Grant Bowler (second from right) and the cast of The Great Mint Swindle.
Pick of the Week: The Great Mint Swindle
Though he'll be forever best known on this side of the Tasman as Wolf West of Outrageous Fortune, Grant Bowler has not been doing too badly since his role in the beloved New Zealand series finished.
In the United States, He's had roles in Ugly Betty, True Blood and the new post-apocalyptic sci-fi series Defiance. He also got a critical drubbing for telemovie Liz & Dick in which he played Richard Burton to Lindsay Lohan's Elizabeth Taylor.
But given his Outrageous Fortune experience, he's way better cast in The Great Mint Swindle, the hit real-life 2012 Australian telemovie about a gold bullion theft, police corruption and a 20-year fight for justice.
Bowler plays Ray Mickelberg, the oldest of a trio of brothers found guilty of swindling the Perth Mint out of 65kg of gold by presenting stolen cheques. The larrikin trio had been earlier been convicted of fabricating a massive fake gold nugget, the Yellow Rose of Texas and selling it to tycoon Alan Bond for A$350,000 - rather more than it was worth.
Their convictions and hefty jail sentences for the Mint rip-off were ultimately quashed in 2004 after the original case in 1982 was seen in one of Australia's first "trials-by-television"
"The police allowed, for the first time, television cameras into the raid and they filmed the police ripping up floorboards, so it brought the crime into people's homes," producer Paul Bennett told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Bowler describes the story as a great mystery. "To this day nobody knows where that gold is," he says. "But it's also a human story because the family are so tight."
He says there were distinctly Australian qualities in the story. "It's one of those great Australian stories about getting shafted, which, all the way from Breaker Morant, is something we pay attention to," he says. "Ned Kelly, who is considered an icon, was also a lunatic who tried to blow up a train, Chopper [Read] becomes a star here. Criminals [in Australia] tend to be either very, very quiet, or there is something quality in them we use to redeem them."
In the case of the Mickelbergs, the only crime they were ultimately guilty of was the manufactured gold nugget sold to Alan Bond for more than twice its value in 1980.
"My Australian DNA goes, that's awesome," Bowler told the SMH. "We all love that - that's the little guy getting the big guy."
When: Sunday 8.30pm
Where: One
What: Going for gold, Aussie style
Music pick: American Idol
After stirring the pot nicely last year as a mentor on the show, when he criticised the contestants for their lack of lyrical understanding, longtime crooner Harry Connick Jr is joining the judging panel for the 13th season of
American Idol
this week. Former judge Jennifer Lopez is returning after letting Niki Minaj and Mariah Carey take over last year, while Keith Urban is also back for another round. Randy Jackson, who's been a judge since the show began, will step away from the desk but will still be a mentor, and Ryan Seacrest will once again host the contest. There are a few subtle changes this time round, with a new "holding room camera" that will show contestants before they audition, a division into senior, intermediate, and junior categories before the semi-final phase, and a live finale at Madison Square Garden.
When: 7.30pm,Thursday
Where: Prime
What: It had to be Harry
Environment pick: Keeping It Pure
New Zealand is so often labelled spectacularly beautiful and cited for its natural wonders, that when the Tourism Agency labelled us "100% Pure" in 1999, hardly anyone batted an eyelid. In recent years, our reputation for being clean and green has come under scrutiny however, as New Zealand faces continuing issues of pollution and degradation, and this new local six-part series looks at both sides of the coin - the challenges we face, and what some innovative folks are doing to protect our greatest asset. With an eye on the economic implications of "greening" the economy, the series canvases the opinion of leading scientists, business leaders, farmers and environmentalists as it examines the importance of our pure reputation, and looks at what measures might be most practical and effective.
When: 8.30pm, Sunday
Where: Prime
What: How green is NZ?
Reality pick: Kangaroo Dundee
Chris Barnes, aka Brolga, is a rugged, yet gentle giant (six foot seven) of a man who lives a simple life in the Australian outback. So why does he get his own BBC reality TV series? Because he saves orphaned baby kangaroos (joeys) and raises them himself. Hundreds of kangaroos are killed each year in unfortunate collisions with road trains or speeding cars - it seems the Outback is littered with them. Even more heart-tugging is the fact that their little joeys often survive. But without a mother, these wee critters are fairly defenceless, so Brolga has created a kangaroo sanctuary. He brings them back to the sanctuary to raise and reintroduce to the herd in his sanctuary. Barnes sleeps with them, bottle-feeds them, swaps saliva, and even teaches them how to jump into a pillowcase (in place of a real roo pouch).
When: 8.30pm, Tuesday
Where: TV One
What: Saving the joeys
Drama pick: Downton Abbey Christmas Special
For those of you missing
Downton Abbey
, you're in luck this week - Prime is airing the feature length 2013 Christmas special just a month after its British screening. As part of young Rose's "coming out", she is to be presented at Buckingham Palace, so the whole family have decamped to Grantham House, their residence in London, and are preparing for a busy social season. To stir things up, writer Julian Fellowes sends in the Americans. Shirley MacLaine returns as Lady Grantham's lively mother, and she brings Cora's recently disgraced brother Harold (excellent guest star Paul Giamatti) along for the trip. The larger- than-life pair make quite an impression in London's high society, but that doesn't stop the rest of the family and staff from getting caught up in a whirlwind of romance and scandal.
When: 8.30pm, Tuesday
Where: Prime
What: Crawleys go to London
- TimeOut
Elio is a hyper-imaginative orphan desperate for alien abduction.