The Box Set
Far From the Madding Crowd, 12.55pm, Friday, Three
A century after it was first adapted for the big screen, this 2015 version of Thomas Hardy’s 1874 classic novel is far and away the best yet. Danish director Thomas Vinterberg and screenwriter David Nicholls place their headstrong leading lady front and centre, as the men struggle to keep up with her. It helps that they have such a terrific actress in Carey Mulligan, who manages not only to muck in around the farm convincingly, but also ‘‘rock’’ a succession of sumptuous Victorian costumes and deliver Hardy’s portentous dialogue in exquisitely honeyed tones. Great expectations will be rewarded by this well-executed drama.
Soundtracks: Songs That Defined History, 8.30pm, Friday, Prime
New eight-part documentary series that explores the music tied to iconic moments in history. Every episode covers a tragedy, triumph, or the start of a movement – and the music that came to define it. First up, it’s the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Coraline, 7pm, Saturday, Maori TV
A 2009 animated fantasy about an adventurous girl who finds another world that is a strangely idealised version of her frustrating home. However, it comes with sinister secrets. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman. ‘‘A macabre mystery for children and a cautionary tale for their folks,’’ wrote the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Carrie Rickey.
The Silence of Lambs, 8.45pm, Saturday, Three
Anthony Hopkins’ theatrics stole the show, but Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling was the heart, soul and audience’s guide in Jonathan Demme’s deliciously taut 1991 take on Thomas Harris’s pulp novel. ‘‘Slams you like a sudden blast of bonechilling, pulse-pounding terror,’’ wrote Rolling Stone‘s Peter Travers.
Father Brown, 9.30pm, Saturday, Prime
Mark Williams cycles back on screen to solve more mysteries in the village of Kembleford in this charming 1950s-set British series based on the short stories by G K Chesterton. In the first episode, Father Brown is sceptical when a parishioner believes she’s being haunted by her sister who went missing years ago. However, when she herself vanishes, he must investigate both disappearances.
The Brokenwood Mysteries, 8.30pm, Sunday, Prime
Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea) and Detective Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland) return for the fourth season of the award-winning local drama series. In this week’s episode, a birthday picnic for Mike in Brokenwood Domain turns sour when the group witness a fatal skydiving accident.
The seven-day television listings are as accurate as possible at the time of publication. For the most up-to-date programme details, please see the newspaper’s daily listings.