IF YOU DON’T know by now, The Remote is our weekly look at the upcoming TV listings feature a range of recommendations each week.

We’ll focus mainly on free-to-air TV and freely available streaming services – with the occasional recommendation from subscription services too.

Something half the country will be watching…

Okay, so you’re probably watching TV as an escape from what’s going on in the world outside (save for a bit of news here and there).

And you might even be feeling like things are looking up a bit since the government announced its roadmap for exiting restrictions over the next few weeks. 

But Mayday – 24 hours in Ireland’s lockdown is offering something most of us haven’t had in the last few weeks: a look at how other people are coping through it all.

Filmed over a 24-hour period in late April, the documentary sees contributions from some of the ordinary people navigating the crisis, including a farmer, a postman, a lorry driver, volunteers offering food for the needy, a Leaving Cert student, and a nurse starting a night shift in one of Ireland’s busiest hospitals.

When is it on? Thursday at 9.35pm on RTÉ 1.

Something to watch as a family…

Remember when Steve Guttenberg was a thing?

If you’re an adult of a certain age, you’ll enjoy watching Short Circuit for nostalgia kicks as much as kids who are seeing it for the first time.

The plot sees a military robot come to life and develop a mind of its own after being struck by lightning.

What the film lacks in modern CGI, it makes up for in entertainment, and there’s a not-too-laboured morality lesson at the heart of it all too.

When’s it on? Saturday at 3.05pm on RTÉ 2. 

Something to stream…

CBC CBC

Schitt’s Creek: If you’ve ever been looking to get into the Canadian comedy, this is the perfect time to do it. It takes a while to get going but once you’re in, you’ll be hooked.

The series follows a rich Canadian family who lose all their money, and have to move to the town of Schitt’s Creek, which they bought as a joke for their son on his 16th birthday.

It starts stars the amazing Eugene Levy (formerly known as the dad in American Pie) and his son Dan Levy, and is a real treat.

Where can I watch it? Available to stream on Netflix. 

Something sporty…

We’ll be frank: if the football in Italia ’90 was all that was on offer, we’d be telling you to give it a miss. But Ireland’s journey was a moment of national joy for the country.

The fact that we talk about a quarter-final exit thirty years later speaks volumes about the tournament’s cultural impact. If you weren’t around at the time, TG4 are thankfully showing re-runs of Ireland’s games as part of World Cup Gold.

This week sees Ireland face the Netherlands in the final group game in Group F, where there was literally nothing to separate the four teams, who had all drawn, conceded one goal, and scored one goal.

We all know how Ireland fared getting through, but how they did it is worth re-watching – if only for the controversial way they did it.

When is it on? Friday at 7.30pm on TG4.

Something out of the ordinary…

Melt The Fly / Vimeo

Hands up, who knew that elite stone skimming was a sport?

If like us you didn’t, you’ll probably know the basic concept at least: participants throw a flat stone at the water at a certain angle and try to make it hop off the surface as much as possible.

A half-hour documentary, Our Lives: Sink of Skim, looks at the more intense end of the sport, following two elite skimmers as they take part in a collective attempt to beat the world distance record in Wales and at the world championships in Scotland.

It’s short, but supposedly it rocks. 

When is it on? Wednesday at 7.30pm on BBC1. 

Something from the archives…

Frasier: Probably the most successful spin-off of all time, the sitcom follows the elite antics of Dr Frasier Crane after his move back to his hometown of Seattle.

The character, originally from the 80s sitcom Cheers, proved so popular that the series ran for 11 series between 1993 and 2004.

Its characters are intelligent, witty and a bit upmarket – but takes the mickey out of all of those characteristics as much as it uses them to set itself apart from other shows. 

RTÉ has added more than 100 episodes of the series online.

Where can I watch it? RTÉ Player.