Entertainment picks: Arise Sir Ed and conquer list

Sir Ed came third on Prime's Top 100 History Makers list, but may fare better this week when the public vote is revealed. Picture / Brett Phibbs

TV

So, Sir Ed got beaten by a Lord and a woman. A strong, strong woman. On Prime's New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers (Thursday, 7.30pm), Lord Ernest Rutherford took top honours, and fair enough too considering when he split the atom in 1917 he altered the course of modern science, and therefore, history.

Second was suffrage leader Kate Sheppard whose work meant New Zealand became the first self-governing nation to grant women the vote in Parliamentary elections.

And Sir Edmund Hillary had to settle for the bronze. But the placings seem apt.

However, it's a shame more people don't flick over to Prime because many of you would have missed this excellent history series. Put it this way, I'd rather watch History Makers than the stuffy, staid and expensive Frontier of Dreams, on TV One, which, if you want an early Saturday night, is the perfect lullaby.

The Prime series was educational, yet not dull. Plus, it also included unsung heroes like Alfred "Bill" Gallagher (the inventor of the electric fence), and Thomas Brydone and William Davidson (the dudes who froze 7500 carcasses in the late 1800s so they could be exported to the Motherland). Don't know about you, but those No 8 wire Kiwi stories just make me shiver with pride.

The grand final of History Makers is on Thursday at 7.30pm where the public vote will be revealed. One gets the feeling Sir Ed might fare better here, especially since Sir Howard is off everyone's list after he was mean to Rosita.

Meanwhile, on Project Runway (TV3, Tuesday, 7.30pm), hosted by the beautiful but so very uncharismatic Heidi Klum, it's all about me, me, me. You see, you thought models were bitchy, well fashion designers are too and when the contestants have to work in teams then the claws, and scissors, come out.

And this week's instalment of America's Next Top Model (TV3, Friday, 7.30pm) has similar princess tendencies when the models face a wet and windy photo shoot and many of them can't strike the pose. Poor darlings.

Music

Pretty quiet week for music, but there's a few gems tucked away on Thursday night that are worth checking out.

First up, at the King's Arms, the Reduction Agents, fronted by Lawrence Arabia (real name James Milne, late of the Brunettes and also in Ryan McPhun and the Ruby Suns), are celebrating the release of their limited edition seven-inch single, Urban Yard/80s Celebration.

Describing themselves as a "foppishly chaotic blend of British invasion 60s pop/rock'n'roll", with some Velvet Underground and Flying Nun-isms chucked in, these guys are ones to watch when they release their debut album early next year.

Also on Thursday, at the Dogs Bollix, you can hear the dulcet countrified tones of the Broken Heartbreakers. Check these guys out also, they're heartbreakers indeed.

And if you want to get a rattle on, then Friday night's Deep Hard'n'Funky at the St James is the place to be. It's a diverse night with everyone from DJ Sir Vere to Concord Dawn to the loved-up beats of Bevan Keys playing tunes just for you.

Movies

This week at the movies is the calm before the big end-of-year blockbuster storm that starts on November 24 when the latest Harry Potter film opens in cinemas. It continues in December with The Chronicles of Narnia and, of course, Peter Jackson's King Kong.

Nevertheless, there are some movies worth catching, and one to miss. The Constant Gardener is the latest movie by director Fernando Meirelles, creator of the excellent City of God. Why didn't that win an Oscar?

His latest movie is set in remote Kenya where activist Tessa Quayle (played by Rachel Weisz) is found brutally murdered. All things point to a crime of passion since her companion, a doctor, has fled the scene. But her widower, Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), takes it upon himself to find the truth, a search that takes him across three continents.

Then there's The Exorcism of Emily Rose about a lawyer who takes on the church and the state to fight for the life of a priest who performed a deadly exorcism on a young woman.

Lastly we have Must Love Dogs, which, for the title alone, you should not even consider going to. If you do, then I will find you and give you a good slap.

Theatre

The Silo Theatre is like a transformer. For its latest play, Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris (starting Thursday), the audience will be sitting at tables because "we aim to re-treat Brel's kaleidoscope of musical experience for an urbane audience who have never experienced his work before". So it's kinda like a cabaret then?

Brel is a Belgian-born composer who wrote more than 300 songs in his lifetime, many of which were recorded by Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Nina Simone, Sting, Marc Almond and others.

Sport

This weekend Dan Carter and the boys won't have to catch a train to go for a good old knees up after the game, because the All Blacks are in Londontown taking on England at Twickenham. It will be the last big clash of the Grand Slam tour and the season, because despite the heart of Scotland, there really isn't going to be any competition the week after.

If you can't be bothered getting up at 3.30am (Sky Sport, Sunday), then block your ears tight while you're cooking a yummy breakfast and sit down at the more sociable hour of 9.30am for the replay. Recommended.

Social circuit

Madonna was planning to attend the party at Boogie Wonderland in central Auckland to celebrate the New Zealand release of her new album, Confessions On A Dancefloor tomorrow night. But something came up. If you want to be one of the first to hear it, then get yourself along to the par-tay.