LADIES and gentlemen . . . tonight, in the blue corner we have ATV World, in the red corner TVB Pearl but, for once the person getting hammered in the middle is not the viewer - provided he/she's got a VCR that is.
In a ridiculous piece of jostling for audience position, both channels are showing Back to the Future movies. The one-upmanship started when Pearl secured BTTF III for the first time on Hong Kong television. Not to be outdone, World immediately scheduledboth the original film and BTTF II for the same night.
Which all leaves viewers in the superior position of either just watching III since the first two have been on before, or watching the first two while taping III, thereby enjoying the whole trilogy.
In case you need reminding, Back to the Future (World 8.30pm, Original Running Time 107 mins) saw Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Doc (Christopher Lloyd) travelling back through time in a DeLorean to 1955 when Marty's parents first met.
Trouble is, Marty's mom shows more signs of fancying him than his father, which leads to lots of fun solving the more unusual problems of time travel - like avoiding incest and ensuring his parents actually do meet in order for him to be born. BACK to the Future Part II (World, 10.40pm, ORT 107 mins) is rather more frenetic, but less endearing than the first. McFly is whisked forward to 2015 where he must prevent his own grown-up kids going to jail. At the same time, town bully Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) hasnicked a sporting almanac and the DeLorean and gone back to the 1950s to make himself rich and the town a sleazy hellhole.
Surprisingly nasty at times and confusing, but enjoyable within the context of the other two films. Watch out for Fox playing several generations and genders of McFlys. THE final film, Back to the Future Part III (Pearl 9.30pm, ORT 118 mins) may well be the best of the lot. Doc, who always had a yen for the Wild West, is happily settled in 1885 and has sent a message to Marty McFly (in 1985) to destroy the time-travelling DeLorean.