Tonight in HD: November 7

SoHo Highlight: Game of Thrones (Sky 10, 8.30, 5.1) Jon impresses Tyrion at Castle Black; Ned confronts his past and future at Kingís Landing; Daenerys finds herself at odds with Viserys. Or, as The Daily Telegraph observed, “Yes, we’ve reached episode three and if you’ll forgive the cliche, the plot is not so much thickening as entangling like weeds around itself. And none of the many strands feel as though they are going to end well … But the top-class acting and spectacular production, as well as the fantastic characterisation and script elevate it far beyond the usual derivative fantasy. A real masterclass from HBO.” However, The Guardian thought the episode “slightly slower paced” and “the nudity count on the low side for an HBO show but still reassuringly gratuitous”. ✭✭✭✭

Shameless (TV2, 11.00)

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) Chandler’s joke entry on Ross’ college website leads to a fake burial service for the allegedly dead and obviously unpopular Geller. ✫✫✫

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00) Ula’s heart gets stolen; Callum mixes work with pleasure; Luke’s suspicions lead to a surprise discovery. ✫✫✫

The Mentalist (TV2, 8.30) After a doctor is found murdered at a driving range, the CBI team return to the hospital to search for the killer. ✫✫

Movie: Mercury Rising (TV3, 8.30, R) Bruce Willis stars as an outcast FBI agent assigned to protect a nine-year-old autistic boy who is the target for assassins after cracking a secret government code. Alec Baldwin and Miko Hughes co-star. (1998) ✫✫

Series premiere: Shameless (TV2, 11.00) Dad’s a drunk, Mum split long ago, so it’s left to the eldest daughter, Fiona, to hold the dysfunctional Gallagher family together. William H Macy stars in a John (ER) Wells adaptation of the UK series. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive: “shameless fun“(New York Daily News); “compelling television from the first moment” (The Hollywood Reporter); “crude, funny and also touching” (New York Times). But among the dissenters was Slant magazine: “Tries too hard to milk weighty drama from generally dull characters.” ✫✫✫✫