Tom Davies scans the schedules. (All times pm unless stated.) Pick of the week The Union Game (Sunday 8.00 BBC2). Less a programme about rugby than an absorbing social history of Britain from the late 19th century. "A Class Game", the first of four, examines how notions of class, industrial development, masculinity and nationhood shaped the development of the sport.

FRIDAY August 20 Aberglasney: A Garden Lost in Time (7.30 BBC2). Start of a new series exploring the restoration of the gardens at Aberglasney mansion in the Towy valley.

saturday August 21 Darwin's Clever Cousin (2.30 R4). University College London professor of genetics Steve Jones looks at the work of Francis Galton, cousin of Darwin and the founder of human genetics.

sunday August 22 BBC Proms Lecture (5.30 R3). Michael Ignatieff delivers the fourth annual lecture, on "The Ascent of Man".

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Adolf Eichmann (6.30 C4). The 1960 trial of the architect of the Final Solution.

The Union Game (8.00 BBC2). See pick of the week.

Masters of the Universe (8.00 C4). The second part of this investigation into the murky world of management consultancy goes behind the scenes at McKinsey & Co.

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2000 Years (11.15 ITV). The spread of Christianity in the 17th century.

Melvyn Bragg chairs: the panel includes bishop of Newark John Shelby Spong and theologian Karen Armstrong.

monday August 23 Postscript (9.50 R3 and rest of week, times vary). The first of five programmes marking the 250th anniversary of Goethe's birth begins with a look at the Frankfurt in which he grew up.

Block on Block (7.30 World Service). Architecture series looks this week at domes, including that one in north Greenwich.

Edinburgh Nights (11.15 BBC2). Alan Tyler and Mariella Frostrup with festival highlights - all week and Tuesday and Friday next.

tuesday August 24 On the Ropes (9.00am R4). Robert Winston talks about life on the ethical fringe of medical science.

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Strange Weather Days (9.30am R4). Meteorologist Helen Young on significant events of the century.

Pompeii: Buried Alive (6.00 Hist Channel). Pompeii's architectural director Baldassarre Conticello looks at how the eruption of Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii in 79AD.

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Secret History: Mau Mau (9.00 C4) Study of the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya in 1952 features interviews with settlers, Mau Mau fighters, diplomats and soldiers.

wednesDAY August 25 East: Bravehearts and Bhangra (7.00 BBC2). Anvar Khan looks at the Scottish Asian experience post-devolution and its at times uneasy relationship with Scots nationalism.

The Essential Guide to Weather (7.30 BBC2). New series exploring the myths and science of weather examines how strong winds can be both a hazard and a help.

Interval - The Ascent of Man (8.05 R3). Professor Richard Dawkins, Dr Stephen Mithen, Marek Kohn and Helena Cronin re-examine Bronowski's account of evolution.

Throwing the Dice (10.45 R3). Mich lle Roberts on Mallarme.

thursDAY August 26 The Material World (4.30 R4). Trevor Phillips investigates the physics of orchestras and their concert halls.

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Coppers (9.00 C4). First of a four-part warts-and-all look at the British police.

Email: Davies@aol.com