The kids' holiday specials begin with Prep & Landing, and finally, The Mentalist we've been waiting for.
TV
The Mentalist
Prep & Landing (TV2, 7.00pm). You know it’s nearly Christmas when they’re dragging out the holiday special, which begin tonight with Prep & Landing, the cute animated story of how Santa makes it to the houses of all the good boys and girls every year. It’s all down to the elves, of course, the working underclass – the 99% you might say – that makes Santa look good.
Modern Family (TV3, 7.00pm). There are many mysteries in this world: dark matter, Donald Trump’s hair … and why New Zealand audiences seem to prefer repeats of Two and a Half Men to the clever Emmy Award-winning Modern Family. Here’s our chance to make that right. While John Campbell puts his feet up, Family gets another go-around, beginning with season two.
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). Whoa, is this the moment for which we’ve been waiting three long seasons? TV2 screens both parts of the finale of the season as Jane at last gets within spitting distance of psycho killer Red John. The first episode concerns an investigation that points to Red John’s involvement (and sees an appearance from Agent Hightower, who has been in hiding); in the second, one of Jane’s elaborate schemes exposes Red John’s mole in CBI, and Jane actually has a sit-down with the evil red one. But will there be – that dreaded word – closure?
The Supersizers Go … (Prime, 8.30pm). A popular history series in which restaurant critic Giles Goren and comedian Sue Perkins experience different British eras through food. The title comes from the first episode in 2007 called Edwardian Supersize Me in reference to the Morgan Spurlock movie. Since then the concept has been expanded to cover Restoration, Victorian, Elizabethan, Regency and the 1970s and 80s. Tonight’s episode is Wartime, and Coren and Perkins are eating yummy spam and dried egg. To make it a bit more interesting, they dress in WWII clothes, pretend to be in blackouts and air raids, and have some GIs around for tea. One thing that becomes abundantly clear is the raw deal that women got – Coren gets to quaff champagne and smoke cigars à la Churchill while Perkins is indoors trying to make dinner from a cow’s heart. “We’ve travelled from 100BC to the 1980s and the only job I’ve had is a part-time one at the travel agents,” Perkins told the Scotsman. “There’s always been a lot of cleaning, but I very nearly went mental during the 1950s. Cleaning was all I did.”
FILM
Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal (Four, 9.15pm). Given that being a cheerleader or a quarterback in the US is roughly equivalent in societal value to being a genius anywhere else, it’s not surprising they act up sometimes. This TV “drama” (and I use that word loosely) is based on the true story from 2006 of five pom-pom-thrusting brats from a Texas high school whose sense of entitlement went into overload. They bullied, drank and bad-mouthed their way to national notoriety, and it didn’t seem to occur to anyone that they’d been given permission to be revolting by their indulgent parents. A 21st-century fable dressed in a tiny skirt. With Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Ashley Benson and Tatum O’Neal – who knows a thing or three about being a handful. (2008) 5 – Diana Balham
RADIO
Music Alive (Radio New Zealand Concert, 8.00pm). Douglas Lilburn – our most influential composer – died 10 years ago. This commemorative concert, recorded in June in Wellington’s Ilott Theatre, focuses on some of his string chamber works for two, three and four performers. The programme includes Lilburn’sString Quartet, his String Trio and his Violin Sonata, with Martin Riseley and Jun He (violins), Donald Maurice (viola), Inbal Megiddo (cello) and Jian Liu (piano). – Diana Balham
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