 Square Eyes
Television Reviews
Movie of the week, Strumpet, SBS, Fri/Sat, 12.50am
Trainspotting's Danny Boyle turns his satiric eye to the inner city fringe dwellers who fancy themselves as the voice of a new generation. Strayman
(Jude's Chris Eccleston) is a self-styled angry poet of the streets who invites punkette guitatrist Strumpet (Jenna Gee) to his grungy digs after rescuing
her from attack. They become soulmates, and a neighbour decides to manage them as they seek fame and fortune as a quirky musical duo. It savages venal music
industry poseurs and also takes a dig at the clash between 'art' and pop culture.
Wire in the Blood, ABC, Fri, 8.30pm
A three-part British thriller in which a clinical psychologist (Robson Green) tracks a serial killer. He's backed by a spunky detective (Hermoine
Norris) who helps him put the pieces together. There are plenty of wicked twists and fine moments which will satisfy fans of Aunty's Friday night Pommy
copper shows.
Smack the Pony, ABC, Sat, 11.10am
Stupid but funny sketch comedy by an English female trio, on way too late, except if you've just come home, half-cut, from the pub.
AFL Grand Final, Ten, Sat, noon
The favourite team of most Aussie Rules fans is known as ABC - Anyone But Collingwood. Yet Eddie McGuire's team has come from the bottom to
make the grand final this year against defending premiers the Brisbane Lions. Given the Queenslanders are our closest neighbours - Carn the Lions!
Citizen Cane Toad, ABC, Sat, 6.30pm
Another bloody brilliant government idea for Queensland cane farmers. After 70 years, this poisonous toad, which grows to a scary 37cm in length, weighing
8 kilos (Help! Help! A cane toad ate my baby!), is colonising Australia at the rate of 23km a year, and can now be found in Kakadu.
Memphis Belle, NBN, Sat, 9.40pm
British director David Putnam gives a dramatic flourish too a wartime doco about an US B-17 bomber (known as the flying fortress) on its 25th and final
mission. An eye candy crew - Matthew Modine, Harry Connick Jr, Billy Zane - and lavish production make it an impressive, if schmaltzy drama.
The Bone Collector, Ten, Sun, 8.30pm
Denzel Washington plays an Ironside type (with a nod to Hitchcock's Rear Window) in this suspense-thriller by Aussie director Phil Noyce. A brilliant
but paralysed forensic criminal expert, he relies on a feisty cop (Angelina Jolie) to be his eyes on the frontline as they track (yet another) psychopath.
Toss in romantic tension, and the killer turning his attentions to Ms Jolie within her mentor's earshot, and you have a decent, if too graphic, thriller.
The Waterboy, Prime, Sun, 8.30pm
There are two types of people in this world: 1) Adolescents with no recollection of just how bad Jerry Lewis was, who think Adam Sandler's overblown
idiocy is funny. 2) Those who'd like to see George Bush, on the way to Bagdad, bomb this overpaid moron, thus ridding the world of Sandler's puerile,
obnoxious attempts at comedy. In this execrable effort, he's the footy team loser who suddenly reveals his genius for the game in moments of anger.
Kathy Bates has some fun as his alligator stew serving psychopathic mother, and Henry Winkler wonders if he's having a Happy Days flashback. Do not
watch on a full stomach.
Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles, ABC, Mon, 8am
Yippee! Children of Australia rejoice! A new series by the world's most famous skivvy wearers.
Top Dogs, ABC, Tues, 8pm
Rottweiler owners believe their dogs have an unfair reputation as savages, making them the underdogs at dog shows. The final in this series on rivalry
is a funny look at dog owners and their obsessions, and the poor Rotty lovers, who are a breed apart too.
Crossing Over with John Edwards, Ten, Tues, 8.30pm
Viewers old enough to remember Doris Stokes on The Mike Walsh Show (or who enjoyed Whoopi Goldberg's performance in Ghost) will no doubt be bemused
by this American medium who runs around the studio audience with messages from the departed, linking them up with roughly the same accuracy as the US bombing
Afghanistan. If you're amazed by David Copperfield, then John's right up your alley. He's supposedly a devout Catholic. So where's the
Pope when you need an excommunication?
See our print edition for the full weekly television guide
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