A cop show that is more Kojak than Rookie Blue, and raw footage of Japan's tsunami.
MasterChef new Zealand (TV1, 7.30pm). a guest appearance from Michael Van de Elzen, the guy from The Food Truck, who challenges the contestants to come up with healthy versions of fish and chips, hamburgers and pizza. So missing the point.
New Girl (Four, 8.00pm). Oh no. Double the cuteness. Justin Long guest-stars in tonight's episode as a love interest for the "adorkable" Jess (Zooey Deschanel), and he's Jess's male doppelganger. It's going to be like lolcats, but with people!
The making of Frozen Planet (TV1, 8.30pm). Having done the unthinkable and screened a natural history documentary in primetime, TV1 ekes a little bit more out of Frozen Planet with this making-of documentary, which follows the crews who made the whole thing possible.
Japan's Tsunami Caught on Camera (TV1, 9.35pm). Japan's annus horribilis began on March 11, 2011, when a tsunami caused by a magnitude 9 earthquake hit the east coast of the country. It's estimated more than 19,000 perished and 125,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. it is thought to be the most expensive natural disaster in history. Japan's Tsunami Caught on Camera features raw footage filmed by survivors of the six towns devastated by the tsunami, and includes first-hand accounts of people who were there. it also explains why the event overwhelmed the rigorous evacuation plans and early warning systems of a country that was so prepared for disaster.
Detroit 1-8-7 (TV2, 11.30pm). If you like your cops a bit more Kojak and a little less Rookie Blue, then Detroit 1-8-7 may be the good old-fashioned throwback you're looking for. The setting is grungy, the suits are brown, and even the music will take you back: the show's theme tune is Stevie Wonder's Higher Ground. Clever, really. Detroit, once the motor city, is in decline: its population has fallen by a quarter since 2000 and it has one of the highest violent-crime rates in the US, most of it related to drugs. The "1-8-7" of the title is the police code for homicide, but it has also become street slang for murder. Star of the show is the instantly recognisable Michael Imperioli, in another life Christopher Soprano. he also played a retro cop in the American version of Life on Mars, and channels that guy here, minus the moustache and 70s sexism. he plays Detective Louis Fitch, a tough guy who may or may not be troubled. in the pilot, one detective tells another: "Here's what I know about Fitch", then says nothing. Fitch, however, has the highest rate of homicide clearance in the unit (of course), so he's excused his eccentricities, which include calling his new rookie partner (Jon Michael Hill) on the phone when he's in the same room. Despite the tough setting, the show isn't without humour, even if it is of the blackest kind: detectives searching for a bullet casing on an overbridge find at least two others of different calibre ("that's what you get searching for bullet casings in Detroit!"); the rookie handcuffs a suspect to a child's swing-set, only to see the perp nearly escape attached to a small slide. The series was originally designed to have a "mockumentary" style (which explains why the pilot is like an expensive episode of Cops), but it's good they made the change: the retro thing is so much cooler.
Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan (Radio new Zealand National, 9.06am). Today: Psychological testing of drunk youth; Canadian ukulele virtuoso James Hill; book review of This Isn't The Sort of Thing that happens to someone like You, by Jon McGregor; Business commentator Rod Oram; Charlotte MacDonald on the history of state-sponsored exercise; and film review with Graeme Tuckett.
Sound Lounge (Radio new Zealand Concert, 9.00pm). I'm not sure when the US became part of Europe, but tonight's European Jazz programme is Bill Frisell's Disfarmer Project, in which the jazz guitarist plays his own music, inspired by Depression-era photographer Michael Disfarmer's images of small rural towns in Arkansas. Disfarmer – whose name seems to neatly sum up the despair of "Dustbowl America" – was a keen fiddle player, and Frisell's work echoes the Ozark fiddle-playing tradition, as well as progressive folk, classical and country. – Diana Balham
