What's On the Box this week

SMOKE AND MIRRORS (RTE 2, Monday). A brand new four-part comedy series, featuring stand-up by comedian Andrew Maxwell. Drawing on his successful Fullmooners show, the series features performances by some of his stage-show regulars such as Lady Carol of the Moontacula, a jazzy blues queen who sings rock covers while playing a ukulele, breakdancers and stand-up by comedians such as Adam Bloom, Craig Campbell, Glenn Wool and Steve Hughes. THE ART OF ITALY (BBC 4, Wednesday). Andrew Graham-Dixon heads to Italy as he explores why this passionate and picturesque country has created some of the best-loved art the world has ever seen and tries to shine a light on some of the powerful individuals, who funded, crafted and inspired the masterpieces behind arguably the most influential period in the history of art. Andrew goes on a personal journey in search of the world"s first art critic, the man who 'created' Renaissance art. With Vasari"s book as his guide, he retraces the author"s journey across the length and breadth of Italy in an attempt to discover the man behind the Lives Of The Artists. The paintings, sculptures and buildings he explores along the way are nothing short of extraordinary. He starts his journey in the picturesque town of Arezzo in Tuscany, Vasari"s birthplace and traces art"s rebirth and the rediscovery of 'glories of antiquity' - from the amazing frescoes of Giotto in Santa Croce, through the 'Holy Trinity of art', Masaccio, Donatello and Brunelleschi, to the Vasari-designed corridor in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Andrew"s journey aims to give an entirely fresh perspective on the most astonishing art ever seen. He attempts to paint a portrait of a complex, humane and entertaining individual, who lived during one of the most exciting periods in European history. WALLENDER (BBC 1, Sunday). Kenneth Branagh returns to the small screen to play Swedish detective Kurt Wallander in three new single dramas based on the best-selling books by Henning Mankell - an international publishing phenomenon with over 25 million copies sold worldwide. The dramas follow Inspector Kurt Wallander - a middle-aged everyman - as he struggles against a rising tide of violence in the apparently sleepy backwaters in and around Ystad in Skane, southern Sweden. In this first film, Sidetracked, a girl is seen wandering alone in a rapeseed field. Inspector Wallander is called to investigate. Before his eyes, the girl douses herself in petrol and burns to death - the event is both shocking and baffling for Wallander. A hunt for the girl"s identity begins. On the home front, Wallander, recently estranged from his wife, has moved into his own place. Linda, his grown-up daughter, is keeping an eye on her dad as he adjusts to bachelor life. Wallander"s relationship with his own father, Povel, is difficult and, as it becomes clear that Povel"s health is in decline, Wallander strives for a reconciliation with him. ECO CRIMES: OZONE KILLERS (RTE 1, Tuesday). Back in 1987 the world community adopted the 'Montreal Protocol" and banned the production of CFCs for use as propellants and coolants. These chemicals are considered to be the main cause of the ozone hole. This milestone was greeted with public acclaim and was seen as the most successful environmental protection agreement ever reached. No one at the time had any thoughts of illegal trafficking in CFCs and the involvement of organised crime. The starting point of the film is the research carried out by an ecological organisation in London - the Environmental Investigation Agency - and by the German customs authorities. At the end of the 90s, a German businessman, Georg G, came to the attention of customs investigators. He used falsified documents to import hundreds of tonnes of the long banned ozone killers into Europe. His source for the chemicals was China, where a special provision still permits them to be produced up to the year 2010 - as an interim measure and only for domestic use. The film documents how CFCs are smuggled into Europe and North America. The film-makers show the EIA members travelling to China undercover and using a hidden camera to film the meetings with the contact companies. Various Chinese industrialists are ruthlessly exploiting the loopholes in the Montreal Protocol and making millions. They laughingly reveal how they outwit the Chinese and European customs authorities, and how CFCs are still being offered for illegal export in China today. MOVIE OF THE WEEK: UNDER SIEGE (RTE 2, Thursday). Starring Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey and Colm Meaney, this all-actioner takes place on an American battleship taken over by renegade looking for a huge ransom. They didn"t figure on handling a humble ship"s cook, however, one Steven 'Kick Ass" Segal…