Pay TV

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday August 10, 2009

Brad Newsome

Whale WarsAnimal Planet, 8.30pmThis new documentary series about Sea Shepherd's campaign against the Japanese whalers in the Antarctic is riveting from the very start. The angry tone of the series is set by the use of the Smashing Pumpkins' splenetic Bullet with Butterfly Wings as a theme song and by the Sea Shepherd volunteers' bitter explanations of how much they hate the Japanese whaling ships.Generation KillShowcase, 8.30pmThis episode of HBO's Iraq War drama isn't much of an advertisement for the US Marine Corps. Tonight's storyline suggests recruits will go into combat without vital equipment, get shot at by their own side, be assigned missions far beyond their unit's capabilities and have officers hellbent on barbecuing them by calling down unnecessary artillery strikes on top of their heads. Any downtime will be spent patching up Iraqi children you've accidentally shot. Watching the marines' ongoing ordeal, viewers might start to feel a sneaking sympathy for characters who were quite unlikeable an episode or two ago.Say Yes to the DressDiscovery Home & Health, 7.30pmAn average fly-on-the-fitting-room-wall series about a bridal boutique in Manhattan. Lumbered as I am with a stumpy little Y chromosome, I've never quite understood the obsession with all things wedding-related. More romantic viewers might like it, though.

© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home