Square Eyes

Television Reviews

Movie of the week, Pop Always Pays, ABC, Tues, 2.50pm:

It's such a poor week for movies, the least we can do is provide a community service for insomniacs and explain this 65-year-old farce about a father facing a business slump having promised to match his future son-in-law's savings. It's no great shakes, made in the same year as Chaplin's Hitler satire The Great Dictator, but it still outshines most of the contemporary rubbish and repeats served up this week. Our other choice was the John Mills wartime sub drama Above Us the Waves (ABC, Sun, 1.05am).

British Isles: A Natural History, ABC, Sat, 6pm:

An epic 16-part series about the evolution of Britain's natural past, presented by the UK's version of Peter Cundall, Alan Titchmarsh. It starts with a spellbinding exploration of the 3.5 million-year-long ice age in a compulsive geographical journey.

Under the Grandstand, SBS, Sat, 9.30pm:

Steve 'The Sandman' Abbott tries to carve out of a corner of Roy & HG territory with the cricket comedy show commenting on the play in the Ashes test. Abbott's actually a qualified umpire, so at least he knows what he's talking about.

Blokesworld, Ten, Sat, 12.45am:

Forget all that metrosexual rubbish, this is the true Australian male in full flight - half-cut, in love with his V8, handy with the barbie tongs, especially near scantily clad women and ready to cheer on the stupidity of his mates. This show is so bad it's brilliant - Ali G without the irony. You have been warned.

Frank Hurley - the man who made history, ABC, Sun, 7.30pm:

Australia's most acclaimed photographer was in the thick of key historical moments. Who can't envisage his eerie images of the crushing of Shackleton's Antarctic boat Endurance in ice? And what of those haunting WWI battlefield photos? Thing is, he doctored most of them, seeing himself as an artistic interpreter. A century later, the debate over whether he was a fraud continues, as this excellent warts-n-all bio-documentary shows.

Two Weeks Notice, NBN, Sun, 8.30pm:

Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant flop around in this affable comedy romance. He's the millionaire, she's the high-powered lawyer at his beck and call 'til one day she pulls the plug and he realises... zzzzzzzzz.

Desperate Housewives, Prime, Mon, 8.40pm:

It started to get sillier than The Bold & Beautiful, but if you've tuned in at any stage and been left wondering, tonight's the final and promises to answer most questions, except what will Prime do for a ratings winner now?

True Stories, Prime, Tues, 8pm:

The ABC's Australian Story is consistenly one of the best things on TV, so in the great commercial tradition of imitate, don't innovate, here's another version of it, with ads to increase the dramatic tension.