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PICK OF THE WEEK
Wild Thailand
Sunday, 7.30pm, Nat Geo Wild
If you have never been to Thailand but have heard good things, this exquisite two-part documentary may just seal the deal. Closer in spirit to David Attenborough's natural history programs than the many cheaply made food and travel shows that proliferate on pay TV, Wild Thailand is so good it makes you catch your breath. Time-lapse photography of billowing skies and opening flowers blends beautifully with slow-motion vision of rare and colourful birds in flight, just as the droughts and rainy season of the country rotate in a constant cycle. The result of the predictable climate is one of the most fertile places on earth, containing 10 per cent of all animal species. Living wild has always been a struggle, but now the wildlife also has to contend with habitat destruction and the spread of human influence. By way of contrast to the relative serenity of Thailand's forgotten and rarely seen wilderness, we pop into Bangkok for a reality check on what humans are up to. The electricity and clamour of the place is depicted in time-lapse videography that wouldn't have been out of place in Godfrey Reggio's 1982 opus Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance. Soon enough we are back among the unique birdlife, the macro world of insects and the animals that live in the lush depths of Thailand's rainforests.
Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow
Saturday, 9.30pm, UKTV
English stand-up comedian Michael McIntyre is probably not a household name here but he should be. Since there are now more Scots in Australia than in Scotland, his local appeal -- if the reception for him at the Edinburgh Playhouse in the debut episode of this series is any indication -- would be near riotous. As Scots know, it is not an easy thing for an Englishman to take the, er, mickey out of Scots and go down well. McIntyre's opening routine on Scottish patriotism is so good it should go down in history. Even if you can't abide McIntyre's schtick, the great thing about the Roadshow series is that he is really just there to introduce other comedians. Tonight they are Rhod Gilbert, Kevin Bridges, Stewart Francis and Mark Watson.
Bad Dog Marathon
Sunday,...