)
• Battleship (Three, 7.30 Thursday)
• The Mask of Zorro (Duke, 8.30 Friday) …

➢➢ TVNZ 1 will launch its Rugby World Cup coverage with the premiere of the Sunday Theatre attraction, By the Balls, which recounts how the All Blacks’ 1987 World Cup victory united NZ after their South Africa tour had divided it …

➢➢ That week Coronation Street will air 9.30 Tuesday instead of Friday because of pre-emption by the opening RWC ceremony and opening match. TVNZ says the rest of the tournament won’t affect scheduling of the soap, which now lags about 10 days behind UK broadcasts …

➢➢ ThreeLife will “premiere” the 2012 series Shark Wranglers on September 18 (8.30 Wednesday), about a mission to catch and tag 50 great whites in a race to save the species from extinction. Also new to the channel will be the Animal Planet doco, Hunt for the Russian Tiger (7.30 Sunday) …

➢➢ Returning that week will be American Pickers (Prime, 7.30 Monday) and MasterChef Junior USA (Prime, 7.30 Tuesday) while ending their runs will be Endeavour, Exotic Delights, World’s Busiest Train Stations, Grey’s Anatomy, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Station 19 and Family Rules.