Monday's TV highlights

7PM, TV2
SHORTLAND STREET
Chris Warner is in whistleblower mood this week. His standing in the medical community is on the line when he reveals the incompetence of a top surgeon and in doing so takes on the medical profession's stuffy "old boys' network".

8PM, TV2
NZ IDOL
Someone is going home and you, the public, have decided who.

8.30PM, TV2
ER
Actor John Leguizamo joins the cast tonight playing Dr Victor Clemente, who gives Pratt a surprise when he poses as a patient to test the knowledge of doctors.

8.30PM, TV ONE
EXPOSE: TROUBLE WITH WORDS
One in five adults can't read and write well enough to cope with basic things like reading bus timetables. Expose follows two 40-somethings, Jude from Christchurch and John from Waiheke, who are learning to read.

8.30PM, PRIME
THE 58TH ANNUAL EMMY AWARDS
This year the glitz and glamour of television's big night - live from Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium - has been overshadowed by controversy over the nomination system that has snubbed some of the biggest names and most popular shows.

For the 58th awards, a panel rather than the general TV academy decided the nominations, a move designed to stop the same shows dominating.

Winners from last year that didn't even get a look-in include Lost (Outstanding Drama Series), Boston Legal's James Spader (Lead Actor in a Drama Series), Medium's Patricia Arquette (Lead Actress in a Drama Series), and Desperate Housewives' Felicity Huffman (Lead Actress in a Comedy Series), not to mention her miffed co-stars.

The Steven Spielberg-produced mini-series Into the West, which focuses on settlers and native Americans, has 16 nominations, and period drama Elizabeth I, starring Helen Mirren, has 13.

The most-nominated series is 24, with 12 - including one for star Kiefer Sutherland - while Grey's Anatomy has 11.

The gong for best drama is between The Sopranos, 24, The West Wing, Grey's Anatomy and House.

Best comedy contenders are Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Scrubs, The Office and Two and a Half Men.

Martin Sheen (The West Wing) is up against Sutherland, Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), Denis Leary (Rescue Me) and Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: SVU) for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Actress in a drama series is contested between Allison Janney (The West Wing), Geena Davis (Commander in Chief), Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) and Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer).

Writer and TV host Conan O'Brien, the heir apparent to Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, will host the awards.

10.25PM, TV2
COMMANDER IN CHIEF
The return of this political drama series starring Geena Davis as MacKenzie Allen, the first female president of the US. In this episode the President is travelling to the West Coast on Air Force One and when the plane lands it is taken hostage by a man who demands to speak directly with the President.


MOVIES
[rated out of 5]

8.30PM, TV3
ABOUT A BOY
Herald rating: * * * *
Hugh Grant and Toni Collette star in this adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel about a cynical cad who ambles through life supported by the royalties from a Christmas song his deceased father wrote. He invents an imaginary son to meet women, only to grow closer to Marcus, a socially awkward 12-year-old. (2002)

8.30PM, SKY MOVIES 1
BLADE TRINITY
Herald rating: * *
Wesley Snipes returns as the vampire-hunter Blade. Now wanted by the FBI, he joins forces with a clan of human vampire hunters, called the Nightstalkers, to face Dracula. (2004)

9.45PM, RIALTO SKY DIGITAL
PALINDROMES
Herald rating: * * * *
More strange truths from director Todd Solondz, (Happiness, Welcome To The Dollhouse), this time about a 13-year-old who is desperate to become a mother. She comes close, but her plan is foiled by her parents. Be prepared for some jaw-dropping, as Solondz cuts close to the bone. (2004)