Channel Grazing

By DAVIS, Matthew

TOA FRASER is one of New Zealand’s best playwrights and the film version of his No 2 (TV2, 8.35pm) is as strong on the screen as on the stage. A comedy-drama about an elderly Fijian matriarch who holds a succession feast at her Mt Roskill home, it is a solid film debut for Fraser and stars the inimitable Ruby Dee. New Zealand movies continue on TV2, though the standards slip a little, with Savage Honeymoon (10.30pm). As a Westie couple attempt to kick- start their marraige, they accidently bring the kids and granny along, and the result is a hilarious but, at times, predictable feature that is as Kiwi as it gets. The New Zealand premiere of Antonello & the Architect (Arts Channel, 8pm) cleverly uses time lapses and photography to explore the work of Wellington designer Bill Toomath. Also on Sky is Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart (Documentary Channel, 9pm). An instalment of the standout American Masters series, it features archive footage, lots of interviews and plenty of Andy Warhol. TV One has Neil LaBute’s Possession (8.30pm), a romantic-drama about two academics who come together over Victorian poetry, followed by Control Room (10.40pm), a documentary on Al Jazeera’s coverage of the Iraq war.

Sunday

A drama about banking would not normally set the heart racing, but Sex, the City and Me (TV One, 8.30pm) has been getting good reviews in Britian. It was intially begun as a documentary about women fighting employment cases in London, but the makers were slapped with gagging orders and forced to turn it into a fictionalised account of Jess (Sarah Parish), a bitchy banker hitting back after being forced from her job. Weekly current affairs show Sunday (TV One, 7.30pm) returns, with Fair Go’s Simon Mercep joining the team, and Helen Mirren gives an Oscar award-winning turn in The Queen (Sky Movies, 8.30pm).

Monday

The writers have put down their placards just in time for The 80th Annual Academy Awards (Sky Movies, 2.30pm). The field is wide open, especially in the best picture category, and you can be guaranteed there will be close-ups of every detail from the evening’s procedures. There is also an eight-hour leadup, starting with Countdown to the Red Carpet (E! Channel, 6am).

Tuesday

With a new series of Dancing with the Stars (TV One, 8.30pm) beginning, the country’s celebrity dancing stocks are looking a bit thin. However, there will still be plenty of entertainment when the likes of Tina Cross, Martin Devlin and Peter Urlich are thrown across the floor.

Wednesday

Like a Dallas for this century, Dirty Sexy Money (TV2, 9.30pm) is a newish drama about a wealthy New York family that hangs with the wrong crowd. With a pile of dirty laundry mounting, it is down to young lawyer Nick to deal with each disaster.

Thursday

A shiny Grammy deservedly sitting on the mantelpiece, Flight of the Conchords (Prime, 9.30pm) is one of the best comedies to come out of any country, let alone New Zealand. There is a new series of the warrior contest, Toa o Aotearoa (Maori TV, 9.30pm), in which a group of lads use Maori tribal weaponry to battle each other in the hope of winning $10,000. Basically a Gladiators with taiahas.

Friday

If you’re up early, Small Town Gay Bar (National Geographic, 6.30am) looks at the patrons of two Mississippi gay bars and the redneck discrimination they are confronted with. Things are a little raunchier with the documentary True Stories Uncut: Sex Trade (Prime, 9.30pm), and TV2 has American Psycho (9.30pm), a brilliantly narcissistic film of extreme excess and violence.

Matthew Davis

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