Joanna Lumley rocks out on Lewis, and Liam Finn Live at Roundhead Studios.
TV
Lewis
2011 Maori Sports Awards (Maori, 8.30pm). Sports awards ceremonies are usually tedious affairs, what with sportspeople not being known for their public-speaking prowess, but perhaps the Maori Sports Awards will be livened up with a few haka and waiata. Let’s hope so. Expect to hear the word “awesome” quite a lot, however.
Foo Fighters: Back and Forth (TV3, 8.30pm). If even Dave Grohl describes this documentary as “the Dumb and Dumber of rock docs” who are we to argue? Documentary-maker James Moll, who won an Oscar for The Last Days, was given free access to the band, and although it’s hardly groundbreaking stuff, he captures the history and personalities of a band that began as a way for Grohl to step out of the shadow of his previous outfit, Nirvana.
Lewis (Prime, 8.40pm). The fun episode of Lewis in which Joanna Lumley plays rock chick Esmé Ford, lead singer of the band Midnight Addiction. Very cool, although that’s not Lumley singing – she was dubbed by Glasgow singer Maggie Bell singing songs with the band, written for the episode by the Lewis composer Barrington Pheloung. Because Midnight Addiction are “practically Black Sabbath”, Lumley told the Oxford Mail, “I guessed Esmé was a slightly stoned, fairly wrecked Janis Joplin-type figure”. Bonus – the episode is written by Guy Andrews, who wrote Lost in Austen.
FILM
Muppets from Space (Four, 6.30pm). Important psychological studies reveal we all identify with a Muppet, so enjoy this cute therapy and don’t think too much about the fact that “your” character only works because someone has a hand up its bottom. (1999) 6 – Diana Balham
The Santa Clause (TV2, 7.00pm). Great title. Home Improvement TV star Tim Allen stepped up to feature films with this comedy about a guy who accidentally kills Father Christmas and has to step into his buckled boots. Perfectly pleasant in a Disney sort of way; they were also aiming for “heartwarming” and “Christmas classic”. (1994) 6 – Diana Balham
aimRenderAd(300, 250, '300X250','ContentRect','/POS=POS2'); if(!$.browser.msie){ ContentRect_frame = $("#ContentRect")[0]; ContentRect_frame.src = ContentRect_frame.src; }About Schmidt (TV1, 8.30pm). Director Alexander Payne (Sideways) clearly thought screen legend Jack Nicholson could manage a retired insurance guy from Nebraska and told him, “Jack, I want you to play a small man.” And so the only large thing about Warren Schmidt is his Winnebago, which he drives to Denver to find out why he matters to the universe in general and to his estranged daughter (Hope Davis) in particular. Jack can, of course. (2002) 8 – Diana Balham
The Sweetest Thing (TV2, 9.00pm). A blatant attempt by director Roger Kumble to emulate the success of close friends the Farrelly brothers and There’s Something About Mary, but just putting Cameron Diaz in a romcom isn’t enough. You also need some heart, some brains and some humour to go with the smut. Sweet? Just finding something that isn’t downright whiffy would be enough. (2002) 4 – Diana Balham
Be Kind Rewind (TV2, 10.45pm). Charming whimsy from French director Michel Gondry, whose explorations of memory and dreams have included The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep and, er, an episode of Flight of the Conchords. Be Kind Rewind is partly about the fun of DIY movie-making: Jack Black erases all the tapes in his friend Mos Def’s video store, so the pair make their versions of the movies, from The Lion King to RoboCop to Driving Miss Daisy. It’s also Gondry’s way of saying that all that’s needed to take back film-making from Hollywood is lots of construction paper, paint and imagination. (2008) 7
Deck Dogz (TV3, 10.45pm). Aussie teenz on skateboardz. Featuring skating god Tony Hawk as “himself”. (2005) 6 – Diana Balham
A View to a Kill (TV1, 12.00am). In Roger Moore’s final 007, he comes up against Christopher Walken in maniacal camp form as a megalomaniac determined to destroy Silicon Valley in order to create a microchip monopoly, with help from sidekick Grace Jones. If this was a Bond too far for Moore, Walken and Jones almost make up for it: an over-the-top, visually stunning comic-book of a film. (1985) 6 – Sarah Barnett
RADIO
Saturday Morning with Kim Hill (Radio New Zealand National, 8.10am). The Listener’s Jim Pinckney called his music “magnificent miserablism”, and he certainly looks glum in his videos, but let’s hope itinerant Kiwi artist Delaney Davidson is cheered by his chat with Kim Hill. Davidson divides his time between Lyttelton and Europe (mainly Switzerland), and his life on the road has brought him joy and depression in equal measures, if his songs are anything to go by. Also today: managing editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism Iain Overton; actor Sara Wiseman; CEO of Van Leer Ventures Jerusalem, a high-tech incubator; photographer Grant Sheehan; chef and writer Jennifer McLagan; children’s books with Kate De Goldi. Info and audio here. – Diana Balham
Liam Finn/Popstrangers Recorded Live at Roundhead Studios (95bFM, 11.00am and Friday, 2.00pm). Finn the Younger is pretty familiar with his dad’s Roundhead Studios, having recorded both his full-length albums, I’ll be Lightning and this year’s FOMO, there. Today he gets to show what he has been up to lately. Let’s hope he plays Cold Feet. It’s the cutest pop song I’ve ever heard. You wouldn’t call Auckland band Popstrangers cute. Apparently, you’d call them alt/grunge/punk or you’d call them Adam, Dave and Joel. There will be live streaming and podcasts on 95bfm.com and video on the Listener website. – Diana Balham
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