Channel hop
For many, a daily dose of poster advertisements comes with the commute to work. Recently you might have noticed - amid the usual parade of pale, bikini-clad actresses plugging 'miracle' weight-
loss programmes - posters for a local butterfly- photography competition sponsored by an international oil company.
Seeing this flourescent-lit call to nature in a windowless, air-conditioned MTR tunnel, it struck me that joining the Shell butterfly club might be as ironic as taking survival tips from a dodo. But just as our minds glaze over in the face of things that are too obvious, the opposite occurs at a point of paradox - perhaps the place where two things seem opposed is where we stand to learn the most.
That, in a nutshell, is the premise for A Dodo's Guide to Surviving Extinction (Animal Planet; tonight, at 8pm). Narrated in the anthropomorphic voice of the Mauritian flightless bird that was wiped out 350 years ago by a rat infestation, introduced by visiting sailors, the 'guide' offers 10 tongue-in-cheek dos and don'ts for any species bent on survival. The show successfully wraps its chilling message in captivating shots of nature and goofy voice-overs, until the punch-line is delivered in rule No9: 'Don't be too clever.' According to Professor Michael Boulter of the Natural History Museum in Britain, '[Human] intelligence is not the kind that is compatible with nature ... Like all [failed] species, nature will see to it that it becomes extinct.'
Yikes. Fortunately, there's a silver lining - and if you watch long enough, you'll find out what it is.
British screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Queen) takes on the subject of opposing forces in society in The Last King of Scotland (Star Movies; today, at 9pm, see highlights) and Longford (HBO Signature; Friday, at 10pm). The latter, a made-for-TV film based on real events, takes a look at the unlikely friendship between Lord Longford (Jim Broadbent; Moulin Rouge!), a member of the British cabinet and a devout Catholic, and Myra Hindley (Samantha Morton; Elizabeth: The Golden Age; right with Broadbent), a high-profile child-murderess serving out a life sentence in prison.
The first 20 minutes of Longford limp slowly along like the lazy 'r's in Broadbent's affected speech impediment, saved only by the scene-stealing performance of Andy Serkis (Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) as Hindley's lover and psychopathic partner-in-crime, Ian Brady. Things start to pick up as Longford's intentions are called into question. Meanwhile, he begins to doubt the sincerity of Hindley's repentance. Eventually, Broadbent is able to push through his character's eccentric demeanour and bring to life a quiet fire that lights up the ending.
Lastly, those who swore to fight for their country turn against a system that has repaid them with nothing but war wounds in The Kill Point (Fox Crime; Tuesdays, at 10pm). Rogue ex-US Marines, led by Jake 'Mr Wolf' Mendez (John Leguizamo; Summer of Sam), are forced to take hostages when a bank heist in Pittsburg goes wrong. Captain Horst Cali (Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block fame), a police negotiator, hunkers down to negotiate as the action builds over eight episodes. The show is watchable but, despite his wolf's clothing, Mendez seems too much of a sheep to have landed his former platoon buddies in such a mess in the first place.
