What"s on the box this week?

'The Clinic" (RTE 1, Sunday) - There"s a new addition to The Clinic this week as Dr Grace Sefate makes an impressive impact on her first day. The new locum makes quite an impression on her new colleagues when her belongings turn up before her, unceremoniously dumped in reception by an aggrieved lover. This unusual entrance immediately gives Grace an air of intrigue but she immediately asserts herself as a capable and dedicated doctor. Lorcan becomes increasingly moody and agitated. Julia, especially, picks up on his mood swings and though he puts it down to over-work, Julia reminds him she is always there for him to talk to if he needs it. Cara has well and truly stepped into Molly"s shoes by becoming a surrogate mother to Kieran and Molly"s baby, Hope. Kieran has found himself relying on Cara more and more, to her delight. 'Fringe" (Sky One, Sunday) - A brand new creation from the minds of JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the team behind 'Lost" and 'Alias". The story begins as an international flight lands at Boston"s Logan Airport with passengers and crew all having met grisly deaths. FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham is called in to investigate. When the search nearly kills her partner, Special Agent John Scott, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help and is led to scientific researcher, Dr Walter Bishop. There"s only one catch: he"s been institutionalised for the last 20 years and the only way to question him requires calling on his estranged son, Peter, for help. Under Special Agent Phillip Broyles, the trio discover that what happened on that fatal flight is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth, rooted in the idea of controversial 'fringe science". The series promises a unique take on the exploration of paranormal phenomena, with intriguing insights into activity beyond the realms of scientific explanation. 'Beautiful People" (BBC 2, Thursday) - Olivia Colman and Meera Syal star in this a comic memoir based on the story of Simon Doonan, who was born in Reading but is now creative director of the swankiest store in New York, Barneys. Each week, the narrative moves between New York City, 'now', and Reading, 'then'. In the first episode, Simon is creating a window in the New York store when his assistant, Sacha, knocks over a vase. Memories come flooding back of how he got the vase; of how his mum, Debbie, drank too much of his dad"s homemade wine; of how his sister, Ashlene, was desperate to 'hang with the crew in the hood'; of how his mum"s blind best friend, Hayley, betrayed a trust; and of how he came to be wearing a dress that belonged to his best friend, Kylie"s, mum. 'James May"s Big Ideas" (BBC 2, Sunday) - As a child, James May dreamed of a world populated by humanoid robots who might tidy his room or do the washing up. May now sets off to discover how close his vision of a robot world is to becoming a reality and, in doing so, enters an intriguing, mysterious and often rather strange world, as he continues his search around the globe for the latest, most promising but often bizarre technologies. In Japan, he meets the closest thing to Robocop - a woman who can double her strength thanks to an extraordinary electro-mechanical jumpsuit. But what will this bizarre mix of human intelligence and machine brawn be used for? He also has a close encounter of the weird kind with the most disturbing robot he has ever seen - a robot designed to look and behave exactly like its creator. Continuing his travels, James heads to the US to explore the possibilities of bionic implants and talks to the doctor who is making them a reality. In doing so, he has created a real $2m bionic woman. Finally, in the unlikeliest of laboratories, he encounters the world"s most advanced walking robot, Asimo. This robot can tackle stairs and has even mastered running. However, when faced with a closed door, the robot proves it isn"t all that smart. Cue Asimo"s twin brother, who has learnt to recognise everyday objects. Movie Of The Week: 'Notting Hill" (RTE 1, Wednesday) - Who couldn"t like Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts as the mis-matched couple who find love in a dusty bookshop in that famous section of London. Good scripting with the principals delivering decent chemistry makes for a nice midweek bit of romance.