TV & Radio Friday November 4

Minor work of genius Community returns, and a biopic about a genius on SoHo.

TV

Temple Grandin

NB: If you’re wondering why the TV listings in the November 5 issue of the Listener say “To Be Advised” at 4.55pm every weekday, and at 7.30pm on Tuesday and Thursday, it’s because TVNZ hasn’t decided what to do with the timeslot formerly occupied by Coronation Street. Unfortunately, a decision won’t be made until next week, so our November 12 listings will also carry the legend “To Be Advised”.

Mary, Queen of Shops (TV1, 7.30pm). It was called Mary, Queen of Charity Shops in the UK, because presenter Mary Portas, who was recently appointed by David Cameron’s government to carry out a review of the high streets, has also been Mary, Queen of Frocks and, not surprisingly, Mary, Queen of Shops. In this series she jazzes up humble charity shops to make them more attractive, although one British TV critic lamented the loss of a good old rummage in the op shop, “they perfectly reflect our adapt-and-dye approach to pop culture”, said Paul Moody in the Guardian. If you liked watching Trinny and Susannah boss women about, then you’ll probably like Mary Portas.

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Community (Four, 8.00pm). A minor work of genius about a group of misfits and oddballs who inadvertently form a … community. The series is inspired by the experiences of the show’s creator Dan Harmon, who enrolled in Spanish classes at a community college to try to save his relationship with his girlfriend. In Harmon’s fictional community, the oddballs include walking non-sequitur Chevy Chase, and The Soup’s Joel McHale – plus, the series is a love letter to geeks and pop culture nerds everywhere.

The Graham Norton Show (TV3, 8.30pm). On Graham’s couch are Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Stephen Merchant, with music from Blue.

The Jonathon Ross Show (TV1, 8.45pm). On Jonathan’s couch are Lee Evans, Lady Gaga, and Jamie Oliver.

Supernatural (TV2, 10.30pm). Only four episodes left in season seven, and the showdown with the “Mother of All” is coming. Tonight, Sam and Dean track “Eve” to a town in Oregon, which she has turned completely into Monsterville. Not only that, but she can take the form of Mary Winchester, their mother, because she’s a complete beeyotch like that.

FILM

Serenity (Four, 8.30pm). Closure for fans of Joss Whedon’s small-but-perfectly-formed TV series Firefly, but also a typically clever stand-alone movie directed by the King of the Geeks. Whedon’s space western follow-up to Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a new set of great characters, including Nathan Fillion’s Captain Mal and two new warrior women (Summer Glau and Gina Torres). A couple of Whedon’s favourite themes are in play, particularly the idea that governmental meddling with the minds of individuals will come to no good, plus there’s some cool Buffy-style action. (2005) 8

Temple Grandin (SoHo, Sky 010, 8.30pm). The name “Temple Grandin” is equally well-known in autism circles as it is in the cattle business, but until this biopic, most people would never have heard of the savant who designed more than half the cattle-processing systems in the US. Claire Danes plays Temple, who was born in 1950 into a world that didn’t understand autism. It was thought she was brain-damaged, but with the help of good teachers and quite a lot of spirit and determination, she went on to have a successful career in animal sciences, and to speak out about autism. Danes gets Grandin’s unusual speech patterns well and the perplexed neurotypicals around her are played equally well by Julia Ormond, Catherine O’Hara and David Straithairn. In 2010, Danes won and Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her portrayal. Recommended. (2010) 10

RADIO

Classic Concert (Radio New Zealand National, 11.06pm). Tonight’s it’s Jeff Beck – Live at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, featuring the guitar legend and ex-Yardbird wielding his axe in London.