Satellite and Cable: Pick of the Day

DESPITE THE success of the recent Scream films, Wes Craven's greatest contribution to the schlock-horror genre remains the monstrous Freddy Krueger (right), the appalling child-killer played with relish by Robert Englund. With this macabre figure, Craven showed that horror could be funny as well as scary. After some weak Nightmare on Elm Street films, the fiend hit top form again in Wes Craven's New Nightmare (10pm FilmFour), a 1994 update in which Freddy steps out of the horror film and into "real" life.

The Romans left us some amazing buildings. "Ancient Rome and its Mysterious Cities", this week's Ancient Mysteries (6pm History Channel), looks at how these monuments, built more than 2,000 years ago, have endured so well, despite the ravages of wars and natural disasters.