Tonight in HD: July 6

Series Premiere: Vera (TV One, 8.30) When a young boy is found murdered in his bath, surrounded by flowers, DCI Vera Stanhope is called in to investigate and soon is on the trail of a serial killer. “Brenda Blethyn played a shambolic middle-aged woman with a perpetually puzzled expression. She also happened to be a Chief Inspector in the Newcastle police,” observed The Daily Telegraph, praising her “female Columbo” as “an inspired piece of casting.” “The sleuth is a bit of an oddball,” The Guardian agreed. “Brenda Blethyn is good, at times excellent, with the dark hint of a monumental intelligence. She could be figuring out anything, I thought. She could already know whodunnit, and be working out what had happened to the bee population, and how to do nuclear fusion.” ✭✭✭✭

Glee (TV3, 7.30, 5.1) New Directions perform at Nationals for celebrity judge Lindsay Lohan (as herself). The AV Club thought the season’s penultimate episode “one of the finest” the show’s ever done” and “perhaps the best it’s done since the season one finale”. Entertainment Weekly agreed it was “for the most part a spectacular return to form for the show, with plenty of emotional moments and soaring notes”. ✭✭✭✭

MasterChef Australia (TV One, 4.45) Mindy faces a nail-biting immunity challenge. ✭✭

Home & Away (TV3, 5.30) Bianca struggles with reality, and looks to Liam for help; Heath is dedicated to getting his dad out of jail; Brax gets a special visitor. ✭✭

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) Joey auditions for a major television role, but Chandler almost ruins everything by forgetting a telephone message. ✭✭✭✭

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00) Daniel escapes Bree’s clutches; Murray gets a taste of life after marriage; TK’s match-making falls flat. ✭✭✭

The Big Bang Theory (TV2, 7.30, 5.1, R) Penny’s hair products business becomes a complete nightmare when a caffeine-addled Sheldon takes over. ✭✭✭✭

The Graham Norton Show (TV3, 8.30) With Adam Lambert. ✭✭✭✭

Hounds (TV3, 10.05, F) Season finale: Lily is upset after Will takes a new job with lots of travel. The DVD, but not Blu-ray, of this series will be released next month. ✭✭✭

Supernatural (TV2, 10.35, 5.1) While Castiel struggles with the burdens of his absolute power, the broken psychological wall in Sam’s mind causes him to have difficulty discerning what’s real and what’s not. ✭✭✭✭

Wimbledon 2012 (TV One, 12.00) Live coverage from Day 11, featuring the Men’s Singles semi-finals. (Play past 6am will screen in SD on U Channel.) ✭✭✭✭

Lie to Me (TV3, 12.20, 5.1, R) While on vacation in Mexico, Cal and Emily become involved in the case of a missing American woman. ✭✭

NCIS: Los Angeles (TV3, 1.15, 5.1, R) While Hetty is attending a Senate hearing in DC, the investigation of a murdered Marine Lance Corporal leads the NCIS team to stolen anti-tank missiles and a dangerous militia group. ✭✭