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The Mentalist is the pick of the week!

John Byrne brings a round-up of all things Telly this week.

Grimm-inal Minds
Grimm, Monday, Watch

I was looking forward to this for some time, and thankfully the pilot for Grimm delivered: it was great fun. As a long-time fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was interesting to see that screenwriter, director and producer David Greenwalt, who was involved in Buffy and the spin-off Angel, was on board as co-creator of Grimm, and there are many Buffy-esque touches to the show.

It all starts off innocently enough for Portland-based homicide detective Nick Burckhardt (David Giuntoli in his first lead role). He's got his demanding police work with partner Hank (Russell Hornsby), and he's also preparing to marry fiancé, Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch), so between work and home life he seems a regular, hard-working, middle-of-the-road guy. Then after a female jogger is attacked and ripped to shreds, he starts seeing people briefly changing, turning momentarily into spooky creatures such as wolves or zombies.

Then his spooky-looking, cancer-stricken aunt turns up and tells him he's a Grimm and directly descendant of the Grimm brothers who compiled books filled with nasty fantasy tales about Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, etc. Except, those stories weren't fiction but words of warning - these creatures are out there, the Grimms fight them, and he's next in line to lead the war against these very real and dangerous creatures.

The rest of the pilot was spent trying to find the Big Bad Wolf who killed the jogger (who was wearing red at the time, just like Little Red Riding Hood) and subsequently kidnapped a young girl. In a subplot that will obviously develop as the series moves along, two as-yet unknown figures are trying to kill Burckhardt's aunt.

There were some nice touches, particularly the reformed werewolf who helps in the hunt for the Big Bad Wolf, while the special effects are pretty good and the whole thing rattled along at a nice pace without getting to frenetic or sacrificing plot for action. There's plenty of both.

It's no Fringe or X-Files, but if you enjoyed Buffy back in the 1990s and have in more recent times gotten into any of the many procedurals out there, there's a pretty good chance you'll get a kick out of Grimm.

Pick of the Week

The Mentalist (Thursday, RTÉ One)

Season four of this fun-but-occasionally-dark procedural drama returns and takes up two days after the dramatic events of the third season finale, when Patrick Jane (effortlessly hammed-up by Simon Baker) was arrested for the public murder of the man he believed was the notorious serial killer Red John, who also murdered Jane's wife and daughter. Following his imprisonment, Patrick Jane has to prove that the man he shot really was his nemesis. Meanwhile, agent Lisbon is trying to persuade Van Pelt to seek counselling in the aftermath of her fiancé's death.

New this week

The Late Late Show Eurosong 2012 Special (Friday, RTÉ One)
Yep, it's that time of the year again, as Ireland gets to choose a song to represent the country in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Ryan Tubridy hosts this Late Late Eurosong special as Celtic Whisper with Maria McCool, Donna McCaul, Andrew Mann, duo Una Gibney and David Shannon, and Jedward all compete to represent Ireland in this year's competition, which takes place in Azerbijan.

Benidorm (Friday, UTV)
This award-winning and very British comedy returns for a fifth season and the holidaymakers are in for a shock this year as the Solana resort gets a new manager and she means business! Joyce Temple Savage (played by Loose Women's Sherrie Hewson) is on a mission to upgrade the Solana resort into a 4 star hotel - at all costs.

Castle (Tuesday, RTÉ One)
Returning for a fourth season, the award-winning Nathan Fillon returns as Rick Castle, the crime writer who tags along for fun with NYPD Homicide cop Kate Beckett. The season opens with Beckett - shot at the end of season three - recovering from extensive surgery and taking three months out before getting back to work and searching with Castle for her would-be assassin. Pity about the late start (as ever), but it's a fun show that deserves a much better timeslot and a bigger mainstream audience.

Back this week

Grey's Anatomy (Wednesday, Sky Living)
The eighth season resumes in the wake of the cliffhanger that saw Meredith and Alex stranded at the scene of a horrific accident on a mountain road. Lexie finds herself working alongside Mark's new girlfriend, brought in to perform an eye operation. Meanwhile, Teddy continues to operate on her patient, blissfully unaware of husband Henry's death. Plus, Meredith and Derek receive unexpected news about baby Zola.

House (Thursday, Sky 1)
Hugh Laurie resumes his eighth season as Gregory House as the awkward doc and his team monitor a patient with Alzheimer's disease, who is taking part in a drug trial. House also butts heads with new boss Foreman, and Wilson treats a patient who claims to be in a chaste marriage.

Ending this week

Operation Transformation (Wednesday, RTÉ One)
This is the final episode of this season's Operation Transformation. As is the case every year at this stage in the series, it's time for the leaders to strut their stuff on the catwalk and show viewers just how they've performed as they attempt to come out the other side of OT with their lives changed and their waistlines where they should be.

Viewers may also be interested to learn that Wednesday's finale isn't just about the leaders - there's every chance that you may even see yourself on TV, once you took part in the recent 5km run in Dublin's Phoenix Park.

Inside Men (Thursday, BBC ONE)
This drama starring Steven Mackintosh about staff members at a counting house deciding to rob their place of work has been a treat, but ends its four-week run on Thursday. Chris and Riaz are at each other's throats as tensions in the group are starting to build during the final practice for the heist. A new person in charge of security rubs John up the wrong way and he worries that she may put the whole job at risk.

The team start to worry about Chris as his movements become increasingly unpredictable. John thinks Chris may struggle to go through with the plan.

Documentary of the week

Gerry Rafferty - Right Down the Line (Friday, BBC FOUR)
Gerry Rafferty, who died in January 2011, was one of Scotland's best-loved singer songwriters, famous around the world for hits such as Baker Street and Stuck in the Middle with You. Narrated by David Tennant, this ArtWorks Scotland film tells the story of Rafferty's life and music through his (often autobiographical) songs.

The film includes contributions from Gerry's daughter Martha and his brother Jim; tributes from friends and colleagues Billy Connolly, John Byrne, Rab Noakes and Joe Egan and admirers Tom Robinson and La Roux, plus words and music from Rafferty himself.

Gerry Rafferty - Right Down the Line is then followed by Celtic Connections 2012 - Gerry Rafferty Remembered, a concert featuring some of Rafferty's greatest songs, played by his lifelong friend and fellow musician Rab Noakes, plus The Proclaimers, Ron Sexsmith, Paul Brady and Barbara Dickson amongst many other friends and musicians.

Repeat of the week

Friday Night Lights (Tuesday, Sky Atlantic)
Hardly anyone on this side of the Atlantic saw this first time around, but this superb drama about life and football in a small American town is up there with the best TV has ever produced. In season one's third episode, Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) is experiencing his fair share of teething problems. The town is turning against Taylor and team morale has slumped to an all-time low. Throw in the discovery of a dodgy back-room deal to recruit new quarterback Ray 'Voodoo' Tatum, and Coach knows drastic measures need to be taken to save not just the Panthers' season, but his job.

Guest stars of the week

On Saturday's All Star Family Fortunes (UTV) Vernon Kay hosts as EastEnders actress June Brown goes up against pop star Simon Webbe from boy band Blue.

Joining host Adrian Chiles on That Sunday Night Show (UTV) is pop princess, Alexandra Burke, comedian Kevin Bridges and new regular panellist, Frank Skinner, as they take an engaging look over the news from the past seven days.

Friday's Graham Norton Show (BBC ONE) includes Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg, currently starring in new film Contraband; actress Minnie Driver; comedienne Jo Brand; and Christina Perri, singing Jar of Hearts.

Casting Couch Corner
Who's heading to what show

Fans of the quirky A Town Called Eureka will be delighted to hear that the show's lead Colin Ferguson, who plays sheriff Jack Carter, has been signed to star in Like Father, the Fox comedy pilot loosely inspired by Cougar Town (and Scrubs) co-creator Bill Lawrence's relationship with his father. Eureka's fifth and final season is on the way.

Showtime's The Big C has added another big-name guest star for its third season. Susan Sarandon has already joined, but now former West Wing regular and four-time Emmy winner Allison Janney will make a guest-starring role in the Laura Linney dramedy about a woman living with cancer. Janney's also lined up a pilot and will co-star with former Monk lead Tony Shalhoub in NBC comedy Friday Night Dinner.

Former Trainspotting star Jonny Lee Miller - you may have seen him in Eli Stone or as a killer on Dexter - has landed the lead role of Sherlock Holmes in a CBS drama pilot called Elementary, which has been described as a New York-set modern take on the legendary detective

Sat Nav
Satellite Highlights

Oscars 2012 (Sunday, Sky Movies)
It's going to be a long night but major movie fans will ignore the clock (and maybe even organise a party) because the global awards ceremony of the year is finally here. Every designer dress, weepy speech and faux-shocked expression from the 2012 Academy Awards will be live on Sky Movies, with Alex Zane and guests in the studio reflecting on all the excitement throughout the night. Plus, there'll be plenty of build-up as the red carpet is rolled out with a special hour-long build-up show. Highlights of the night's events can be seen on RTÉ Two on Monday.

Inspector Montalbano (Saturday, BBC FOUR)
Worth watching just for the scenery, this quirky Italian cop show (with English subtitles) is always good value. In this week's episode Mr Luparello, a renowned local engineer and leading political figure, is found dead in a car at a notorious prostitution spot on the outskirts of Vigata. The coroner rules that he died of a heart attack following an amorous encounter - but that doesn't stop Moltalbano from carrying out his own investigation.

Luck (Saturday, Sky Atlantic)
In the second episode of the acclaimed HBO drama, Ace (Dustin Hoffman) schedules a meeting with one-time colleague Nick DiRossi and possible investor Isadore Cohen. With the tension of personal debts unpaid hanging over the table, and a loaded message proffered to him from former acquaintance Mike, Ace pitches his plan: a racetrack with a casino in California, where gaming tables are illegal.

John Byrne