Ever since the staggering success of Jaws, film-makers have been obsessed with dramas based on horrors lurking in the deep, especially if they're from Peter Benchley, the man who wrote the shark saga. Eels, octopuses, whales, jelly-fish, they've all had their day. The Beast (Pearl, 9.30pm) is a two-part mini-series from Benchley based around a seaside community which suddenly experiences a series of strange happenings at sea: an empty lifeboat with a razor-sharp claw in it is found, the mutilated remains of a sperm whale wash ashore, two divers disappear without trace. Inevitably, they discover a dangerous, hungry devil living in the deep and the beast has discovered a taste for human fare. You can't blame Benchley for sticking to his astonishingly successful formula, but the whole concept is dated and cliched. There's nothing even remotely frightening about long-limbed creatures crouching in the shadows and the special effects are totally unconvincing. It's about as frightening as falling into a bath tub of spaghetti. TVB Pearl has been feeling the impact of losing the rights to English soccer to Cable television. And so it should. Saturday evenings watching the highlights of the previous week's English matches was a regular fixture for many fans. Pearl's decision to replace it with French Football has been quickly abandoned amid much protestation and exclamation and European Football (Pearl, 6.20pm) slotted in the spot. A marginal improvement. The story of Prince (Pearl, 2.15pm), a dog who controls his owner's life, probably has an element of truth in it. The BBC film, written by British bratpack journalist Julie Burchill, is about a girl's desire to kill the Alsatian dog, Prince, who rules the roost and her father's affections. It's a dog's life for everyone but the dog. Comics Steve Martin and Michael Caine play well off each other in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Pearl, 11.30am), a light-hearted tale about two conmen who try to outwit each other and win the heart of an heiress. It's predictable and the jokes are old, but it's fun and playful. Back to beasts, and Hunters (World, 1.50pm) looks at the survival strategies of some of the world's most powerful predators. Did you know that crocodiles with full stomachs could die of starvation if it were not for the sun, which metabolises their meals? Jackson hole, Wyoming, is the location of this week's The Global Family (World, 7pm), where, against popular opinion, managers allow a limited hunt to keep the numbers of elk in check, while feeding the animals vast amounts of forage to keep them alive during the winter. Warlords: Kamikaze, Mission Of Death (World, 8pm) investigates the fatal events of Japanese history and the religious and cultural influences that led the suicide attacks against US ships during World War II. Kamikaze means 'divine wind' and refers to a raging typhoon which, centuries ago, destroyed Mongolian battleships as they approached the Japanese islands. Wearing the headband of the Samurai warrior and the white muffler of purity tied around their necks, the Kamikaze gave up life on earth for the 'eternal glory' of death and honour for their country.
