IS it too late to change my letter to Father Christmas? I know I said I wanted world peace and all that good stuff, but having seen Grizzly Bear Cubs and Me (BBC2, Tuesday/Wednesday, 9pm), I would now like six brown bear cubs please, Santa.

Scots cameraman Gordon Buchanan’s documentary was awesome viewing in every sense. My first “aw” arrived five seconds in and pretty much continued steadily for the hour.

Buchanan was in Russia to meet the Pazhetnov family, biologists by training, who have devoted their lives to adopting orphaned bears and returning them to the wild with the skills they need to survive. How are the bears orphaned, you ask? It’s humankind’s fault, naturally. Mum is spooked by the sight of humans encroaching on her territory and runs off, or she is killed by hunters.

When Buchanan first met the cubs they were five weeks old, the size of puppies, and had to be fed 12 times a day. They did not like waiting. “It feels like I’m manning the bar at the cute baby bear club,” said Buchanan on a night feed. Soon, they were the size of giant teddy bears and eating three bowls of porridge a day. The fairytale was right.

These facts were imparted by Buchanan in an Attenborough-like whisper. The bears must not get used to the voices of humans, lest they lose their fear of them. In general, the team kept as far away from the bears as possible, with a large part of the filming being done by remote cameras.

Not that Buchanan was finding it easy to keep an emotional distance. He’s a terrible worrier, is our Gordon. “Everything is stacked against a cub that has lost its mother,” he said. He was worried about the smallest cub who could not stand up; then he was anxious about the cubs’ first night on their own. He must be a lovely, if fretful, dad.

When it came time for the final release into the wild, a crying Mrs Pazhetnov said it felt like her babies were leaving. But it was best for them, she acknowledged. Some humans give the species a good name.

In Best Christmas Ever with Alexander Armstrong (STV, Sunday, 9pm), the Pointless host continued his transition to full Alan Partridge with a ski lodge set that could have come straight from the Knowing Me, Knowing You Christmas special.

Best Christmas Ever was like the sort of odds and ends dinner you throw together on January 3, with a bit of singing, some chat, and guests playing silly games.

Perched in the chairs pretending to be hanging out at home were Fay from Cold Feet, a kid that used to be on Coronation Street and his brother, Prue Leith (the Great British Bake Off judge has a book out this Christmas – well I never!) and some northern comedian I had never heard of. Hardly Parkinson in his heyday.

The gang was asked a series of questions about the best present they had ever received, what was the best Christmas food, and so on. The audience voted on their answers, and the winning items went into a hamper for one lucky punter to take home, with a trip to New York thrown in as well.

It was all silly and cheesy but good natured, and I can see it coming back next year. People like Armstrong, and the feeling seems to be mutual. You cannot fake that kind of sincerity.

Inside the Christmas Factory (BBC2, Monday, 9pm) sounded promising. Gregg Wallace and his little helpers were finding out about all things festive, from how Quality Street is made to what goes into the creation of fancy tree ornaments.

Wallace spent his time in the Quality Street factory (whatever happened to the BBC not being seen to advertise products?), and managed to last a whole 11 minutes before saying he felt like Roald Dahl’s Charlie.

Historian and co-presenter Ruth Goodman covered the Christmas dinner side of things by visiting a flock of turkeys. In case you did not know what a cooked turkey looked like, she had made one earlier. “A great big roasted bird is surely what we all have in mind for Christmas dinner,” she declared. That includes vegetarians as well, does it Ruth?

On and on went the show, facts and figures shooting off the production line, tons of this, percentage of that. It was meant to be educational and fun at the same time, but it was in fact incredibly boring. The content could have made a short item on The One Show; as an hour-long show it dragged like a sleigh travelling through toffee.

If they ever want to go inside a factory that makes baby bears, I’m in. Otherwise, Gregg mate, get back to MasterChef.