Not perhaps the winter warmer you had hoped for, but there are still some nuggets to be found. There's the real Dad's Army, the 1992 LA riots and an examination of just what the banks have done to us all.

Sat 10 Jan 8pm Ch4 - The Real Dad's Army. The story of Home Guard founder Tom Wintringham, a socialist who's live was about as far from Captain Mainwaring as you could get.

Mon 12 Jan 9pm BBC2 - Million Dollar Traders. Eight people get a million dollars to run their own hedge fund for two months. Surely the last year should have taught the BBC that we need less of this bollocks, not more?

10pm Bravo - The World's Toughest Towns. A look at the Paris suburbs.

Tues 13 Jan 9pm UKTV History - International Terrorism Since 1945. An hour devoted to 'left-wing' groups in the USA - the Symbionnese Liberation Army and the Weathermen.

Weds 14 Jan 7pm Crime & Investigation - The Final Report. The 1992 LA uprising.

8pm BBC2 - It's Not Easy Being Green. Dick Strawbridge asks an important question - why are so many bees dying?

9pm BBC2 - The City Uncovered With Evan Davis. The banks examined, hopefully harshly.

Thurs 15 Jan 9.30pm UKTV History. International Terrorism Since 1945. The distinctly unpleasant Mahdi Army.

Fri 16 Jan 9pm History - Cities of the Underworld. A history of the Sicilian Mafia, focusing on the boost they received from the US government during World War 2.

Welcome to the first Class War TV Times of 2009.

Sat 3 Jan 10pm More4 - Thriller in Manilla. Documentary focusing on the momentous clash between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

Sun 4 Jan 7.35pm Gold - Citizen Smith. Two back to back episodes as Tooting's finest fights the good fight.

Mon 5 Jan 7pm BBC1 - The Diary of Anne Frank. A five part serial running each evening this week, at the same time.

10pm Ch4 - Surviving Gazza. The man who scored two of the greatest goals Wembley has ever seen, is now a sorry sight. Rather than focusing on him and his family, is it not time for a programme featuring those, like his former agent Mel Stein, who "represented" him during the good times?

Tues 6 Jan 3pm ITV4 - The Prisoner. One of the most intriguing series of all time, shoved away at a time when very few people will get to see it.

9pm ITV1 - Claire Sweeney - My Big Fat Diet. A 6 week experiment where Ms Sweeney simply eats what she wants, all the time. Isn't that what most people do anyway?

Weds 7 Jan 9pm Sky Arts. Johnny Cash Live At Montreux. The man in black in his hey day.

Thus 8 Jan 9pm UKTV History - International Terrorism Since 1945. Two documentaries - the fist on the Red Brigades kidnapping of Aldo Moro, the second on the Red Army Faction.

Fri 9 Jan 7.35pm Ch4 - The Hunt For Britain's Tightest Person. Proof that even Channel 4 cannot ignore the recession........

What is there to distract you from mince pies, sobbing bankers and chubby aunts under the mistletoe this Christmas?

Here it is:

Tues 23 Dec 8pm Sky 3 - Dying To Be Apart. The sorry story of Iranian twins Ladan and Laleh Bijani.

9pm Rab C Nesbitt. A new episode, in which (worryingly) Rab find the cooker, sobriety and - worst of all - religion.

Christmas Eve 8pm Sky Arts 1 - Johnny Cash Christmas Special. The Man in Black's 1976 programme repeated.

Christmas Day 3pm - Time to do the washing up.

Boxing Day 11.50am BBC2 - The Importance of Being Earnest. Michael Redgrave and Michael Denison ham it up superbly.

8pm Sky Arts: Sinatra: A Song For the FBI. The astonishingly detailed FBI file on Frank Sinatra - a whopping 1275 pages long.

8pm BBC4 - Walter Tull - Forgotten Hero. A working class hero is something to be. The story of Walter Tull, Spurs player, World War 1 army officer and a long forgotten Black Briton.

9pm Walter's War - The story of Tull's war is put into drama format.

Sat 27 Dec 9.30pm Starter For 10. A working class student from Essex pursues his dream - to appear on University Challenge.

10pm UKTV History - Heroes & Villains: Spartacus. Surely hero!

10pm Crime & Investigation. Not sure there is room for another 'new' documentary on the Aryan Brotherhood, but here it is.

1am BBC2 - Richard Pryor Live in Concert. He was far better as a stand-up than as an actor - this film proves it!

Sun 28 Dec 8pm BBC1 - The 39 Steps. Yet another adaptation of John Buchan's novel. We can safely assume that in this version the Anarchists and the Jews are not working together to bring down the west!

10.30pm True Movies - Conspiracy Exposed. A US soldier is tested with LSD by the American army.

Mon 29 Dec 9pm Ch4 - Tony Robinson and the Blitz Witch. During World War 2 Helen Duncan revealed at a seance that HMS Barham had sunk with no survivors. The programme asks how did she come by such classified information, as well as covering her subsequent trial - for witchcraft!

Tues 30 Dec 1.30pm Radio4 - Playing Castro's Tune. As the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution approaches, Stephen Evans reflects on Cuba's music.

10pm ITV4 - Let Him Have It. Christopher Ecclestone as Derek Bentley, reminding us of one of the reasons why hanging was abolished.

10.05pm Ch4 - The Magdalene Sisters. Evil Catholic nuns on film............

New Years Eve 9pm Ch4 - Tony Robinson and the Medieval Reincarnation. Bizarre claims of mass reincarnation in 1960s Bath.

9pm Sky Sci-Fi/Horror - The Wicker Man. What better way to spend New Years Eve than seeing Edward Woodward take on Lord Summerisle?

10pm Alibi - The First Great Train Robbery. Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland planning a heist.

New Years Day - 9pm Crime and Investigation. Peace, Love and Murder: The Ira Einhorn Story. Never trust a hippy!

1.25am ITV1 - The Cradle Will Rock. John Cusak is amongst those attempting to put on a left wing Musical in New York during the depression.

10pm National Geographic - America's Prison Nation. The country which jails more people than any other........

Fri 2 Jan 9pm BBC2 - Around the World In 80 Faiths. Pete Owen Jones sets out to depress us once more.

The Class War TV Times returns.

Monday 15 Dec 8pm Ch4 - The Ascent of Money. Niall Ferguson presents a view on the current economic crisis.

9pm Ch4 - Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll: The 60s Revealed. Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave are amongst the losers and chancers yet again telling us about how great the 60s were. Yawn.

10.40pm ITV1 - Real Crime: Death on the Bay. The deaths of cockle pickers at Morecambe Bay in 2004.

Tues 16 Dec 9pm ITV4 Riots: Mobs Out of Control. More riot porn, this time courtesy of ITV.

Weds 17 Dec 8pm Crime & Investigation - Children of Waco. The hostages who survived the FBI's murderous assault on the Branch Davidian cult.

10pm More4 - Prince John: The Windsors Tragic Secret. If you enjoy stories of members of the royal family hidden away from public view, the tale of the Queen's uncle is just for you.

10pm National Geographic - Underworld. The LA street gangs, and the Los Angeles Police Department of the 1970s and 80s.

Thurs 18 Dec 8.30pm BBC4 - Beechings Tracks. Pete Waterman again serves the needs of Class War Trainspotters, with an examination of the disastrous railway closures in 1960s Britain.

11.20pm BBC2 - Louis Theroux - The Most Hated Family in America. No, not the Theroux family itself, but an examination of one of those whacko US Christian churches, and its attitude towards gay Americans.

Fri 19 Dec 7.35pm Ch4 - Unreported World. The drugs culture, and gang warfare of Mexico.

10pm Knowledge - Europe's Secret Armies. The Dutch Resistance movement.

A great week of loafing around ahead for the revolutionary couch potato, with good programming virtually every night. Any more of this and we will be paying the licence fee!

Sat 25 Oct 7.10pm BBC2 - Stephen Fry in America. Perhaps recalling Oscar Wilde's visit more than a century earlier, Stephan Fry visits West Virginia's coal mining industry.

Sun 26 Oct 4.25pm BBC2 - Down The Line. More to get Class War Trainspotters angry - the axing of rural train services analysed.

9pm ITV3 - The Molly Maguires. An important section of American working class history - the rise and fall of the Molly Maguires. Sean Connery attempts to do them justice............

10pm UKTV History - The life and leagacy of English radical William Cobbett.

Mon 27 Oct 8pm Ch4 - Dispatches: Don't Bank On the Bailout. A City speculator asks how much the City is to blame for the global financial crisis. How honest will he be?

8.30pm BBC1 - Panorama. The volume of data on individuals kept by both the state and private companies.

9pm BBC2 Prescott: The Class System and Me. After nearly a decade as a New Labour Cabinet Minister, John Prescott suddenly rediscovers his working class roots. How much did the BBC pay you John?

10pm BBC4 - When Borat Came to Town. The Romanian village of Glod, which 'starred' in the film Borat.

Tues 28 Oct 10.40pm ITV1 - The Troubles I've Seen. You get celebrity insights into everything these days. This is how celebrities 'survived' the Northern Ireland conflict............

10pm More4 - True Stories: Jesus Politics. Religious faith and the US political system.

Weds 29 Oct 10pm BBC4 - A Year In Tibet. The role of Buddhism in Tibetan society. What chance the BBC being even slightly critical of every liberals favourite religion?

Thurs 30 Oct 7.30pm BBC2 - Credit Crash Britain: HBOS Breaking the Bank. "Bail out the banks loan art to the churches......."

Fri 31 Oct 9pm BBC2 - The American Future: A History by Simon Schama. The far from bashful Simon Schama puts forward the issue of race in American politics.

A week of America, Polish builders, homosexual Nazis and a mad Anarchist bomber. If one programme is essential viewing, do see the story of Tom Hurndall on Monday evening.......

Sunday 12 Oct 7pm BBC2 - The American Future: A History by Simon Schama. What made the modern United States?

Mon 13 Oct 8pm ITV1 EU Decide: Tonight. A mock referendum on the proposed EU Constitution. The fact it is a mock event, rather than the real thing, tells you exactly why a genuine vote cannot be held. The government might not win.........

9pm Ch4 - The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall. A two hour drama telling the story of the 21 year old Briton murdered by Israeli troops whilst protecting a group of Palestinian children.

Tues 14 Oct 10.35pm ITV1 Comedy Classics: Brass. One of the funniest ever parodies of both working class and upper class life.

Weds 15 Oct 5pm Nat Geographic - Hunt For The Unabomber. When Anarchists go wrong..........

Thurs 16 Oct 9pm Ch4 - Bobski The Builder. Cutting Edge's examination of the impact of east European workers in the construction trade.

Oct 10pm UKTV History - Infamous Assassinations. When Nazis fall out - the death of Ernst Roehm.

Fri 17 Oct 9pm BBC2 - The American Future: A History by Simon Schama. Second part of the series looks at America's military role. Sadly the founding fathers who argued that the USA should not have a military were over-ruled.......

As the nights draw in, there is even more reason than usual for the revolutionary couch potato to be behind closed doors. Here are a few things to watch whilst the leaves fall off the trees.........

Sun 5 Oct 8pm BBC4 - Ian Hislop Goes Off The Rails. Class War train spotters will be sharpening their knives, as Ian Hislop examines the work of the most hated civil servant in British history - Dr Beeching.

Mon 6 Oct 8.30pm Panorama. The re-emergence of Russia as an economic power.

10pm BBC4 - Dirty Tricks: The Man Who Got the Bushes Elected. A profile of elections guru Lee Atwater.

Tues 7 Oct 8pm BBC4 - Super Rich: The Greed Game. How the super-rich effect all our finances.

9pm BBC3 - Jack: A Soldiers Story. Ben Anderson on the problems soldiers face when returning to a working class life on civvy street.

Thurs 9 Oct 7pm BBC2 - James May's Big ideas. Has the 1970s view of robots taking on human tasks come to pass?

Fri 10 Oct 7.35pm Ch4 - Junk Mail Britain. Mark Craig decides to get to grips with an entire towns junk mail.

8pm Ch4 - A Place In the Sun. Is it too much to hope that the collapse in property prices will see an end to this type of programme?

After a brief absence due to sofa induced idleness, our revolutionary TV guide is back, and its bad!

Sat 20 Sept 7pm Biography Channel - Arnold Schwarzenegger. So - will we get to hear about Arnie's goose stepping dad, and see those naughty nudie bum shots from his modelling days?

Sun 21 Sept 9pm BBC2 - Earth: The Climate Wars. Why is there such differences of opinion over the changes global warming will bring?

9pm ITV4 - Real Prison Breaks. Promising fact, not fiction.........

Mon 22 Sept 8.30pm BBC1 - Panorama. The 'security' of information held about us on government databases.

10.35pm ITV1 Real Crime: Serial Killer on Camera. The case of Combat 18 supporter Colin Ireland, who murdered 5 gay men in 1993, after picking them up in London.

Tues 23 Sept 10pm More4 - True Stories: Forbidden Lies. Norma Khouri's book 'Forbidden Love', which managed to unite both the FBI and Islamists in opposition.

Weds 24 Sept 9pm BBC4 - Greg Dyke on Nye Bevan. New Labour media man discusses old Labour health service founder.

Thurs 25 Sept 9pm ITV1 Anne Widdecombe Versus the Diet Industry. We cannot possibly match the quality of that title.....

9pm Ch4 - Cutting Edge: The Virgin Daughters. The purity movement in America. A scary one girl in six in America pledges to remain a Virgin until her marriage. Thankfully for someone, Sarah Palin's daughter was not amongst them.........

Fri 26 Sept 10pm History - Living With the Enemy. A rare look at Germany immediately after WW2.

For all our Radio listeners..........

Here's the Radio times for the week:All Radio 4 unless stated

SUNDAY

2100-2130 - Students getting disillusioned in a college looking into international development.

2130 - 2200 - Analysys - power in healthcare. Should patients demand treatment regardless of cost?

MONDAY

Radio 4 - 0930-1000 - Parkmasters - the history of public parks in London.

1100-1130 - School for communists - Jim Riordan and four other young Britons tell their story of 60's education at Elite Higher Party School, Moscow.

1130-1200 - Count Arthur Strong at Edinburgh - bizarre comedy, highly recommended!

2130-2200 - Mind Changers - The Stanford Prison Experiment. Claudia Hammond looks at psychological experiments that changed our understanding of the human mind. Students were in a mockup prison and other students were guards. The experiment became so aggressive it had to be stopped.

TUESDAY

0900-0945 - 1968, The Year Of The Revolution. John Tusa goes to Chicago to meet anti Vietnam protestors.

2000-2040 - Crime Hotspots. Wannabe cop, Nick Ross looks at inaccurate online crime maps in the UK, so the Police are encouraged to under-report crime.

WEDNESDAY

1600-1630 - Thinkng allowed - Will self and others discuss fantasy and reality to create experiences of the modern city.

2045-2100 - The Condensed History of Political parties - This week it's the Tories in 15 minutes.

THURSDAY

RADIO 2 - 2200-2300 - Mark Lamarr's reggae show.

RADIO 4 - 1630-1700 Material World - how artificial intelligence is used in road navigation systems.

FRIDAY

1830-1900 - Armando Ianucci's Charm Offensive - current affairs comedy show.

As the Olympics come to a close, it is time to stop feeling guilty about lying on the couch all week. Feel good about yourself by battling through each of these programmes, all the way to the end.

Sun 24 Aug Noon BBC1 - Olympics 2008. The Olympic baton is passed on...... to Boris Johnson.

12.30am Movies 24 - Brotherhood of Murder. The story of 80s US terrorist group The Order. Very much a made for TV movie, it does at least show Robert Matthews jerking off to inter-racial porn.

Mon 25 Aug 8pm Ch4 - Dispatches: How the Banks Never Lose. Guess who will still be 'making' money during the credit crunch?

9pm More4 - Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. A western based on Dee Brown's book, telling the story of American Indians from the Battle of Little Big Horn to the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee.

Tues 26 Aug 9pm ITV1 - Fiddles, Cheats and Scams. Everyone who has had a negative experience of the insurance industry will be delighted to know that this is yet another programme investigating, not Insurance as a concept, but those who allegedly try to fiddle the system.

10pm Bravo - I Predict A Riot. An hour of riot porn, starting with the excellent 1990 Strangeways Riot and finishing with the 1994 Criminal Justice Bill riot. Those were the days!

Thurs 28 Aug 6.30pm Crime & Investigation - Jimmy Hoffa. America's Mafia/trades union cross over.

Fri 29 Aug 9pm BBC2 - The Tudors. The seedy and nasty origins of the English church, with Henry VIII throwing his considerable weight around.