The ABC

Excellent range of Australian children's programmes, documentaries, dramas, comedies, news and current affairs shows. No commercials.
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Wombat TV  Hit Picks
Paralympic Games, 6.00pm. Weeknights.

I'm still on a bit of a high from the Olympics and the Paralympics, also being beamed in to our loungerooms from Beijing, will deliver another dose of athletic majesty if you're so inclined.

Arguably more watchable than some of the Olympic events because many of the Paralympic sports obviously make use of various specialist equipment, the ABC is not going all-out like Channel Seven did with blanket coverage, instead condensing the games into a neat hour-long package every night at 6pm. Let the games begin!

- Frankie J.

Wombat TV  Hit Picks
Very Small Business, 9.30pm. Wednesdays.

Very Small Business is Wayne Hope's new comedy, after the somewhat successful The Librarians. Mr Hope seems to have honed his craft finding not only what is funny and sad at the same time, but also the perfect premise within which to produce it.

In this case the premise is simple: Don Angel (played cleverly by Hope) is a very dodgy small business man who works the black economy to not-so-great effect from his lonely office. He spends a lot of time of time on the phone trying to convince and con people into giving him money for his made-up businesses (he has several fake magazines), scams, and various lame-brained schemes. But it works well and elicits plenty of smiles, if not the odd belly laugh. 

While Don Angel is the smooth operator, his sidekick Ray Leonard Leonard (played wonderfully by Kim Gyngell) is one of the show's best assets. He joins Don's dodgy operation after leaving his senior position at a major newspaper after discovering that he is not in fact the biological father of his daughter. 

This entertaining new comedy is yet another consistently funny production from the ABC, and though short at just six episodes, it's still well worth checking out.

- Frankie J.

Channel 7

Strong on Australian drama, lifestyle shows, popularist news and current affairs, game shows. Commercials.

Wombat TV Hit Picks
Packed To The Rafters, 8:30pm, Tuesdays.

It destroyed the ratings chart, taking out the number one spot (if you ignore the Olympics) in its first week, and for one very good reason: it's not shit. It doesn't cram good old fashioned "family values" down your throat, values that are usually outmoded and applicable only to religious zealots.

Instead Packed to the Rafters, while cheesy at times, is a fair depiction of middle Australian reality, of everyday life near the turn of the decade. Life is different to what it was in the '90s and the 2000s, and the new drama gets pretty close to what many families go through.

Another aspect of the new show that works are the characters. They've all got flaws but none of the Rafters are terribly nasty, so there's that endearing element that makes you sympathise with them on some levels. The issues it attempts to tackle run the gamut from tame to grisly, from moving out of home to drug abuse and domestic violence. While I'm not enamored by the script writing thus far, the acting keeps this one afloat.

- Frankie J.

Wombat TV Hit Picks
Border Security, 7:30pm, Mondays.

One of Australia's most popular shows returns (no more repeats!), and Grant Bowler is the bloke with the serious voice and stern retorts. I've always imagined Bowler as quirky one, spending his down time stunning and mounting animals in a secret taxidermy. 

Okay, so one of the best things about Border Security is that you can learn what not to do if you ever want to smuggle something into the country. The series works as a strong deterrent for would-be smugglers, but also provides subtle insights as how to evade detection - a double-edged blade that customs may rue in time.

- Frankie J.

Wombat TV Hit Picks
Crash Investigation Unit, 7:30pm, Wednesdays.

Take the lazy-and-cheap production method used by Border Security to follow around tax-payer funded services already doing their work, and you have yourself a great TV show. Normally I hate these sorts of shows, I really do hate them with a passion, but watching the car crash animations is actually not bad. 

Like all these shows the outcomes are predictable and the show simply stretches them out so that a bevy of adverts can be spliced in there. It's vile TV, but watchable.

- David Lennox.

Channel 9

Lifestyle shows, popularist news and current affairs, game shows, reality TV. French Open tennis. Rugby League State of Origin. Commercials.

Wombat TV Hit Picks
Two And A Half Men, 8:30pm. Tuesdays.

When this sitcom began a few years ago, it made me sick how damn terrible it was. However since then, I have to admit that I've slowly been drawn in by it's spell.

Yes, it's kind of lame - but that little fat kid is hilarious, no matter how much I don't want to accept that fact.

However, Nine are too often guilty of milking a good thing to death (case in point: Gordon Ramsay - the guy went from ratings superstar to non existent) and Tuesday seems to be heading that way for this Charlie Sheen hit.

This week, we are served up not one, not two, but three episodes within the space of two hours. It's outrageous - especially when you consider the show is already on 5 nights a week.

But, hey, who am I to say what works and what doesn't in Television. I'm sure Nine knows exactly what it's doing... which is why they don't have a single show rating in the Top 20... and spend money on Hole In The Wall.

- David Lennox.

Wombat TV Hit Picks
Just Shoot Me, 11:30pm. Tuesdays.

This was one of my favourite comedies when it first appeared on Channel 10 back in, maybe, 1998. Almost 150 episodes were made between 1997 and 2003, and most of them were pretty good and if you've got a case of restlessness on Tuesday nights, or just like the peace and quiet of late night life, this can be a nice little interlude.

The comedy is supremely purile, but it works. I laughed then, and I laugh now.

Set in a magazine production office, the fictional publication Blush, it's nothing like Ugly Betty and instead of creating extensive story arcs and pathos it just goes for all-out laughs and gross-out gags in self contained episodes. Not the best sitcom ever, but far from the worst.

- Frankie J.

Wombat TV Hit Picks
Hole In The Wall, 8:00pm. Wednesdays.

With the Olympics over, Nine returns with some of it's patented brand of mindless junk - and they wonder why the network has gone down the toilet!!

Cashing in on the earlier success of Wipeout and the preview episodes of Hole In The Wall (aired just prior to "Beijing Smog Fest 08"), this home made version of a Japanese series is seriously lame.

It's not because seeing idiots being knocked on their butts isn't funny - but there is something so sad about "celebrities" desperately doing whatever they can to get themselves some more screen time.

It's kind of depressing - surely they look at themselves in those suits before they go out on stage and wonder "Surely there is more to my skill than this?".

Possibly the saddest program of 2008.

- David Lennox.

Channel 10

Programmed for a younger audience, US chat shows, lifestyle shows, popularist news and current affairs, reality TV. Commercials.

Wombat TV Hit Picks
90210, 8:30pm. Mondays.

The long awaited return of a show that was axed because no one was watching it anymore...

With The OC out of the way, there is a huge gap in the teen drama department (aside from Gossip Girls) and a revamped 90210 just might do the trick!

While there seems to have been more emphasis on which originals are returning (rather than the regulars who will be the focus of the show) this new and improved series could still be a massive winner for Ten... at least for the first season and a half anyway.

Tune in, decide... then tune out!

Wombat TV Hit Picks
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, 7:30pm. Thursdays.

Aside from the fact that no one in Australia even uses the phrase "5th Grader" (in my day, it was "Hi, I'm in Grade 5" - and the older folk might remember "Form 4") this Rove McManus hosted gameshow became the surprise hit of 2007.

It's back for a brand new season... with new 5th Graders (you get the feeling the "old batch" were probably starting to "get hair in weird places" and were no longer cute enough) and McManus looking and feeling as fresh as ever.

It's not rocket science, and it can get cheesy, but it is a little bit of fun which is perfect for the family.

SBS

Excellent range of non-English speaking programmers, strong coverage of soccer, terrific overseas news, documentaries and foreign movies. Limited commercials.
Click here for TV Guide

Wombat TV Hit Picks
I'll Call Australia Home, 8:30pm, Tuesday.

Here's one for the political nuts!

Every year millions of refugees escape civil war and human rights violations in search of a new homeland. Roughly 13,000 are accepted into Australia. But what happens once they arrive?

This intimate documentary, filmed with the cooperation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Australian government's resettlement agencies, looks at two refugee families who escaped civil war and violence in their homeland, hoping for a fresh start on safer shores.

For the ethnic Karen family from Burma, so many things are startling - suburbs that seem to be for cars not people, too many clothes to choose from, automatic teller machines, and chickens wrapped in plastic. But learning English in 510 hours of government paid lessons is proving the biggest challenge.

Constance Okat and her extended family came to Australia after fleeing civil war in Sudan. For Constance, the task is trying to reunite all the members of her family that have been separated for over ten years. She is also trying to challenge the notion that refugees do not assimilate in Australian society.

Touching and funny in equal parts, this is well worth a look.

- Frankie J.

Aussie Drama : The Return

There was a point in time where an Australian TV series couldn't get funding unless your name started or ended with the words "Working" or "Dog". Blue Heelers and All Saints were the only dramas with any life in them... and that was pretty much it.

But since the success of Kath & Kim and Underbelly - it seems like you can't flick the Channel quick enough to escape a home grown hit. And for once - they are all pretty damn good! Does this mean we have a new generation of writers? New gereration of film makers? Or is there simply more cash on offer?

The most talked about shows of the "new batch" are without doubt Channel Ten's Rush and Channel Nine's The Strip. Below we have previews for both - we also have a chat with Aussie actress Claire Van Der Boom who talks about her role on the Channel Ten cop series.

Interview - Claire van der Boom - RUSH

READ THE UNEDITED INTERVIEW : Claire Van Der Boom

In a country where good acting roles are few and far between, there seems to be one shining light - Claire Van Der Boom.

Don't let the Dutch name fool you, she is 100% Aussie and her star is on the rise with roles in the much hyped Aussie drama Rush, the Tom Hanks epic The Pacific and a much talked about role of a young hairdresser having an affair with an older man in the new Australian film The Square.

Sean Lynch caught up with the amazingly cute Broome-born Van Der Boom mere weeks before she heads off to conquer the USA.

You are quite busy with [the Tom Hanks / Steven Spielberg production] The Pacific and the big budget Channel 10 drama Rush. What are those experiences like compared to anything else you've done?

In terms of budget [for The Pacific] it is. You'd open you're 1930s original wallet and there would be original lace gloves, and original diaries with diary entries from the character. I mean the detail was just mind blowing, and just seeing how the big budget American productions work - it was just amazing.

And I was very, very lucky not to have left our shores to work on a big American production. Because I know, if I was in America, I could be pouring beers in a dirty jazz bar waiting years to get my foot in the door on a HBO series in LA...

You're being pretty specific there, is there something your not telling me Claire? [Laughs]

[Guiltily Laughs] I've actually just got my Green Card - so fate has pointed its hand... that way.

Towards the Jazz Bar and HBO...

[Laughs] Well...you know... Jazz is good [Laughs]. One night in a jazz bar once a week in between a great job would be great [Laughs].

Well it's a daunting decision to make, and a decision which a lot of Aussie actors are making at the moment. What is it that gives you the motivation to say "Right, I'm packing up and leaving"?

It literally was the Green Card, I had forgotten I had applied for it, went for the interview a couple of weeks ago and received it and the way that it works is that it's a "Residency Visa" which basically means you have to live there.

So that's why I kind of need to take a deep breath, be brave, jump on a plane by myself and see if my hearts in it over there...

You'll be awesome, don't worry...

[Laughs] Ah you're lovely! [Laughs]

Back to Rush, it's shaping up to be one of the big shows of the year - what can we expect from it?

It's an action show, it doesn't sit in interview rooms, it's kind of like a SWAT-like team but they are meant to be using their brains instead of their guns. It's a negotiation unit, so there are hostage situations and suicide interventions...

So you don't even get to shoot a gun??

Not yet!

That's the whole fun of doing a cop show!

[Laughs] Well, we hold them a lot, and we learnt how to use them. I think it's wonderful to do that stuff, because you realise that it's very scary - because they are all over America. And, whooo, they've got some kick [Laughs].

Well, speaking of guns - and not to give anything away about the ending of The Square (so stop reading if you haven't seen the film yet)... but... being shot in the head. Do you sit at home in front of the mirror the night before going "Alright, how am I going to make this look believable?" as it's one of the few things you can't "Method Act".

And I have to say - it's one of the best shots in the head I've ever seen...

[Laughs] Yeah, I can't tell you the magic trick behind it - I might be murdered for it.

But it was a pretty stressful process to get the right "viscosity" of the brain [Laughs].

Because if you slow that scene down... it's still impressive. You can put that thing in slow motion and it still looks like you've been shot in the head. You just have to trust yourself that you can nail yourself in one take [Laughs].

RUSH hits screens later this year on CHANNEL 10

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