The Love of Money
9pm, BBC2
It will be no consolation to those who have lost jobs and money during the financial turbulence of the last year but it's actually very possible that, all things considered, the planet had a fortunate escape. As this episode, subtitled Back From the Brink, demonstrates, an epochal economic collapse was, for a while there, at least as likely as not. The testimony of the interviewees – including Gordon Brown, Mervyn King and former US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson – is chilling, recalling moments of genuine terror at the highest levels.
Alone in the Wild
9pm, Channel 4
Adventurer Ed Wardle finishes his survival stint in the forbidding Yukon wilderness in Canada by nearly starving himself to death. Though the grizzlies may be dangerous, his biggest threat is the solitude, as he begins to have imaginary phone calls with his girlfriend. When the river salmon don't show up to spawn – his last hope of finding a decent meal – he hits the help button and calls in the emergency rescue plane. He's back among people for the first time in 50 days, and then he makes the mistake of looking in the mirror . . .
Question Time
10.35pm, BBC1
QT marks its 30th anniversary this year; it was first broadcast in 1979, with the splendidly truculent Robin Day in the chair. Nowadays it's hosted by the altogether drier David Dimbleby and – despite all too often generating more heat than light, and its recent insistence on bringing in "character" panellists – it remains compelling viewing. This week, Dimbleby hosts from the Lib Dem conference, with Harriet Harman charged with the always invidious task of representing the government.
Important Things With Demetri Martin
11pm, E4
If you know Demetri Martin – star of Ang Lee's forthcoming Taking Woodstock – from his spots on The Daily Show, you'll enjoy this. Important Things is a bit like a version of Sesame Street for college grads. It takes a weekly theme – this time, Timing – around which Martin wraps a mixture of his own stand-up, filmed and animated sketches and skits. "I think the worst time to get amnesia would be Halloween," he deadpans. Easily one of the best US imports you'll see this year.
