News from the front
TONIGHT Prime Presents: War News 8.30pm, Prime It is an idea outside the square: what if you could have reported on World War I from the front lines of major battles in the same way as we do today?
What if viewers could have tuned into television sets and watched the New Zealand troops evacuate Gallipoli, or watch interviews with soldiers as they prepare for battle?
War News, part of the Prime Presents New Zealand season, is a docu-drama that combines history with scripted drama in the form of a news bulletin. Correspondents Jack Crawford and Paul Jameson are on Gallipoli for the risky evacuation of 42,000 troops from Anzac Cove.
Crawford recaps the first day of the campaign, Jameson reunites a soldier and his grieving family back home, and there is dramatic footage from the Chunuk Bair offensive. Meanwhile, military generals face tough questions about Gallipoli, and the impact of war on Ottoman Empire civilians is questioned. Each episode of the five-part series examines the New Zealand war effort during major World War I conflicts including Gallipoli, the Somme, Passchendaele, the Middle East and Le Quesnoy. Funded by NZ On Air’s Platinum Fund and made by Wellington-based Gibson Group, War News provides a rich mix of history and innovative drama that comes together nicely to commemorate World War I centenary year. Source Code 8.30pm, Prime Enjoy a movie night in mid-week with this action thriller about an experimental government programme used to try to stop a deadly terrorist attack in downtown Chicago. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal ( Prince of Persia, Brokeback Mountain), Captain Colter Stevens awakens on a speeding commuter train with no idea how he got there. Seated across is Christina (Michelle Monaghan, Made of Honour), a woman he doesn’t know but who clearly believes she knows him. Seeking refuge in the bathroom, he’s shocked to see another man’s reflection in the mirror. Age Gap Love 9.30pm, TV3 You’re from the 70s but I’m a 90s bitch is the catch-cry of one of pop’s latest offering. But that generation gap is nothing compared with some of these British couples. Here we meet Joan whose answer to losing her husband of 50 years to cancer was reinventing herself with a boob job and a toy boy. The 68-year-old has been with her 29-year-old beau Phil for 18 months, having met online and sharing an interest in shopping and sunbeds. Then there’s 53-year-old Marilyn who met husband William, 24, when he was just 16. Their relationship has attracted its share of rebuke, with William labelled a ‘‘granny-shagger’’ by those who met them on the street. They are sharing their story in the hope that their relationship could be seen as legitimate, rather than something nasty.