Television: DSTV top series

Kids can be extremely funny, everyone will probably agree. You can hop onto YouTube and find countless videos of children doing and saying hilarious things.

Bet on Your Baby

M-Net, Channel 101,Thursdays, 18:30

There have also been game shows that tried to capitalise on their unpredictability, such as Kids Say the Darndest Things, a show hosted by Bill Cosby that was based on a segment of the popular radio show Art Linkletter's House Party, in which kids were interviewed and asked challenging questions to see how they would respond. The Cosby-hosted show inspired a UK version called Kids Say the Funniest Things, hosted by Michael Barrymore.

The point of all this: Kids make us laugh - a premise this mildly controversial new show attempts to run with. It aired in the US last year and had a second season this year. The idea is five teams - mom, dad and toddler - compete to earn cash for the kid's education.

One parent goes into a playroom with the child to instruct them to complete several game-like tasks, while the other parent stays outside with hostess Melissa Peterman and bets on whether or not the kid will do it. There are all kinds of distractions, such as remote-control cars that enter the area loaded with sweets, to make the outcome more uncertain.

But, as with almost anything, it has its opponents. The reasons cited by naysayers include the messages the kids on the show infer as their desperate parents try to bribe them into doing the right thing; the possible hurt feelings the losing kids might have seeing the show later in life (really?); the parents getting more screen time than the kids, and the rampant commercialism by the various baby product sponsors - like we've never seen that before.

Maybe they have a point, I wouldn't know. I'm no shrink or sociologist. The goal is admirable, surely? True, not all of the kids can win - but that's life, and life is unfair. That's always a good lesson.

Nature's Weirdest Events

BBC Knowledge, Channel 184,Sundays, 17:00

Maybe the people who say they saw strange or unbelievable things aren't crazy. At least, not always. British naturalist Chris Packham shows us that sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.

Offering up footage shot by eyewitnesses and professional film crews, the show promises all kinds of difficult-to-explain phenomena, such as fish walking around out of water, bees making multicoloured honey, a shark on a golf course, a two-headed snake and alien sounds in the sky.

This isn't the X-Files, though, and finding the real reason behind these strange occurrences is the goal of the show.

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA (season seven)

BBC Lifestyle, Channel 174, Mondays, 20:00

This is the Gordon Ramsay show I like best - watching him walk into restaurants to find out why they're not making ends meet. This often - but not always - leads to Ramsey finding the kitchen and fridges in shocking, gag-inducing condition. But one thing is certain, there's going to be a lot of swearing either way. This is funny, but it's not the main reason for watching the show. It's seeing how things play out. Firstly, some of the restaurant owners, who asked Ramsey for help in the first place, reject his ideas, which leads to more screaming matches and swearing.

But it's also interesting to see Ramsey at work. He doesn't just help them get their food up to scratch. He surveys the area to see what kind of food they should be serving, helps them devise plans to attract customers, and helps cut costs. He knows what he's doing.

In this season, Gordon rushes to the aid of a failing Italian restaurant in Denver, a struggling grill in Redondo Beach, and a floundering Greek restaurant in Queens.