Preview

Monday True Lives (RTE 1, 8 p.m.) A new series of documentaries on RTE kicks off with this programme about seven Lotto millionaires, who talk about how winning a huge amount of money has changed their lives. 98412399 Equinox: A Very British Bomb (Channel 4, 9 p.m.) Previously secret footage is shown in this account of the building of Britain's atomic bomb in the years leading up to the first explosion in 1952. 7370 Picture This (BBC 2, 9.30 p.m.) A new series of documentaries from emerging directors. This one follows the lives of a group of people who wait on tables. 16776 Panorama: The Ultimate Taboo (BBC 1, 10 p.m.) Child sexual abuse by women may be more prevalent than is commonly believed, according to tonight's Panorama. Su Pennington talks to women sex offenders, people who have suffered abuse and experts about the problem. 774950 Seven Sins (Channel 4, 11 p.m.) First of seven programmes offering a 1990s perspective on each of the seven sins. Tonight, Howard Marks provides a spirited defence of sloth in a workaholic age. 2573

Tuesday

Leargas (RTE 1, 7.30 p.m.) Maire Mhac an tSaoi tells the story of her life with her husband, Conor Cruise O'Brien over half a century, focusing on how their relationship has thrived despite their different political views. 64192245 Match Of The Day: Celtic V Liverpool (BBC 1, 8 p.m.) The UEFA Cup proper kicks off with this plum tie between these two great clubs trying to recapture former glories, live from Parkhead. 23676055 Marc Bolan: Dandy In The Underworld (Channel 4, 9 p.m.) Marking the 20th anniversary of Bolan's death, this documentary looks at the life and times of the glam rock star who epitomises a certain moment in British pop culture. Among the fans paying tribute are Morrissey and Billy Idol, and there's the inevitable "previously unseen footage". 6245 Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show (BBC 2, 11.15 p.m., 11.35 p.m.) RTE is well ahead of the BBC on Seinfeld, but let's hope that the BBC treats the sublime Larry Sanders Show with the respect it deserves this time. In a sea of whimsy and saccharine, Garry Shandling's creation is a work of magnificent malevolence. 114535, 536413

Wednesday

Champions' League Soccer (Network 2, ITV, 7.30 p.m.) Soccerphobes won't be happy this week, as they glimpse the long nights of European football which stretch ahead of them this autumn. RTE is showing Manchester United's clash with Kosice of Slovakia, while ITV features the more glamorous tie between Newcastle and Barcelona. 51380727, 672746 How Far Home? (RTE 1, 8.30 p.m.) Eight years after his release from prison, Gerry Conlon talks about the personal and emotional difficulties he has faced as he tries to come to terms with his 16 years of wrongful imprisonment. 79408098 Flickering Flame (RTE 1, 11.10 p.m.) Ken Loach is best known for his highly political dramas, but this is his first fulllength documentary, seen last December on the BBC. Loach returns to the Liverpool docks, where he made his drama The Big Flame 27 years ago, to film a bitter labour dispute which has been going on since September 1995. 60938949 Over The Edge (BBC 2, 11.15 p.m.) Three women who were detained under Britain's Mental Health Act talk about the treatment they received and its effect on their lives. 447217

Thursday

The Big Story: Public Shaming (ITV, 7.30 p.m.) In the United States, some judges are using "public shaming" as a deterrent to criminal behaviour. Dermot Murnaghan talks to them, and to some British politicians who would like to see the idea used there. 499 Horizon: Mind Over Body (BBC 2, 9.25 p.m.) Alternative medicine is now being studied by mainstream science. It is now accepted that the mind can influence the body's capacity to defend against disease, as this documentary shows. 683031 The San Patricios (RTE 1, 10.10 p.m.) Many Irish-born soldiers fought on the Mexican side in the US-Mexican war of 1847, joining the "San Patricios", the St Patrick's Brigade. Many were killed in action, while many more were branded as deserters, flogged, branded or executed. Mark Day examines their legacy on the 150th anniversary of the executions. 32965760 Late Review (BBC 2, 11.15 p.m.) Mark Lawson, Tony Parsons, Tom Paulin and Allison Pearson return for another series of the critical talkshow, looking tonight at a new production of Othello, new British art at the Royal Academy, and the latest film from Mike Leigh. 425321

Friday

Pop Scene (Network 2, 5.35 p.m.) It must have taken the powers-that-be at RTE a lot of time to come up with the name for this new pop music magazine programme, which promises news, reviews and interviews. 94874616 The Big Catch (BBC 2. 8 p.m.) First of a new six-part series for anglers, travelling the world in search of the ultimate fishing trip. Liam Dale travels to Egypt tonight in search of the Nile perch. 8695 Ground Force (BBC 2, 8.30 p.m.) New gardening series presented by Alan Titchmarsh, whereby the crew change people's properties from horticultural wastelands into glorious gardens without the owners knowing. Sounds a bit forced. 2180 Shooting Stars 96: The Best Bits (BBC 2, 9.30 p.m.) Even if you like Reeves and Mortimer's brand of raucous absurdism, the BBC seems to be over-egging the cake by showing highlights of last year's series in the run-up to the start of a new season next week. 12180 Manga! (BBC 2, 12.10 a.m.) In advance of a series of manga films showing on BBC 2 over the next few weeks, Jonathan Ross (remember him?) presents this introduction to the genre of animated Japanese films. 3426285

Films

Tuesday: Wolf (RTE 1, 10.10 p.m.) Despite the presence of Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer, Mike Nichols's attempted updating of the werewolf movie as a grown-up romantic comedy falls flat, largely because the script just isn't sharp enough. 51560448

Tuesday: The Loneliness Of The Long Dis- tance Runner (Channel 4, 12.40 a.m.) The style and conventions of the British "kitchen sink" dramas of the early 1960s inspire such nostalgia these days that it's difficult to take what at the time seemed like savage social commentary seriously. This is one of the best of the lot, with Tom Courtenay making a fine debut as the Borstal boy with a talent for running. 829901

Friday: The Conversation (RTE 1, 11.45 p.m.) Francis Ford Coppola's most underrated film is too dense and intricate to come across well on the small screen, but Gene Hackman is superb as the surveillance expert who becomes obsessed with untangling the truth of an event he recorded.

At the time (1974), it seemed like a perceptive vision of Watergate-era America; in the sample-happy 1990s it looks like a semiabstract exploration of the possibilities of movie sound. 12885180