On the telly today

BBC is on strike today so the quality of (especially live) programming will undoubtedly be worse. Already we had a casualty in the Radio 4's Today program. BBC News 24 has this newsreader which I have never ever seen in my whole life!

Tonight's Dispatches (8pm, Channel 4) features an indepth investigation into the dirty tricks used during the general election. An undercover reporter got a job in New Labour press office and reveals tactics used by election campaigners such as 'astroturfing' which was first used politically after the 9/11 attack by Republicans. New Labour party members would create draft letters which were then sent to local and national papers under the pretence as ordinary Brits while declaring their support to Tony Blair.

The Explosive 80s: How Heysel Changed Football (9pm, Channel 4) - a documentary which follows the The Heysel Stadium disaster where Liverpool fans attempted to invade the segregated area seated by Juventes fans, which then resulted in the deaths of 39 people. Liverpool was subsequently booted and banned from European football as were all English clubs for five years. The documentary will take us through other football related disasters and the exportation of English hooliganism to the continent.

Also on 9pm this time on five, The Boy with the Incredible Brain, a profile of Daniel Tammet, now 26, an extraordinary genius capable of seven languages (one of which he learnt in just a week), superb memory and mathematical capabilities (he is able to recite pi to 22,514 decimal places). All this since suffering from a series of epileptic seizures at the age of four, Tammet also suffers from autism. The seizure apparently rewired his brain transforming him into a 'savant'. While he has been gifted with such a rare ability because of autism, he has trouble communicating with people, could not understand jokes and understand people's emotions.

I know he didn't have a choice, but would you trade your social life if presented with a choice for such abilities?