ScreenScribe

Series Finale: The Promise (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) In part four of four, Erin refuses to abandon her quest to find Mohammed’s family, even though it takes her on a hazardous journey into Gaza. Said The Times: “The final episode of Peter Kosminsky’s ambitious series packs a considerable punch. The naive English girl (Claire Foy) on her […]

SoHo Cinema: The Laramie Project (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) Ten years after it first aired on HBO, this docudramatisation of how 21-year-old Mathew Shepard was murdered in Wyoming because he was gay at last screens here in HD. It re-enacts what happened when director Moses Kaufman and his Tectonic Theatre Project Troupe went to Laramie […]

SoHo Highlight: Bernard and Doris (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) HBO’s 2008 dramatisation of  tobacco billionairess Doris Duke’s relationship with her gay butler, to whom she left her fortune. “Susan Sarandon is at her scrappy, sexy best as tobacco heiress Doris Duke — think Paris Hilton with brains and genuine hotness,” said Rolling Stone. “And this is Ralph Fiennes […]

SoHo Cinema: Boycott (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) This HBO movie was inspired by the act of defiance that sparked the American civil rights movement. Said one critic: “The creators of Boycott are only too aware that a straightforward narrative about this seminal moment in American history — an episode set in motion when Rosa Parks defied ‘Whites Only’ […]

Terra Nova is on terra firma ratings-wise. Saturday’s two-hour premiere of the HD sci-fi series largely won its slot in most of the key demographics. It averaged 8.8% of 25-54, 7.6% of 18-49 and 6.0% of 18-39. Only with household shoppers did it lose by less than a point to TV2’s American Idol and Hot […]

SoHo Highlight: Mildred Pierce (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) After throwing her cheating husband out of the house, a young mother tries to find suitable work in Depression-era California. It won five Emmy Awards (but lost in 16 other categories) and was adored and scorned in equal measure. Salon called it a “masterpiece. I say that with some surprise, because I […]

SoHo Highlight: Grey Gardens (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange star as ex-high society queens Big and Little Edie Beale. The aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had it all — yet over 40 years their lives went from riches to rags. Then, in 1975, the Maysles brothers (Gimme Shelter, When We Were […]

SoHo Highlight: You Don’t Know Jack (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) Al Pacino stars as Dr Jack Kevorkian in this biopic tracing the controversial career of the outspoken assisted suicide advocate and activist. Said the New York Times: “It is a credit to Mr Pacino that while he burrows deep into the role, he never lets Dr Kevorkian’s crackpot charm […]

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) When Monica and Chandler are financially strapped, she secretly asks a friend for a large loan; Rachel’s attempt to baby-proof the apartment confuses Joey. ✫✫✫ Shortland Street (TV2. 7.00) Brooke gets a taste of her own medicine; Maxwell makes his choice; Ula takes a foolish risk for friendship. ✫✫✫ The X Factor USA (TV3, 7.30, […]

New Zealand’s definitive free-to-air guide to what’s airing nightly in 1080i    Saturday The Secret Lives of Dancers (TV3, 4.00, R) Rheem Outdoors With Geoff (TV3, 5.00) Trade Zone Gone Fishin’ (TV3, 5.30) Get Fresh With Al Brown (TV One, 7.00) Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year (TV3, 7.30, F) Movie: New in Town (TV3, 8.30, 5.1) Sunday Hellcats (TV2, 5.30) Raising […]