TVB has been showing Seinfeld (Pearl, 9pm) deep in the small hours for years, but it apparently took the over-reaction to the news that Jerry Seinfeld was not going to sign up for another series to make it realise what a gem the show is. So tonight, we get the highest rated sitcom on American television at a sensible 9pm, the same time the show goes out on NBC in the United States.
And after that, for the next four weeks at least, we get a new series of the gripping, but also rather gruesome BBC drama Silent Witness (Pearl, 9.30pm).
The idea is that such quality programming back to back will encourage us to plan Monday as a night in front of the box, happily glued to familiar faces. This is also what we are supposed to think about Tuesday night, what with all those American dramas, and of course racing fans don't even think about doing anything else on Wednesdays, unless it is going to the races in person.
However, for true couch potatoes, Monday nights has long been worth staying in for anyway, because the other side put its best stuff on then. This series of Chicago Hope (World, 8.30pm) has been very exciting so far, much better than the last one because at last the cast have stopped breaking into polemics about the state of the American health care system. The actual patients have been a bit of a dull lot, but the doctors have started having personal crises and near fatal illnesses of their own. So the beginning of Seinfeld and Silent Witness has faced those devoted TV fans TVB is relying on to bump up the ratings, with a rather rare and difficult choice. Three brilliant programmes to watch all at the same time! How often does this happen to Hong Kong's English language audience? The obvious solution is to tape Seinfeld, and watch Chicago Hope and Silent Witness 'live'. Tonight this does mean waiting an extra couple of hours to catch a particularly fine episode of Seinfeld called The Mango.
It starts with Jerry trying to persuade George to tell him about his new girlfriend. Then Elaine turns up and the conversation turns to orgasms. George doesn't know if he is doing the right thing in bed, and Elaine doesn't offer him much comfort. All women fake it, she says. She faked it when she was going out with Jerry. Jerry is horrified. 'It's sexual perjury!' he complains to Kramer later.
Silent Witness ended the last series with Dr Sam Ryan, triumphant over the latest case, and deciding not to run off with her old boyfriend from Belfast. In this one, she has to discover how a young boxer called Kevin Sharma managed to get a bump on the head so bad, that it caused him to bleed to death the next time he went in the ring.