KEY POINTS:
COLD CASE
When: 8.30pm, Wednesday
Where: TV One
What: Stirring up the past
The title of this show could be referring to Detective Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris) as much as her work trying to crack cases that have been unsolved for many years. Rush is notoriously commitment-phobic and aloof, so working with a bunch of macho male cops is perfect for a woman who is afraid to get in touch with her feminine side. The show's success has a lot to do with Rush's waifish, vulnerable charms but also relies on the chemistry she has with her four colleagues, John Stillman (John Finn), Nic Vera (Jeremy Ratchford), Will Jeffries (Thom Barry) and Scotty Valens (Danny Pino). The endings might be a bit pat and the closing slow-mo scenes a bit syrupy, but, overall, it works as a police procedural. Season five begins with Rush returning to work several weeks after being shot. Her team reopens a 1994 case in which two teenage outcasts may have been wrongly imprisoned for the murders of three boys.
BEYOND THE DARKLANDS
When: 9.30pm, Wednesday
Where: TV One
What: Inside the minds of killers
He probably won't be invited to the Sensible Sentencing Trusts Christmas party, but Nigel Latta promises some thought-provoking viewing when he tries to get into the minds of six of New Zealand's worst murderers. Forensic psychologist Latta ponders whether these killers were born evil, or whether their upbringing and influences put them on the wrong path. He talks to people who grew up with these murderers, victims who survived, and the families of those who didn't. In the first episode he looks at the life of William Bell, imprisoned for the brutal RSA murders. Bell was born in Mangere in 1978, both his parents had gang connections and neighbours have described the household as being like something from Once Were Warriors. Bell was on the wrong side of the law from the age of eight, and, by the time, he was in his 20s he was serving time for a vicious robbery.
7PM, TV2 SHORTLAND STREET
Dr Potts is down in the dumps but she's not sure why. Neither are Kip, Craig and TK. Hmm, how about the fact there's still a killer on the loose? Or that her boyfriend has a girl's haircut? That's enough to give any girl the blues.
7.30PM, TV3
TOP CHEF
An amuse bouche is a starter course designed to tickle the taste buds. Whether or not the contestants create one in the kitchen or simply by speaking remains to be seen but this is their quickfire challenge tonight.
7.30PM, C4
HOGAN KNOWS BEST
Hulk Hogan returns for another season of big-bad-man-plays-family-guy genre. Brooke wants to get away from the family for a while, so Hulk lets her spend a weekend with a friend at the nearby family beach house. But he can't resist spying on her every move and tensions soon flare when he finds something he's not supposed to.
8.30PM, TV ONE
COLD CASE
Hugely popular crime drama is back and sees detective Lilly Rush and her strangely voluminous mullet solving crimes that have lain dormant for years. Weeks after being shot Rush returns to work with her dependable team on a case in which three boys were beaten to death and two teenage outcasts may have been wrongly imprisioned for the crime.
9.30PM, TV ONE
BEYOND THE DARKLANDS
New local series in which forensic psychologist Nigel Latta examines the lives of six of New Zealand's worst killers. Latta examines whether it's nature or nurture that turns someone into a violent murderer. Tonight: William Bell, the young criminal serving a prison sentence for his vicious attack on four people at Mt Wellington/ Panmure RSA.
MOVIES
8.30PM, PRIME
Herald rating: * * *
NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE
A parody of teen films, set at John Hughes High School, and taking the mickey out of two decades' worth of teen films, from 1982's Fast Times At Ridgemont High through to 1999's Cruel Intentions. (2001)
8.30PM, SKY MOVIES
Herald rating: * * *
TAKE THE LEAD
The old teacher-inspires-troubled-students chestnut has been filmed many times: here it's Antonio Banderas as the teacher, who takes ballroom dancing to the kids. (2006)
8.30PM, RIALTO SKY DIGITAL
Herald rating: * * * *
GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK
Black and white drama directed by George Clooney, about broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) and his attempts to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy, the politician responsible for the communist witch hunts of the early 1950s. George Clooney also stars. (2005)
