Richard Hammond may be short in stature but he is remarkably long on work rate.
Last week, on TVB Pearl, "The Hamster" took time out from crashing cars with his bigoted buddy Jeremy Clarkson to build himself a whole planet. This week, he ups the ante by attempting to create a whole damn universe (Richard Hammond Builds a Universe, right; TVB Pearl, Wednesday at 9.30pm). By anybody's standard, that's quite a leap in grand designs; the equivalent of making a rabbit run then having a stab at constructing the IFC.
Obviously, Hammond isn't a supreme being with a cosmic toolbox, and he can't pluck stars out of the sky to build a "real" universe. Instead, the programme is a mixture of stunning CGI and hands-on, don't-try-this-at-home scientific demonstrations, most of which allow him to jet-set around the world to rub shoulders with various boffins in exotic destinations for no obvious reason.
Beginning 13.8 billion years ago - as most good (and quite a few bad) things do, with a big bang - Hammond creates a star and then kills it with a supernova explosion, in the process giving himself all the elements he needs to form his galaxy. He then journeys to Texas, to clumsily participate in an all-girl roller derby, to demonstrate the carnage left in the wake of the solar system's planetary tussles. It's then over to Italy, to join a cave-exploring expedition, before Hammond heads to Nasa's garage, to fool around in a real-life rocket ship like a grinning schoolboy. This is mainly classroom science 101.
As much as I hate to admit it, Hammond is an engaging presenter, despite his smug little rat face sniggering from the television screen. None of these boys' toys experiments would be too far out of place in an episode of Top Gear but, despite his obvious lack of subject knowledge (and, to be fair, he has never claimed to be the next Brian Cox), Hammond's enthusiasm and playful presentation are far less irritating than when he's blowing up caravans with his oafish auto buddies.
Also working on his own fantasy project, albeit at the opposite end of the size spectrum, is George Clarke. This week, the British architect begins to build a magical, yet compact, space retreat, as George Clarke's Amazing Spaces returns for a second series (Nat Geo People; Thursday at 7.55pm). Last year, Clarke's small-scale project was the transformation of a dilapidated 1970s caravan into a sleek, modern family getaway. This time around, aided once again by master craftsman William Hardie, he will design and construct a state-of-the-art tree house, nestled in the Northumberland countryside.