TV Highlights

The Late Late Show (RTE 1, Friday 9.35pm). It must be autumn if the Late Late is back, I hear you say. Ryan Tubridy returns with a brand new season of the world's longest running chat show. His first season proved a big success, attracting huge ratings along with hosting the most successful Toy Show in 15 years. Some of the most memorable guests included Taoiseach Brian Cowen; Donal "g Cusack; Brian O'Driscoll; Peter Kay; Bernard Dunne; Gerry Adams; Miley Cyrus; and Colin Farrell to name just a few. This season promises to be even bigger with an exciting mix of international celebrities, music and entertainment along with in-depth interviews and discussions on the stories that have the nation talking. ____________________________________________________________ Casualty - Entry Wounds (BBC 1, Saturday 8.30pm). Michelle Collins guest stars as the distraught mother of Simone, a young victim of a college shooting incident, in this feature-length first episode of the new series of the long-running medical drama. Jeff and Dixie treat Maria, who has an injury to her arm, and shortly after a jogger is also brought into the ED. It soon becomes clear that both the jogger and Maria have been shot with ball bearings fired from an air rifle. The incident comes to a head at Holby College, bringing terror right into the heart of the fully stretched ED. Seen through the eyes of the team in the emergency department and the victims' traumatised families, the incident tests the team's courage, expertise and, ultimately, the strength of their bonds with each other. ____________________________________________________________ U Be Dead (ITV, Sunday 9pm). Dr Jan Falkowski and his fiancée Debbie Pemberton could think of no-one who would want to stalk them with threatening texts and phone calls. Even when the stalker professed to being in love with Jan, they refused to take her increasingly manic behaviour seriously. That is until she broke into their houseboat and opened the gas taps, threatened Jan's family and attempted to cancel their wedding. In fear for their lives, they moved to an address nobody, including their parents, knew. A disturbing criminal case and nail-biting thriller, as well as a fascinating insight into human relationships, desperation and endurance. ____________________________________________________________ The Consumer Show (RTE 1, Monday 8.30pm). A new six-part series which champions everyday consumer issues close to the hearts of viewers - topics include bricks and mortar, the food we eat, money in our pockets, the health of the nation, travel and transport. Fronted by personal finance guru Eddie Hobbs and TV journalist Keelin Shanley. Joining Eddie and Keelin will be consumer champion Tina Leonard, whose past experience as director of the European Consumer Centre Ireland will bring additional expertise to the team. Speaking about the series Eddie Hobbs said: "The purchase of goods and services forms part of all of our everyday lives but how much do we really know about our consumer rights? We intend to champion consumer rights on behalf of the buying public and raise awareness on important consumer issues." ____________________________________________________________ Freefall (RTE 1, Monday 935pm). Coinciding with the second anniversary of the controversial Irish government bank guarantee, this two part documentary series tells the story of how a huge property bubble, fuelled by the lending practices of the Irish banking system, brought the Irish economy precariously close to the edge. "There is an Omerta, a code of silence in the upper reaches of Irish society that I somehow had violated," said Morgan Kelly, the UCD economist who continues to tell the difficult truths. The series recounts in detail the dramatic events, both global and national, in the fortnight leading up to the banking guarantee. Contributors include: Brian Lenihan, Bertie Ahern, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, Former UK Chancellor Alastair Darling, Columbia University Professor Joseph Stiglitz, Yale University Professor Robert Shiller, Governor Patrick Honohan, Prof Morgan Kelly, Olivia O'Leary and Shane Ross. ____________________________________________________________ Movie of the week: Green Street (RTE 2, Friday 10.15pm). Elijah Wood stars as Matt Bruckner, a student expelled unfairly from Harvard, who flees to England to live with his sister. Once there, he is befriended by her dangerous brother-in-law, Pete Dunham, and introduced to the underworld of British football hooliganism. Well made drama to the underside of 'the beautiful game'.