TV not to miss

SATURDAY

The Blue Planet

BBC Four, 7pm

If you’re not into sport or royal occasions (eg Trooping the Colour Highlights, BBC Two, 7.30pm), viewing options are extremely limited today. For natural history fans, this first episode in the repeat of David Attenborough’s classic series from 2001 is still awe-inspiring.

SUNDAY

Secrets of Our Living Planet

BBC Two, 8pm

Chris Packham of Springwatch continues his attempted rehabilitation from bird-nerd to mainstream presenter. In a series that attempts to join the dots between some of the organisms who depend on each other in ecosystems, he begins in the Amazon by looking at a mighty tree and a tiny rodent it relies upon for survival.

Thelma & Louise

TV3, 9pm

This tale of two friends who shoot a rapist and hit the road was a huge hit when it was released in 1991. Stars Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and a youthful Brad Pitt.

Laochra Gael

TG4, 9pm

A repeat of the show on Waterford hurling star Dan Shanahan. He scored a tally of 21 championship goals from play, and we hear about how some of the most crucial of those scores were against Cork.

True Love

BBC One, 10.25pm

Described as BBC One’s first “improvised series”, each episode of this new show allowed its actors plenty room for manoeuvre as the individual love stories developed. Tonight’s opener stars David Tennant as a man who begins to question his marriage after he bumps into his first love. The series runs nightly over the next five days, with Billie Piper, right, taking the lead in one of the other instalments as an unfulfilled teacher who finds herself drawn to one of her female pupils.

Little Miss Sunshine

Channel 4, 11.10pm

The film that punched way above its weight in 2006 probably got over-hyped by the time it received its four Oscar nominations, but it still made for an entertaining outing. A road-trip for a normal dysfunctional family also shines a light on the bizarre world of child beauty pageants.

MONDAY

Gok Cooks Chinese

Channel 4, 8.30pm

Most eyes will be on the Ireland game tonight, but one of the few alternatives has Gok Wan showing you how to cook Chinese street food. Among the items on the menus are lamb and cucumber kebabs.

TUESDAY

How To Beat Depression

TV3, 10pm

Ray D’Arcy continues his series on the major mental health issue by exploring our individual readiness to deal with crisis when it comes along. What treatments are available for the thousands of people who suffer from depression?

London Calling

RTÉ One, 10.35pm

New series attempting to drum up interest in some of the Irish athletes who’ll be competing at the London Olympics from Jul 27. This first episode features Corkonian walker Robert Heffernan (pictured right with his wife Marian), and his attempts to balance family life with his demanding training schedule. To complicate matters, his wife Marian is also an elite-level athlete and we get a glimpse of how the couple perform a juggling act with their relationship, childcare and their athletics careers. Also included in tonight’s programme is marathon runner Mark Kenneally.

WEDNESDAY

Ocean Giants

BBC Two, 8pm

Second episode in this week’s repeats of the superb series on the larger sea creatures. Narrated by Stephen Fry, this episode has some of the most amazing wildlife footage you’ll ever see, not least a sequence showing the incredibly complicated level of communication and organisation required for a pod of humpback whales to create an effective ‘bubble net’.

THURSDAY

When Ruairí met Máire

TG4, 7.30pm

In memory of Máire MacSwiney Brugha, who died recently, this is a repeat of the Léargas show from 2003 which examined the relationship between the only daughter of Terence McSwiney and the only son of Cathal Brugha. It looks at how their republican heritage affected the couple, as well as their children and grandchildren.

The Works

RTÉ One, 11.05pm

The first series of the arts show comes to an end with Billy Bragg discussing his hero Woody Guthrie, and Sinead Gleeson casting her eye over the shortlist for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Fíorscéal

TG4, 11.55pm

Documentary on botox, the sausage poison which has become a phenomenally popular wrinkle treatment for people wishing to hide the effects of ageing.

The Birds

RTÉ One, 12.55am

There are all sorts of tales about Alfred Hitchcock’s obsession with Tippi Hedren, and there’s no doubt the American actress went through quite an ordeal for the filming of her debut film in 1963. The woman who would later become the mother of Melanie Griffith plays a wealthy young socialite who gets more than she bargained for when she visits a town besieged by vicious birds.

FRIDAY

Coast

BBC Two, 8pm

With Sweden playing in England’s group at Euro 2012, the final episode of this top-notch series explores the Scandinavian country’s coast. We hear about mountains that are still rising by a centimetre a year and tales of the Second World War when Sweden was providing vital components for the Nazis.

Gardeners’ World

BBC Two, 8.30pm

Monty Don replaces wallflowers and other plants that are past their best, while also picking his first crop of fruit and vegetables. Carol Klein offers advice on how your garden can provide a habitat for wildlife.