What's On the Box this week

THE INVESTIGATORS (RTE, Thursday). Ireland"s scientific pioneers across the globe are making their mark and are quietly making a significant contribution to the improvement of all of our daily lives. This series looks at some of the most interesting projects leading Irish scientists are working on and assesses what the impact may be on our lives in the future. The selection of projects is extremely diverse and ranges from the identification of a protein which may help to arrest and even reverse the onset of Alzheimer"s to the design of a camera which can picture an event in space which happened billions of years ago. Each week the programme will focus on a specific area of life on which the Investigators are concentrating. The subjects include: Ireland in Space, Ageing, Sensors, Climate Change, Crops of the Future and the Nano Revolution. In the near future we will increasingly live and work in smart environments marrying the technologies of nano science, sensors and the computing power of the internet and Irish scientists are looking at applications that will come from this new world. Sensors will be inside our bodies monitoring function and disease and delivering drugs where and when they"re needed. With each sensor having potentially the power of the most intelligent computer that we know of today, the possibilities are endless and one of the most exciting areas will be in health monitoring from outside to actually inside the human body. PICTURE BOOK (BBC 4, Wednesday). In the company of the fictional characters many adults still love, Picture Book tells the story of children"s fiction, from the earliest picture books, featuring favourites such as Noddy and Thomas The Tank Engine, through to the more grown-up writings of JRR Tolkein and Philip Pullman, through the pictures, comic strips and illustrations that have been the secret of the genre"s success. This first programme explores books for the very youngest children, and their introduction to the world of stories. During this phase of learning to read, children hear the sound of the words, feel the rhythm of spoken lines and are enchanted by the magic of the pictures. Though there are occasional hints that the world might not be all 'peaches and cream', the ending is nearly always 'happily ever after'. The programme looks at a range of books, including The Tale Of Peter Rabbit, Noddy and Thomas The Tank Engine, and ends with Lauren Child and the stories of Charlie And Lola. It examines the timeless appeal of some of these classics, and the captivating illustrations which allow young readers to tap into the awesome power of imaginary worlds. BUYER BEWARE! (RTE 1, Thursday). Presented by Philip Boucher Hayes of RTÉs Radio Investigative Unit, uncovers the business dealings and practices that have prompted complaints from disgruntled consumers throughout the country. The reporter follows up these complaints as he travels around Ireland, and further afield, in pursuit of individuals and businesses both large and small. Episode One includes an investigation into the midnight raiding of charity clothes bags from collection areas, including metal clothes banks which is depriving a number of charities of significant revenues. This episode also features a story about a gutter replacement company, operating under various business names, which wreaked havoc on many homes with its shoddy workmanship. 1918 THE RED POPPIES DANCE (RTE 1, Tuesday). November 2008 marks the 90th Anniversary of the end of World War 1. The Irish soldiers who endured the horrors of that war are long dead, but the music of their life and times lives on. Haunting tunes sung a long way from Tipperary capture the loneliness and fear of a generation of men caught between two loyalties - between King and the possibility of a new country. Irish soldiers from a divided land marched from County Antrim to the Somme, from Wexford to Ypres. Many died together. Many never returned. This is one of a range of programmes on RTÉ Television and Radio to mark 90th anniversary of the First World War armistice. Using the music of the trenches it will tell the story of the Irish men who fought and died in The Great War - 'the war to end all wars". The programme"s title comes from one of the great songs about the First World War - Eric Bogle"s 'No Man"s Land", probably better known here from the recordings of Liam Clancy or The Fureys as 'The Green Fields of France, or 'Willie McBride. MOVIE OF THE WEEK: THE POLAR EXPRESS (RTE 1, Saturday). The story of a young boy on Christmas Eve who boards on a magical train that"s headed to the North Pole. What unfolds is an adventure which follows a doubting boy who embarks on a journey of self-discovery which shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.