Tonight in HD: March 7

Series Highlight: The Walking Dead (TV2, 9.30) Concerned for their safety, the group makes a plan that Hershel disagrees with adamantly — he makes it clear the group is fine to stay for now, but not indefinitely. Michael Rooker (above), who was riveting as Merle in season one’s most suspenseful episode, Guts, returns. One of the best appraisals of this uneven season came from The AV Club’s assessment of tonight’s episode: “I’ve reached a point where my expectations have adjusted to the show’s basic flaws, and while I’m not willing to give a pass on those flaws, I also don’t consider them a dealbreaker. I keep hoping against hope that this will still turn into great television, a thrilling, horrific ride with clear, likable characters, and scares based more on the inevitability of circumstance than bad choices, but I’ve come to accept that this might not, in fact, actually happen. Instead, we get cheesy, pulpy fun, and since that’s honestly enough to hold my interest, maybe it’s better for now to focus on the fun part and not get so worked up about the cheese.” ✭✭✭

Sky Movies Greats Premiere: Lethal Weapon (Sky 22, 8.30, 5.1) Preposterous, improbable but thoroughly entertaining odd-couple cop thriller starring Mel Gibson as a wild-eyed maverick and Danny Glover as his seasoned, sensible partner. Their relationship is pat and superficial, the screenplay facile and the acting barely adequate. But knockout technical credits and dynamite direction by Richard Donner make this solid gold shoot-'em-up a real blast from the past. Joe Pesci co-stars. (1987) ✭✭✭✭

Home & Away (TV3, 5.30) Leah struggles to keep her distance from Brax; Bianca tries to reason with April over Heath; the ladies try to find Irene a new hobby. ✭✭

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) Joey tells Chandler he saw Janice kissing her ex-husband; Monica accidentally bumps Ben’s head into a post; Phoebe thinks every time she goes to the dentist, someone dies. ✭✭✭✭

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00) TK is caught between two worlds; Ula stands by her man; Bree strikes back. ✭✭✭

Two and a Half Men (TV2, 7.30) Alan isn’t thrilled when he learns of Lyndsey’s adult film; Walden hosts an impromptu party to lift his spirits. ✭✭

SPCA Rescue (TV One, 8.00) Three pig hunting dogs are found living in a filthy cage in the middle of the bush; a sickly kitten struggles to survive after being rescued from a drain; an inspector intervenes when a dog is left locked in a car on a scorching day. ✭✭✭

2 Broke Girls (TV2, 8.00) Caroline and Max throw a ’90s-themed party to attract rich hipsters and raise money for their business; Caroline is horrified to see her ex-boyfriend. ✭✭

Winners & Losers (TV One, 8.30) Jenny struggles to keep a dark secret from her siblings; Bec is forced to spend a weekend away with her mother; Frances reaches out to her sister; Sophie finally admits she’s terrified of her stalker. ✭✭

The Big Bang Theory (TV2, 8.30) Sheldon and Leonard get invited to a housewarming party at Wil Wheaton’s house; Howard gets an out-of-this-world opportunity. ✭✭✭✭

The Almighty Johnsons (TV3, 8.30) Axl is taken to school, while Ty is scarred for life. If you missed the premiere, catch up with the NZ Herald’s witty recap: “Oh my Norse god. Is The Almighty Johnsons the weirdest New Zealand show ever made? At least it’s not Norse God’s Got Talent, and someone out there has imagination, even if the idea of four Kiwi brothers who are actually descended from Scandinavian deities is a bit contrived.” ✭✭✭

Happy Endings (TV2, 9.00) Jane gets the gang to make vision boards; Max’s limo impresses Brad’s difficult boss. ✭✭

Harry’s Law (TV One, 9.30) Harry must defend herself, and her Mercedes, against a small town mayor who has made it illegal to drive anything but an American-made car. ✭✭

Sons of Anarchy (TV3, 9.30, 5.1) SAMCRO’s first foray in its new business venture, a trip to Tucson, is complicated by a dispute with the local SOA chapter, SAMTAZ. The New Jersey Star-Ledger dubbed this “a Ghost-of-Christmas-Future type episode that gives the Sons a glimpse of the dark place the drug game has taken another one of their charters, just as the club passes the point of no return in its agreement with the Gallindo Cartel”. ✭✭✭✭

Nikita (TV2, 10.30) With her promotion to agent, Division gives Alex a new apartment and a cover job. ✭✭✭

CSI: New York (TV3, 11.15, 5.1, R) Incriminating DNA evidence contradicts the confession of a scorned woman claiming to have brutally murdered her cheating husband. ✭✭

Sky Movies Premiere: The Roommate (Sky 20, 8.30, 5.1) Critics slaughtered this Single White Female wannabe, a psychological thriller about a deranged college freshman who becomes obsessed with her new roommate: “proves that the one thing worse than a crazy, stalker roommate is one that’s boring, predictable and no fun” (Los Angeles Times); “formulaic and forgettable” (Variety); “substituting sex for suspense and pop music for ideas, the director Christian E Christiansen drags The Roommate from limp beginning to lame conclusion” (New York Times). ✭