Square Eyes

Television Reviews

Movie of the week, The Talented Mr Ripley, NBN, Sat, 9.25pm:

Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is a toilet attendant and opportunistic scammer sent to Italy by the father of a spoilt playboy, Dickie (Jude Law), to bring him home. Once overseas, Tom soon develops a taste for the good life. His amorality, combined with self-delusion and a tentative grip on reality, are a dangerous combination. Anthony Minghella creates a tense Hitchcock-like thriller, laden with subtlety, that gets darker and darker.

Meet the Parents, NBN, Fri, 8.30pm:

If you haven't seen the prequel to Meet the Fockers, here's a chance to catch up on the jokes. A noice Jewish nurse (Ben Stiller), is keen to marry into a noice Anglo-American family, headed by a paranoid former CIA agent (Robert De Niro). A comedy of tortured slapstick errors unfolds as the hapless Stiller reprises his Something About Mary role, lurching from one faux pas to another. It's amusing, if stoopid.

The World is Not Enough, Prime, Fri, 8.30pm:

The 19th run, with Bond (Pierce Brosnan) again grappling with international terrorists (Robert Carlyle) and attractive women. What it lacks in originality, it makes up for in explosions. Most notably, it's Desmond Llewelyn's final appearance as Q before he died in a car crash, aged 85.

Battlestar Galactica, Ten, Fri, 8.30pm:

The 70s sci-fi classic is revamped as a two-part mini-series. After a slow start, it picks up pace and has enough self-referential wit and slick production to warm the hearts of original fans, as well as winning over a new generation.

Goannas and Rubbish Frogs, ABC, Sat, 6pm:

A cane toad invasion in Top End national parks like Kakadu is having a devastating effect on goannas, killing up to half the population, which normally dines on the frogs the toads have displaced. Scientists are struggling to stem the tide of this ecological disaster.

Gardening Australia, ABC, Sat, 6.30pm:

Amidst lots of not-so-lovely compost that passes for lifestyle programming, Peter Cundall's show still shines like a gem, despite recent attempts by Aunty's management to ringbark it. He kicks off by showing off his own Tassie garden, but then heads to the local garden of Southern Cross Uni arts boss, composer Michael Hannan, who uses bird and frog notes into his work, and explains how he attracts wildlife into his tranquil garden.

Celebrity Overhaul, NBN, Sun, 6.30pm:

Cricketer Merv Hughes, Pat the Rat (for those of you old enough to remember Sons & Daughters), Peter Phelps (who played her teenage son, it was that long ago), and three more out-of-shape C listers go to boot camp in a bid to shape up. Heed the show's message about how you need to be more active and go walking instead of sitting there voyeuristically watching this crap.