1. Queen of the Nile TV1, Sunday, 7.30pm
Former Ab Fab star Joanna Lumley journeys the Nile, this week heading into the deserts of Northern Sudan.
2. Lucky Miles Maori TV, Sunday, 8.30pm
Surprisingly light and funny story about three figures, “boat people”, left on the West Australian seaboard.
3. Avatar Sky Movies, Sunday, 8.30pm
Massive box office smash about a futuristic war in which humans attempt to colonise an alien race.
Television is unlikely to provide any relief this week for the Ebenezer Scrooges among us.
From this weekend, when TV2 starts airing a stream of quite possibly the lamest Yuletide stories in existence, until sometime around New Year, hardly a night will pass without a Christmas cliché filling our screens.
Among those to be avoided at all costs are Santa Claus 3 (TV2, Sunday, 7.30pm) Santa Baby 2 (TV2, Tuesday, noon), Jingle All The Way (TV3, Thursday, 7.30pm) The Night Before The Night Before Christmas (TV2, Thursday, noon), and Santa Buddies (TV2, 1pm).
For all that, however, there are many highlights to look forward to, and particularly on Christmas Eve, when viewers are treated to several locally-made ‘specials’, including The New Zealand Variety Show (TV1, 9pm), 7 Days of Christmas (TV3, 9.30pm) and AotearoHa! Dai’s Xmas Special (TV3, 10.30pm).
Also on Christmas Eve, cooking expert Jamie Oliver hosts a culinary special (TV1, 4.30pm), British comedian Graham Norton drops in with some seasonal cheer (TV3, 8.30pm) and, from Kings College in Cambridge, comes the beautifully traditional Festival Of Nine Lessons and Carols (TV1, midnight).
Yet if Christmas encourages us to embrace the old and familiar, one of the most eagerly awaited shows on Thursday evening will remain the Vicar of Dibley Christmas Special (TV1, 8pm), starring the irrepressible Dawn French.
It is the first of three VOD Christmas specials and never disappoints, even after 14 years, as French’s character Geraldine Granger accepts no less than four dinner invitations before turning down a marriage proposal.
But if it’s not your cup of tea, you don’t have to look far for an option. The Middle (TV2, 8pm) also has a Christmas theme, as does the corresponding movie on C4, Big, starring Tom Hanks.
It’s always the same at this time of the year – spoilt for choice. Merry Christmas.
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