Tonight in HD: March 20

Series Highlight: NCIS (TV3, 8.30, 5.1) Gibbs and Fornell team up when their mutual ex-wife — and running gag source — Diane (guest star Melinda McGraw) calls to say that her husband was kidnapped. The AV Club thought this “probably the best episode of NCIS I’ve ever seen mainly because of McGraw”, who was a fixture on Hank (which TV2 is re-running midnight Mondays) and Men of a Certain Age (which TV2 airs midnight Thursdays). Here she shines as “one hot number and a scene-stealing piece of work”. Agreed TV Fanatic: “McGraw deserves praise for pulling off a difficult task – showing us why Gibbs and Fornell hate Diane so much, while also revealing why they were attracted to her in the first place. From her wisecracks and mannerisms to surprising displays of deeper emotion, she succeeded.” Watch for McGraw also to brighten up Harry’s Law in a month or so, when she plays a woman-has-no-fury ex-girlfriend of the womanising Tommy, in the episode, After the Lovin’. ✮✮✮

Sky Movies Premiere: Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (Sky 20, 8.30, 5.1) In this fat-uous cross-dressing sequel, FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawwrence) and his teenage son (Brandon T Jackson) go undercover at an all-girls performing arts school. As the Los Angeles Times observed: “A film so drained of entertainment or simple humanity it is difficult to relate to as anything other than industrial artifact.” ✮

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) Ross and Rachel compete to spend time with their other friends, and when a lonely Ross is excluded from Rachel’s ski trip with her pals, he visits Carol. ✮✮✮✮

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00) Bree gets what she wants; Daniel and Lana’s relationship takes a new turn; Nicole feels betrayed by Maxwell. ✮✮✮

The Middle (TV2, 7.30) Frankie forces Axl to think about his future when she learns he hasn’t studied for his exams; a hopeful Sue tries out for cheerleading. ✮✮✮✮

The Secret Lives of Dancers (TV3, 7.30) The company hit the South Island and it’s an emotional homecoming for Lucy Balfour. ✮✮✮✮

Suburgatory (TV2, 8.00) Tessa tries to motivate the student body at school to get involved with charity work; unfortunately, they decide that Tessa is really the person in need. ✮✮

Missing Pieces (TV3, 8.00) Sally Morley from Oamaru and her sister Donna were left at an orphanage when they were toddlers. Their mother later came and collected Donna but abandoned Sally; four decades later Sally wants answers. ✮✮✮✮

Nature’s Great Events (TV One, 8.30, R) New HD masters of a fantastic wildlife series that first aired off-peak two years ago. In the rainforest of British Columbia, the grizzly bear and forest wolf’s survival depends entirely on one event that runs up the rivers just once a year – the great salmon run. ✮✮✮✮✮

Go Girls (TV2, 8.30) Brad gets an offer he wants to refuse, but when the McManns are on a crime spree and Britta is in crisis can he stay uninvolved? ✮✮✮

NCIS: Los Angeles (TV3, 9.30, 5.1) A diplomatic-service van transporting contents that could threaten national security is hijacked; Callen and Sam celebrate five years as partners but face a tough challenge when they work undercover on a case. ✮✮

Fringe (TV2, 2.30, R) After a violent ‘quake shakes a Manhattan office building to its core, the Fringe team suspect the one survivor is not from this reality. ✮✮✮✮