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Katherine Forestier

Flubber

Pearl, 9.30pm

Robin Williams (above) is endearing, if nothing else, as the Absent Minded Professor (as the original 1961 version of this movie was called) who accidentally invents the wonder product, flying rubber (hence flubber) and saves his life from calamity. His other problems were so severe that he had managed to forget his wedding three times. Williams won the 1988 Blockbuster Award for this film. Nancy Olson, the female lead in 1961, has a cameo as a secretary (1997).

Men In Black

AXN, 3pm

Outrageously sharp and funny sci-fi story about the street-smart, black suit-clad agents Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones who, as part of the top secret 'men in black' force, control America's alien population. Based on the Malibu comic by Lowell Cunningham (1997).

A Christmas Story

TCM, 9pm

A Christmas comedy classic, based on In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, humorist Jean Shepherd's memoir of growing up in the 1940s. Peter Billingsley plays the nine-year-old who dreams of receiving nothing more than a Red Ryder BB-gun from Santa. Shepherd narrates, and also appears in a cameo role as a department store customer (1983).

Stepmom

HBO, 9pm

With Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts cast, respectively, as mother and stepmother we can be sure of an emotional tear-jerker. It is the typical modern-day conflict, of one woman being forced to watch another step into her shoes and take over her family. The plot is heavy-handed and predictable, but Sarandon (so effective in Thelma And Louise and Dead Man Walking), together with the lovely Roberts, make up, in some way, for the deficiencies. Have the Kleenex ready (1998).

Fat Files

Pearl, 8.30pm

After documentaries on the tiny and the tall, we now have a series on a more relevant topic to many of us: fat. More and more people are dieting and yet many of us are getting fatter. Who or what is to blame? This three-part series from the BBC's Horizon team explores the worlds of slimming, obesity, food addiction and eating disorders in order to find some answers. The depressing news is that the traditional advice, of diet and exercise, works for only five per cent of those who are fighting the flab. The first episode focuses on the genetic link, as discovered from research on mice.

Storm At Sea: Miracle At Sea

National Geographic, 9pm

The southern ocean is the harshest place on Earth, the Everest of oceans. For centuries it has been the mariner's ultimate challenge. This is the story of one sailor who defied it. Many viewers will recall the story of Tony Bullimore (above) who was two months into the Vendee Globe Around The World Yacht Race when disaster struck and his yacht, Exide Challenger, overturned in 18-metre waves. Five days later he was saved by the biggest air sea rescue in the history of the Royal Australian Air Force, involving four aircraft, six air crew, 190 hours of flying and a navy frigate.



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