WEEK 5: Saturday 30 January - Friday 05 February 2010

TV2 starts the week off with another Jackie Chan comedy classic, the TV2 Saturday Blockbuster, Shanghai Knights, screening at 8.30pm. When Chon's (Chan) father is murdered, Chon and Roy (Owen Wilson, Wedding Crashers) travel to London with revenge on their minds.

TV2's Blockbuster Tuesday movie, Flightplan screens at 8.30pm. Flying from Berlin to New York, Kyle (Jodie Foster, Panic Room) faces every mother's worst nightmare when her six-year-old daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston), vanishes mid-flight. Also starring Peter Sarsgaard (Kinsey) and Erika Christensen (The Perfect Score). On Wednesday at 8.30pm, the second part of mini-series The Day Of The Triffids sees Masen (Dougray Scott, Bond) and his father attempt to clone a genetic mutation to sterilise the Triffids, amongst the relentless advance of the deadly plants, and the emergence of a despotic dictatorship.

Movie - Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium, Sunday 31 January, 7pm: Natalie Portman (Star Wars) and Academy Award-winner Dustin Hoffman (Stranger Than Fiction) star in TV2's Sunday Summer Blockbuster, Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium, about the strangest, most fantastic, most wonderful toy store in the world.

Mr Magorium (Hoffman) reigns over a tantalising toy haven in which everything inside literally comes to life - including the store itself - and where marvels of every imaginable, possible kind never cease - that is, until now. When the store's extraordinary 243 year-old proprietor, announces that he will at long last hand over the reigns of his wonder-expanding store to his unconfident young manager, Molly Mahoney (Portman), the store decides to throw an unusual tantrum. As a sceptical accountant named Henry (Jason Bateman, Hancock) comes in to audit the Legos and Lincoln Logs, not to mention the Whodathoughts and Whatchamacallits, the once sparkling, colour-saturated Emporium is suddenly embattled by mysterious changes. The playful toys are all still there, but they've turned gray and quiet - and only Mahoney and Henry can revive them if, with the help of a superdexterous nine year-old (Zach Mills, The Santa Claus 3: The Escape Claus), they can find the source of magic inside themselves. Writer/director Zach Helm, who recently came to the fore with his screenplay for the innovative, narrative-bending comedy Stranger Than Fiction, came up with the idea for Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium while working in a toy store part-time as he was completing university. "The toy store I worked at was similar in its eclecticism to Magorium's Emporium but was much, much smaller," recalls Helm. "Then, on one particularly slow, rainy afternoon, when nobody was coming into the store, I started writing in my journal. That's when I came up with the basic outline of a toy store owned by a 243-year-old man, a story that stayed in my notebook for a long, long time." "This movie is a cornucopia of all the things that I love and that I find exciting, thrilling and playful," sums up Helm. Producer Richard Gladstein adds: "The wonderful tone of the screenplay was amplified even more in the making of the movie - so that it remains very funny and heart-warming and poignant, but, most importantly, real. Even the most fantastical magic in the movie feels entirely real - so the Emporium becomes a place people can truly believe in."

Local Drama - Shortland Street Weekdays, 7pm: Tania Jeffries (Faye Smythe) gets her own back on Shortland Street this week, when she sets her ex-boyfriend Ben Goodall (Shaun Edwards-Brown) up for a fall. Still feeling hurt by Ben and her mother Yvonne's (Alison Quigan) relationship, Tania relishes the chance to make Ben sweat. But will she take her revenge one step too far?

Hurt and angry about Yvonne and Ben's deception, Tania is irritated to realise she must work alongside Ben. In ED (Emergency Department), Tania fails to properly listen to Ben's handover and consequently administers the incorrect medicine to a patient. Faye Smythe explains: "Tania initially blames Ben for the mix up, but when Maxwell calls her up on it she realises she's in the wrong. What she's going through at the moment is really hard, but she understands she'll have to pull her head in at work." The next time Tania deals with Ben in ED, she makes more of an effort to be civil. But when Ben provokes her, her blood starts to boil. "Ben's comment serves as a reminder of her hurt and pain," says Smythe. "So as a way of getting back at him, she manipulates the patient's daughter into making a formal complaint against Ben." Suffering a major knock in confidence, Ben begins to worry that he's not cut out for the job. Despite Yvonne's attempts to convince him otherwise, Ben's doubts that he is incapable of doing the job begin to get the better of him and he makes some serious mistakes. With Ben's career in jeopardy, has Tania finally got the payback she thinks he deserves? If you have missed an episode, full episodes of Shortland Street will be available free online 12 hours after the show has aired on TV2. Go to tvnz.co.nz and click the 'ondemand' button.

Reality - Hell's Kitchen, Tuesday 2 February, 7.30pm: If they can't stand the heat, they're in the wrong place, as Hell's Kitchen gets down to its final two chefs, tonight on TV2.

The two remaining contenders, Paula and Danny, prepare for their biggest challenge yet, in the penultimate show of the series. Hell's Kitchen is divided into two eateries, one for each finalist - and they not only have to create a winning menu, but design their restaurant as well. With everything on the line, Chef Ramsay sends them to the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City, where the winner will be running a restaurant, to meet their prospective boss for the first time. The developing restaurants in Hell's Kitchen are not left unattended, however - as Gordon Ramsay has another surprise for the finalists. "The next 24 hours are absolutely crucial," the tough-talking chef says. "We're off to Atlantic City to attend to some unfinished business - but there's a snag. We can't afford to leave the restaurant unattended. So I've brought in two very special advisors." Looking after the projects while the finalists are away will be their loved ones - Danny's father and girlfriend, and Paula's mother and sister. Although this latest twist comes as a surprise to Paula, she couldn't be more thrilled. "When I saw my mum and sister come out, I felt relieved, as I couldn't think of a better team," Paula says, as she braces herself for the finishing line in the culinary competition. "I came in here thinking that I was going to win this. I'm ready for this. I'm ready to start creating this restaurant." Fellow finalist Danny is similarly ecstatic to have made the final leg of the demanding contest. "The journey has been so incredible. This is it - this is what I came here for," he says. "I was the youngest contestant, and I'm the last man standing." However, with their families left to oversee their most crucial challenges yet, will Danny's overbearing girlfriend scupper his chances of winning?

Movie - Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End, Thursday 4 February, 7.30pm: Johnny Depp (Charlie And The Chocolate Factory), Orlando Bloom (Elizabethtown) and Keira Knightly (Bend It Like Beckham) come together for one last battle, in a titanic showdown that could eliminate the freedom-loving pirates from the seven seas forever, in the TV2 feature, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End.

It is a dark time as the Age of Piracy nears to a close. The terrifying ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, and its malevolent, vengeful Captain, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy, Notes On A Scandal) now roams the seven seas, destroying pirate ships without mercy. Will Turner (Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush, Elizabeth) embark on a desperate quest to gather the Nine Lords of the Brethren Court, their only hope to defeat Beckett, the Flying Dutchman, and his Armada. In an increasingly shaky alliance, they must travel to Singapore and confront Chinese pirate Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) to gain charts, and a ship, that will take them to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) who is trapped in Davy Jones' Locker. As betrayal piles upon betrayal, it becomes clear that Jack, Will, Elizabeth, Sao Feng, and Barbossa each have their own agenda, and no one can be trusted. Yet each must choose a side, and make their final alliances for one last battle. Screenwriter Terry Rossio says the personal struggle with morality is the overall theme of this feature. "We embrace the idea that all pirate movies are about moral ambiguity, and good people can be forced into circumstances wherein they do something bad." "So from the point of view of every character, they all have to go through that challenge, that transformation, facing their own ability to do something they're not comfortable with, and making really tough choices. In that sense, every character in the story has a villainous moment at some point." Johnny Depp was enthusiastic to pursue the development of likable villain, Captain Jack's journey in At World's End. "When we last saw Jack in Dead Man's Chest," Depp explains, "he was swatting his way into the mouth of Kraken, and when we pick him up again in this film he's in Davy Jones' Locker, which is kind of beyond the idea of purgatory, a kind of hell in which he's surrounded by himself. I thought it was a brilliant idea to take this guy and not have him face his demons, but rather the various sides of his personality." Screenwriter Ted Elliott adds: "It's an interesting idea that Jack Sparrow has an honest streak that will likely be his undoing."

Reality - American Idol, Friday 5 February, 8.30pm: TV2 has all the excitement from this year's auditions of American Idol, as the show arrives in Dallas, Texas.

Judges Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, and Randy Jackson are in the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Dallas, making more dreams come true - and breaking some hearts along the way - as they select the chosen few to receive a pass to the next stage of the competition in Hollywood. Also assessing the talent this week are two special guest judges - teen boyband sensation Joe Jonas, and comedian and singer Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), who will be keeping Ellen Degeneres' seat warm, until she joins the panel permanently during Hollywood week. Keeping the judges in check, and bringing you all the behind-the-scenes gossip, is host Ryan Seacrest. Fans of the show should make the most of judge Simon Cowell's barbed put-downs and straight-talking honesty this year, as the British pop mogul announced last week that, despite having a "fantastic time" on the show, this season of Idol will be his last. "I want to leave Idol this year bigger and better than it's ever been before," Cowell told a press conference. "Having already done the auditions, it feels fresh, it feels relevant. I like the contestants this year. This final year for me feels different. I never would have wanted to walk out when the show was number 21 in the ratings. You want to leave on a high." Cowell has no doubt that his departure will not spell the end for the show, which is consistently the most watched show in America. "I'm confident it will continue to be the number one show," he says. "Everyone is committed to keeping it that way." Peter Rice, the chairman of entertainment for the US network that makes the show, revealed that they are not rushing into a decision on replacing the popular judge. "We are not going to find a Simon clone to do what he does because he is one of a kind." Rice says. "We have to make sure the chemistry of the judges is as good as it can be."