Olympic-level hype
As if it's not hot enough in Hong Kong, here we are getting overheated about the Olympics, but it strikes me that the excitement is whipped up more by the hype than the competition itself.
In stark contrast to the recent European Soccer Championships when Cable had exclusive television rights, we are able to watch Olympic action on ATV World, TVB Pearl and Cable, which, from Saturday, is devoting its Sports Channel to more than '400 hours' of live coverage (it is being renamed the Olympic Channel for the duration of the event).
Many people will watch the Olympics simply because it is here. I suspect that were Cable the only station televising it, the hordes who crammed into the territory's bars and hotels for the Euro soccer matches would be found knocking back pints on junk trips.
The reason is obvious: the combined events of the Olympics do not generate the passions and fervour of a soccer competition, and, more importantly, they do not make such consistently good television.
After the rather jingoistic unity of the Opening Ceremony, which is being shown live at 8am (Hong Kong time) on Saturday, the games split up into a complicated cross-section of events, few involving household names, in sports we hear of only once every four years.
For instance, the preliminary stages of the archery or judo are unlikely to be treated as anything but excuses for a coffee break or an opportunity to shove a load of washing into the machine - except by those sports' limited core of enthusiasts.
That said, the appeal of the track, that true meeting point of gladiators, cannot be under-estimated. Though the sprint finals will be over in the time it takes to blow your nose, we will all be enthralled by every muscle-bulging stride taken by the likes of Michael Johnson, Linford Christie and Frankie Fredericks.
It appears the sum of the Olympics is greater than the value of its individual events.
In a two-film project, The Greatest Show On Earth (Pearl, 8.30pm) takes an unprecedented look at the organisation of the Centennial Olympic Games, the biggest-ever peacetime event.
A BBC production, it is the first time the International Olympic Committee has given permission for a behind-the-scenes film of the event's organisation.
In the first film (the second is being made during the event), Billy Payne, the man who brought the Olympics to Atlanta, and his committee have more to arrange than seems humanly possible. Will the tickets and prices policy be approved? Will the stadium be built on time? Will the transport system cope with the thousands of participants and spectators? If Arnold Schwarzenegger were in Hong Kong he would be pleased to see Hercules In New York (World, 1.25am) is being shown late in the day; it may have been his first film, but it is the last one he would want anyone to watch.
Nancy Banks-Smith of The Guardian couldn't have put it more succinctly. 'Schwarzenegger as Herc wrestled with a man in a bear suit and when I tell you that the suit was a better actor you will have some conception.' Faye Dunaway and Johnny Depp are making a habit of starring together in rather madcap films; see Arizona Dream (World, 9.32pm) and Don Juan Demarco.
Tonight, young dreamer Axel (Depp) attends the wedding of his uncle (Jerry Lewis) and falls in love with an older but childlike woman Elaine (Faye Dunaway).
Director Emir Kusturica has a fantastical view of the world: ambulances flying to the moon, unsuccessful suicide by bungee cord, a fish swimming through air.
No one watching has a clue what's going to happen next and you feel the actors didn't either.