What's On the Box this week?

THE MENTALIST (RTE 1, Thursday). New series starring Simon Barker as an independent consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation who has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his razor sharp skills of observation. Within the Bureau, he is notorious for his blatant lack of protocol and his semi-celebrity past as a former psychic medium, whose paranormal abilities he now admits he feigned. However, no-nonsense senior agent Robin Tunney openly resists having him in her unit and alternates between reluctantly acknowledging his usefulness and blasting him for his theatrics, narcissism and dangerous lack of boundaries. This one got rave reviews in the US, and seems an interesting addition to the psychological crime genre. MUD, SWEAT AND TRACTORS (BBC 4, Wednesday). A new four-part series telling the story of man"s relationship with the land, charting the revolution of food production in the 20th century, and examining the impact this had on the lives of farmers and consumers alike. Intimate and touching home films, recorded at the time, provide a unique and largely unseen record of a century of revolution on the land. The first programme looks at milk. The changing ways in which it was distributed and sold are captured in the home movies of two dairy farmers from the South of England - Nick Gosling, whose mother filmed life on the farm from the Fifties through to the end of the century, and Will Hosford, whose father has home movies of their lives in farming stretching back to the Thirties. These home movies reveal the scale of the revolution in one of the most important products of the farm. Through them viewers can see the transition from hand milking to robot milking, from milk delivered to the door to milk sold by supermarkets, and from cows that produced 15 litres a day in the "30s to cows that today produce over 60 litres a day. MISSING: RACE AGAINST TIME (CH4, Thursday). Every year in Britain the police receive nearly a quarter of a million calls about missing people. A handful of these cases hit the headlines - including Madeline McCann, Shannon Matthews and 'Canoe Man" John Darwin - but most people who go missing never make the newspapers. Some choose to disappear, some are found too late and others just seem to walk out of their lives, leaving their families desperate for answers and the police in a race against time to find them. As part of Cutting Edge, this new documentary follows three families" desperate searches to find loved ones and features exclusive access to Greater Manchester Police"s investigations. There are more than 300 missing persons calls a week in Manchester, and in a city of 2.5 million people it can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. When someone goes missing the first 72 hours are vital to the police. If they aren"t found within that time it becomes less likely they ever will be as the trail goes cold. SECRETS OF THE STONES (RTE 1, Monday). The concluding part of this two-part series seeking to fill the gaps in Ireland"s history that have never been explained. Can extraordinary new discoveries shine light on Ireland"s dark ages and finally give us some answers? Were we almost wiped out 4000 years ago in a climate change event? Why did Ireland, unlike Europe, become Christian so quickly and change religion so peacefully? Have we discovered remains of a new structure on the Hill of Tara so vast that it rivals Croke Park in its footprint size? Are the religious symbols carved on the great mounds Knowth and Dowth proof that Ireland was at the centre of a great ancient European religion? By answering these questions we will hopefully help redefine our views of Ireland"s ancient societies, reshaping our knowledge of the past. Using feature-film technology and high-end computer graphics to unlock the secrets of the past, these programmes bring six of our key sites to life as has never been seen before. Charting their interconnections , Secrets of the Stones looks at these iconic landmarks together as part of a wider cultural landscape. MOVIE OF THE WEEK: CRASH (RTE 1, Wednesday). Oscar winning slice of LA life where the stories of a huge cast interact in dramatic and humorous ways. Terrific film with fine performances from Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Ryan Philippe, Matt Dillon and Thandie Newton. Don"t miss.