The best on the box
James Croot’s television picks for the week ahead.
The Trip to Italy, 8.40pm, Saturday, Ma¯ ori TV
Four years after journeying through the English dales and valleys that inspired Wordsworth and Coleridge, Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan came back for more in 2013, this time following in the footsteps of Byron and Shelley. A more melancholic and meaty second course than might have been expected, this feels like a 50-something, all-male instalment of Richard Linklater’s Before
series. ‘‘While this sequel lacks the novelty of the first course, it’s just as soulful and silly,’’ wrote Entertainment Weekly‘s Chris Nashawaty.
Wait for Me Hollywood, 7.30pm, Sunday, TVNZ1 Hour-long documentary in which the Kiwi star of The Dark Horse, Boy and this year’s Goodbye Pork Pie remake, James Rolleston, discusses the horrific car crash that left him facing court action and fighting for his life.
The Man From UNCLE,
8.30pm, Sunday, TVNZ2
This isn’t your mother’s brother’s U.N.C.L.E. While Guy Ritchie’s
2015 reimagining of the popular
1960s Cold War TV spy series is set in the same period, it owes more of a debt to the James Bond films of the era. From the bold subtitles to clever flourishes involving the full frame, camera angles, focus, editing and sound, Ritchie constantly keeps the audience interested, even if the story isn’t exactly anything new.
The Prestige, 9.25pm, Monday, Duke
Based on Christopher Priest’s complex 1995 novel of the same name, this 2006 tale is another dark and devilishly clever drama from writer-director Christopher Nolan. His greatest trick is constantly subverting the audience’s expectations and making them shift their sympathies. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman star.
The Walking Dead, 9.30pm, Monday, TVNZ2
Debuting the same day as in the US, this popular fantasy drama is back for its highly anticipated eighth season, promising all-out war between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The Saviors are larger, better-equipped, and ruthless, but Rick and the unified communities are fighting for the promise of a brighter future.
The Queen of Ireland, 8.30pm, Wednesday, Rialto Winner of a bonny baby competition, Irishman Rory O’Neill was always something of an exotic bird. But it wasn’t until he escaped 1980s Dublin for the bright lights of Tokyo that he found his true calling. Reborn as lip-syncing stand-up comic drag queen Panti Bliss, O’Neill became a hit worldwide. Both a fascinating account of significant culture change and a terrific portrait of a larger-than-life figure, Conor Horgan’s delightful 2015 documentary is a perfect mix of the factual and the fun.