TV not to miss

Saturday

Grease

RTÉ Two, 3.20pm

Is it really 33 years since John Travolta and co caused such a sensation with this musical tale of high school love? The film itself may look a bit dated, but much of the music sounds surprisingly fresh.

Spiral

BBC Four, 9pm

Another two episodes of the gripping French police drama. Captain Berthaud’s colleagues believe the Butcher of La Villette is no longer at large, but she’s not so sure. In the background, Judge Roban ploughs ahead with his corruption enquiry and nobody is safe.

SUNDAY

The Hotel

Channel 4, 8pm

Episode two of the documentary series introduces us to Tom and Susanna, arriving at the hotel to make sure all is in order for their wedding a few weeks later. We follow the preparations of both the couple and the hotel staff up to the big day. There are a few Fawlty Tower moments as toilets stop working, the kitchen staff begin to falter and the best man goes that bit too far in his speech.

Misinéir na nDuganna; The Priest, The Mob, The Movie

TG4, 8.45pm

With On The Waterfront showing on RTÉ One tonight, this is a timely documentary on the Irish-American priest who inspired it. Fr John Corridan, right, took on the Irish mobsters and corrupt union officials who controlled the New York docks during the 1940s and 1950s. He’s still remembered in the US as a hero of the fight for social justice.

L.A. Confidential

RTÉ Two, 9pm

While you may have seen everything on the schedule, there’s actually a decent roster of films this weekend. LA Confidential is one of two offerings by 8 Mile director Curtis Hanson, and stars Kevin Spacey and Russell Crowe in a dark cop drama set in 1950s Los Angeles.

30 Rock

3e, 9pm

It’s the third episode of the fifth season of a comedy that’s sadly underwatched in this country. Tina Fey and her crew are responsible for some of the funniest TV around at the moment, and in tonight’s episode Alec Baldwin’s character Jack Donaghy takes centre stage as he testifies before Congress in favour of merger moves for his company.

On The Waterfront

RTÉ One, 1.30am

It’s not that RTÉ doesn’t show good films. The problem is the way the national broadcaster tucks them away at such inaccessible times that the only thing likely to be awake in your house is the recorder. If you haven’t seen Elia Kazan’s classic from 1954 treat yourself to one of the greatest movies ever made. Eva Marie-Saint and Karl Malden are impressive, but Marlon Brando steals the show as washed up boxer Terry Malloy. He could’ve been a contender.

MONDAY

Spartacus: Gods Of The Arena

Sky 1, 10pm

The series finale brings this prequel tale to a close. Batiatus (John Hannah) is on a quest for vengeance over the death of his father and enlists his gladiators’ help to spring an attack.

War Of The Buttons

RTÉ One, 4.05pm

Part of a west Cork double bill today, with The Wind That Shakes The Barley showing on TV3 at 9pm. While that later film features the big boys and their battles, this matinee offering from 1995 centres around the junior inhabitants of two rival villages as they cut the buttons off each other’s clothes.

Weeds

Sky Atlantic, 10.50pm

First episode of the fifth season of the excellent comedy drama from US network Showtime. The fate of main character Nancy was left in the balance in the last season when she told the DEA about major drug dealer Esteban. Lucky for her she is carrying his son, so is allowed to live and continue her shenanigans for another series walking on the tightrope between the two sides of the law.

MasterChef

BBC One, 9pm

It’s the last week of this series of the popular culinary show, with the next three nights featuring the contestants in their final cook-offs. Tonight’s episode is located in Australia, where the three candidates have to prepare bush food in the Queensland rainforest, before creating a three-course lunch for foodie sophisticates in Sydney. Final is on Wednesday.

TUESDAY

The Consumer Show

RTÉ One, 8.30pm

It may have the most colourful set since Ugly Betty, but this year’s series has ditched the live audience and already looks like a tighter affair than last season. Eddie Hobbs and Keelin Shanley feature a woman whose mortgage got so much to bear that she fled overseas, and they also look at the amount of salt used in the manufacture of food.

Good Night And Good Luck

RTÉ Two, 1.50am

Another good film, another crazy scheduling decision by RTÉ. George Clooney, below, directs this account of how 1950s newsman Edward R. Murrow took a stand against the anti-communist witch-hunts being directed by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the US.

WEDNESDAY

Bóthar go dtí an White House

TG4, 10.30pm

The Irish in America really has become a specialised subject of TG4, and a repeat of the excellent documentary series offers the chance to see how the Irish have been so influential in the politics of the US. First up is a focus on Richard ‘Boss’ Croker, the Tamany Hall organiser who wielded such power in New York in the latter half of the 19th century. Born in Blackrock, Cork, he was the son of a well-to-do family who owned an estate near Clonakilty. Famously, when he died in 1922 in Dublin, he disinherited his children and left over $3 million to his second wife.

THURSDAY

My Big Fat Royal Gypsy Wedding

Channel 4, 9pm

There’s a lot of talk of weddings this week, and Channel 4 hopes to combine the interest in the Buckingham Palace blue-bloods with the massive interest their recent series helped create about a group traditionally lumped at the opposite end of the social scale. Over the past few weeks, they’ve been following a family of Irish travellers as they prepare for their own huge day. An insight into a marginalised culture or cynical exploitation and voyeurism? You decide.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The True Story

BBC Four, 9pm

Delves into the fascinating life of L Frank Baum, the journalist chicken breeder who succeeded in his ambition to create the first genuine American fairytale.

FRIDAY

In Treatment

Sky Atlantic, 10.15pm

Gabriel Byrne, right, is back for a second series as therapist Dr Paul Weston as he tries to help solve the problems of his patients while also keeping his own life on track. It follows much the same format as the first season, different broadcast nights being allocated to specific patients, with each week concluding with his own visit to professional therapist Gina (Dianne Wiest). What does differ this year, however, is that there is far more focus this time around on his own issues. Weston is coping with divorce and a house move, and in many ways is as troubled as his clients.

The Squid And The Whale

RTÉ One. 1.10am

Superb comedy drama from 2005 starring Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney, above. He’s the fading novelist who has a fling with one of his students, while she has an affair with her son’s tennis teacher. Insert here the usual well-worn complaint about RTÉ’s late scheduling.