pay ACE: Animal Countdown Extraordinaire
Discovery Kids, 7am, 3.25pm
The inevitable collision of steampunk and children's wildlife shows arrives in the form of this enjoyable local production presented by Jack Yabsley (Totally Wild, Saturday Disney). For some reason our Captain Jack spends his time aloft in a flying pirate ship full of brass gears and pipes. The animal info is supplied by the ship's computer, Buck (Mark Neilson), who has a British accent and a propensity for old-fashioned British exclamations like "I say!" and "Steady on!" Today Buck is schooling Jack on which animals have the most disgusting diets, and awarding each a score on the ship's "Barfometer". We're soon seeing how parrot fish eat coral and poop sand, how vampire bats drink blood, and how jackal pups eat whatever revolting carrion their parents can scavenge and then vomit back up for them. Suitably disgusting fun for young nature lovers.
Brad Newsome
Cricket: Australia v Pakistan
Nine, 10am
When Australia is playing a team as mercurial as Pakistan, it's hard to predict what might happen. But some things about the third and final test in this series, to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, are more predictable. The ground, though compact, has a particular charm and Nine's commentary team, this summer minus Brett Lee, Michael Hussey and James Brayshaw, is again anchored by Mark Nicholas. Waqar Younis and Michael Clarke have proved useful additions to a crew in need of an infusion of fresh voices and perspectives. The coverage also offers an opportunity to enjoy one of the things that Shane Warne does well: if he's not playing cricket, he's very good at talking about it.
Debi Enker
Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul
ABC, 8.30pm
As he arrives in Turkey for the final stage of his "gastronomic journey", Rick Stein is full of enthusiastic exclamations. "Cok guzel (chok gazelle)!" he says, adopting an approving phrase in the local language as he tastes spit-roasted goat at an outdoor lunch. "Yummo!" is the reaction to sumac chicken. Stein is in his element, chomping freshly picked tomatoes, enjoying grilled sardines at a beachside cafe and kofta at an Istanbul restaurant renowned for it. He visits a spice market, cooks kapuska, goes fishing for bluefish, enthuses about pomegranates and grain salads, and relishes Turkish delight. If he's not having a fine time, Stein is a great actor because the finale of the tour that began in cold, rainy Venice and concludes in a sunny Turkish capital fairly bursts with a robust appreciation of food and of life.
Debi Enker
movie Runaway Jury (2003)
ONE, 8.30pm
The manipulation of justice has been an ever-refining mischief since the legal system began. Popular culture supports this malpractice by portraying lawyers who bedazzle juries as geniuses rather than underminers of the truth. And it is not just the lawyers, but those who aid and abet them, including highly paid experts in jury selection. And thus begins Gary Fleder's Runaway Jury, based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham. Nicholas Easter (John Cusack) is on the jury of the trial of an American gun manufacturer charged with having allowed its weapons to be sold to mass murderers. He is only there because both the defence and the prosecution thought he would support their case. Cusack is perfect as the enigmatic Easter, with whom the audience has a complex push-pull relationship. Also good is Rachel Weisz as his partner, Marlee. While the film never recaptures the dazzle of its dramatic opening, it remains one of the best Grisham adaptations.
Scott Murray