CATCH UP TV- IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The Circuit Channel4.com, episode one In honour of the return of Catastrophe (yea!) to screens in a week or so, have a quick watch of The Circuit, first broadcast almost a year ago. Written by Sharon Horgan and Dennis Kelly, who last collaborated on Pulling, this one-off half-hour comedy has all the usual hallmarks of Horgan’s brand of biting, uncompromising satire. Gabe (Adeel Akhtar) and Nat (Eva Birthistle) are a couple newly-moved into a desirable area, presumably in London, invited to dinner by a neighbour. They arrive — he reluctant, she keen to embrace their new life, with wine and fancy coffee in hand — only to discover they are joining the dinner party from hell. The hosts are having a vicious row, the other couple are a colourless former girl-band member and her girlfriend, who works for a company that makes bullets, and the spare man is on suicide-watch. This is sometimes a bit wide of the mark, but often hilarious. A kind of cross between Luis Bunuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, and The Breakfast Club. Victoria Hamilton, Tobias Menzies, and Desiree Akhavan co-star. Maia Dunphy’s The Truth About Childbirth RTE Player, until March 12 First broadcast in 2015, this is another chance to view Maia Dunphy (left) explore the many ways to dress up and face down the experience of giving birth, as she herself confronts the issue for the first time. From elective caesareans to Scientology-sponsored silent birthing and the growing trend for women birthing outdoors and alone — through the more prosaic water births and standard hospital delivery — Maia talks to pregnant women, mothers and experts. There is also a sobering detour via the advisability, or not, of the odd glass of wine during pregnancy. Maia’s questioning style, along with her personal honesty, are perfect for the topic. A visit to the neo-natal unit in Holles Street, with its tiny but beautiful babies, is particularly moving. EMILY HOURICAN