PICKS OF THE WEEK
Better Call Saul M-Net Edge, Channel 102 Wednesday, 21:00
If you’re one of the millions who enjoys Breaking Bad, and one of the many who regard the show as one of the greatest TV series to date, then you’ll definitely want to catch this new prequel series.
Breaking Bad, for those of you who don’t know, is a crime drama with a dose of black humour about a high-school chemistry teacher named Walter White (Bryan Cranston) who learns that he has inoperable lung cancer. In a desperate attempt to secure his family’s financial future before he passes on, he enlists the help of his for- mer student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) to produce and sell crystal meth — which gets them into all sorts of trouble.
That’s where another main character, shifty lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) comes in. He defends the duo when they get into legal bother.
He’s also the main character of this prequel series, showing us the trials and tribulations that led to him becoming the man we know in
Breaking Bad.
It’s set six years before the events
of Breaking Bad. Saul starts out as a small-time scam artist, then finds his way into becoming a lawyer and thereupon gets involved in all kinds of shady cases.
If you’ve seen Odenkirk’s portrayal of Saul in Breaking
Bad, you’ll know he has a very unusual way of speaking, placing emphasis on words in conspicuous ways — which is partly what makes a show focusing on him so appealing.
Let’s hope this one lives up to the high standards of its predecessor.
She’s the One SABC3, Channel 193 Thursday, 19:30
We’ve seen reality show contestants compete for all kinds of things: stardom, money, a fleeting moment of fame on a show that doesn’t have particularly good prizes, and so on. The grand prize in this local show is quite interesting. The winner will become the brand ambassador for Edgars, and win a huge cash prize, too. In this contest, 12 women compete to see who can deck out celebrities in the best fashion, who can throw the most lavish party, who can make denim work for them in a photoshoot, and so on.
The contest is hosted by Lunga Shabalala and judged by comedian Tumi Morake and industry veteran Kojo Baffoe.
Surviving the Cut Discovery World, Channel 187 Thursday, 21:00
Are you one of those people who likes to whine about how hard your job is?
If so, you might want to watch this new reality/documentary se- ries for a fat slice of humble pie.
It shows us the backbreaking and unforgiving training recruits have to undergo to make it into the world’s various elite military and special ops units. It seems you’ve really got to have drive and ambition to make it in this world.
Snipers, divers, green berets. If recruits want to earn one of these honoured positions, they have to pass an exceptionally high bar.
We’ll see men and women going through sapper school, navy special operations indoctrination, and night stalker trials.
I don’t know even know what those things are, and I’m pretty sure most of us have no desire to find out first-hand.
Luckily, we don’t have to. We can
watch this show instead.
9½ Ninjas CBS Action, Channel 102 Wednesday, 21:00 I don’t know what I hope to achieve by telling you about this — perhaps I can convey a small taste of how opportunistic some promoters can be. This is an erotic martial arts comedy with a ridiculous plot that warrants consideration for a spot in top 10 worst movies of all time.
The funniest thing was that the promotional write-up I received was ensconced in a “Self-defence tips for women” article, perhaps as a futile attempt to imbue it with some relevance.
OK, you win. I’ve mentioned it — if only for the laughs it’ll get.