Updated: Wednesday, 9th July, 2008 12:00pm

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WHAT"S ON THE BOX

Lab Rats (BBC 2, Wednesday). Somewhere in St Dunstan"s University sits the Arnolfini Research Laboratory - a lab for hire, meant for flashy projects which will bring the college kudos and money. Unfortunately, the Arnolfini is staffed by what are known in scientific circles as 'idiots". Lab Rats is a big, daft, cartoony sitcom, filmed before a studio audience. Although set in a laboratory, it is less about science and more an excuse for stupid jokes, endearingly chaotic characters and fast-paced, farcical plots. One week might find the lab rats unexpectedly creating giant, corridor-filling snails, the next week they could be wondering how they"ve offended Joan Armatrading.

The regular cast includes: Chris Addison, Geoff McGivern, Jo Enright, Dan Tetsell, Selina Cadell and Helen Moon.

Boom Boom: The expolosion of Irish comedy (RTE 1, Thursday). Not so long ago Irish comedy meant Paddy jokes and old codgers dressed as leprechauns. Then something happened with Irish comedy exploding in the 1990s, and now comedy writers and comedians from Ireland rank amongst the very best in the English-speaking world. How did this transformation come about? Who were the funny men and women who found Ireland"s new voice? And what the hell were they on about? Boom Boom - The Explosion of Irish Comedy combines rare and priceless performances from the archives with contemporary interviews with the comedians who started it all. Interviewees recall the phenomenon of 'Scrap Saturday" and the impact that it had.

The bar had been raised, and new stars were created. The first act in the legendary Comedy Cellar was Mr Trellis, seen by many of today"s most celebrated stand-ups as the beginning of the explosion of Irish comedy. Ireland"s first Perrier Award Winner, Sean Hughes, began his career in the Comedy Cellar. Hughes ascended to heights unheard of for Irish comedians, getting his own show on British television and selling out stand-up gigs at home and abroad. Irish television too was beginning to take notice of the burgeoning comedy scene, and 'Nighthawks" was where many of us got our first glimpse of the stars of the future. Kevin McAleer"s three minute stories for 'Nighthawks" are now classics of Irish comedy with McAleer today looking back on that time and trying to fathom the appeal of the most unlikely of characters.

This is me (RTE 1, Monday). John Baker cycles everywhere. Cycling gives him freedom, a freedom that his mind tried to take away from him. The programme takes us inside the world of John Baker - a man who has a personality disorder. In 1987 John started work as a porter. He enjoyed this job and made good friends. However, something triggered in John"s head in 1997. He became very unhappy in work, he was stressed, depressed and he began to drink a lot. He became paranoid with the belief that everyone was talking about him. He isolated himself from his family and friends and gave up work.

Today, John can speak honestly about his condition. 'I don"t want people to be afraid of me, there is no reason to be afraid; they just need to understand. My mind was clouded, distorted and I was saturated with negativity." John can now say without shame, that mental illness will be part of his life forever. He will be on his meds for the foreseeable future and visits his counsellor when he needs to. 'She is there for me 24 hours a day, when I need her, I call her." The continued stigma associated with mental heath upsets and frustrates John. 'Understanding Me" will attempt to address some of this stigma.

Movie of the week: Red Eye (RTE 1, Wednesday). Cillian Murphy puts aside his War of Independence persona to play a cunning killer in this tense thriller set mainly aboard an airliner. Excellent plot and good conclusion make this one a decent thriller for one of our best actors.