I was, therefore, looking forward to the bio-economic man's Futureshock: The Age Of Oil about the black stuff being the lifeblood of the world economy and how it's running out. I love a good scare at bedtime. "Our civilisation is completely dependent on oil, " George said.

Woah! That is a bit of an overstatement. Civilisation, that is.

I say this because he faces an impossible task, convincing the great unwashed to think five nanoseconds into the future. We can't even get our act together on private pensions, currently running at a paltry 50%, how could we care about our unborn grandchildren? We want comfort here-and-now, so we belt ourselves into oil-guzzling SUVs.

George wandered around Dublin Airport, gazing into the middle distance, and shopping malls, asking folk how they feel about peak oil. "How would I see my grandchildren if I didn't travel, you tell me?" one woman asked.

"Do I really need to go to Blanchardstown?" pondered another. (Even if oil prices hit rock bottom? No. ) While George's programme was . . . if you'll excuse the pun . . .slick, rife with cool images of Neil Armstrong, jet planes, eyeballs, clouds, parched fields and Albert Einstein, this was a mini-me, regional TV version of the feature length US documentary A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash, shown at the Galway Film Fleadh last year.

The term peak oil was coined in 1956 by geophysicist M K Hubbert, who predicted oil production in Continental US would peak around 1970. It did. A Crude Awakening showed abandoned US oil towns with useless, rusted rigs. George's film was also important but, as far as the world is concerned, he is digging a dry well.

SUVs were one of David Norris's pet hates on Gaybo's Grumpy Men, a copycat version of the other grumpy old men programmes with people like Bob Geldof. "The SUV owner is the new aristocrat, " Norris said, while Gay Byrne made that contrived, staccato, exclamation-less laugh:

"Hah. Hah. Hah." Like a cat trying to cough up a fur ball.

This all-man talking head bromance included a random Padraig Breathnach, posh telly tubby Alan Stanford and a cruder-than-thou Brendan O'Carroll. Norris was the only bright spark. (Naturally. ) Even if their overdose of testosterone protests too much, where . . . God forgive me for asking . . . were George Hook and Eamon Dunphy?

When Johnny Carson went, he went. Gay's forays into fluffy lavender jumper-wearing pap are rubbing the last shards of gold off his once glittering career. "N?"

Gay asked. "Noise!" Breathnach replied. "It is polluting, isn't it?"

Gay added. Sure is, superbrain.

That's why it's called noise pollution. Then, a phone went off in the background.

Talking to Breathnach next to a Christmas tree will date any programme. But, as Gay tediously worked his way through the alphabet, gripes about answering machines, women in supermarkets . . . which had a familiar whiff of misogyny . . .

belonged to the 1970s. Bring back Nell McCafferty. She'd kick their grumpy, sorry asses.

In contrast, the men on Brothers & Sisters were young, square jawed, handsome f and utterly indistinguishable. It's produced by Ken Olin of Thirtysomething and stars an earthy Rachel Griffiths, a rubber-faced Calista Flockhart . . .

when she smiles, she crinkles in all the wrong places . . . and a stillhyperventilating-from-Sybil Sally Field.

At the birthday party for Kitty (38), played by Flockhart (43), the patriarch dies, tumbling into the pool in slow motion. He leaves behind a mistress, a daughter who looks like Ally McBeal and a family prone to self-examination.

Kitty, a neo-con TV host, says at one point: "We're not in the last 10 minutes of a Julia Roberts movie."

More's the pity.

The second episode opens with the funeral and a ballad. (We can hear the ballad, they can't. ) Alone in her dad's office, Sarah (Griffiths) opens his computer.

"Pension Fund. Where's all the money? Oh, God. Dad, what have you done?" I know! I know!

Marion Ross makes a future appearance as grandma. She was the mother in Happy Days.

Brothers & Sisters doesn't have soapy opening credits, so it must be high-brow drama. (Right? ) Channel 4 uses the US style of showing one scene, ad break, another scene, ad breakf Risky, because this is low on character development, but high on exposition, cheesy dialogue, musical interludes and nice hair.

Who am I kidding? We'll love it.

Reviewed Futureshock:

The Age Of Oil
RTE

One Gaybo's
Grumpy Men
RTE One

Brothers & Sisters
Channel 4