Television preview

"Well it's bad General, but it could be worse." So says a military minion to his broodingly bald boss in part one of Stephen King's The Stand, (Sat and Sun BBC1). He was referring, of course, to the deadly virus that has packed its bags and is currently touring America, laying waste to all life. But he could equally have been talking about the August television schedules. Here, recognisable human life is a little hard to find until Ken Campbell hoves into view. Reassuringly bald and bushy about the eyes, Ken is presenting the first in a three-part series on the workings of the human mind. Brainspotting (Sun C4) begins with an investigation into consciousness, or "what it's likeness", as Ken consults a range of experts who attempt to explain the show that is going on inside our heads. Getting your head around thinking about thinking might tie you up in mental knots, but Ken is on hand to unravel them. His breezy irreverence should shake out those cerebral cobwebs in style.

Which is a lot more than can be said for the dreaded "teleplay" of Stephen King's aforementioned horror-fest, which is likely to cause symptoms in its viewers similar to the effects of its virus. Victims start to cough innocently, then expand violently until they're pink and yellow, and then they keel over. The only apparent way to avoid this fate is to dress up as an inflatable pea-pod. But if you like the thought of Gary Sinise in a tight T-shirt or Rob Lowe playing a deaf mute, then you may want to stay with it to its unpleasant, four-part, end.

A much better bet is Some Kind of Life (Sun ITV), a one-off drama from Kay Mellor, who wrote the critically acclaimed Band of Gold. This film explores what happens to a woman when her husband becomes child-like after a motorcycle accident. Jane Horrocks underplays the consequent emotions of the wife beautifully, while Ray Stevenson is always convincing as a man thrown violently back into childhood. Practical as well as emotional issues are addressed, and the tension between the victim's mother, played by Gwen Taylor in typically fine form, and his wife rings achingly true. The script meanders rather, and there's too much needless exposition, but this still manages to be involving and touching drama.

If you've ever wondered, as you queued bitterly in a music festival beer tent, whose pockets you were lining then The Business (Sat BBC2) can provide the answers. Narrated dolefully by John Walters, this profiles two of music management's biggest boys. Charismatic Irishman Vince Power, a former second-hand furniture salesman, proves himself a master of understatement. "I think I found a niche in the market," is about all he will say of his multi- million pound Mean Fiddler empire. Meanwhile, Tribute's Tony Hollingsworth remains calm as he orchestrates massive music events around the world and rakes in the cash. That's showbusiness.

One woman who certainly understands the entertainment principle is Sister Wendy. The perky nun this week addresses the golden age of painting in France, Spain and Holland, but somehow the topic never matters in Sister Wendy's Story of Painting (Sun BBC1). Sure, you absorb some analysis, but it's the hypnotic way she inclines her head and fixes you with a budgerigar bright gaze that keeps you reeled in. She's a reassuring fixture in a very thin week.