HD Highlights: August 26

SoHo Highlight: Hell on Wheels (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) Former confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon continues his mission to hunt down the Union soldiers responsible for his wife’s death. “It no longer feels like you’re watching a dozen different TV shows now that the main characters actually interact with one another. And the show’s pace seems more brisk, less stodgy,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said. Concurred Entertainment Weekly: “It’s a measure of how absorbing Hell on Wheels is that each of these characters has evolved into someone we know and, in varying degrees, root for.” But New York magazine reckons “Hell on Wheels seems to be puttering around a circular track, with no straightway in sight” while TV Guide argued: “Dramatically, the show feels as stalled as the trains, which have nowhere to go. Studiously gritty but rarely convincing in its clichéd characterisations and pretentious posturing, Wheels is hell on one’s endurance.” ✭✭✭✩

Season Premiere: Nothing Trivial (TV One, 8.30) The five lovelorn members of Sex on a Stick have moved on, in more ways than one. If last time was all about being single, this time the team members are working out how to be part of a couple. Especially after a vicious divorce; custody battles; your true love unavailable – and can a root rat really change the habits of a lifetime? The team might have brushed up on their knowledge of geography, popular culture and flags of the world, but they’re still battling with the really important questions. ✭✭✭

❑ The Zoo (TV One, 7.00) Giraffe Zabulu gets a new playmate; Melur the orangutan behaves for the vet; and reptile keepers pull out all the stops to get Smiley the tortoise in the mood for love. ✭✭✭✩

❑ The Big Bang Theory (TV2, 7.00, 5.1, R) While Sheldon and Koothrappali attend a university mixer, Leonard is upset to discover that Penny believes in psychics. ✭✭✭✭

❑ Modern Family (TV3, 7.00, 5.1, R) Cameron makes an appearance as Fizbo the Clown when Phil and Claire pull out all the stops for Luke’s birthday bash. ✭✭✭✭

Movie: Bride Wars (TV3, 8.30, 5.1, R) Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson star as best friends whose meticulous wedding plans crash when a clerical error leads to each getting married on the same day. Critics scarcely celebrated: “A shrill, mechanical comedy” (Variety); “has possibly the worst comedy idea since Springtime for Hitler, with almost no room for redeeming camp” (Baltimore Sun). (2009) ✭✩

❑ Homeland (TV3, 10.20, 5.1, R) The relationship between Carrie and Brody becomes more complicated when they head to the countryside for the weekend. ✭✭✭✭✭

Sky Movies Premiere: The Hangover Part II (Sky 20, 8.30, 5.1)  Neither the film makers nor filmgoers got hung up over this blockbuster sequel essentially being the same as the first, with Bangkok substituting for Vegas. Despite the over-familiarity, it’s still fun thanks to the cast’s bromance chemistry and Paul Giamatti’s droll cameo as a gangster. Todd Phillips again directs Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis. (2011) ✭✭✭✩