Strange times on Freeview

Just when you thought you knew where you were with British TV things have taken a strange turn. Or several strange turns.

1) Best live sports moment of the autumn

Sky Sports News (yes, really) for its superb coverage of the last night of the football transfer window. As the poor old BBC werre still telling us that Tottenham had accepted Manchester City's offer for Berbatov, there was Sky with live footage of Berbatov with Ferguson and Gill at Old Trafford. Helped by the craziness of Manchester City's bid for Robinho, Sky managed to turn the football transfer saga (without a single interview with any players, managers or agents) into unmissable TV.

2) The revival of ITV drama -- and a memorable arts programme

Just when we thought no one need bother watching ITV again, ITV peak-time drama has taken on a new lease of life. The three-parter 'Children' (Mondays at 9pm) has just finished, 'Lost in Austen' (Wednesdays at 9pm) is half way through and then from next Monday, Juliet Stevenson and Greg Wise will be starring in a new three-parter, 'Place of Execution'. Before getting too excited, however, we should note that 'Celebrating - The South Bank Show' has been banished to ITV3 and that 'Faith in the Frame' on religious art was after midnight last Sunday. Shame on Fincham and Grade. You shysters. Last week's clips of the classic programme with Francis Bacon was one of the highlights of the year.

3) More4 -- really?

Who'd have thought that both the best current affairs programme and the best entertainment programme on British TV would be on More4? Yes, they are the same show as fans of 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' will already have guessed. At 8.30 on weekdays it is the classiest satire programme on TV, ridiculing TV pundits and politicos alike with superbly researched TV clips, all held together by the best TV frontman in America at the moment (that's why he was presenting this year's Oscars show).

4) And, of course, there's BBC4

Christopher Nupen's great documentary about 'Jacqueline du Pre and the Elgar Cello Concerto' (Friday, September 26, 7.30 pm) begins an 8-part series of Nupen's films on BBC4 on Friday evenings. That's what BBC 4's for -- but what, exactly, is BBC 2 for?