HD Highlights: August 8

Season Highlight: The Slap (TV3, 9.35) “After four weeks of mounting tension, with each episode concentrating on a different character, tonight delivers something of a payoff as Rosie, who refused Harry’s apology, finally gets to haul him – and everybody else – into court,” said The Age. “Circumstances are examined with forensic detail, throwing even the most righteously held opinion about child-smacking into doubt. The compelling performances of The Slap positively breathe with authenticity and rarely has subtle nuance and high emotion been so perfectly realised than by Melissa George as Rosie braves an emotionally and morally costly journey to and from the courtroom.” Change the Channel thought the hour “absolutely stellar  … There has been some strong work from The Slap’s cast so far this series, but Melissa George was heartbreaking in this episode. This was a character who I was not on board with at all until now; a character I doubted I could side with, but this show continues to surprise me and just as it has most weeks The Slap took us inside Rosie’s head and showed us what makes her tick.” Concurred Film Blerg: “The Slap just keeps getting better and the first episode where the actual slap occurred not only seems like a distant dream, but a tame one at that. Rosie’s episode picked up an extra 100,000 viewers on the previous week’s ratings. It’s no wonder why.” ✭✭✭✭

Castle (TV One, 9.30, 5.1) When a woman dressed as Red Riding Hood is found dead in the woods with claw marks covering her body, and soon after a murdered Snow White is discovered with a poison apple in her hand, Castle and Beckett find themselves on a Grimm hunt to catch a fairytale killer before he kills again. But nothing is as it seems in a case filled with deceit, betrayal, secrets and murder. NCIS’ Sarah Jane Morris guest stars. Said TV Guide Canada: “In a season that has been built around a theme of love conquering all, there was perhaps no better way to celebrate the story than with a fairytale themed episode. ‘Once Upon A Crime’ did just that, and it did it with everything that has made this series one that fans cannot help but fall in love with.” ✭✭✭

Sky Movies Premiere: Glee – The Concert (Sky 20, 8.30, 5.1) Archly observed The Washington Post of this concert tour spin-off released in 3D: “At its best, it’s joyful, uplifting and even, occasionally, moving. And at its worst, it’s a propaganda piece designed to win our undying loyalty to a TV show/cash cow that advocates for the little guy even though it’s clearly turned into a diva.” Quipped Rolling Stone: “The characters we came to admire as vulnerable misfits hit the stage like visiting royalty and with a nonstop perkiness that makes the Von Trapps look like manic-depressives.” For believers only. (2011) ✭✭✩