Thursday, October 31
KYLIE NORTHOVER It could have just been Mad Men with nudity, but Masters of Sex is proving to be a compelling drama, as much as a sharply written (and beautifully shot) portrait of 1950s American society.
Networking
Seven has put out a call for globe-trotters and thrill-seekers prepared to do almost anything to get their faces.
Saturday, November 2
BRIDGET MCMANUS If Home and Away had a Hollywood budget it might look something like this soapy American series, Life Unexpected.
Sunday, November 3
Neverland aims to answer questions such as how Peter and the Lost Boys end up in Neverland, and why Captain Hook such a massive meanie.
Thursday, October 10
Tonight Tim Winton sits down with Jennifer Byrne and proves he's just as eloquent - yet spare - in person as he is on the page.
Friday, October 11
ANNABEL ROSS There are far more convoluted shows out there, admittedly, but Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries are still rarely easy to follow.
Saturday, October 12
One of Whitechapel's pleasures is the way it takes very contemporary characters, and imbues them with an otherworldly vibe. Add super performances from Rupert Penry-Jones and Phil Davis and you have not just one of the picks of the night, but of the week.
Sunday, October 13
GILES HARDIE Sam Callaghan, played by the magnetic Don Hany, is turning into the perfect noir detective, with quick fists, a sharp tongue and constantly in and out of trouble, in Serangoon Road.
Thursday, October 3
GILES HARDIE The hysterical class comedy Upper Middle Bogan lifts its game further for tonight's finale.
Friday, October 4
BRIDGET MCMANUS A lack of fresh gore in Scott & Bailey does not make the killings any less heinous or the clinically dispensed evidence any less stomach churning.
Networking
Michael Idato The Ten Network is pushing its fast-tracking of US programs up a notch, streaming the series premiere of Homeland live, alongside its US broadcast.
Saturday, October 5
ANNABEL ROSS The Neighbors creator and writer Dan Fogelman gives his capable cast the occasional zinger, but this already feels like a one-trick pony.
Thursday, September 26
Gordon Farrer Ragnar Lothbrok is sent by King Horik to settle a land dispute in Vikings.
Networking
Michael Idato Australian actor Jacki Weaver is joining the cast of Rebel Wilson's new US comedy, Super Fun Night.
Friday, September 27
ANNABEL ROSS Four young couples and one single mum move into the same block of flats in The Baby Bomb.
Saturday, September 28
BRIDGET MCMANUS It is impossible not to be moved by some of the spectacular images in Penguins: Spy in the Huddle.
Sunday, September 29
NICK GALVIN Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out covers events following the filmmaker's re-arrest in 2009 in Zurich.
Thursday, September 19
BRIDGET MCMANUS Neighbours takes a daring turn with this week's storyline involving a gay Asian budding swimming star.
Melting pot boils over
GILES HARDIE Tough days on set reflect the turbulent times depicted in Serangoon Road.
Networking
MIichael Idato Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue has been named one of the judges for the British version of global talent franchise The Voice.
Friday, September 20
It's clear part of Scott and Bailey's brief was to give women strong lead roles.
Sunday, September 22
Serangoon Road is full of surprises, from its concept to its plotting and characters.
Lambs to the slaughter
ANDREW MURFETT A new film looks at the fate of young Australian deserters in World War I.
Networking
Michael Idato Sons of Anarchy actor Charlie Hunnam will play Christian Grey in the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey.
Pay TV show of the week: Sons of Anarchy
Brad Newsome Jax Teller finds once more that it's one step forward, two steps back and a dozen sideways.
Thursday, September 12
JAMES W MANNING Michala Banas is hilariously convincing as a bogan with brains and a foul mouth in need of a serious attitude adjustment.
Friday, September 13
Mako, Island of Secrets: Even an inner 12-year-old can be a cynic who can't bear bad acting.
Saturday, September 14
An unlikely combination of wit and athleticism forms the basis of Eddie Izzard's Mandela Marathons.
Power Games
Land of the rising sons
GILES HARDIE The Packers' internal battles are as absorbing as any with Murdoch in Power Games.
Sunday, September 8
NICK GALVIN Why are we so endlessly fascinated by the killing and cruelty of the criminal underclass?
Thursday, September 5
Debi Enker Upper Middle Bogan bounces along with well-crafted scripts, a snappy pace and a cleverly chosen ensemble cast.
Friday, September 6
ANNABEL ROSS The Secret History of Our Streets charts 125 years of social progression in London.
Saturday, September 7
JAMES W MANNING Eddie Izzard's witty, sardonic commentary lifts this above a fairly run-of-the-mill exercise-cum-history doco.
Sunday, August 25
The final episode of The Iraq War deals with the bloody chaos in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Preview: Wonderland
MICHAEL LALLO Channel Ten's new 22-part drama starts tonight. Let's take a look, shall we?
Friday, August 16
Call it lack of imagination but I've never really got the mermaid thing. I didn't expect much from Mako: Island of Secrets and I wasn't disappointed.
Networking
Michael Idato Sarah Abo has left Network Ten to present SBS's World News Australia with Anton Enus.
Saturday, August 17
Much of the acting is still execrable but at least the plotting in tonight's installment of Father Brown is intriguing.
Sunday, August 18
The 100th episode of Castle is something of an 'homage' to the Hitchcock classic Rear Window.
Thursday, August 15
Gordon Farrer It's a Date covers the awkwardness of dating, and it's every bit as uncomfortable as the dates themselves.
Monday, August 5
Don't be put off by the ghastly title. This fascinating BBC documentary is an absorbing wander down the corridors of Western medical history. British doctor turned television presenter Michael Mosley (Inside the Human Body) presents an account of how doctors and scientists who were courageous enough to challenge the wisdom of their day transformed potions previously known only to witches into the life-saving - and sometimes life-destroying - concoctions that have shaped the modern world. This third episode tracks the development of chemotherapy, Botox and the chemical warfare of World War II. Mosley's presentation is a combination of passionate professor and curious amateur enthusiast. The imagery is historical and helpful.
Tuesday, August 6
AMANDA DUNN A fun, if ridiculous, episode tonight will satisfy the fans, with a birth, two weddings and a surprise ending. As Jeff and Audrey await the arrival of their baby daughter via surrogate Brenda, Adam and Jennifer are again considering postponing their wedding, scheduled - as sitcom law demands - for the same day. Meanwhile, Russell cruels Timmy's chances of extending his work visa, but then redeems himself with a creative solution. Amid a tangle of ridiculous story threads are some pretty good gags, with everything wrapped up in a warm glow by the end. Standard sitcom fare, but reasonably well executed.
A stunt but one worth watching
Paul Kalina Who's that bubbly woman standing next to ''Vile Kyle'' is a question that many younger viewers might have been asking when the reboot of Australia's Got Talent launched on Nine last Sunday.
Apps with fringe benefits
Charles Wright Here at the Centre for Effortless Compliance, we've been astonished by the dent in the national psyche revealed by the federal government's recent removal of the statutory formula method for calculating fringe benefits tax (FBT) on cars.
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