Best of the Week's TV (Saturday, June 8 - Friday 14)
TV3, 7.30pm
Finalists include singers, dancers and an impressionist, but there will also be plenty attention on the guest performers — Psy doing his ‘Gentleman’ thing, along with Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran singing ‘Everything Has Changed’.
RTÉ One, 8.35pm
Brian Ormond and Sinead Kennedy return for the National Lottery’s summer show. Five members of the public who got three stars on a scratch card get a chance to win holidays and cash prizes of up to 250,000.
Today’s rugby action isn’t exactly a prime-time affair, but there are some interesting games on offer: New Zealand v France (Sky Sports 2, 8am), British & Irish Lions v Queensland Reds (Sky Sports 2, 10.30am), Argentina v England (BBC Two, 8.10pm) and USA v Ireland (TG4, 1.20am). Live GAA features Wexford v Dublin (RTÉ Two, throw-in 7pm) in the Leinster hurling quarter-final.
RTÉ One, 9.30pm
The final episode of the series has Gibson closing in on the serial killer following his latest attack. By now, each of their fates are inextricably linked. Getting inside the mind of such an odious creation as Spector hasn’t made for comfortable viewing at times, but this slow-burning thriller has garnered a large enough audience for the BBC to commission a second series for next year.
BBC Two, 9pm
Irish naturalist Liz Bonnin did her Phd thesis on tigers, so is the perfect presenter for this two-part programme on a creature that the BBC had never previously filmed. There are only about 300 Siberian tigers left in the wild, a pitifully low number that could see their extinction in our lifetime. They are also the largest cat on the planet. Bonnin and her cameraman travel from Vladivostock into the wilderness with a team of local researchers, having several encounters with this magnificent creature, and even getting involved in the rescue of three cubs whose mother is feared dead.
Live hurling action features Offaly v Kilkenny (RTÉ Two, throw-in 2pm) in the Leinster quarter-final at Tullamore, and Limerick v Tipperary (TV3, throw-in 4pm) in the Munster semi-final.
RTÉ One, 7.30pm
Former Clare hurler Tony Griffin attempts to mentor Karl and Kristina Brauner, and their three sports-mad children. In particular, we see Karl make changes to his life to reconnect with his children’s education.
Sky Atlantic, 9pm
The final episode of a superb third series. After last week’s shocking incidents, much of tonight’s episode will be about setting us up for next season. Joffrey is standing up to his scheming grandfather, while Daenerys is still unaware of whether she’ll be hailed as a liberator on condemned as a conqueror.
Setanta Ireland, 10pm
Observational documentary on colourful manager Roddy Collins’s tenure at Monaghan United.
RTÉ One, 8.30pm
Donal Skehan returns for a new series promoting the ease and benefits of home-cooked food. This time around, he’s travelling the country in a Citreon H van, setting up his stall at various festivals and food events. He doesn’t have to travel far in this first episode, however, as he’s in his home town of Howth, cooking seafood chowder, and baking wild garlic soda bread.
Channel 4, 9pm
This new four-part series follows high IQ
children aged seven to 11 through a competition to find the ultimate child genius. From the U12 Scrabble champion to the eight-year-old chess prodigy.
BBC One, 10.35pm
Agnetha Fältskog — the blonde one in Abba — has lived quite a reclusive life since the demise of the Swedish super group. Now 63, she’s back recording again, and even has a duet with Gary Barlow on her new album. This documentary spans a career in the music business that began when she was only 15.
RTÉ One, 7pm
Boyle has been made famous by the Moone Boy series, and tonight we see efforts being made by the local Men’s Shed group and others to get a number of initiatives under way to bring more visitors to the Roscommon town.
RTÉ One, 8pm
One of the main strands of this week’s shows is the ongoing feud between Carol and Yvonne. In last night’s episode, an attempt by Carol to have some fun at her rival’s expense backfired spectacularly, and in this episode it’s Yvonne’s turn to put pressure on Carol. Being aware of Farrell’s shocking secret gives her the opportunity she’s been waiting for.
BBC Two, 9pm
Final instalment of the three-part series looks at the aftermath of the disastrous invasion, and how Iraq is still a divided and extremely violent place. Some of the major players in the situation — Jack Straw, David Petraeus, Nouri Maliki, etc — contribute to the show.
RTÉ One, 7pm
The second visit to our aspiring vets has Fiona feeling the pressure of the continuous assessment she’s training under, particularly with looming farm animal exams. We also see Róisín working in the UCD veterinary hospital.
RTÉ Two, 9.30pm
This Cold War drama requires you to turn a blind eye to all sorts of plausibility issues, but if you can manage that, it may fill a hole in your viewing schedules until the next Homeland comes along. Tonight’s double-bill of episodes is set against the backdrop of the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan.
Channel 4, 10pm
Documentary following eight women as they set to work designing a sex toy on behalf of the Ann Summers company. Among them are a 69-year-old grandmother, a twentysomething virgin and a middle aged divorcee who has never achieved an orgasm. Despite the range of sex toys available, the women still believe there’s a gap in the market. In their enthusiastic attempts to fill it, they look to everyday implements for inspiration, and also roadtest some of the already-available products.
RTÉ One, 7.30pm
The third episode of David Shaw Smith’s series has the presenter going back to Berney’s Saddles at Kilcullen, Co Kildare, a saddle-making business he originally visited in 1981. We see the craftsmanship that has helped this family business survive through the generations, and also hear from the likes of John Oxx, a long-term customer of Berney’s.
BBC Two, 8.30pm
Monty Don undertakes seasonal tasks in the vegetable garden and flower beds, while Carol Klein visits a cottage garden with a huge collection of geum flowers.
BBC One, 10.35pm
Among the guests on tonight’s show is Jersey-born actor Henry Cavill, the star of the new Superman film. He’ll be joined on the couch by Russell Crowe, who plays his father in the movie.
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