Another week down the tubes...

TV watching was for some reason relatively light this week - though i still managed to rack up a good couple of hours in front of the idiot box.

Here's what stood out:

After a disappointing first week, Indian Food Made Easy, (Monday, BBC 2, 8:30pm) once again failed to inspire. Terminally patronising presenter Anjum Anand this time took her mission to prove that "anyone can cook delicious Indian food" to her old unversity friend, the creepily intense and somewhat bemused Alex.

The action centred around Alex's FA Cup final party with the boys, for which Anjum devised "a chilli themed feast," and proceeded to lead Alex through its execution with exclamations of "its that easy" every five or so minutes.

After having watched in horror as Anjum added cheddar cheese to a tandoori marinade in Week One, (Indian Food Made Queasy) I never really had very high expectations for this one. The food looks ok, but Anjum seems to have a knack for making you feel like a scolded child for not cooking Indian food every waking moment of your life.

That said, i'll probably tune in next week for the chilli porn.

Coming straight after, Twentieth Century Battlefields (Monday, BBC 2: 9:00pm) brought some much needed quality programming to the screen with a tactical retelling of the Faulklands War. Father and son team Peter and Dan Snow present this fascinating series which retells shell by shell some of the most bitterly fought conflicts of the last one hundred years.

With a heavy focus on military tactics and strategy, the Snows cast aside moralising to deliver a forensic account how some of the most influential events in shaping our world played out, replete with archive footage and aided by computer generated diagrams. Twentieth Century Battlefields is an example of public service broadcasting as it should be.

Later in the week, the second episode of the oddly titled Cape Wrath (Tuesday, C4 10pm) did little to redeem to disappointment of the series opener. Despite a promising premise (Meadowlands is a town inhabited solely by people on witness protection) Cape Wrath unfortunately borrows from too many different elements (Lost, Desperate Housewives, Twin Peaks) to really pack a punch of its own.

The story centres around the dysfunctional antics of the Brogan family, Meadowlands newest arrivals and most troubled residents. Within hours of moving in, Mr Brogan has killed someone, Mrs Brogan starts making eyes at the local doctor (played by a Tim Henman lookalike) with kids, ice-queen Zoe and emo basket case Mark, getting in on the action elsewhere. Comic relief is provided suprisingly effectively however in the considerable form of Jezebel, the 16 Stone scouse "beauty" next door.

Idolised and revered by her neighbours for her unparalled beauty, the character offers a glimpse of originality which makes me suspect series could develop into something more than the sum of it parts. After the first two episodes, however, i don't think i'll be sticking around to see if the gamble pays off.

Rounding off the week, My Name is Earl (Thursday, C4, 10pm) proved once again that it knocks seven shades of shit out of every other American comedy currently running on terrestrial tv. It's not particularly edgy or advanced, but its great one liners "Do monkeys worry about their looks?" and slapstick storylines prove that in the age of The Office, Curb and Peep Show comedy doesn't always have to be an unnerving experience.

This season does rely a bit more on the trailer trash gags than the last, and the show does occaisonally veer into shmaltz but My Name is Earl remains one of the best reasons to shun social interaction on a Thursday night.

Stay tuned.