KEY POINTS:
10.25pm, TV One
ARTSVILLE
One of the strengths of this show, which features documentaries about New Zealand artists, is its ability to let the artists talk about their lives and work at home or in their studio. Getting them to open up in a setting that also tells us a lot about them makes for fascinating viewing.
Tonight's first episode presented a bit of a problem, as painter Bill Hammond didn't want to talk about his work and wasn't interested in being filmed in his studio, or anywhere else for that matter.
He was, however, happy for his work to feature
in the show, so the makers came up with a cunning plan for Flightless - Bill Hammond's Cure for Being Kiwi.
They decided to make a part-drama, part-documentary in which Ian Hughes (Shortland Street, Doves of War) plays Kevin McManus, a man experiencing a mid-life crisis, who becomes fascinated by Hammond's paintings and his signature birdpeople.
McManus goes in search of Hammond's pictures and explanations of them.
He questions people whose lives have also been affected by Hammond's paintings, such as the owners of a bar in Lyttelton that is dominated by a Hammond canvas; a couple who have a major Hammond painting hanging in each of their five children's bedrooms; Te Papa's chief ornithologist Sandy Bartle; and arts patron and collector Jenny Gibbs.
Also in tonight's show is a reading by Janet Frame of her O Lung Flowering Like a Tree from archive footage. Future episodes feature Dunedin's growing fashion scene, the traditional bel canto singing technique, New Zealand comic books, artist John Reynolds, and internationally acclaimed Gillian Karawe Whitehead, the first composer in residence at Douglas Lilburn's former home.
8.30pm, TV3
CSI: MIAMI
Season five picks up where season four left off, with Horatio Caine (David Caruso) and his team of South Florida forensic investigators on the trail of Antonio Riaz (Vincent Laresca), who ordered the hit by a sniper on Caine's wife Marisol (Alana De La Garza).
Caine and agent Delko (Adam Rodriguez), Marisol's brother, have arrived in Rio de Janeiro to hunt down Riaz but things do not go smoothly Caine is overwhelmed by grief at the death of his wife, and Brazilian authorities aren't being co-operative.
While there, Caine runs into Yelina, who has moved to Brazil with her husband and Caine's brother Raymond so they could keep a low profile.
Raymond has gone missing and his son Ray jnr, now 14, has teamed with Brazilian authorities to find his father.
In the meantime, Caine learns that Raymond is already dead and tries to stop his nephew from getting himself killed while chasing a ghost.
7PM, TV2
THE ZOO
Poor old Molek the Sumatran tiger is depressed. So she's probably not in the mood to mate with Oz. Meanwhile, the spider monkeys welcome an unexpected baby, presumably of the same species.
9PM, MAORI TV
JUBILEE
This warm-hearted comedy set in heartland New Zealand focuses on Billy Williams (Cliff Curtis), his whanau and the small town of Waimatua, the sweet potato capital of the world.
8PM, TV3
30 ROCK
Emmy-winner wonderwoman Tina Fey writes, executive produces and stars as writer Liz Lemon in this workplace comedy behind the scenes of a live variety show. Alec Baldwin plays her brash boss, Jack Donaghy who turns her show - and her life - inside out. Tonight he sets her up on a blind date.
8.30PM, TV ONE
SUNDAY THEATRE: THE BEST MAN
Peter (Toby Stephens) and Michael (Richard Coyle) are best friends with a secret that binds them. Then Kate comes between them by falling in love with Michael, and the events of the past start to impinge on the present.
MOVIES
7.30PM, TV2
SPIDER-MAN
Herald rating: * * * *
Director Sam Raimi delivers the first non-embarrassing version of Spider-Man, possibly to cleanse our memories of the awful 1970s television series.
The web-slinger is played by natural clown Tobey Maguire, who faces off against the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). (2002)
10PM, TV2
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
Herald rating: * * * *
This low-budget horror was a marketing phenomenon in its day, and it's still pretty scary now. The three lead actors shot nearly all of the footage themselves and were given no more than a 35-page outline of the mythology behind the plot before shooting began. (1999)
8.30PM, SKY MOVIES 1
YOU, ME AND DUPREE
Herald rating: * *
Tedious comedy with a great cast and a title ripped straight off a Steely Dan song. Newlyweds (Kate Hudson and Matt Dillon) are invaded by the old college cruiser, Dupree, played by Owen Wilson. (2006)
8.30PM, SKY MOVIES GREATS
GATTACA
Herald rating: * * * *
Writer-director Andrew Niccol's thought-provoking science fiction film about a genetically inferior man (Ethan Hawke), who adopts the identity of a crippled but genetically superior man, to achieve his dream of space flight. (1997)
