Television
The Best of the Week
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 2
I’m Dying Up Here Marathon (SoHo, Sky 010, 10.30am). It isn’t perfect (51% on Rotten Tomatoes), but there is a kernel of a show here that has something to say about the nature of comedy and the work of comedians – and about race and gender in
70s America. Melissa Leo is a stand-out as ballsy comedyclub proprietor Goldie, although even she gets beaten back down the ladder. Real stand-up comedians Andrew Santino, Erik Griffin and Al Madrigal also star.
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 3
Cycling (Sky Sport 2, Sky 052, 12.15am Monday). Britain seems to have inadvertently become a cycling nation and it fields a national team for the Tour of Britain, which sets off from Edinburgh this morning. Kiwi rider Jack Bauer won stage five of the race last year and will be hoping for a strong showing with his new team, Etixx-Quick Step. Other Kiwis taking part are Patrick Bevin, Tom Scully, George Bennett and Sam Bewley. The race continues over the next week and this year finishes in Cardiff rather than London.
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 4
Criminal Minds (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). The one in which it seems as if America is just full of fiendishly intelligent serial killers – and this is its 12th season. It also features some interesting guest stars, such as Jane Lynch, who plays Spencer Reid’s schizophrenic mum, Diana. She hasn’t been seen since season four, but she does some scenestealing when Spencer decides to put her in a clinical study, then attempts to look after her himself. Thomas Gibson, who has been in the show since the beginning, was famously fired early this season after an altercation with a producer and appears in only two episodes.
Decision 17: Leaders Debate (Three, 8.30pm). Three joins the fray with its first majorparty leaders’ debate between “Highway” Bill English and “Railway” Jacinda Ardern; “My Way” Paddy Gower moderates. On Friday, the minor-party leaders scrap it out on TVNZ 1 (7.00pm). On Tuesday, Maori TV is covering the Maori electorates in
Election Aotearoa (8.00pm)
– this week, Te Tai Hauauru – and the media angle in Media Take (10.00pm).
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 5
Poldark (Prime, 8.30pm). The French are coming in the final of Poldark and Ross is leading the defence of Cornwall, naturally. There’s an awful lot of terrible 18th-century unfairness, including George’s targeting of poor Drake Carne and the reverend’s treatment of poor Morwenna. But the real headline is Demelza’s dalliance with the dashing Hugh. No, Demelza! T’aint right, t’aint proper!
Graves (TVNZ 1, 11.00pm). Another TVNZ OnDemand crossover, so if you didn’t have the bandwidth to watch Nick Nolte as former Potus Richard Graves, have a look at it on free-to-air telly. In this satire, Nolte’s Graves has retired to Albuquerque and, suddenly realising he was a terrible president, wants to right the wrongs. Sela Ward plays his wife, Margaret, who has her own political aspirations. Nolte was nominated for a Golden Globe and the show has been renewed for a second season.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Prime, 11.20pm).
Jimmy Fallon may be the only comedian who hasn’t benefited from Donald
Trump’s presidency: it seems counterintuitive, but his non-partisan approach saw ratings drop in the US, whereas other outspoken late-night hosts, such as Seth Meyers, have found their groove. It’s certainly worked for Colbert, who initially kept away from politics, but has spun ratings gold from the White House’s straw man. Prime is replacing Fallon with Colbert; episodes air the same day as they do in the US.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 6
States of Undress (Viceland, Sky 013, 7.30pm). Model and actor Hailey Gates explores the whys and wherefores of clothing around the world, which is in many ways a study of the regulation of women’s bodies. In season two, she delves into the Muslim community in France, a transgender beauty pageant in Thailand, Syrian refugees in Lebanon and conceal-carry fashion among women in the US.
Diana: The Day the World Cried (Prime, 8.30pm). The Diana grief-party continues with a doco, narrated by Kate Winslet, about the day of her funeral at Westminster Abbey. There are interviews with many involved, including Sir Malcolm Ross, who had just six days to plan the event, and the former royal protection officer who looked after the Princess of Wales and her sons. Prince Harry’s recent comment that no child should have been asked to walk behind his
mother’s coffin, as he and his brother did, adds an extra layer of grimness. In other news, The Story of Diana (Prime, Sunday, 8.30pm) concludes with her post-royal marriage life and
The Last 100 Days of Diana (Vibe, Sky 006, Monday, 7.30pm) does something similar.
Finding Aroha (Maori TV, 8.30pm). Because it’s 2017, this is described as “Tinder for television”, but what could be more old-school than a dating show? Cilla Black would be proud. Singletons, as they’re known, allow their whanau and friends to find them a match; Miriama Smith hosts.
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 7
The Great British Bake Off: Comic Relief Special (Food TV, Sky 018, 8.30pm). Distressingly, the celebs seem to be taking things rather seriously: “I am possibly the most competitive person in the world,” says Michael Sheen in episode three. However, their pathetic efforts were all for charity, so it barely matters. In the first episode, Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Lulu and Dame Edna Everage have to make a giant cookie, a tiered chocolate cake and mini fruit tarts. Just imagine the puns.
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 8
World’s Weirdest Homes (Prime, 7.30pm). A woman who lives in a giant concrete shoe (we’ve no idea why), a dog-shaped B&B (you don’t want to know where the steps are) and a skip that has been converted into a functioning dwelling. Beats The Block NZ, anyway. There’s also Pierre Cardin’s Bubble Palace in Cannes (a snip at $440 million), a cargo ship that sits on a cliff at Lake Erie and an Australian house that rotates to follow the sun.