New Zealand

Touchdown! Get ready to talk about: "Friday Night Lights" If you don't have it, find someone with DirecTV, turn to Channel 101 at 9 p.m. and indulge in one of the best series on TV. As a colleague describes it, the fourth season, via the previews, appears to have undergone a fantastical Guillermo del Toro-style makeover. There's also aggressive hinting that Julie and Matt are headed for splitsville. Beautiful and distressing -- hallmarks of good prime-time drama. (Wednesday)

BERMUDA Healthy habits Get cooking and get healthy onboard Norwegian Cruise Line's seven-day "Cooking Light Cruise" on the Norwegian Dawn. The magazine's experts lead cooking demonstrations and seminars, fitness activities, wine tastings and cocktail receptions. Itinerary: New York City to Bermuda and back Dates: Oct. 4 to 11 Price: From $880 double occupancy. Includes all Cooking Light activities but not port charges of $165, taxes of $146 and mandatory gratuities of $84. A $250 deposit is due within a week of booking.

Who knows how J.R.R. Tolkien would have designed a motel, but the Hobbit Motel in New Zealand seems to have real fantasy appeal. The strange little building with porthole-style windows is built into the side of a hill in Waitomo, a region on North Island known for its caves and waterfalls. Each Hobbit unit accommodates up to six people, with a double bed in the main living area and two sets of bunk beds in another room. All rooms also feature kitchenettes.

The California Milk Advisory Board may have shot itself in the hoof. The board, which promotes the state's dairy farmers and is overseen by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is again preparing to film commercials touting California milk from California cows -- in New Zealand. In January, it plans to shoot part of its new series of 10 California "Happy Cows" TV commercials in Auckland, taking advantage of that country's low production costs.