The Missing Evidence, SBS One, 8.30pm

The terror attack on the Twin Towers has spawned many conspiracies. The key question for many is why the 110-storey buildings collapsed within just two hours. This doco concentrates on the explanation offered by chemist Frank Greening. Unlike some of the theorists inhabiting the wilder corners of the internet, he comes across as a fairly sensible  chap with a plausible theory that revolves around the chemistry that occurs when an aeroplane made largely of aluminium is flown into the side of a building. It makes for fascinating viewing that is only slightly marred by the gimmicky presentation and annoying background music.

The Simpsons, Eleven, 8.30pm

Someone is fracking under Springfield – and, not unexpectedly, that someone turns out to be Mr Burns. With plenty of US political jokes and sly nods to the controversial anti-fracking documentary Gasland, this episode could be a little “niche” for some Simpsons fans but it is  pacy enough to carry most viewers along. And it has Jane Fonda guesting as Democratic Senator Maxine Lombard.

Cherry Healey: Old Before My Time, ABC2, 9.30pm

Here are two well-worn propositions: 1. Young people take good health for granted and  believe they are bulletproof; and 2. Binge drinking among the young is way too common and very dangerous. This is not news but the makers of Old Before My Time have found a fresh and genuinely affecting way to tackle these issues. The simple mechanism of examining the plight of youngsters who have been rendered “old before their time” shines a new and shocking light on the issue. Cherry Healey’s  wide-eyed response to her subjects adds an extra dimension, but it is the victims themselves who have the most impact. People such as 35-year-old Jo,  who remains stoic in the face of a grotesquely distended belly caused by cirrhosis. She has to have it drained in hospital every three weeks. Then there is young plumber Max who parties on, despite excruciating bouts of pancreatitis. And, perhaps most affecting of all, the mother and sister of a 28-year-old who died of liver failure after long-term alcohol abuse. It is very hard to watch at times, but might be worth showing to teenagers who are dear to you.
Nick Galvin

PAY TV

World’s Worst Place to Be Gay?, BBC Knowledge, 9.30pm 

This compelling documentary is a few years old now, but with Ugandan politicians determined to resurrect their infamous ‘‘Kill the Gays’’ legislation it remains as current as ever. Here we see BBC radio DJ Scott Mills heading to Uganda and finding that the law is very much in keeping with the homicidal hatred of gays expressed by ordinary Ugandans he meets. Mills, who is gay himself, asks a group of cheerful high-school children where they get their hatred of gays, and it turns out to be their churches. 
Brad Newsome

MOVIES

The Time That Remains (2009), SBS One, 11.55pm

Told in four parts, Elia Suleiman’s The Time That Remains observes the schism between Israel’s Jews and the Palestinians they made citizens following the map-altering battles of 1948 through wry, sometimes quizzically understated, observation. Autobiographical like the previous features from an Arab filmmaker who was born in the Israeli city of Nazareth in 1960 and now resides in Paris, the movie puts the family unit at the centre of the daily uncertainty that comes with living in a democracy that is also an occupying power. Elia’s father, Fuad (Saleh Bakri), fights in 1948 and never really stops, even if his objection is muted to the point of disdainful disbelief about the circumstances under which he is raising his family, including son ES (who is played by several actors). The satire is not so much political and humanist – nothing that unfolds in Nazareth across the years makes sense if those involved try to think it through, but history and society demands that they diligently play their parts.

The Black Dahlia (2006), Thriller Movies (pay TV), 6.25pm

Novelist James Ellroy is fascinated by the detritus of vast conspiracies, the motivations behind bloody crimes that open out to reveal layers of misdeed and calculation. Director Brian De Palma is fascinated by moments of terror, instances where the extremity of what’s occurring acquire a kind of hysteria for both the character and the audience. In short, they’re ill-suited for the collaboration at a distance of De Palma (Carrie, Scarface) directing the adaptation of The Black Dahlia, Ellroy’s career-making 1987 novel. In the booming, corrupt LA of 1947, police detectives Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) are a law unto their own department. Former boxing rivals, they’re now partners, united away from their office by their bond with Blanchard’s de facto partner, Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson, in a succession of tight sweaters). Their cosy domesticity is as close as Bleichert has had to a family, but it all falls asunder whenthe body of Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner), a young hopeful existing on the periphery of Hollywood, is found in a vacant lot, naked and cut in half. Obsession and revelation ensue, but the movie is a reminder that De Palma has little feel for story and he can only illustrate his characters via their immediate actions. He remains most  at ease when his camera voyeuristically lurks outside a window, watching the lovers entangled inside. Take note of Hilary Swank’s supporting role asan heiress:  it has unexpected psychological friction.
Craig Mathieson