TV week ahead

PICK OF THE WEEK

Dexter
FX, today, 10pm

Last year's inaugural run of Dexter had two irresistible draws. Firstly there was the show's novel premise: a serial killing vigilante who directs his urges towards murderers, child molesters and other miscreants. Secondly there was a magnetic leading performance from Six Feet Under alumnus Michael C Hall. Breathing charismatic life into what might have been a stock psycho-killer, Hall gave us an anti-hero to treasure, a sympathetic bogeyman with a neat line in dry wit and a reflective grasp of his own dark yearnings. Not since Doctor Lecter waxed rhapsodic about chilled Chiantis has a psychopath generated so much critical rapture, or unease.

Though some of the initial novelty has dissipated, this second series sidesteps the law of diminishing returns by delving deeper into our protagonist's psyche. Beforehand Dexter seemed to be a rational monster, adept at mimicking human emotion but incapable of feeling it. This time, however, the all-American maniac is grappling with a burgeoning sense of humanity, a development that is making his morbid pursuits untenable. "Lately," he laments, "my life's been all Jekyll and no Hyde". And, as his polished façade of normality begins to crack, Dexter faces a new threat: the possibility of exposure.

As before, the show's pitch-black subject matter is liable to repel some. Yet for all its grisly excesses this is still, at its core, more a twisted comedy of manners than a thriller. With his deadpan narration making us privy to his murderous thoughts, the disconnect between Dexter's affable public persona and his "dark passenger" provokes the sort of uneasy laughter Hitchcock would have surely relished.

BEST SCOTTISH PROGRAMME

The Real Monarch Of The Glen
BBC2, tomorrow, 8pm

Ordinarily the naming of a factual programme after a pre-existing hit serves as a red flag. Mercifully, this offering is an exception to the rule. The 'monarch' of the title is Paul Lister, a multi-millionaire determined to reintroduce bears and wolves to his Sutherland estate. But Lister's ambitious "re-wilding" project is not without controversy. Still, though he'd clearly be lost without his retinue of staff, there's something fascinating about both the man himself and his vision of a restored Highland veldt.

Also try: The Beechgrove Garden (BBC1, Wednesday, 7.30pm). More horticultural tips from BBC Scotland's green-fingered posse as Jim and Carole sort out the conservatory

BEST DRAMA

Bonekickers
BBC1, Friday, 9pm

With archaeological documentaries and modern crime dramas both reliant on hi-tech forensic trickery, it was surely only a matter of time before some canny TV producer tried to crossbreed the two genres. Yet, thanks to a giddily demented tone, this spawn of Time Team and CSI is more than just the sum of its purloined parts.

Leading a cast that includes Hustle refugee Adrian Lester and veteran scenery chewer Hugh Bonneville, Julie Graham headlines as a maverick no-nonsense professor whose excavations invariably lead to Dan Brown-style adventures. Here, in an opener for which rip-roaring is the only apt adjective, an unlikely medieval find pits our mud-encrusted archaeological A-team against dangerous modern-day extremists.

Also try: George Gently: The Burning Man (BBC1, today, 8pm). Martin Shaw reprises his Sixties copper in a new mystery adapted from the novels of Alan Hunter

BEST ARTS

True Stories: Cafe De Los Maestros
More4, Tuesday, 10pm

Director Miguel Kohan and Oscar-winning film composer Gustavo Santaolalla celebrate the maestros of tango in this beguiling musical odyssey. Travelling to Buenos Aires, where a gaggle of legends have gathered for a gala concert, the duo capture veterans as they perform for possibly the last time and reminisce about tango's golden age. Though the interviews offer only an oblique twirl through the tango's rich history, the music delivers countless sublime moments.

Also try: The Culture Show (BBC2, Tuesday, 10pm). The arts flagship profiles David Simon, creator of US cop drama The Wire