The week's best television

REVIEWED: Louis Theroux: Ultra Zionists, Cutting Edge: Science Under Attack, Modern Family, The Gruen Transfer, The Invention of Dr Nakamats, Misfits.

REVIEWED: Louis Theroux: Ultra Zionists, Cutting Edge: Science Under Attack, Modern Family, The Gruen Transfer, The Invention of Dr Nakamats, Misfits.

Louis Theroux: Ultra Zionists
Sunday, 8.30pm (AEST), BBC Knowledge
Through the years, Louis Theroux has shifted from more light-hearted topics to serious issues, maintaining his air of deliberate mild ignorance. In either environment, it's a tactic that encourages his subjects to open up. Here he talks to ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers - including an Australian expat - about why and how they live in disputed West Bank areas. Obviously, a mere TV show cannot solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem, but it's a worthwhile glimpse into that world.

Cutting Edge: Science Under Attack
Tuesday, 8.30pm, SBS One
From vaccines, HIV to AIDS deniers and climate change, there's a disconnect between the scientific consensus and the general public's perception. Paul Nurse, a Nobel-winning geneticist and president of the British Royal Society, wonders why, and what can be done. There is almost no limit to the amount of time that could be reasonably devoted to this topic, but, focusing primarily on climate change, Nurse does a warm, accessible job of explaining the state of present thinking. Don't miss this.

Modern Family
Tuesday, 8pm, Ten
The sweet but not sickly sitcom returns (although don't get too attached: there are only six episodes left in this season). Cameron becomes deadly ambitious when he directs a school play, while Jay's brother arrives in town and Phil's advertising plan, which involves his family, has dire consequences. The stories are not the strongest, but they are funny.

The Gruen Transfer
Wednesday, 9pm, ABC1
So pleasing to see Wil Anderson, Russel Howcroft and Todd Sampson again, amusingly deconstructing advertising. It felt as if they'd been gone far too long (and it was hard not to wish they'd been around to weigh in during the controversy over the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities' rip and roll condom ads), so there's a backlog of ad stuff to get to.

The Invention of Dr Nakamats
Wednesday, 9.20pm, ABC2
Yoshiro Nakamatsu patented, among some 3000 other things, the floppy disc and the karaoke machine. He's also, it may not need to be said given the whole mad inventor stereotype, an odd bird. For the past three decades he has photographed the one meal he eats each day and then analysed it in a bid to live to the age of 144. I can't claim to have invented much (ie, anything) but that all seems rather dubious. Never mind, because this film is a nice peek into his world.

Misfits
Friday, 9.30pm, ABC2
Every time I sit down to watch an episode of Misfits, I find myself wondering if this show can really be as good as I think it is. And by closing credits, I am once again convinced. After all, this show has a character known as Super Hoodie - what more could you want? We learn a whole lot more about that masked figure in this episode, as well as it having an interesting tattoo-related storyline that combines laughs with genuine drama and an outstanding use for a packet of peanuts.