Tonight in HD: January 16

Series premiere: Person of Interest (TV One, 9.30) This police procedural from producer JJ Abrams (Lost) and Dark Knight screenwriter Jonathan Nolan stars The Passion of the Christ’s Jim Caviezel as an ex-CIA agent who teams with an enigmatic millionaire (Lost’sMichael Emerson) to stop crime before it happens using hi-tech tools. Newsday dubbed it “a gritty, almost plausible winner, and distant reflection of Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report” and the US TV Guide “the rare crime drama that revels in actual mystery, its dark, paranoid tone embodied by two damaged heroes”. But The Washington Post thought it “a whole lot of techno-hooey, relying on screenwriter-friendly leaps of logic. Emerson turns out to be a one-note actor, but Caviezel is appealing in a particle-board sort of way”. ✭✭✭

Piha Recue (TV One, 7.30)

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) Rachel loses Ross’ monkey, and the gang must find him before Animal Control does. ✭✭✭

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00) Season premiere: Hunter flees; Ula keeps her secret; Callum faces losing the two people closest to him. ✭✭✭

Modern Family (TV3, 7.00, 5.1, R) Mitchell and Cameron secretly assess their family members while looking to assign a legal guardian who would care for Lily should something happen to them. ✭✭✭✭

Piha Rescue (TV One, 7.30) Season premiere: Scorching sand creates havoc for the medical room; an emergency call sparks a search for a status one patient; a surf school loses a pupil in the Lion Rock rip. ✭✭

Drug Bust (TV3, 7.30, R) In Manurewa, the CIB set up a sting to take down a meth dealer; the Papakura CIB raid a suspected cannabis growing operation; South Auckland police receive a call-out about an armed offender. ✭✭

Rapid Response (TV One, 8.00) Season premiere: An identical twin puts his brother’s life at risk; a gang fight erupts on the streets; a man’s 10th heart attack threatens to be his last. ✭✭

Criminal Minds (TV One, 8.30) Season premiere: The BAU team is at a crossroads as they are questioned by a Senate Committee for their retaliatory actions in the wake of Prentiss’ loss, but an unexpected familiar face could help them win their case. “The plots and premises of Criminal Minds are worn thin as filaments by this point,” Pop Matters reckons. “It’s fair to ask if there is now anything to this still popular show beyond the formula. The answer is, the sameness and familiarity provide comfort. In an unpredictable world, it is heartening to know that there’s always another brutal set of serial murders waiting to be efficiently solved.” ✭✭

Movie: 2 Fast 2 Furious (TV3, 8.30, 5.1, R) Abduction’s John Singleton takes the wheel of this surprisingly sluggish joyrides-and-the-‘hood sequel about disgraced cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) infiltrating Miami’s street racing underworld. Transformers’ Tyrese Gibson and The Other Guys’ Eva Mendes co-star. (2003) ✭✭

Shameless (TV2, 10.55) Monica’s return to the family wreaks havoc on the Gallagher clan – leaving the children determined to find out if Frank is their real father. ✭✭✭✭

Sky Movies Greats Premiere: 10 Things I Hate About You (Sky 22, 8.30, 5.1) Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is slickly turned into a fast and funny teen satire starring Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. TV vet Gil Junger (Hot in Cleveland) directs this witty dating duel adapted by Legally Blonde duo Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. (1999) ✭✭✭✭