An episode of 30 Rock that was recorded live, in front of a studio audience, and TV1 schedules are so much fun these days.
TV
30 Rock
NB: The TV1 listings in the November 12 issue of the Listener say “To Be Advised” at 4.55pm every weekday, and at 7.30pm on Tuesday and Thursday because, at the time we went to press, TVNZ had not made a decision about the programmes that would screen in those timeslots. However, TVNZ has since announced it is screening Coronation Street at 7.30pm on Thursdays and Fridays. Ellen will screen at 5.00pm every weekday. TVNZ’s full TV guide is here.
30 Rock (Four, 8.00pm). An experiment by 30 Rock that gave the series season-high ratings in October last year: tonight’s episode was broadcast live using the set of Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey’s old stomping ground. The idea was seeded during the 2008 writers’ strike, when the 30 Rock cast performed an episode live as a benefit gig. This episode, called Live Show, was co-written by Fey, and features guest stars Jon Hamm and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In it, Liz Lemon (Fey) is upset her co-workers forgot her 40th birthday. For fun, there are a few instances of actors breaking the fourth wall, including to refer to the fact the episode was taped on video rather than film. Another fun fact: there were two separate tapings, for the West and East Coasts, with slight differences in the scripts.
Criminal Minds (TV1, 8.30pm). Hah-hah! And you thought it was going to be Dancing with the Stars US, but no! Love, love, love what TV1 is doing with the schedules lately. So many fun surprises!
aimRenderAd(300, 250, '300X250','ContentRect','/POS=POS2'); if(!$.browser.msie){ ContentRect_frame = $("#ContentRect")[0]; ContentRect_frame.src = ContentRect_frame.src; }The Mentalist (TV2, 8.30pm). Is it us, or are the murders increasingly becoming McGuffins? A man who thought he had been abducted by aliens is murdered, then his body is stolen. Whatevs. This is just a backdrop to the interplay between Jane and Lisbon; Van Pelt, Rigsby and Van Pelt’s fiancé; and Jane and Dr Steiner, the coroner.
Game of Thrones (SoHo, Sky 010, 8.30pm). Episode four of Game of Thrones tonight, and if you were thinking there wasn’t enough action, there are a few surprises, and a particularly bloody tournament to be going on with. And machinations, always with the machinations.
Mad Dogs (TV1, 9.30pm). We can see the ending now: the guys return from the holiday from hell in which they saw their friend murdered by a dwarf wearing a Tony Blair mask and then had to bury the body and hide the drug money. Their wives/girlfriends/children ask them what they did on their holidays. “Oh, you know, not much.” Episode three tonight, and the cover-up continues.
Prime Rocks: Video Killed the Radio Star (Prime, 9.30pm). This week profiles Wayne Isham, whom you will have never heard of, but you most likely will have seen his work – if you like Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi or, ah, ’N Sync, that is. He’s known for larger-than-life videos, and interviewees include Lars Ulrich, Sebastian Bach, and Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora, who discusses making You Give Love a Bad Name. “He captured us interacting with our fans honestly,” says Sambora. Following on from Video Killed the Radio Star is the second episode of Rock’n’Roll Exposed (10.00pm), Don Letts’s documentary series about photographer Bob Gruen. Tonight, Yoko Ono and Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day discuss working with Gruen.
FILM
I, Robot (TV3, 8.30pm). Summer blockbuster fare with an overlay of Isaac Asimov profundity – the title is taken from his 1950 short story collection, and the robots on which society is reliant have apparently been rendered safe because of Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. However, when scientist James Cromwell dies, cop Will Smith is suspicious. The movie, rewritten by Akiva Goldsman to give it that special Will Smith actiony feel, fair canters along and the CGI – some of it by Weta Digital – is believable. One quibble: I, Robot is set in 2035, which really doesn’t give us much time. (2004) 7
French Film (Rialto, Sky 025, 8.30pm). The first sighting of Hugh Bonneville for the week, ladies. A little British charmer that even the Observer‘s grumpy critic, Philip French, enjoyed, calling it “clever, funny and emotionally truthful“. It’s a romantic comedy about two couples who begin to re-evaluate their relationships when Bonneville, a freelance writer, begins a feature about a French film director and expert on love Thierry Gramandi. That Gramandi is played by Eric Cantona is just a bonus. Also starring Douglas Henshall (ladies), Victoria Hamilton and Anne-Marie Duff. (Next stop, Bonnevillians: Downton Abbey.) (2008)
RADIO
Music Alive (Radio New Zealand Concert, 8.00pm). New Zealand birdsong pops up again in this Christchurch Symphony Orchestra concert, which was recorded in that city’s town hall in October. One of the works, Messiaen’s Quadruple Concerto, includes the calls of the kokako, kakapo and mohua, as well as the ample talents of soloists Alexa Still (flute), Celia Craig (oboe), Galyna Zelinska (cello) and Natalia Sheludiakova (piano). Works by Wagner, Saint-Saëns and Adams are also on the programme. – Diana Balham
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