WEEK 39: Saturday 26 September - Friday 2 October 2009

Factual - The Hotel Inspector, Saturday 26 September, 7.30pm A new series of The Hotel Inspector starts tonight at 7.30pm on TV ONE, with a new look, and a new host. Renowned hotelier Alex Polizzi is the daughter of Olga Polizzi, the granddaughter of Lord Forte and niece of Sir Rocco Forte, and an award-winning hotelier. She has all the industry experience and authority needed to turn flagging hotels into profitable ventures.

Polizzi trained at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, worked for Marco Pierre White at the Criterion, and has done stints at Rocco Forte hotels in Cardiff, Rome, St Petersburg, as well as setting up her mother's hotel, Tresanton in Cornwall. Her mission remains the same for this well-established format - casting fresh and expert eyes over a number of failing hotels and bringing them up to her impeccably high standards of excellence.

"Too many people go into the hotel business thinking it's going to be an easy option, but it is the toughest job to get right, and make money," Polizzi says. "For me, great service should start with the first smile you get when you check in - and that costs nothing."

She brings a practical intelligence and fiery Italian temperament to bear on every level of the hotel trade. With her straight-talking and practical advice, Polizzi hopes to turn them into successful and profitable ventures and use the experience gained through her current role as proprietor of the Hotel Endsleigh in Devon (recently voted the best rural retreat in the UK) to advise these ailing businesses.

Polizzi can't believe some of the hotels she visits. From staffing to menus, from dcor to hygiene, no stone is left unturned in her desire for improvement.

Frustrated by the foolish mistakes owners make, Polizzi says she was surprised at how the hoteliers took her advice. "It fascinated me because all these people have asked me to come in and give them a hand, and actually I do have quite a bit of knowledge, but nobody likes being told that they're doing something wrong. They have a million excuses for why they're doing it their way."

Episode one sees chaos and confusion bring a once grand hotel to the brink of disaster. Reputedly the oldest hotel in Wales, The Castle of Brecon was once a glamorous destination for the rich and famous. Neglected for decades, the 43-bedroom hotel is now owned by Leon Ricci and his Russian wife Natasha. With no previous experience in the hotel industry, the couple bought the hotel on a whim. One year later, The Castle was costing them 40,000 a month to keep open; had lost almost all its staff; and was receiving reviews so bad that Leon likened reading them to a knife being plunged into his heart.

Drama - Sunday Theatre: Eyewitness - The Danielle Cable Story, Sunday 27 September, 8.30pm Danielle Cable's life changed forever on May 19, 1996. While driving herself and her fianc, Stephen Cameron, she inadvertently cut off a Land Rover Discovery, which then forced them to stop. The man and Cameron had words; a fight ensued and the man fatally stabbed Stephen and fled.

Starring Bill Paterson (Doctor Zhivago) and Joanne Froggatt (Coronation Street and Bad Girls), tonight's Sunday Theatre: Eyewitness - The Danielle Cable Story, is based on the real-life story of the teenage girl who pays a personal price for justice (at 8.30pm on TV ONE).

Following the death of her boyfriend, the subsequent court case leads her into a terrifying life as she fights for justice against his murderer, shady gangland leader Kenneth Noye. Cable's evidence plays a crucial part in convicting the notorious underworld figure responsible for the ruthless murder of her boyfriend. But with a contract out on her life, she is forced to take on a secret identity, leaving her family and old life behind.

Joanne Froggatt rose to the challenge of the role of Danielle Cable, saying it was an amazing part to play: "Danielle is a year older then me in real life. She was 17 when Stephen was murdered and I was only 16, so at that time I wasn't really aware what was going on in the world. When I read the script I thought what a horrible and amazing thing to happen to somebody, especially somebody that young. As I am pretty much the same age, I thought 'God, how would I have coped with all that?' It's such a tragic story and I really wanted to do it."

Froggatt says she tried to put herself in Cable's shoes, imagining what life was like after the incident and the four years inbetween the murder to the trial. "What happened to her in that four years wouldn't happen to most people in a lifetime - that much stress and heartache."

As part of her research, Froggatt met Danielle Cable, who is still under the Witness Protection Scheme. "I don't know what I was expecting when I met her, whether I was expecting her to be some shivering wreck or something, but she was just so down to earth and so normal. She looks very different now as well, and you would just never guess that she has been through all of this. It helped as we got on really well - she is somebody I would choose as a friend.

"It was really lovely to get a feel for her and meet her. It helped to relate it to a real story. It's such an extraordinary story that if someone had just written it you would think 'that's a bit unbelievable really', but it did actually happen."

Movie - U-571, Monday 28 September, 8.30pm In 1942, Hitler's U-Boats brought war to the United States. Unknown to the American public, massive Allied shipping losses were occurring up and down the East coast. Unable to crack the U-boat radio codes, the US Navy struggled blindly against the German onslaught.

Set against the backdrop of World War II, U-571 is a fictional tale about a daring mission to capture a top secret Nazi coding device from a German submarine (tonight at 8.30pm on TV ONE).

Starring Matthew McConaughey (A Time To Kill), Bill Paxton (Big Love), Jon Bon Jovi (No Looking Back) and Harvey Keitel (The Piano), U-571 was inspired by a composite of events that transpired during the 'Battle of the Atlantic' and intended as a memorial to those who served.

McConaughey says the role in U-571 came at a time when he was looking for an action film that was character-driven. "I got talking with Jonathan [Mostow], and I really became intrigued with the idea of working with him on this picture.

"It's a mission film and it became apparent that if we just did our job as actors, the action is inherent in the story which is exciting. I play a good leader who loves his country. It's my character's greatest strength and also his Achilles heel."

Paxton, who also starred in the box office hits Titanic, Twister and Apollo 13, says he's always loved historical films: "To play a captain of a United States submarine in World War II is a great honour. A ship's captain is ultimately the man responsible, and my character is a mentor to Matthew's character."

U-571 screens tonight at 8.30pm on TV ONE.

Factual - Real Life: Dawn Porter Extreme Wife, Tuesday 29 September, 9.30pm Journalist Dawn Porter has had plenty of boyfriends, and even a few girlfriends, but no-one she can imagine uttering those immortal words, 'til death us do part'. On Real Life: Dawn Porter Extreme Wife, Porter begins to wonder if traditional marriage is the only way; and explores a number of alternatives (tonight at 9.30pm on TV ONE).

Porter goes on a number of unique journeys in search of the most extreme ways women today find love and live with men. On the second instalment of Dawn Porter Extreme Wife, Porter gives viewers a rare glimpse inside the mysterious world of Geishadom.

Porter gains access to train as a geisha under the strict tutelage of a renowned madam in Japan's famous Kyoto district. After visiting the raunchier low-rent geishas outside Kyoto, she immerses herself in the real thing. Undergoing a physical transformation and a series of gruelling challenges, Porter is allowed to entertain and please top clients - without embarrassing her geisha trainers.

Before entering the world of Geishadom, Porter's idea of geisha girls is all fun and games. She says geishas are the ultimate party girls: "They get to dress up in beautiful clothes, be the funny girl, be the pretty girl, entertain all the time. From what I can gather, they don't go to bed until one or two o'clock in the morning because they're just at parties all the time. It sounds amazing."

However, as Porter is trained in the art of geisha, she begins to uncover how difficult life really is for the women of Kyoto. Kneeling is even a strain on Porter and after a smack on the behind, and a meeting with her first client, she starts to contemplate whether she has made a wise decision.

"This is really scary, he's much older and couldn't be further from my type, what's more, I feel ghastly. I'm starting to think to live the geisha dream, these girls pay a heavy price," she says.

On her journey Porter also debunks some of the titillating myths about geishas, and uncovers some of equally strange truths about this shadowy world.

In subsequent episodes Porter investigates and exposes the booming mail order bride industry in Russia and Ukrain; and goes inside a Mormon town in Arizona to live with polygamous husbands and wives.

Local - Fair Go Ad Awards, Wednesday 30 September, 7.30pm It's one of the most popular shows on the TV calendar, with almost three quarters of a million people watching last year, but the 2009 Fair Go Ad Awards promises to be even better with the addition of a new interactive element, a retrospective, and a nearly nude Kevin Milne (tonight at 7.30pm on TV ONE).

Viewers were asked to record themselves singing their favourite advertising jingle and send it in to the Fair Go team, the video deemed to be the best will be played during the hour-long special on Wednesday 30 September.

Viewers recorded their own version of classics such as the Chesdale Cheese; Huntley & Palmers; and Wouldn't It Be Nice If The World Was Cadbury jingles and posted them on Facebook. While anyone wanting to rate the jingles could go to Fair Go's Facebook page at www.Facebook.com.

As always, the team will be announcing the Best and Worst Ads of 2009, and the winners of the student advertising competition. This year Primary and Intermediate School students were asked to sell a time travel holiday, while Secondary School students needed to sell an unpopular school subject.

But that's not all, reporter Hannah Wallis has been researching how advertising has changed over the years by looking at old ads from iconic Kiwi brands such as Tip Top, Mitre 10, Griffins and others in her special advertising retrospective.

Perhaps the biggest talking point of this year's Fair Go Ad Awards will be an unclothed Kevin Milne. The Fair Go frontman will be wearing a suit, but in keeping with the current Air New Zealand ad it will be painted on.

To see more, be watching the Fair Go Ad Awards on TV ONE at 7:30pm, Wednesday 30 September.

Documentary - Real Crime: Killer On The Run, Wednesday 30 September, 9.30pm On Boxing Day 2003, David Bieber murdered PC Ian Broadhurst. PC Broadhurst was the first police officer to be shot dead on the United Kingdom mainland for ten years, and his death provoked huge media coverage and a massive man hunt.

But it wasn't just in the UK where Bieber was wanted. Half a world away in Florida he was wanted for the killing of a fellow body builder and for the attempted murder of a former girlfriend eight years earlier.

Real Crime: Killer On The Run (tonight at 9.30pm on TV ONE) shows the story of Bieber, who had fled the US by assuming the identity of a dead child - Nathan Wayne Coleman. For eight years he had been one of 'America's Most Wanted' criminals. Now he was one of Britain's too, and all signs were showing he was trying to escape again.

PC Neil Roper was on duty with Broadhurst when they came across Bieber. He says when the pair got to work, they were expecting a reasonably quiet bank holiday day. When they spotted a black BMW with what looked like a fake tax disc, they decided to do a routine check.

Roper says, "It was a case of talking to [the driver]. If it had of been all right the tax disc, we would have probably carried on and gone on our merry way. We got out of car and had a look at the tax disc, and Ian [Broadhurst] asked him to come and sit back in the car. He put the window down and put him behind him."

PC Roper then radioed the control room who confirmed their suspicions that the car was stolen. Bieber told them his name was Nathan Wayne Coleman, and the constables told him they were arresting him. Feeling uncomfortable with his behaviour, Roper radioed for back-up.

The control room sent out the nearest officer available, PC James Banks, and while Roper left the vehicle to help the recovery truck take the BMW away, he left his colleague, PC Broadhurst alone inside with the increasingly anxious driver. When Roper returned to deal with the handcuffs, Bieber pulled out a gun - of the five shots fired two hit Ian Broadhurst, the second, at point blank range as he lay on the ground; Roper was shot twice in the back; and Banks once, but remarkably the bullet hit his radio, saving his life. Bieber fled, and a full scale murder hunt was underway.

Real Crime: Killer On The Run follows the hunt for David Bieber; his attempts to avoid capture; and once jailed his plans to escape.

Even now from his prison cell, escape is at the forefront of Bieber's mind with elaborate plans that include helicopters, guns and even cosmetic surgery. He is on high security and known as one of Britain's most dangerous prisoners.

ONE Sport - ONE Sport This Week, Saturday 27 September, from 1pm ONE Sport coverage this week includes:

Sunday 27 September, 1pm: ONE Sport: Red Bull X-Fighters Highlights from Round 4 of the 2009 World Series held in Madrid. Sunday 27 September, 2pm: ONE Sport: Snowboarding - Burton NZ Open Hayley Holt and Robett Hollis present highlights of the Slopestyle event at this year's Burton NZ Open, featuring the worlds best snowboarders going head-to-head at Cardrona. Sunday 27 September, 2.30pm: ONE Sport: Powerbuilt Tools Motorsport Geoff Bryan presents highlights from Round 13 of the Moto GP from San Marino Italy, action from Leg 1 of Rally Nelson, Round 5 of the New Zealand Rally Championship, plus a preview to the 2009 Australasian Super X Series.

Movie - Alexander, Saturday 26 September, 8.30pm Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie star in Oliver Stone's epic film about Alexander the Great.

Oliver Stone's Alexander is based on the true story of one of history's most luminous and influential leaders (tonight at 8.30pm on TV ONE). Alexander (Colin Farrell) led his virtually invincible Greek, Macedonian, and later Eastern armies through 22,000 miles of sieges and conquests in just eight years, and by the time of his death at age 32, had forged an empire unlike any the world had ever seen.

The film takes a bold look at Alexander's life and his relationships with his mother, Olympias (Angelina Jolie), his father, Philip (Val Kilmer), and his lifelong friend and battle commander, Hephaistion (Jared Leto).

Colin Farrell leapt at the chance to play Alexander. "Oliver [Stone] wrote an incredible script," says the actor. "I never in my life read anything as dark and as light, and as full of potential as that script. It was, very simply, the best I had ever read in my life.

"Alexander was a man who would stop at absolutely nothing to achieve his dreams," Farrell continues, "which I truly believe were based on much more than greed and the desire for conquest. All his life, Alexander was looking for answers, and I also think that he was looking for love all his life. Alexander had an almost insane passion for everything he did. He could have lived a fine life in Macedonia in his palace, taxing his people and enjoying the luxury befitting a king. But there was a hole in his chest that couldn't be filled, and his search for answers took him to the ends of the earth."

Central to Alexander's character are the expectations and deeply held beliefs put on him by his mother, the intense Olympias. Jolie was attracted to the challenge of bringing to life a woman who has intrigued readers of history for centuries. "I think you have to love every character you play," says Jolie, "and understand them or at least support their flaws. If you think they're crazy or just wrong, you can't play them with conviction."

Jolie drew on her own experiences as a mother to get to the heart of Olympias. "I simply saw Olympias as a mother. A lot of people say that she was insane, but I don't know that I wouldn't do exactly the same for my son. That might sound scary, but in 330 BC, when people were being murdered left and right, it was a harder way of living and so Olympias was a hard, sometimes frightening woman. But in the end, she wanted Alexander to be as great and as strong as he could be, and I identify with that."

Oliver Stone's Alexander screens tonight at 8.30pm on TV ONE.