In a new twist on the hooker with a heart of gold theme, we have a tough but caring ex-con at the centre of ActionX's new series Jonny Zero, which begins tonight at 7 on the DStv channel.
Franky G (The Italian Job, Confidence) stars as Jonny Calvo, who is on the road to redemption, but whose checkered past constantly threatens to outpace him. Just released from prison after four years, Jonny can only see his young son from a distance; his own father isn't talking to him; and he's being chased by his old cronies - the element he's supposed to avoid. Plus, he's got no job, money or place to stay.
Can it get any worse? Probably.
A former bouncer, Jonny has a reputation of almost mythic proportions on the streets of New York City, and his old boss, a corrupt club owner, will stop at nothing to get him back on the payroll.
But Jonny's struggling to go legit while at the same time being hounded by an FBI agent who blackmails him into going undercover as an informant, and an unsympathetic parole officer who expects him to fail miserably on the outside.
Instead, Jonny capitalises on his criminal knowledge and that of the New York club scene to solve crimes and help people - on his terms.
In the first episode, Jonny takes a job as a busboy at Captain Jack's restaurant and befriends wannabe hip hop Renaissance man Random (played by GQ).
Jonny meets Martin Styles, who is looking for his runaway daughter, Danni, known on the streets as Velvet (series star Brennan Hesser).
Jonny agrees to help Styles find his daughter, but when he reports back to Styles, he finds him being assaulted by a thug. Subsequently, Velvet is kidnapped and it's up to Jonny to find her and pass on her father's dying wish.
Jonny Zero is another of those cancelled series that slunk off with unaired episodes in the US, and probably an el cheapo buy for ActionX.
- Top Billing (SABC3, 7.30pm): Ursula Stapelfeldt catches up with Natanil, who recently performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Travel takes us to Qatar, an independent emirate on a largely barren peninsula in the Persian Gulf, bordering Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Now you know.
Jo-Ann Strauss visits the stud farm where the top stallion in the world lives, skis on the sand dunes, sails on a traditional wooden dhow and races over the dunes in off-road race cars.
Back on home turf, Jo-Ann immerses herself in Durban Fashion Week.
- The Godfather (e.tv, 8pm): Whether you've seen it or not, it's still one of the best movies ever and highly recommended.
His mouth stuffed with cotton wool, Marlon Brando plays Don Vito Corleone in one of his most memorable roles. Al Pacino plays his son, Michael, in an epic tale of the rise and rise of the Sicilian mob in America, and the rites of passage from father to son.
Well done to e.tv. And the good news is that the sequels will follow.
- Desperate Housewives
(M-Net, 8.30pm): The residents of Wisteria Lane finally learn Martha Huber's fate, and the truth has unexpected consequences for Susan, as the nasty old bag's diary comes to light. Old Martha always did have her suspicions about the fire at Edie's house.
Bree finds her new beau, George, is getting a little too clingy, which is never an attractive trait.
Lynette concocts an elaborate fib about Parker's health to get into a yoga class; and Carlos returns, but his homecoming isn't quite what Gabrielle had in mind.
- The Apprentice: SA (SABC3, 8.31pm): The contestants receive the phone call for their next task but first they must meet Tokyo, Wendy and Gugu at Mary Fitzgerald Square for the briefing.
Their task is to arrange a tour of the Hector Peterson Memorial in Soweto, and they need to focus on profitability as well as sustainability.
- Taking Back The Waves (SABC2, 9pm): Eagle-eyed viewers will notice this is a repeat, but according to the film-maker, Nic Hofmeyr, it is a new and improved version of the story of surfer Cass Collier.
Two surfers from different backgrounds, Collier and Ian Armstrong, meet and forge a surfing path together.
They push the limits in Cape Town's big waves, and claim competitive victory.
But it was Collier's surfing father, Ahmed, who resisted apartheid restrictions and coached his son to become a champion.
Today Cass and Ahmed have their differences, but Cass echoes his father's earlier efforts, as he and Ian teach a new generation of children to ride the waves.
- CSI New York (M-Net, 9.30pm): Panic ensues on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange when a briefcase is left behind with no owner. The briefcase's contents are traced back to a stockbroker who mysteriously disappeared after investigating another broker's illegal trades.
Detective Mac Taylor has to piece together the cryptic evidence to solve a larger mystery and learns there's a thin line between the man working The Street and the man living on the street.
Stella investigates the death of a pregnant counsellor found next to the church where she worked.
- Too Fat, Too Young (SABC2, 10pm): According to the press material for this documentary, there are now over 10 million fat children in the US, so shockingly obese that it will shorten their lives.
The programme looks at how some children may be able to escape to a better, healthier future as it examines the causes of childhood obesity and the extreme methods that parents have been driven to in attempting to get their children to lose weight.
Focusing on cases on both sides of the Atlantic, the programme shows how poor eating habits, lack of exercise and genetic make-up lead to obesity.
Too Fat, Too Young also looks at whether her parents can do the most difficult thing - change their own attitudes to food, thus helping their children by example.
The programme shows how depression and despair can drive fat children to eat more and why their troubled families collude with the overeating.
- Renovate My Family (DStv's Series Channel, 10pm): Uncle Roger getting tanked up on cheap beer and driving you dilly with his boring, slurred stories about the good old days? Your darling little petal of a daughter has turned into a snarling monster on the eve of her 14th birthday? Mom humiliating you and scarring you for life by trilling "I looooove you," as she drops you outside school while still wearing her pajamas?
Families - we can't pick 'em, or so they say. Enter best-selling author Jay McGraw, son of Dr Phil McGraw, who has inherited his dad's penchant for meddling in other people's lives, sometimes for the better.
Renovate My Family is not just a home improvement show - it's a life improvement programme that visits families who have encountered some challenges along the way. Whether it's weight issues, physical disabilities or a home that is literally falling apart, Renovate My Family can overcome any obstacle, put families back together and help them forge ahead toward their goals.
A panel of makeover professionals - a stylist, an interior designer, a construction crew, and even experts who re-invent cars and pamper pets - will help restore and redecorate the lives of families.
The Bigginses from Trading Spouses return in the first episode, having beaten 20 other finalists in a nationwide search to find a family who needs the most help (and they are proud of this?).
The family checks into a wellness clinic, and a construction crew races against the clock to demolish and rebuild their home in seven days.