Square Eyes

Television Reviews

Movie of the week, Memento, Prime, Sun, 9pm:

Guy Pearce knows his wife is dead and whatever happened left him brain-damaged, with no memory of what happened. This is an intelligent whodunnit, pieced together in fragments that reflect his mind, that also ponders the nature of revenge and perception. You have to think as hard as he does to make sense of these fragments, which reveal new twists every time.

Double the Fist, ABC, Fri, 11.30pm:

Aussie blokes take the piss out of extreme sport machismo and lifestyle show triteness and revel in its stupidity. It's cult idiocy, with funny special effects and a good laugh as you arrive home from the pub.

Britain's real monarch, ABC, Sun, 7.30pm:

Baldrick from Blackadder, Tony Robinson, goes on the quirky search for the proper heir to Britain's thrown after suggesting Edward IV was a bastard (in the marriage sense) and therefore not entitled to the crown. His search leads him to the NSW country town of Jerilderie. Seems we may get an Australian head of state after all.

Charles II - the power & the passion, ABC, Sun, 8.30pm:

This two-part restoration costume drama, about the reign of the notorious Merry Monarch, has a typically ripper cast, including Rupert Graves and Diana Rigg. It's even better than the recent Henry VIII, with lots of bawdy sex, Machiavellian duplicity and downright royal nastiness. Helen McCrory, as the maneating Countess of Castlemaine, and her rival, Catharine from Portugal (Shirley Henderson), are brilliant as the women competing for Chuck's affections.

Sweet November, NBN, Sun, 8.30pm:

A workaholic one-dimensional ad exec (played with a blandness only Keanu Reeves could deliver) whose life takes an unexpected twist when he meets a hippie animal trainer (Charlize Theron). Of course opposites attract, even if they have the chemistry of wet cement. It's a plodding, overwrought, saccharine remake of the 1968 version.

There's Something about Miriam, Ten, Tues, 8.30pm:

Remember the old Kinks song Lola? Now it's a reality TV show, with four pissed Poms competing for the affections of a lass, Miriam, who's not quite there when it comes to the downstairs dept. Apparently the blokes sued to stop it screening, but were paid enough to cop the humiliation of competing for the affections of a transsexual.

Moulin Rouge Girls, ABC, Tues, 8pm:

The second episode of a four-part series following six Australian dancers, aged 17-24, over one year at the world's most famous cabaret house. It's an interesting insight into a legend, plus the hopes, dreams and reality of the women, who find themselves in a strange country trying to make their names and cope with the challenges thrown at them.