Tonight in HD: November 12

SoHo Highlight: The Hour (Sky 10, 8.30) Ratings are down, reviews are terrible and Hector and Freddie are bickering. As events escalate in Suez, Bel seeks an interview with an Egyptian diplomat but is Hector up to it? Meanwhile, Freddie searches for clues to Ruth’s death. “If the spy stuff and the journalism stuff got a touch sharper this week, I’m more impressed than ever by the characters and how their stories tease out,” said The AV Club in its A- appraisal. “Bel’s proving something of a disappointment,” lamented The Guardian, “but when the drama turns to the Suez crisis the show finds real pace and attitude.” While The Times was less impressed, it saw more promise in episode two than the premiere: “I have described The Hour as BBC journalism’s creation myth, the story of how, when the Establishment got caught out over Suez, the Corporation found its cojones. It is an odd one, however. The Hour looks increasingly like the tale of how three idiots accidentally stumbled on the way to make Panorama …  Yet this episode was better told than the first. The period enchants, the supporting cast, led by Anton Lesser, is strong and the drama’s premise is so inspired it just about outweighs the uncertainty of its execution.” ✭✭✭✭

The Secret Lives of Dancers (TV3, 4.00, R) Katie and Michael’s relationship is on the line and a shock fall at rehearsal could mean disaster. ✫✫✫✫

Trade Zone Gone Fishin’ (TV3, 5.30) A slice of outdoor New Zealand. ✫✫

Get Fresh With Al Brown (TV One, 7.00) Al finds the flavours of Central Otago heightened by the extremes of its climate. He drops in at the historic market in old Cromwell before hunting down some classic regional ingredients: rabbit for his entree, merino for main, and apricots for dessert. ✫✫✫✫

Special: 50 Greatest Harry Potter Moments (TV2, 7.00)  Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) presents a behind-the-scenes look at the Harry Potter movies, timed to coincide with this month’s Blu-ray 3D release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. There were some quibbles about the list from critics: “How can one of the most chilling and cleverly done scenes, of the dementors on the train, only come in at number 44? Surely it was a lot more exciting than number 24, Harry’s visit to the wand shop. And who compiled the list anyway? We weren’t told.” Here’s Radio Times’ take but arguably Total Film’s guide is more authoritative. ✫✫✫

Season premiere: Ice Road Truckers (TV3, 7.30) The first season of IRT to screen here in HD introduces the new location in Alaska’s North Slope, from Fairbanks to Deadhorse, where four new truckers join two veterans to deliver supplies to oil camps. According to an AVForums review of the US Blu-ray release: “There are a couple of episodes that make you marvel at the tenacity and bravery of truckers but not enough to make every outing on The Dalton a white knuckle terror trip.”  ✫✫✫

Movie: Max Payne (TV3, 8.30, 5.1) On a personal mission to avenge the deaths of his wife and child, a troubled DEA cop is framed for murder and finds himself being hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation. Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Beau Bridges star. (2008) ✫✫