Are you overwhelmed by the choices you’re offered on your telly? Worried that you might miss something good while watching something pants? Well, worry no more for with Primetime Picks, we’ve already scoured the hefty menu of televisual treats for you and picked the best of the crop.

And here they are, delivered to you freshly made here at Unreality…

Monday

Dispatches: Middle Class and Jobless, 8:00pm, Channel 4

Tonight, Dispatches examines one of the biggest surprises of the credit crunch: middle-class unemployment.

From company directors to university graduates, this film follows the experience of several people who have found themselves out of work and desperately in search of a job, with some going to extraordinary lengths to try to secure one.

Dispatches highlights the practical realities of trying to find work, even when armed with a degree or a glowing CV.

Help! 10:00pm, Really

This rather unique documentary series brings together people who are facing challenging situations with those who’ve already been through them.

In this episode, the Fowler family from York are expecting triplets and are mentored by three families with similar experiences.

Tuesday

The World’s Strictest Parents: Jamaica, 10:35pm, BBC1

Troubled teenagers, Sam North and Charlotte Heart, experience home life with the Roses in Jamaica. They run a strict Christian home where church attendance and work on the family farm is expected.

It isn’t long before Sam defies the rules of the household, but as the time draws to a close, he begins to amend his ways and opens up about his difficult upbringing.

Crackdown, 10:35pm, ITV1

This telling documentary charts the progress of an ambitious 24-hour police operation. Drugs, prostitution and anti-social behaviour are casting a shadow over the city and people of Bristol, but the authorities have decided to hit back with a unique crackdown which is aimed at sending shockwaves through the criminal world.

With all leave cancelled, hundreds of police officers are deployed to target the crime ‘hotspots’, but can they achieve their aim of making Bristol the safest city in the world?

Wednesday

Farmer Wants a Wife, 9:00pm, Five

In this new series, Louise Redknapp tries to help lonely farmers find their perfect woman.

Tonight, arable farmer Derek must choose a girlfriend from a shortlist of four charming ladies, so he whittles his options down to two; bubbly Canadian Karla and level-headed Sarah. But which of these aspiring farmer’s wives will win Derek’s heart?

I wonder if there’ll be any women called Baaaaabara? Sorry….

Swine Flu: Everything You Need To Know, 9:00pm, BBC1

Jeremy Vine, Sophie Raworth and Fergus Walsh venture through the UK and other parts of the world to reveal the myths and the dangers of Swine Flu.

Who’s most vulnerable? How do you avoid it? Plus, can the NHS cope? It’s a pig of a problem… again, sorry.

Thursday

Alone in the Wild, 9:00pm, Channel 4

This Bear Grylls style documentary series follows adventurer and cameraman Ed Wardle as he’s deposited in Canada’s Yukon wilderness with just basic provisions.

Tonight, the anxieties and stress of Ed’s first month begin to take their toll and the search for food proves particularly difficult.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 10:00pm, Bravo

This film is the big-screen version of Hunter S. Thompson’s seminal psychedelic classic about his road trip across Western America alongside his large Samoan lawyer. Together the pair search desperately for the elusive ‘American dream’, helped in large part by the huge amount of drugs and alcohol they’ve stashed in their convertible, The Red Shark.

It’s weird, it’s funny and it’s got a host of big name stars…

Here’s the film’s trailer…

Friday

I Woke Up in a Morgue: My Shocking Story, 9:00pm, Discovery Science

This bizarre but enthralling show features the scary and strange stories of those who suffer from severe narcolepsy. It was this disease that led to one woman waking up on a mortuary slab in complete darkness.

It’s the stuff of nightmares but morbidly fascinating!

Peep Show, 10:00pm, Channel 4

The hapless duo are back tonight and the newly promoted Mark decides to enjoy his additional power and wealth by splashing out on a boiler, a ‘creamy elephant’ sofa and by finding Jeremy a job in the office.

Things are also looking promising for Mark in his pursuit of Dobby, the company IT girl. However, a routine fire drill puts his plans into total disarray.

Saturday

Australia’s Terrifying Top 20, 7:00pm, Animal Planet

Australia is a land of menacing contrasts, where the smallest of animals can be the most venomous and normally docile creatures can turn tasty in a split second when threatened.

Experts are on hand to explain each animal’s unique method of attacking prey and reveal some amazing facts. As the countdown continues, you’ll be shocked by some of the creatures on the list, while others will be the usual suspects.

Ultimately, there must be a winner, so which animal is the most deadly? And which creature will earn its place in number one position of the terrifying top 20?

Killer Lakes, 10:00pm, National Geographic

This documentary examines the 1986 tragedy in which 1,700 African villagers died an utterly mysterious death.

The tragedy was blamed on an unknown but naturally occurring phenomenon, ‘lake overturn’, which results from a build-up of carbon dioxide gas.

Since then, scientists have uncovered terrifying hazards in other lakes around the world, including Mt. Rainier and Yellowstone.

Sunday

Crimes That Shook the World: The Wests, 10:00pm, Discovery Channel

This is yet another examination of the disturbing case of Fred and Rosemary West, who lured vulnerable runaways into their home between the years of 1978 and 1994 before brutally murdering them – as well as one of their own children – and disposing of the bodies.

And even though there’ve been several similar documentaries, this one provides some chilling information that others have left out.

The Beach, 9:00pm, Film4

Garland’s novel, and this film adaptation, centre on the tale of a young traveller, Richard. He’s an avid pop-culture buff with a particular love of video games and Vietnam War movies.

While at a hotel in Bangkok, he finds a map left by his strange, whacked-out neighbour, who’s just committed suicide. The map supposedly leads to a legendary island paradise where some other wayward souls have settled.

Here’s the film’s trailer…

That’s it for this week’s Primetime Picks, but join us again same time, same place next week. Until then, let’s be careful out there people…

I miss Hill St Blues…