THE comedy Drop Dead Fred (World, 9.35pm) had its genesis in screenwriter Anthony Fingleton's daughter's imagination. He must wish he had left it there. What began as a nice idea on paper turns into a tasteless nightmare on screen. The story is a handicap, and the picture suffers accordingly.
Despite the presence of a number of big names - Rik Mayall, who made everyone laugh in The Young Ones, Bridget Fonda, Tim Matheson and Carrie Fisher - the critics were universal in the opinion that this is a bit of a turkey.
Even an appealing performance from Phoebe Cates fails to salvage the mess. She is a repressed young woman who, as her life crumbles around her along with the film, is revisited by her imaginary childhood friend, a repulsive mischief-maker called Fred (Mayall).
YOU will have seen Wise Guys (Pearl, 9.30pm) before, in one form or another. This is another in the endless line of dumb but affable comedies about crooks who accidentally steal mob money. It's witless, it's less than charming and Danny DeVito must have wondered why on earth he bothered.
IN Psycho II (Pearl, 1.10am) Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is out of the local asylum and taking bookings once again at the Bates Motel, where guests check in, but rarely leave. Vera Miles also reprises her role in Hitchcock's legendary original. She is the sister of the woman who was killed in the infamous shower scene to the sound of the Bernard Hermann Orchestra.
Director Richard Franklin does a surprisingly solid job on what was Hollywood's most overdue sequel (13 years since Psycho ). He builds some terrific suspense, but blows it all by going for graphic gore at the end and tacking on a silly conclusion.
THE title says as much as you need to know about Obsessed With A Married Woman (STAR Plus, 2.00am). Jane Seymour is a magazine editor who has everything except some interest in her life. All that changes when she hires an enthusiastic young reporter with too many hormones.