Tonight in HD: January 20

SoHo Highlight: Into the Storm (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) 2009 sequel to 2002’s The Gathering Storm, but with Brendan Gleeson (The Guard) taking over from Albert Finney as Winston Churchill. The Washington Post said it covers not only Churchill’s heroic leadership during World War II but also “what has long been a puzzling footnote to the story — the fact that in 1945, the war over and England saved, a seemingly ungrateful nation rushed to the polls and voted Churchill out of office … The film, however, is much more than a procession of facts and battles; it is a richly emotional story about an astonishing and complicated man and his wife, Clemmie [Janet McTeer], who excused a great deal of beastly behaviour by her husband on the grounds that his country needed him for it to survive.” The Los Angeles Times lamented it wasn’t long enough to do justice to the subject: “If Into the Storm is, at times, overly simplistic (and the ending pure Hollywood), the issues it raises about the nature and cost of great leadership, about the unpredictable nature of war, are not.” Quipped The Independent: “Into the Storm, the story of Churchill’s Second World War, should really have been called Into the Storm, Through the Storm and Out the Other Side of the Storm, compressing as it did five years of total war into an hour-and-a-half of television drama. Another fine joint commission by the BBC and HBO, it was a reminder that the man once voted the greatest of all Britons was indeed a born war leader – as well as a ruthless, reactionary old drunk who’d readily bomb an ally’s fleet or a city full of innocents for tactical advantage; that he despised the notion of a welfare state; and, most egregiously of all, talked over the best bits of classic movies.” ✭✭✭✭✭

The Vampire Diaires (TV2, 10.30)

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) As Monica’s biological clock ticks away like a time bomb, Carol goes into labour; Rachel flirts with a gynaecologist she meets at the hospital. ✭✭✭

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00) Sarah’s hopes are dashed; Jasmine tries to prove she has changed; Brooke refuses to be upstaged. ✭✭✭

Modern Family (TV3, 7.00, 5.1, R, F) Jay wants nothing more than to have a quiet birthday out fishing on the lake, but he is pulled into everyone’s drama as they scramble to organise his birthday party. ✭✭✭✭

Come Fly With Me (TV3, 9.25, 5.1, R) Flylo ground crew Taaj Manzoor bumps into Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint; and Customs Officers Roberts and Stewart try to work out what to do with a truly massive drugs haul. ✭✭

Super City (TV3, 10.05, R) Georgie is loving motherhood; Azeem must find ways of making money; Linda tries to impress with her Polynesian rapper; Jo reaffirms her heterosexuality; could Pasha have found love? (Screens Thursdays from next week.) ✭✭✭

The Vampire Diaries (TV2, 10.30) Season premiere: It’s Elena’s 18th birthday — as she searches for clues to locate Stefan, Damon tries to keep her from doing anything that might draw Klaus’ attention. Said Entertainment Weekly: “Season three starts off with a bang, a body count and a lot of bulging biceps.” ✭✭✭

Numb3rs (TV3, 11.05, 5.1) Don investigates a series of kidnappings at ATMs after one of the victims is murdered. ✭✭

Human Target (TV2, 11.30) Chance and Ilsa are caught in a hostage crisis; Guerrero is framed for murder. ✭✭✭

CSI: Miami (TV3, 12.00, 5.1, R) Delko returns to CSI to help the team crack the case of a jewellery store robbery that ended in murder. ✭✭