Published: Wednesday, 11th November, 2009 4:55pm

What's On the Box this week?

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'Buyer Beware' (RTE 1, Wednesday) - 'Buyer Beware' makes a timely return for a new series as we all become more concerned at saving those extra pennies and avoiding consumer rip-offs.

Once again presented by Philip Boucher Hayes, the series uncovers the business dealings and practices that have prompted complaints from disgruntled consumers throughout the country. The show follows up these complaints as it travels around Ireland, and further afield, in pursuit of individuals and businesses, both large and small.

In programme one, Boucher Hayes investigates a pet shop that has sold some very sick puppies, interviewing the families that bought them and the vets that fought to save their lives. Also in the programme, he visits three disappointed Dublin customers of a UK-based kitchen company, and heads to Manchester looking for answers.

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'Spooks' (BBC 1, Wednesday) - This excellent spy series hit the ground running last week and keeps up the relentless action into this second episode where the team is forced into action as the UK reaches crisis point when energy supplies are threatened by an explosion at a gas processing plant.

The Home Secretary maintains public confidence by insisting that alternative suppliers are available but, behind closed doors, the government is forced to engage in secret talks with Tazbekstan, a nation with a dubious human rights record. Tazbek trade and industry secretary Rustam Urazov promises to supply Britain with energy but, in return, expects that Section D will turn a blind eye as he wipes out two enemies - exiled poet Bibi Saparova and campaigning journalist Matthew Plowden.

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'River Cottage' (Ch4, Wednesday) - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is back for a new series, and with autumn well and truly in full swing and winter on its way, it's time to stock the larder and enjoy everything these seasons have in store.

Fishing is one of his great passions and whether with line or fly, scuba gear or net, Fearnley-Whittingstall endeavoured to try a wide variety of methods to catch his prey in a sustainable fashion. One technique he's has not attempted yet is professional free diving. After a crash course in learning how to hold huge breaths underwater, he takes to the open sea to try and bag the ultimate shellfish: scallops.

It's also mushroom season, so foraging guru John Wright and Hugh snuffle about the woods in a bid to find some fantastic fungi prizes, which are destined for a succulent mushroom tart.

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'River Monsters' (ITV, Thursday) - Piranhas have a reputation as the most ferocious fish in the world. With razor sharp teeth, they hunt in packs, stripping a body of its flesh in minutes.

In this programme, the first of a new series, biologist and extreme angler Jeremy Wade examines whether piranhas deserve the reputation they've gained as one of the biggest terrors in the water. Wade travels to Brazil to find out what lurks under the murky waters of the Amazon and attempts to get to the bottom of stories of piranha attacks on humans. Scientists have determined that there are some 60 different species in the piranha sub-family, yet the majority of them are actually vegetarian. It is the flesh-eating behaviour of just a couple of species that gives them their fearsome reputation.

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'The Clinic' (RTE 1, Sunday) - Can it be the final episode of this excellent series already? Afraid so, folks. It is Dan's last day at Clarence Street as he locks up his empty flat, clears his office and says his goodbyes to the staff. But those nasty cardsharps who cheated him out of his position, Lorcan Cranitch and Alison Doody, have one last shock in store for the bould Dan and the rest of the staff at the clinic.

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'A Little Bit Showband' (RTE 1, Sunday) - Series two of this stroll down Ireland's pop music history brings six very personal stories from stars who made their name in the showband era. Narrated by Ronan Collins, these are stories of personal triumphs, fun and excess, tragedy and success, against a backdrop of the most extraordinary explosion of dancing and music that Ireland has ever seen.

The first programme in the series tells the story of Cork's Joe Mac, the drummer and co-vocalist with the Dixies Showband, but that doesn't begin to describe it. His mad physical antics, elastic face and big personality made the Dixies one of the biggest draws in the ballrooms, and Joe the 'Clown Prince' of the showbands. In his personal life, however, Joe experienced great joy and great tragedy in equal measure.

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Movie Of The Week: 'Saturday Night Fever' (RTE 1, Saturday). As it's on at 1am, you may need to set the recorder for this one - but it's well worth the trip down memory lane. John Travolta is the working-class young Brooklyn Italian-American who finds an escape from his mundane neighbourhood existence at the local discotheque, where he is the 'king of the dance floor'. Love that white suit.