ATV World is grinning smugly that it has managed to steal Cracker (World, 9.30 pm) from beneath TVB Pearl's nose. The station saw something good - a highly-acclaimed series with an established following - and decided to go for it by outbidding its rival. Its commitment to quality can only be applauded. That said, you would think it could get its scheduling right. My colleague, Richard Cook, on the Post Magazine, spent yesterday afternoon frantically changing his listings and column for this coming week, one hour before the magazine was due to be printed. White Ghost, the Cracker episode filmed to much publicity in Hong Kong, was scheduled to appear on Sunday; he had, naturally, gone to great lengths to comment on it. Days before airing, the station discovers it has the running order of the third series back to front. White Ghost, we are told, will be shown 'some time soon'. TVB, clearly disappointed to lose Cracker, said it was not simply a matter of money but more about 'the whole package', whatever that means. 'We are sorry to lose Cracker, but we do have a number of excellent new dramas this season and we have a representative from the purchasing department in London as we speak visiting the BBC showcase,' said a spokesman. Whatever the story, if you are a fan of Robbie Coltrane's police psychologist Fitz you are in luck this weekend; it runs in the 9.30 pm slot for three nights. If, instead, you find his deadpan manner a little overbearing, then TVB will be licking its lips. Tonight's episode, Brotherly Love, set four months after the last story, opens with the murder of a prostitute. The police, having called for Fitz, believe they have solved the crime quickly when they arrest father of four David Harvey (Mark Lambert) on strong circumstantial evidence. However, when there is an identical murder while David is in custody, the team has to decide if it has the wrong man or whether it is dealing with a copycat killer. Detective Sergeant Jimmy Beck (Lorcan Cranitch), who - if I remember correctly was last seen in a life-threatening position at the hands of DS Penhaligon (Geraldine Somerville) - has been on sick leave since he had what he says was a nervous breakdown. DS Penhaligon is still convinced that Beck raped her, but with no forensic evidence and only her word against his, he returns to work alongside her on the murder case. Have you ever seen Bruce Willis happily married in a movie? He always plays the good-hearted but bad-mannered cop whose wife has walked out because of his brawling and boozing. The Last Boy Scout (Pearl, 9.30 pm), a violent film by any standards, is no different. He plays a washed-up LA private eye whose partner is killed. His marriage is on the rocks and his daughter under threat, so he reluctantly teams up with a suave ex-football player Jimmy Dix (Daman Wayans) to crack the case. It's really little more than an exercise in male bonding, but there are enough distractions to forget that and enjoy Willis doing what appears to come so naturally. Framed (World, 3.45 am) is a fun made-for-TV movie about an American artist in Paris (Jeff Goldblum) who makes his living out of forging paintings. One evening, he bids his girlfriend, Kate (Kristin Scott Thomas of The English Patient), goodbye and within hours finds himself behind bars, where he languishes for two years. Kate, meanwhile, has disappeared with all the money from their latest swindle. After a chance meeting soon after his release, he discovers all the money has gone.
