TV & Radio Wednesday December 7

The final episode of Underbelly: Razor, and Richard Dreyfuss guest-stars on Parenthood.

TV

Underbelly: Razor

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00pm). Oh Hunter, don’t you know that a drug problem on a soap only leads to paranoia, explosions and bad acting? Things are getting worse for Hunter as he spirals downwards towards the Christmas cliffhanger.

Find My Family (TV1, 7.30pm). An Australian version of a Dutch series that’s quite a bit like Missing Pieces. People search for family members they never knew – tonight, Lynda, whose mum had a one-night stand and only knows Lynda’s father’s name and that he was in the Navy; and Amelia, who has discovered she has a sister.

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

Underbelly: Razor (TV3, 8.30pm). A huge two-episode finale and among the threats are brawling fascists and communists and several murder plots variously ordered by Kate and Tilly. Also, the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and in the final act, Tilly and Kate face each other in a graveyard at night with guns drawn.

Parenthood (Four, 9.30pm). Uh-oh, one fast-talker meets another. Hope they don’t cancel each other out. Richard Dreyfuss, known for his rapid-fire delivery of screeds of dialogue, guest-stars on Parenthood with Lauren Graham, also known for her rapid-fire delivery of screeds of dialogue. Dreyfuss plays an old Vietnam war buddy of Zeke’s who is known for having put on the greatest version of Death of a Salesman that Saigon has ever seen. Zeke invites him over to talk to Sarah about her half-finished play.

FILM

Stone (Sky Movies, Sky 020, 8.30pm). Stop now if you don’t want to see Edward Norton with cornrows. He’s the fast-talking con who puts temptation in the way of his parole officer – Robert De Niro no less – in the form of his wife, Milla Jovovich. As such, Stone is a moral conundrum rather than a thriller, interested in the minds of the characters, said Roger Ebert, although the SF Chronicle’s Mick LaSalle thought director John Curran overplays a good hand. (2010)

The Killer Inside Me (Rialto, Sky 025, 8.30pm). Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of Jim Thompson’s 1952 pulp noir novel is a tough watch, as it is principally about violence towards women. Casey Affleck plays the small town sheriff who is ostensibly an all-American hero, but who has an utterly dark and horrifying side. The movie divided critics when it screened at Sundance: this from Salon; and this from the SF Chronicle. (2010)

RADIO

Appointment (Radio New Zealand Concert, 7.00pm). It’s 50 years since the death of Sir Thomas Beecham, Britain’s first international conductor. Tonight, Jon Tolansky presents the first of two programmes celebrating his life and achievements: the best known being his part in establishing the London Philharmonic in 1932 and the Royal Philharmonic in 1946. – Diana Balham