TV & Radio Friday December 16

It's time for the traditional Shortland Street cliffhanger, and a bevy of newbie comedians on TV3.

TV

Shortland Street's Lee Donoghue (Hunter)

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00pm). OMG, it’s Christmas cliffhanger time on Shortie, with the lives of two characters in jeopardy. It will finally wrap up the Hunter/drugs storyline, which is no bad thing. Here’s a handy guide to Shortie cliffhangers past.

Vicar of Dibley Christmas (TV1, 8.30pm). Goodness, TV1 dusts off this ancient episode of the Vicar of Dibley from 1997 that isn’t actually a Christmas special. Geraldine (Dawn French) tries to get Alice (Emma Chambers) together with Hugo (James Fleet) and unfortunately succeeds.

The Graham Norton Show (TV3, 8.30pm). Graham’s guests are Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Sarah Millican and James Corden, with music from Lenny Kravitz. The repeat of The Jonathan Ross Show on TV1 at the same time features Helen Mirren, annoying dancer Louie Spence and Kasabian.

aimRenderAd(300, 250, '300X250','ContentRect','/POS=POS2'); if(!$.browser.msie){ ContentRect_frame = $("#ContentRect")[0]; ContentRect_frame.src = ContentRect_frame.src; }

Getting On (UKTV, Sky 006) 9.00pm). A darkly funny yet strangely moving satire set on a geriatric ward somewhere in England. Comedian Jo Brand won a Bafta for her role as nurse Kim Wilde (yes, it’s a homage to real Kids in America-singing Kim Wilde), who brings some heart and soul to what is essentially God’s waiting room. The series is done in mockumentary style and is directed by Peter Capaldi, who is best known as the foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker from political satire The Thick of It and its spin-off movie In the Loop. Our interview with star and co-writer Joanna Scanlan here.

AotearoHA! Next Big Things (TV3, 9.30pm). TV3’s comedy strategy continues with a one-off stand-up special hosted by Ben Hurley and featuring newbies on the scene Mo Kheir, Urzila Carlson, Guy Williams and Tom Furniss.

Psych (Prime, 9.35pm). A Gus-centric episode of the most lightweight cop show on TV next to Castle. It involves some old college singing buddies of Gus’s (he was in one of those a cappella groups), who Gus, for reasons unknown, has not kept in touch with.

FILM

Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (TV2, 8.30pm). Whoopi, step away from the wimple. (1993) 4 – Diana Balham

The Marine 2 (Four, 8.30pm). Temuera Morrison gets second billing playing yet another bad brown person in this action trash. It’s set in Thailand. Tem: get a better agent. Looking at this week’s line-up, it’s clear the networks think our brains have gone on holiday already. (2009) 5 – Diana Balham

The Believer (Rialto, Sky 025, 8.30pm). A controversial movie that won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2001, although the director afterwards had trouble with distribution. Not surprising, really: it’s based on the story of Daniel Burros, a member of the American Nazi Party and the Ku Klux Klan who was outed as Jewish by the New York Times. Ryan Gosling takes on the role of “Daniel Balint”, a young Jewish guy who has become a skinhead. It’s not one of Gosling’s best performances, however; the deep cool he had in this year’s Drive wasn’t fully formed in 2001 and he’s pretty monotonous, says Salon. (2001) 5

RADIO

Lennon – the Final Interview Special (Radio New Zealand National, 11.06pm). It’s eerie to think the guys who conducted this interview – only a few hours before John Lennon died – had had an encounter with his killer, Mark David Chapman, earlier that day. This two-part special includes that historic last chat, which Lennon and Yoko Ono gave in their apartment in New York’s Dakota Building on December 8, 1980, music from Lennon’s solo years, Beatles songs and the thoughts and memories of the interview team (Dave Sholin, Laurie Kaye, Ron Hummel and Bert Keane) 30 years later. – Diana Balham