WEEK 47: Saturday 21 November - Friday 27 November 2009

Local Drama - Sunday Theatre: Piece Of My Heart, Sunday 22 November, 8.30pm: The Qantas Award-winning local Sunday Theatre: Piece Of My Heart has an encore screening tonight at 8.30pm on TV ONE. A finalist in seven categories at the recent Qantas Film and Television Awards, Emily Barclay and Keisha Castle-Hughes, won Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance for a Supporting Actress respectively, while it also took top honours for production design.

Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), Emily Barclay (In My Father's Den), Rena Owen (Once Were Warriors) and Annie Whittle (The World's Fastest Indian), Piece Of My Heart unveils one of New Zealand's secret histories. The local drama tells the story of Flora Thornley, who gave up a daughter for adoption as a 17-year-old. She has never told anyone, including her husband and two adult sons. But she has contacted her daughter for the first time, only to receive a brutal rejection. Devastated, Flora flees her home and runs to the only person she thinks will understand - Kat, who was her closest friend when they were both in a home for unmarried mothers. But they haven't seen each other since and their lives have been very different. Kat's place isn't the safe haven Flora seeks. Also living there is Ani, a stroppy teenager two weeks away from giving birth and in complete denial. As Flora writes to her daughter, explaining how and why a woman could give away her baby, we go back to 1968 and learn what really happened. In the present, Flora has to face up to the damage caused by a life of deception as she tries to reconnect with Kat, deal with Ani and tell husband Mike the truth. Keisha Castle-Hughes and Rena Owen play the past and present Kat, and Emily Barclay and Annie Whittle the past and present Flora. Director Fiona Samuel adapted the drama from the 1995 novel Does This Make Sense To You? by playwright Renee Taylor, which is a fiction based on what often happened to unmarried New Zealand women who fell pregnant in years past. Samuel says the subject struck a chord with her and the actresses. "It seemed almost incredible that such things had happened here, in this country, such a short time ago - babies taken from their mothers and adopted by strangers, and the young women who had gone through pregnancy and birth only to 'give their children away' just expected to keep quiet and deal with it." Samuel says such situations seem cruel and deeply unnatural, but she knows from first-hand experience how often it happened: "My youngest brother was adopted into my family at 10 days old, when I was seven. I remember vividly bringing him home from the hospital." Total silence shrouded teenage pregnancies in the 1960s. Annie Whittle remembers girls disappearing from her school classroom for months at a time, and then suddenly reappearing with no explanation. "Flora's story felt very familiar to me," she says. "I am also sure that the telling of it will be revelatory for many, and prove cathartic for those who may find comfort in having these events aired at last." Keisha Castle-Hughes agrees. "As an actor and a mother, I can't imagine anything more hurtful, something that would completely destroy me and my identity. Society didn't allow these women to grieve, or mourn or move through the emotions of losing a child." She adds: "I hope this story helps women who went through this; who lost children they would have loved so much and who were deeply affected by the experience - this is ultimately for them." For Emily Barclay, acting in a drama that she saw as the "secret history" of New Zealand life brought a deep sense of commitment to the women it represented. "Flora's world changes so irrevocably and the effect this has on her is devastating," she says. "Going through that as an actor made me feel so much heartache for the women who experienced this, and gave me a sense of personal responsibility that I think everyone involved had that we really had to do the story justice."

Local - Undercover, Monday 23 November, 8.30pm: What is the price of living a lie? Undercover, a three-part local documentary series, explores the human cost of the controversial New Zealand Police Undercover Programme, as told by former agents (tonight at 8.30pm on TV ONE).

In 1974, the New Zealand Police created its most effective weapon yet - the undercover police officer. Tasked with living as an insider deep within the criminal world, these agents would make friends with society's lawbreakers - drug dealers, thieves, murderers and gang members - in order to secure enough evidence to convict. Successful operations would result in hundreds of convictions. But for many agents, life in the criminal underworld became addictive. Undercover cops have provided material for countless movies and TV dramas. The real stories are just as gripping. Undercover goes behind the headlines to find out what it's really like to work as an undercover agent. These are tales from the criminal underworld as told by the people who lived in it - and living a lie among dangerous criminals is not for the faint-hearted. The series features candid interviews with former agents and their operators, as well as dramatic stylisations of key events. These are stories of friendships made and broken, betrayals, frustrations - and the agents' ultimate dedication to catching criminals. Agents' stories range from those of disillusionment and dissatisfaction at the role of the New Zealand Police, to those for whom the Undercover Programme was the pinnacle of their careers, and who still believe sending agents undercover is the only way to catch some of our most wanted criminals. "Making the show has been an incredible insight into the reality of living a lie. Many of the stories we have heard have surprised and shocked us," says producer Alex Clark. "But in all the stories, we have been inspired by the tremendous courage and strength these individuals showed to a cause they often had stopped believing in. It's a privilege to be able to bring these stories to the TV ONE audience." Episode one explores the early years of undercover work in New Zealand, when the focus was the rapidly rising drug problem. Using candid interviews with former agents and their operators, along with dramatic stylisations of key stories, Undercover reveals what it really means to work as an undercover agent.

Documentary - Real Life: World's Smallest Muscleman, Tuesday 24 November, 9.30pm: Twenty-year-old Romeo Dev from India is just two feet nine inches tall and weighs the same as a one-year-old child. But he has overcome his condition to gain international attention by being the World's smallest muscleman.

Real Life: World's Smallest Muscleman (tonight at 9.30pm on TV ONE) shows the story of Romeo Dev - one of only a few hundred known primordial dwarves on the planet. Dev has spent much of his life house-bound, protected by his parents, Rakesh Bala and Swantanter, from the cruel taunts of an unforgiving world. Rakesh Bala says, "Here in India people make a fuss, they make fun, if we took him outside people would make fun of him. This is why we used to keep him at home." But Dev says it doesn't matter what size he is: "Whether I am big or small, there is no difference because I am fine and happy." Behind closed doors, he spent his time exercising and dancing to the tunes of his favourite Punjabi rapper, Jazzy B. Studying his style and moves, he even changed his name to 'Romeo', after one of Jazzy B's song titles. News of his dancing skills spread and today, Dev is famous throughout India for entertaining crowds with his dancing on stage and on television shows. Having forged himself a career as a stage performer, and vanquished his tormentors, Dev began a new activity that pushed his fame to another level. Explaining how he started bodybuilding, he says, "I had a friend who used to train and he told me to start using dumbbells. I said 'I can't because my body won't develop'. He told me to try it and I learnt from him. I said 'is that how they become round?', and he said 'yes'. I kept doing it, and honestly the muscle just came out. This muscle just became like stone. It set like stone." He received international media attention in 2008 when India's version of the Guiness book of records - the Limca Records - recognised him as 'The World's Smallest Bodybuilder', and an opportunity to take his talents abroad developed. Watch Real Life: World's Smallest Muscleman to see how Dev came to be a rising star, and follow him and his parents as they travel to America to see if his talents could bring him global success.

Drama - Coronation Street, Wednesday 25 November, 7.30pm: Coronation Street catch-ups kick off this week, with fans getting a chance to see an extra episode of their favourite show on Wednesday's at 7.30pm.

This week, Ken and Deirdre get back on track, while Steve and Michelle are at loggerheads again. Financial pressure is mounting on Kevin; Molly's lost her engagement ring; Teresa's poisoning is nearly uncovered; and Tina and David continue to cause trouble for each other. Michelle Keegan says she thinks David and her character Tina are having problems because David is too immature for Tina, and very insecure. "He has his suspicions of Tina because of the length of time she has been spending on her laptop," she explains. "He manages to crack the password code to unlock her computer by going through Tina's personal diary. Tina has stayed friends with her ex- boyfriend Matt - he is a little bit older than her and is away at university. She has been emailing him now and again, and David has hacked into her emails and read them. He does not like what he reads and is really jealous. Tina feels uncomfortable that David does not trust her." She says, when Tina discovers from Darryl that David was reading her private emails, she goes ballistic. She confronts him and when he attempts to justify why he did it, Tina wastes no time. She dumps David immediately and moves out. "Tina feels betrayed and violated, she really does not want to split with David, but I think she feels the need to because he has made it clear that he does not trust her, and she cannot carry on with the relationship if he feels that way," Keegan says. Gail and Tina's dad Joe try to patch things up between the pair with a causal bowling outing, but Tina is only reminded of David's jealousy when he can't cope with her getting chatty to the barman. Later, Tina gets into trouble because of David hanging around and distracting her at work, so she heads to the salon where David is already in the bad books with his boss for being late and off sick. Tina proceeds to sabotage everything David does, while David is angry that Tina is being so petty. However, when the boss realises the troublesome customer is David's girlfriend, he throws her out and sacks David. Keegan says Tina started to realise how much she missed David when he began hanging around the kebab shop all the time, in an attempt to see her. "He's there when she starts work, he's there when she finishes work. He really does put up a fight for her. After a while she realises that he does care about her and that she misses him, he makes her laugh and they have fun when they are together." Watch Coronation Street - Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm on TV ONE.

Factual - Real Crime: Paradise Lost, Wednesday 25 November, 9.30pm: An exotic locale, sunny skies, and the new life abroad may sound like heaven, but beware. Danger lurks behind those swaying palms, and a new lease on life may wind up being deadly.

New TV ONE series Real Crime: Paradise Lost shows the tales of foreign dreams that became bone-chilling nightmares (tonight at 9.30pm). From a Gambian hotel-business that is booming until its new owner is swindled and jailed for a crime he did not commit; to a new life in Kenya doomed by voodoo, conspiracy, and horrible health care; or a storybook romance in Mexico that turns to child kidnap and threats of murder, the stories capture what it's like to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - and a long way from home. Tonight's first episode follows Nikki Roberts from her home in England to East Africa, following the death of her fianc. Propelled by her dreams of owning a nightclub and of a new life in paradise, she moves to Watamu, on the magnificent Kenyan coast. Using the funds from her life insurance settlement, she immediately sets about building the life she has dreamt of. Although she almost immediately finds new love, Roberts also falls victim to a dark and sinister side of Kenya, few tourists ever witness. Robert's business efforts are troubled from the start. She is first conned out of thousands of pounds, only to become subjected to bone-chilling voodoo targeted at her successful nightclub. She is eventually forced to flee the town, after being betrayed by a business friend who it turns out is behind a campaign to steal her business. Then when she resettles further up the coast, a pregnant and penniless Robert endures a painful and humiliating botched caesarean. After a three-month long convalescence, she opens another nightclub, only to find her success again hampered by voodoo attacks and corruption. The attacks finally culminate in her being thrown in jail on trumped-up charges, only to find her business being run by the same corrupt officials who imprisoned her.

Factual - MasterChef Australia, Friday 27 November, 7.30pm: MasterChef Australia will crown their first winner in tonight's two-hour finale on TV ONE, at 7.30pm. The final two contestants will battle it out in an action-packed three-rounds - and will be joined by all of the contestants previously eliminated.

Round one is a taste test, round two an invention test and round three a pressure test, with each contestant scoring points based on the skills they have learnt throughout the series. The pair will not only need to impress MasterChef's three-person judging panel - George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston - but guest judges will also be giving them a helping hand. With no prior professional cooking experience, these foodies have come a long way and have serious goals they want to fulfill. But who will take home the title? Missed an episode of MasterChef Australia - full episodes are available online. Go to tvnz.co.nz and click the 'ondemand' button.

Movie - Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King, Saturday 21 November, 8.30pm: The conclusion of the journeys at the heart of JRR Tolkien's trilogy, are brought to life tonight in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (at 8.30pm on TV ONE). Produced, co-written and directed by Academy Award-winning Kiwi, Peter Jackson, the story sees the epic, heroic quest of men, their relationships and rivalries - and reveals how through courage, commitment, and determination even the smallest people can change the world.

Sauron's forces have attacked Gondor's capital of Minas Tirith and the once great kingdom has never been in more desperate need of its King. But will Aragorn find the strength to become what he was born to be and rise to meet his destiny? As Gandalf desperately tries to move the broken forces of Gondor to act, Thoden unites the warriors of Rohan to join in the fight. Even with their courage and passionate loyalty, the forces of men - with Eowyn and Merry hidden among them - are no match against the swarming legions of enemies raining down on the kingdom. Eowyn (Miranda Otto In Her Skin) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan Lost) are left behind at the Rohan outpost of Dunharrow - Eowyn, because she is female, and Merry, because he is a Hobbit. Jackson says, "Eowyn is very dissatisfied with her role as a female in the land of Rohan. She has a warrior spirit. She wants to defend her people. She wants to defend her uncle, who is the King, about whom she is fiercely passionate. So, we see her in a rather devious way, sneak off to battle; and, of course, she must confront the true horrors of battle once she's in the thick of it." Despite their losses, the fellowship charges forward in the greatest battle of their time, united in their singular goal to keep Sauron distracted, and give Frodo a chance to complete his quest. Travelling across treacherous enemy lands, Frodo must rely increasingly on Sam and Gollum as 'The Ring' continues to test his allegiance, and ultimately, his humanity. "In addition to the huge battles, you have these intimate stories. You have a massive war on an external level, and on an internal level, you have two little Hobbits, Frodo and Sam, on their hands and knees literally crawling up a mountain," explains Jackson. "The relationship between those two characters is the heart of the movie." When The Return of the King was released, executive producers Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne, reflected on the immensity of Peter Jackson's achievement. "Michael and I had made a leap of faith on some levels," Shaye comments. "Films were not made this way - with three instalments shot back-to-back. But we had a lot of faith in Peter's commitment, and our faith was ultimately rewarded. We rolled the dice and it came up sevens. Peter has made three extraordinary motion pictures."