What"s on the box this week?

'The American Future" (BBC 2, Friday) - Shot against the backdrop of the presidential campaign, Simon Schama travels through America to dig deep into the conflicts of its history to understand what is at stake right now. In the first episode, American Plenty, Schama explores how American optimism about the infinite possibilities of its land and resources is in danger of coming to a grinding halt. Nowhere is this more evident than the American West, which has always been a symbol of opportunity and freedom. Oil at $4 a gallon may be dominating the headlines, but here it"s the lack of water that"s an even bigger threat to the American future. The West is in the grip of a nine-year drought. America"s optimism about its natural resources has always been spiced with clashes over conservation, going back to the first man to navigate the Colorado River, John Wesley Powell. American ingenuity made farming on an industrial scale possible in the early years of the 20th century but at the cost of making Oklahoma a dustbowl. The building of the Hoover Dam, a modern American miracle, which provided essential irrigation for farming and for the new city of Las Vegas, now no longer supplies enough water for both. In 1980, Ronald Reagan"s optimism about American plenty defeated Jimmy Carter"s campaign for self-restraint but, in this coming election, neither Barack Obama nor John McCain can ignore the challenges facing America as it enters an era of limits. 'A Little Bit Showband" (RTE 1, Tuesday) - Brendan O"Brien had the movie star looks and the voice to match. He was first introduced to rock and roll while growing up in Cork in the 1950s and dreamed of one day becoming a star. That chance came with The Dixielanders and his take-off of Buddy Holly proved to be a showstopper that added to his legend. With a mix of songs from O"Brien and comedy from drummer Joe Mac, The Dixielanders stood out in an era where there were over 700 showbands competing at the top of the tree. By the time the showband era was coming to a close, Brendan O"Brien and Joe Mac were so well-known that it was suggested they form their own band and Stage Two was started. The two friends looked forward to many more years performing together but fate was to deal O"Brien a terrible blow. He was critically injured one evening when he was electrocuted on stage. His injuries were so severe that he was unable to return to performing and the life he had loved so much. This twist of fate was to have a lasting effect on O"Brien and he turned to alcohol to ease the pain. In this programme, O"Brien speaks openly about his battle with addiction and how he overcame it eventually. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he occasionally joined his former bandmates on stage but never managed to recreate the success he had in the 1960s and early '70s. 'Ninety Naps A Day" (Ch4, Thursday) - Around one in every 2,000 people are affected by narcolepsy, a neurological disorder which causes excessive daytime sleeping, with some of those affected falling asleep dozens of times a day. There is no cure, and with few support groups, many sufferers have never even met another person with narcolepsy. 'Ninety Naps a Day" follows a group of British narcolepsy sufferers as they accept a unique invitation to attend a conference in Albany, New York, run by the very pro-active organisation, The Narcolepsy Network. It has around 1,200 members and is the biggest group of narcoleptics in the world. Each year, the group holds a conference in order to get sufferers together to share experiences and explore new ways of dealing with the condition. Their philosophy is to encourage people to be very open about all aspects of their narcolepsy, from intimacy to herbal remedies and energising exercises. All three of the British narcolepsy sufferers are at points in their lives where their narcolepsy is having a severe adverse affect, and this trip offers them a chance to see what other options might be available to them in dealing with it. Movie Of The Week: 'Bridget Jones - The Edge Of Reason" (RTE 1, Wednesday) - They"re back - Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent - in the follow-up story of Bridget and how she almost blows here chances with the best man she"s ever going to get. Maybe not as enticing as the first, but it does still have a good hatful of smart lines to brighten up a dreary midweek evening.