Wed Jan 31

[Seven/8:30pm] Heroes. Premiere. CHAPTER ONE ‘GENESIS’ Pace yourself for this action drama. Not everything will be readily understood in the first episode but there are enough bread crumbs to hook you in, and to make it quite clear that this will be a smart, slick series.

[Seven/9:40pm] Prison Break. New Series. The boys are on the run. Special FBI Agent Mahone is brought in to track Wentworth and co. Played by William Fichtner, he’s not particularly likeable. Funny how the good guys are bad and the bad guys are good on this show. Basically looks as tho Series 2 is the FBI vs Wentworth. I think bitch Guard Bellick is gonna be pissed.

[Seven/10:40pm] Ultimate Force. New Series. DEAD IS FOREVER. Wait a minute these eps re from 2003, no wonder it didn’t ring many bells. Aren’t we moving back into prime time ratings now?

[Nine/8:30pm] Close to Home. “David and Goliath.”

[Nine/9:30pm] Men in Trees. “The Buddy System”

[ABC/10:10pm] The Kumars at No. 42. New Series. The indomitable Kumars return to ABC TV for a sixth series and Sanjeev Bhaskar continues to fancy himself as the world’s greatest chat show host. Bringing friends around to his parents’ house is always a risky business – inviting celebrities is truly a gamble. Sanjeev remains totally out of his depth as a chat show host and is embarrassed by the on-going domestic interruptions at No. 42. Sanjeev’s attempts to interview the celebrity guests each week are constantly interrupted by his parents and grandmother who hijack the interview and subject guests to their own questions. This week on The Kumars at No. 42 the delightful Joanna Lumley and legendary jockey Frankie Dettori arrive at the house for a full interrogation by the Kumar family. Other guests in this series include Ronnie Corbett, Alice Cooper, Tracey Emin, Jane Seymour, Elvis Costello, George Hamilton and David Hasselhoff.

[Ten/7:30pm] Oprah Winfrey Presents: Dr Oz’s Weight Loss Secrets

[Ten/8:30pm] Medium. New Series. See Review.

[SBS/8:30pm] The Power Of Nightmares – Baby It’s Cold Outside – Should we be worried about the threat from organised terrorism or is it simply a phantom menace being used to stop society from falling apart? This three-part documentary series explores how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion. According to this series, at the heart of the story are two groups – the American neo-conservatives and the radical Islamists. Both were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. These two groups have changed the world but not in the way either intended. Together they created today’s nightmare vision of an organised terror network – a fantasy that politicians then found restored their power and authority in a disillusioned age. Part one of the program looks at the origins of the neo-conservatives and the radical Islamists in the 1950s. The rise of the politics of fear began in 1949 with two men whose radical ideas would inspire the attack of 9/11 and influence the neo-conservative movement that now dominates Washington. Both these men believed that modern liberal freedoms were eroding the bonds that held society together. The two movements they inspired set out, in their different ways, to rescue their societies from this decay. But in an age of growing disillusion with politics, the neo-conservatives turned to fear in order to pursue their vision. They created a hidden network of evil run by the Soviet Union that only they could see. (From the UK, in English and Arabic, English subtitles) (Documentary Series) (Part 1) PG (Rpt) CC WS

[Ovation/7:00pm] Leo Schofield In Conversation With: Marcia Hines
[Ovation/7:30pm] Barry Manilow Live. A fantastic concert with classic Barry.