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Katherine Forestier

Discovery Showcase: Lost City Of Shang

Discovery, 11pm

Chinese and American archaeologists explore growing evidence that a legendary civilisation dating back 3,000 years ago really existed. Ancient tortoise shells found in 1889 provided the first clues. Hi-tech excavation techniques now reveal sacrificial grounds where people and animals were slaughtered to appease the Shang gods.

Living Forever

Pearl, 8.30pm

If our lifespan is written in our genes, it may soon be possible to re-write it with genetic manipulation. Humans could finally reach the holy grail of eternal youth and immortality, or at least a life stretching for as long as 300 years. Even the super-old have barely begun to realise the potential of longevity,

according to the genetic scientists who have created mice, worms and fruit flies that can live twice their natural lifespan. They are confident that soon, such results can be extended to humans. The secret lies in the stem cells, which can be controversially cloned and grown to repair or replace any tissue in the human body. This film, from the BBC's Horizon series, is a must for all who dream of immortality.

Secrets Of The Stone Age:

The Human Story

World, 10pm

Anthropologist Richard Rudgley shows how Neanderthal Man, our supposedly stupid cousin who became extinct 30,000 years ago, was, like other primates, much more intelligent than modern humans have given him credit for. Rudgley travels to Israel where early moderns and Neanderthals lived alongside each other for tens of thousands of years. In Portugal he visits the skeleton of a child that caused an international outcry when it was suggested it might be a hybrid Neanderthal and Homo sapiens. He also explores the signs of art left behind by Neanderthals, and claims these early men and women could cross water, probably by raft, 800,000 years ago, and communicate.

The River Wild

Pearl, 9.30pm

The ever adaptable and watchable Meryl Streep carries this action thriller, as the former Montana river guide who returns 'home' for a white-water rafting holiday with son, alienated workaholic husband, and dog. The holiday turns into a nightmare when she finds that their rough-hewn river companions are armed killers on the run, led by Kevin Bacon (above, with Streep). The deadly Gauntlet white water run lies ahead, the obvious ultimate test for woman, man, marriage and dog. During filming, an exhausted Streep was swept off the raft and almost drowned (1994).

Johnny Mnemonic

AXN, 10pm

Cyberpunk story of an ugly future when man and computer are one. Keanu Reeves (above) is the data courier who must carry vital information in his brain, from Beijing to Newark, chased by bad guys from various crime organisations. If he doesn't empty the contents fast enough the grey matter will die. The scenario is ridiculous. The same information could be transmitted down a high-speed modem. But that would leave no movie. Ice T also stars (1995).

Money Talks

Cinemax, 11.30am

Talented comedian Chris Tucker is fun to watch in this action comedy. He plays a petty criminal who, by accident, finds himself on the run after a prison break, accused of being the murderous mastermind behind it. A second-rate TV reporter (Charlie Sheen) takes him under his wing, for the sake of the bigger story and saving his career. That comes at some price, with his marriage into a super-rich Italian American family at stake. Tucker tries to save his neck in one of the most memorable scenes, by pretending to be Vic Damone Jnr. Those really behind the prison heist are never far behind. Director Brett Ratner makes his debut. The material might not be that original, but he makes the most of Tucker's anarchic talent (1997).



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