KEY POINTS:
THE MUSEUM
When: 10pm, Friday
Where: Living
What: Behind the displays
Lovers of series such as Antiques Roadshow and Time Team should dust the cobwebs off their tellies and take in this behind-the-scenes look at the British Museum. Narrated by Ian McMillan, the show features music by
Icelandic outfit Sigur Ros and follows staff at the London institution as they look after the collections, devise and plan exhibitions, and manage the flow of more than four million visitors a year.
The museum contains some remarkable collections of Egyptian, Roman and Greek treasures, famous sculptures and the Reading Room where Karl Marx worked. Looking after these great collections are 800 people, ranging from scholars and archaeologists to conservators and exhibition specialists. The series is already underway but there's some intriguing stuff to look forward to such as how to spot fakes and how to make replicas.
OPEN WATER
When: 9.30pm, Friday
Where: TV2
What: Just punch them on the nose
Jaws for the post-Blair Witch viewer here, with this based-on-a-true-story of a couple on a diving trip who get left behind with no one for company except a bunch of sharks. Of course there were no witnesses, so whatever goes on here is merely speculation, although the true part is that in 1998, two divers, an American couple, Tom and Eileen Lonergan, did get left behind when their charter boat operator got the passenger head count wrong and returned to port.
Here the characters are renamed Daniel Kintner (Daniel Travis) and Susan Watkins (Blanchard Ryan), but they still face more than just the shark menace. First there's dehydration, saltwater sickness and jellyfish stings to deal with, as well as a hair-raising electrical storm. And where Spielberg's Jaws was a blockbuster, this is minimalist film-making, shot on digital video on weekends. (2003)
7.30PM, TV ONE
TRINNY AND SUSANNAH UNDRESS THE NATION
After last week's boob-centric episode, the ladies are turning their attention to the men of Britain, also known as "the forgotten shoppers". Unveiling a male dress code, the pair point out what to do and not to do.
8PM, TV2
NOTES FROM THE UNDERBELLY
After her driver's licence expires, Lauren learns she has to do another test. But pregnant cravings pose a problem when the mother-to-be pulls an impromptu illegal turn and heads for the nearest drive-through.
10.05PM, TV3
THE ARMSTRONG & MILLER SHOW
British comedians Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong team up in this new BBC sketch comedy show that has an array of quirky characters, including the Inappropriate Dentist, who tells patients of his swinging escapades, and Brabbins and Fyffe, the devious alter-egos of Flanders and Swann.
MOVIES
9.30PM, TV2
Herald rating: * * * *
OPEN WATER
See Best of the Week. (2003)
8.30PM, SKY MOVIES
Herald rating: * *
DERAILED
Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston play two business executives, both married, who meet on a train and embark on an affair and are blackmailed. Starts off dark and gritty but the story loses its way. (2005)
8.30PM, RIALTO SKY DIGITAL
Herald rating: * * * *
DREAMLAND
Set in a New Mexico trailer park. A love triangle forms when two teenage girls are attracted to the same boy. (2006)
8.30PM, SKY MOVIES GREATS
Herald rating: * * *
LIFE
A bittersweet prison comedy staring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence as strangers who go on a moonshine run and are framed for murder. They serve life sentences together in prison and develop a friendship over 60 years. (1999)
SPORT
1.30PM, SKY SPORT 2 LIVE; MIDNIGHT, PRIME (HIGHLIGHTS)
ODI CRICKET: NEW ZEALAND V ENGLAND
The Black Caps stole the early initiative in this five-match series but their Twenty20 woes suggest this won't go all their way.
5.15PM, SKY SPORT 3 LIVE
ODI CRICKET: AUSTRALIA V SRI LANKA
After a pasting in Sydney, Sri Lanka have to bounce back in Perth to get into this series. Australia play India on Sunday (4pm, Sky Sport 1 live)
7.30PM, SKY SPORT 1 AND RUGBY LIVE
SUPER 14: CRUSADERS V BRUMBIES
Big match to start the season with the Crusaders favoured against the Brumbies. Followed at 10pm by Highlanders v Reds.
