Mail on Sunday

Radio Week ; Tim Fanning Picks the Best of This Week's Radio [Eire Region]

ENTERTAINMENT The History Show SUNDAY, 6.05pm, RTE RADIO 1 ****

Movie Choice [Eire Region]

Ivanhoe (1952) U 1.20PM, CH4 Hollywood gives its Technicolor take on 12th-century England - but the end result proves a disappointingly dull affair. Robert Taylor is the disgruntled Saxon in search of justice, while Elizabeth Taylor is the Jewish girl whom he rescues from the Normans. Not a patch on Walter Scott's novel. Get Carter (2000) 15 11.55PM, RTE ONE One of the greatest British crime thrillers of all time gets a disappointing American remake. Sylvester Stallone stars as Mob enforcer J...

Pick of the Day [Eire Region]

Natural World 8PM, BBC2 Butterflies are among the most beautiful and bewitching creatures on Earth and, for many people, an obsession. So says Imelda Staunton on the voiceover to this slightly whimsical film about our passion for butterflies, a love which 'spans generations, class, culture and creed'. Er, right - much like many other animals, then. But what is it about butterflies, apart from their obvious fragile beauty, that captures our imagination? Butterfly expert Matthew Oates talks of ...

The Dream Whisperer ; What Does Your Dream Really Mean - and Why? [Eire Region]

Here, our Dream Whisperer, Davina Mackail, a qualified nurse, hypnotherapist and counsellor, interprets a reader's dream Dear Davina I often dream that I'm staying in a hotel and can't get to my room. I usually have to go along lots of strange, long corridors, which might be very narrow or very low, forcing me to crawl on my hands and knees. I've also had to go down chutes. Other times, I lose my keys or can't remember my room number. From Carole This kind of dream is relatively common. The f...

Toys? It'll Be Lolly Sticks and Glue This Year ; a Wickedly Funny Take On Modern Ireland [Eire Region]

It was my niece's seventh birthday recently. One of her treats was a day out in Dublin with 'The Aunties' -- my sister and I. Between hot chocolate in the Westbury Hotel and a show in the Grand Canal Theatre, there was a trip to a toy shop. 'Choose anything you want, sweetie,' I told her, 'as long as it comes in under a tenner.' 'A tenner each,' qualified my sister, 'EUR 20 altogether.'

Wb Yeats [Eire Region]

The largest collection of Yeats manuscripts in the world, comprising 2,000 items, is housed at the National Library of Ireland The archives, donated by the poet's family, are stored in more than 100 boxes occupying 24 metres of shelf space

Satellite Films [Eire Region]

Cadillac Records (2009) 15 3.55PM, SKY DRAMA ***

Jonathan Cainer [Eire Region]

It's funny how Christmas seems to come around more quickly every year, yet when we get to December, the festive season suddenly starts to feel further away than ever. There's not yet much sign of a holiday mood in the heavens. Mercury turns retrograde this week, just as Mars forms a conjunction with Pluto. It's not a time for talking, it's a time for listening. It's not a time for fighting, it's a time for developing strategy. But as the week goes by, a serious mood will lift. You may even st...

Satellite, Digital and Cable Channels [Eire Region]

FILM CHOICE The Last Sunset (1961) PG 1.25PM, ITV4 Fugitive Kirk Douglas (left) and sheriff Rock Hudson trade punches both physical and psychological in this unusually searching Western, which goes to places you would not expect. KIDS' CHRISTMAS TALES Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas (2004) U 3.35PM, DISNEY CINEMAGIC A series of warm festive tales, mostly hinged around how bad it is to be selfish, beginning with a battle of the egos between Daisy and Minnie. On Sky 622, UPC 614.

Today's Sport [Eire Region]

Satellite, Digital and Cable Channels [Eire Region]

FILM CHOICE Walk The Line (2005) 12 9PM, MORE4 One of those actors that really commits without being irritating about it, Joaquin Phoenix is electrifying in this Johnny Cash biopic. An Oscar- winning Reese Witherspoon matches him as June Carter. BEST DOCUMENTARY Festivals Britannia 9PM, BBC4 New history of British festivals. Stops include the Rolling Stones' free concert in 1969 (left) and the surge of guerilla raves in the early 1990s, which led to the UK's Criminal Justice Act.

Satellite Films [Eire Region]

The Descent: Part 2 (2009) 18 10PM, PREMIERE ***

Today's Sport [Eire Region]

Movie Choice [Eire Region]

Christmas With The Kranks (2004) PG 6.35PM, RTE ONE ** Yuletide family comedy starring Tim Allen. When a suburban couple decide to forgo Christmas festivities, their neighbours refuse to allow such Scrooge-like behaviour. The family must stick to their principles. Unfunny offering with a decent cast.

Pick of the Day [Eire Region]

Strictly Come Dancing 7PM, BBC1 **** It may not have generated so many headlines as The X Factor, but it's still been a very good year for Strictly Come Dancing. Unlike 2009, there were no ageism arguments creating bad press before the series had even started, while the celebrity lineup was arguably the starriest to date. And of course, there was Ann Widdecombe. While some dance purists were annoyed that she stayed on while more talented performers were voted out, no one can deny that her rou...

Satellite, Digital and Cable Channels [Eire Region]

FILM CHOICE Catch Me If You Can (2002) 12 8PM, BBC3 Steven Spielberg put his superb storytelling abilities to good use in this larger-than-life (yet true) tale of prolific 1960s con man Frank Abagnale Jr. Leonardo DiCaprio (left) is excellent in the lead. BETTY GOES TO BRITAIN Ugly Betty 9PM, E4 Now sans braces, Betty (left) flies to London for fashion week in this new episode - although none of the actors did, as you can tell by the computer- inserted attractions. Ashley Jensen makes a guest...

Satellite Films [Eire Region]

G-Force (2009) PG 8PM, SKY FAMILY Oddly pitched for a kids' film, but entertaining nevertheless, with Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau and Nicolas Cage heading up the cast voicing an unusual squad of commandoes. The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) 15 10PM, MODERN GREATS It's rare to find a remake that improves on the original, but this sexy thriller just has the slight edge on its dated 1960s counterpart. Sizzling hot.

Today's Sport [Eire Region]

Satellite, Digital and Cable Channels [Eire Region]

Satellite Films [Eire Region]

Nine (2009) 12 8PM, SKY DRAMA ***