Shark Encounters ATV World, 9pm Underwater film-makers are working hard to reverse the loathsome reputation sharks have been labelled with since the Jaws movies and before. Like the more flamboyant Nigel Marven before her, Michaela Strachan goes swimming with man-eating sharks to show that they are not so deadly after all, as long as we give them due respect and understanding. She reminds us that, of more than 400 species, only half a dozen sharks can hurt us. The chances of being bitten by one are less than that of being bitten by a human on the streets of New York. The first bull shark Strachan encounters has a plastic packing strap embedded in its neck, while numerous others are killed for human pleasure. She, and the conservationists who contribute to this BBC programme, hope people could one day love these beasts as much as they now appreciate whales and dolphins.
My Childhood Pearl, 6.50pm For Chia Wei Gang, aged 12, the hours of nightly homework and the immense pressure of examinations are all part of life. The story is all too familiar: a child sacrificing friends and fun in an attempt to get into the best schools. Wei Gang is Singaporean and this edition of RTHK's series, about childhood as experienced in different Chinese communities, unwittingly contributes to the education debate that is currently raging in Hong Kong.
Offering us an insight into the experience of schooling elsewhere, this programme focuses on two children, Wei Gang (who is being educated in an elite English-speaking school) and eight-year-old Gan Jeing Weii (who is growing up in a Chinese-speaking family). The parents of both children, and the children themselves, are willing to conform to the government policy that 'country is above everything and society should come first'. The programme also appears to accept the choice on offer: that bitterness in childhood has to precede happiness. Whereas a happy, pressure-free childhood could result in a painful adulthood of underachievement.
Shark Encounters ATV World, 9pm Savoir Faire World, 8pm Canadian bon viveur Nik Manovlovich (above) could make you hate mellow yellow after giving us an overdose of this sunny colour. With yellow breakfast trays, yellow tableware, lemon-shaped floral arrangements and his dessert treat, a banana flambe, the man has no shame.
Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil HBO, 5pm Clint Eastwood's witty but over-long adaptation of John Berendt's non-fiction best-seller. A New York journalist (John Cusack) covers a high society Christmas party hosted by antique dealer Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey, above left, with Cusack) and finds himself involved in a murder trial. In the course of his investigation he encounters an eccentric tapestry of social life, allowing Eastwood to ponder issues of race, class, gender and sexuality. Among Cusack's most memorable new acquaintances is Lady Chablis, the transvestite nightclub artiste played by Frank 'Chablis' Devau. Eastwood's daughter Alison plays the local temptress. (1997) JAG Star World, 8pm The accidental shooting of a North Korean civilian airliner by US Navy jets is the focus of this week's investigation by Navy lawyer Lieutenant 'Harm' Rabb, his partner Major Sarah MacKenzie and attorney Lieutenant Bud Roberts. For those who wonder how this one-hour series manages to incorporate so much action from around the world, creator Donald Bellisario has revealed it is filmed largely on location in Valencia, California, but he also uses outtakes from major movies, archival footage and excerpts from military training films.
