Thu Feb 8

[Seven/8:00pm] My Name is Earl. Series Return. “NUMBER ONE” In this super sized series return, Earl goes to the top of the list to cross off Number One. But in order to do that, he must part with all of his lottery winnings. Starring JASON LEE, ETHAN SUPLEE, NADINE VELAZQUEZ, EDDIE STEEPLES and JAIME PRESSLY. / “SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR” Earl takes his car troubles as a sign that it is time for him to redeem himself for a long run of stealing gas out of a complete stranger’s car. Starring JASON LEE, ETHAN SUPLEE, NADINE VELAZQUEZ, EDDIE STEEPLES and JAIME PRESSLY. Series one eps wtill played out of sequence. Not an encouraging start. It’s a funny series, and a welcome return (despite that dull How I Met Your Mother before it). But both these eps are still from Series One, played out of sequence. Series Two actually starts next week.

[Seven/9:10pm] Lost: A TALE OF SURVIVAL. In this special episode of LOST, new viewers will get an overview of the story so far and current viewers get the opportunity to discover some clues they may have missed previously. Season One dealt with the fuselage survivors, the hatch and a failed attempt to get off the island. Season Two continued these stories and also introduced viewers to Desmond – the man responsible for inputting the numbers into the hatch computer system – the survivors of the tail section and Henry Gale, who turned out to be the leader of ‘The Others.’ This special puts these two seasons together in a linear fashion to provide an illuminating view on a compelling story. See the sequence of events in the aftermath of the crash of flight 815, the failed raft attempt, the opening of the hatch, how the tail section and fuselage survivors lived separately and the unwitting intersections of their lives in one catastrophic moment, the implosion of the hatch and the capture of Jack, Kate and Sawyer by ‘The Others.’

[Seven/10:10pm] Beauty and the Geek. Final.

[ABC/8:30pm] The Life and Times of El Nino. The massive fluctuations that El Nino causes in the world’s weather systems have changed the course of history. Unusually cold winters and the resulting poor crops helped forment the French Revolution. Hitler’s march across Russia was halted by one of the harshest winters on record. Severe drought in India in 1877 killed millions while a drop in sea temperatures, leading to dwindling food stocks, precipitated the fall of the mighty Aztecs. Would these events have happened without the impact of El Nino? This compelling documentary investigates El Nino; its history; its rise from little known occurrence to headline grabbing phenomenon; and whether its devastating power can be accurately predicted, or possibly even harnessed. Charting the rise of El Nino in the world’s consciousness, this intriguing documentary combines history and science to show how this meteorological monster has affected global economy and political history. As knowledge of El Nino grows, increasingly sophisticated super computer models have been developed to predict global effects and allow vulnerable communities to try to adapt. Scientists are confident that they will soon be able to predict El Nino a year in advance. But now there is a new threat – global warming. The race is now on to find out what effect this will have on El Nino, and the future of this planet.

[Nine/7:30pm] Getaway
[Nine/8:30pm] Missing Persons Unit
[Nine/9:30pm] RPA
[Nine/10:30pm] Rome. Final.

[Ten/7:30pm] Jamie At Home “Onions & Strawberries”Jamie Oliver is doing what he does best – cooking, at home. He explains how easy it is to grow your own produce; sometimes in weird and wonderful ways. Also, how simple it is to make something around only one primary ingredient.

[Ten/8:30pm] Law & Order: S.V.U. “Clock” Stabler and Tutuola pair up to investigate when two teens go missing while their school is on a field trip to a local museum. Their investigation soon turns up evidence that the disappearance was staged to help Janey, who suffers from Turner’s Syndrome, be with her older boyfriend, a man with a prediliction for young girls, and to help the boy, Connor, make good on a gamlbing debt. Stabler experiences a rift with his daughter, Kathleen, who is upset over the way that he has handled her relationship with a young man named Kevin. Guests: Betty Buckley, Gregory Harrison, Robert Vaughn

[Ten/9:30pm] Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Logan and Wheeler investigate the death of a womanising doctor, which leads directly to his son’s relationship with a teacher. A new female partner for Chris Noth. Guest Stars: Jonathan La Paglia

[SBS/10:00pm] Sick Tricks. This new four-part comedy series places an unusual spin on the magic show and presents stylish and gruesome tricks. Magician Barry Jones and Stuart McLeod play reoccurring gags in all four episodes. In tonight’s episode, a magician, posing as a priest, changes water into wine and in a supermarket, two magicians perform some magic that causes chaos. (From the UK, in English) (Comedy Series) (Part 2) MA (L,H,S) CC WS

[SBS/10:30pm] Cult Movie: A Better Tomorrow 2 – (YING HONG BOON SIK II) – Tonight’s film is the second of three in a classic series of films that helped established John Woo’s filmmaking career and made Chow Yun-Fat an instant star. Nominated for Best Action Comedy and Best Actor (Leslie Cheung) at the 1988 Hong Kong Film Awards, Chow Yun-Fat returns in the sequel to A Better Tomorrow. Whilst running a restaurant in New York, Ken Gor (Chow Yun-Fat), twin brother of Mark Gor, teams up with police detective Kit (Leslie Cheung) and his struggling ex-con brother Ho (Ti Lung) to avenge his old friend’s (Lung Si) daughter’s murder. Written and directed by John Woo and also stars Emily Chu, and Kent Tsang. (From Hong Kong, in Cantonese and English, English subtitles) (Action) (1987) MA (V,L,A)

[SBS/12:20pm] Movie: Jalla! Jalla! The Best Man’s Wedding – (Jalla! Jalla!) – This comedy was an international festival hit and broke the Swedish box office in 2000. Roro’s (Fares Fares) family is Lebanese and he works with Mans (Torkel Petersson), a Swede, as a council worker. He has a Swedish girlfriend, Lisa (Tuva Novotny), however, because of cultural differences, Roro has not yet introduced Lisa to his family. Just as Roro finds the courage to tell his family about Lisa, he discovers his grandmother and father are trying to marry him off to a Lebanese girl, Yasmin (Laleh Pourkarim), whose brother will send her home to Lebanon if she doesn’t marry before the summer is over. To help Yasmin out, Roro pretends he wants to marry her. However, when Yasmin’s brother decides to move things along, the situation begins to get out of hand. Directed by Josef Fares, this comedy won the Jury Prize at the Bermuda International Film Festival and won Best Film at the Lyon Festival of New Generation Cinema. (From Sweden, in Swedish, English subtitles) (Comedy) (2000) MA (S,L) (Rpt) WS

[31/10:30pm] Studio Q.

[Biography/9:30pm] Grammy Awards. Guide to Show.