The best on the box
Whale Rider 8.30pm, Sunday, Maori TV
Winner of the audience prize at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival, Niki Caro’s adaptation of Witi Ihimaera’s 1987 novel follows a young Maori girl’s fight to fulfil a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognise. The film made a star out of Keisha Castle-Hughes. ‘‘The genius of the movie is the way it sidesteps all of the obvious cliches of the underlying story and makes itself fresh, observant, tough and genuinely moving,’’ wrote Chicago Sun-Times‘ Roger Ebert.
Trainspotting 8.30pm, Sunday, Rialto
Danny Boyle’s 1996 Edinburgh-set drama not only helped launch the careers of the likes of Jonny LeeMiller and Ewan McGregor, it also captured the era of Cool Britannia perfectly. It’s about one man’s attempts to clean up and get out, despite the allure of drugs and influence of friends. ‘‘Supercharged with sulphurous humour and brutal recklessness,’’ wrote The Guardian‘ s Peter Bradshaw.
The Demolition Teams 8.35pm, Wednesday, Prime
KiwI documentary that takes viewers behind the security fences and into the hidden world of demolition at 10 different sites across Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Many of the buildings they have to demolish have been damaged by quakes and need to come down in a hurry. The cameras, including drones and gopros, capture never-before-seen
The Kennedys: After Camelot 8.30pm, Thursday, Prime
Katie Holmes stars in this US drama which portrays the life of the former First Lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy, in the aftermath of the assassination of her husband – President John F Kennedy. ‘‘Holmes made a startlingly good double for Jackie Kennedy, and if Matthew Perry wasn’t a dead ringer for Senator Teddy, his tubby, panicky, weakwilled performance certainly magicked up the essence of him,’’ wrote The Daily Express‘ Matt Baylis.
Conviction 9.30pm, Thursday, Prime
Agent Carter‘ s Hayley Atwell stars in this new US drama series about a brilliant attorney and former First Daughter who is blackmailed into heading a unit that investigates cases of wrongful conviction. ‘‘Not just compelling and topical, it’s a master class in TV-series construction,’’ wrote Wall St Journal‘ s John Anderson.