High spirits & high seas: Carols, The Vicar of Dibley, Bruce Almighty lead Christmas TV line-up

CAROLS By Candlelight is the five-star pick of the week's TV, but from an eco-pirate documentary to reality to comedy gold, there's plenty on.

the boys

SWITCHED On writers review the best evening television this week.

Wednesday, December 21
Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson
ABC2, Wednesday, 9.30pm
Rating: 3 Stars

THE serenity of Antarctica's luminous icescapes sets a passive backdrop for this confrontational documentary about Paul Watson.

Dubbed the world's most notorious "eco-pirate", the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has made no apology for his aggressive approach to the environmental movement - action over words.

From his early days as a founding member of Greenpeace, to his more recent mission to save the whales of the Southern Sea, the Canadian-born activist is both hero and villain to millions. What sparked such determination and what continues to fuel his work as an environmental leader makes this compelling viewing whichever side you take.

Of particular interest to local audiences should be his work taking on the Japanese whalers.

His "Rambo" tactics keep him on a collision course with those he seeks to stop and those he claims turn a blind eye, including some of his former Greenpeace cohorts.
 
It was his "loose cannon" behaviour, putting himself in harm's way to save the animals, which made enemies of those he once fought alongside like one-time Greenpeace president Patrick Moore (who does not come off well in this program).

But "bearing witness" has never been enough for the 61-year-old, who argues: "You don't walk down the street and see a woman being raped and do nothing; you don't see a child being molested and do nothing; you don't see a kitten being stomped on and do nothing ... that's just cowardice."

That's not to say he's a perfect human, with his personal relationships under scrutiny and clearly sacrificed to the cause.

- By Holly Byrnes

the family

Thursday, December 22
The Family
SBSOne, 8.30pm
Rating: 3 Stars

REALITY television has long held a mirror to the best and worst of human nature.

The best, on redemptive programs like The Biggest Loser, show the triumph of spirit over adversity (coupled with the motivating force of having the world watch your wobbly bits in all their HD glory).

The worst of the genre can be even more compelling.

The Family, the SBS docu-drama, is a bit of both, especially in this episode as the Cardamone tribe prepares to celebrate the surly season.

Not since the Donaher clan of Sylvania Waters fame has a family exposed itself to such national scrutiny.

For those who haven't checked in with these Italian-Australians, construction manager Angelo and wife Josie, along with three sons, David, 20, Stefan, 18 and Adrian, 14, agreed to be filmed by 35 cameras over 100 days at their Melbourne home.

The hormones-meet-house rules formula might make this a bloke-sided affair, but fans know matriarch Josie is not the shy, silent type.

For this reason, the viewer can lurch between sympathy for this over-worked, under-appreciated mum; until she starts screaming like a banshee at her boys, and anyone else not on the same page of her book.

But, as the festive season approaches, it is Josie who takes the lead in hosting the family's celebrations.

Her sentimentality for the season is touching, softening those around her and helping to make them more malleable at this time of year.

Despite the nagging and scolding their mother puts them through, it's clear from watching the footage of the three boys discussing what they will buy her for Xmas that she is a woman much loved.

- By Holly Byrnes

the boys

Friday, December 23
The Boys
ABC2, 9.30pm
Rating: 4.5 Stars

DAVID Wenham is bloody good at playing bad.

Anyone who saw Killing Time, one of the great dramas of 2011, will agree.

But it's not his first time - or arguably, his best work - on the dark side. Wenham won critical acclaim and a string of awards for his terrifying performance in Rowan Woods' 1998 directorial debut, The Boys.

Wenham plays Brett Sprague, a violent and unrepentant psychopath on parole for assault, desperate for revenge and simmering with rage at the futility of his no-hoper life.

His return home from jail is no occasion to celebrate for his equally useless family, who live in fear of him and without purpose of their own.

There to greet him is mother Sandra (Lynette Curran), a down-trodden victim trapped in the realisation she has raised three monstrous sons.

Then there's girlfriend, Michelle (Toni Collette) who senses a dangerous change in Brett and tries to break free of him.

Completing the portrait of suburban horror are Anthony Hayes and John Poulson as Brett's damaged brothers.

Based on Stephen Sewell's screenplay and shot brilliantly by cinematographer Tristan Milani, the film conveys an atmosphere of claustrophobic tension.

This is not easy viewing, but the nuanced violence for the most part has greater impact than other more graphic films such as Once Were Warriors, Romper Stomper and more recently, Animal Kingdom.

So intimidating is Wenham in the film it is understood co-star Collette left the set at one point, in fear of the actor.

It is a world away from Seachange and Diver Dan - the TV role that earned Wenham the sex-symbol tag - but it shows the diversity of his talent.

- By Holly Byrnes

Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson

Saturday, December 24
Carols By Candlelight,
Channel 9, 8pm
Rating: 5 Stars

IT is the night before Christmas, when all through the house, every plasma blares carols with Karl and Lisa.

Yes, it's that time of year again when Today breakfast hosts Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson turn into night owls to front the annual telecast of Carols By Candlelight.

Live from Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl, it is one television tradition I love.

Perhaps it's the sparkling lights, the jolly good choir or simply the festive tipple that goes down nicely with the broadcast, but it's one of the great feel-good moments on the box.

And there's no shortage of big name stars willing to give up their family time on Christmas Eve to entertain the nation.

This year's line-up is a cracker, with Ricki-Lee Coulter, Stan Walker, Marina Prior, Anthony Callea, Tim Campbell, David Hobson, Lucy Durack, James Morrison, Hi-5 and Troy Cassar-Daley offering a little something for every musical taste.

For some stars, it's one gig they never miss. Prior was so heavily pregnant performing one year, producers braced for the child's arrival live on stage.

For other celebrities watching at home, it's also a happy tradition.

Five years ago, former Funniest Home Videos host Toni Pearen was settled back on the couch when mate David Campbell used his Carols moment to send her a message: "Hey Toni, Will wants to ask you something."

When Pearen's beau Will Osmond promptly proposed, it became part of the show's colourful history. Hosting the show, without any ratings incentive, earns goodwill for Wilkinson and especially Gold Logie winner Stefanovic.

Add the fact it's a fundraiser for Vision Australia and this is community spirit at its best.

- By Holly Byrnes

Vicar of Dibley

Sunday, December 25
The Vicar of Dibley
Comedy Channel, 9.30pm
Rating: 4 Stars

MOVE over Kylie Minogue, the gay political lobby could have found itself an unlikely advocate in Alice Horton.

The docile villager, played so superbly by Notting Hill actress Emma Chambers, in hilarious UK comedy series, The Vicar of Dibley, may not strike you as the political type.

But in this Christmas special she delivers a sermon on homosexual rights to make Penny Wong proud.

The subject of gay rights within the church comes up in a chat with the vicar, Geraldine Grainger (Dawn French).

Getting her head around the idea of being openly gay, she outs herself as a proud supporter of "people coming out of the cupboard".

"I mean what a terrifying idea. You go to collect your coat on the first day in winter and standing inside the closet are (talk show host) Graham Norton, (radio DJ) Dale Winton and (actor) Sir Ian McKellen," she muses. "So much better they come out of the closet where you can see them."

The vicar takes up the cause, too, decrying the anti-gay priest movement as "madness".

"In my 20s, I don't think I met a Church of England vicar who wasn't gay," she says.

"I thought you had to be gay to get in. Then they go and try to officially appoint just one openly gay bishop and it splits the church. I'm thinking of declaring myself gay as a protest."

The conversation then turns to whom they might consider turning for: the vicar props for supermodel Rachel Hunter, while Alice makes another controversial choice.

"I'd probably have to go with the Queen," explaining it would be a fantastic anecdote to tell. "You could go down the post office, buy a stamp, look down and say 'I've had her."

- By Holly Byrnes

Bruce Almighty

Monday, December 26
Bruce Almighty
Starpics, 8.30pm
Rating: 3 Stars 

AT first glance, it seems easy to deduce why Jim Carrey took the lead role in Bruce Almighty. When you're pulling in close to $40 million a film, you're probably already quite accustomed to playing God in your recreational hours. So why not accept yet another eight-digit fee to do what comes naturally?

And it's great to have him doing what he does best. Whenever that disarmingly flexible face contorts and yet another so-wrong-it's-right punchline is slammed home, we are reminded there is no better-equipped comedian in the game than big Jim.

A loosely framed plot serves up Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a minor-league TV reporter prone to blaming the big guy upstairs when things don't go his way. After being passed over for a coveted news-reading spot, Bruce's whinges bring on some face time with God (Morgan Freeman), working undercover as a janitor for Omni Presents.

The upshot of their conversation is that God has had a gutful of all the complaints. If Bruce thinks he can do a better job, here's his big chance to go ahead and knock himself out.

This is all the excuse Bruce Almighty needs for Carrey to unleash the comic beast within. Like Tobey Maguire in the early stretches of Spider-Man, Carrey has a field day with the wildly imaginative set pieces, demonstrating how his character comes to grips with his newfound powers.

Underpinning the broad humour is the notion we, too, would use and abuse these abilities in the same way. I'm not sure everyone would seize the opportunity to teach their dog to use the toilet, but performing a Moses-like parting of peak-hour traffic and zapping bottled water into wine is not out of reason.

- By Leigh Paatsch

Tuesday, December 27
Mike And Molly
Channel 9, 9pm
Rating: 3 Stars

THE critical success of US comedy series Mike And Molly has proved a big point to Hollywood.

And it's not the controversial one made by a Marie Claire magazine blogger predicting viewers would be "grossed out if they had to watch two TV characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other".

As you can imagine, that one went down like a lead balloon in "big is beautiful" America.

Despite the western world's struggle with obesity, this show isn't just about weight, even if the lead characters are plus-size singles who fall in love at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. Or as Melissa McCarthy, who plays Molly, says: "It was a slice of the pie. There is a sweetness between these characters."

Indeed, the vulnerability of Molly and Mike (Billy Gardell) is at the heart of this story, as they overcome prejudice and the usual hurdles involved in finding love.

For McCarthy, it's a role that has seen her talents finally recognised by a broad audience. And won her this year's Emmy for outstanding actress in a comedy series, too.

It's been the platform she needed to, pardon the pun, plus-size her career - starring in hit film, Bridesmaids and selling a new pilot idea to CBS, co-written by husband Ben Falcone. If the big TV networks weren't going to write roles for women over a size zero, or 40-something, McCarthy isn't letting that stop her.

And things are looking rosy for her TV alter-ego, Molly, with the M word - marriage - brought up in this episode.

The small talk about such a big step threatens to derail Mike and Molly's relationship and becomes, um, the elephant in the room.

But as they have for McCarthy, things have a happy ending for this lovable TV couple.

- By Holly Byrnes