Helen Razer

The current chaotic state of the ABC cannot be blamed on a single high-ranking person. And nor can its woefully mundane programming. Instead, it’s the fault of the c-word – compromise.

There is happily nothing to learn from Younger, the latest series from Sex and the City creator Darren Star. It is another enjoyable series about ‘void women’ and their glamorous material desires.

Hannah Gadsby’s show Nanette has been met with rave reviews. But can it deliver on what others promise for it?

As a portrayal of misogyny and violence against women, The Handmaid’s Tale ticks all the boxes. As a piece of empowering feminist storytelling, it couldn’t be more misguided.

While The Americans masterfully resurrects memories of Cold War anxieties, it also offers an unnerving lens on US politics as they are today.

The second season of Westworld continues the series’ Baudrillardian illusions of reality and fakery as its robots develop a class-consciousness rare on our screens.

Where once viewers tuned in fondly to breakfast television, personality-driven dross and offensive opinions now make some wish the format – and its Cash Cow – would be put out to pasture.

Kristen Bell and Ted Danson’s satirical comedy The Good Place portrays a middle-managed afterlife where inauthentic goodness makes for a kind of hell.

Sharing a garden with an animal companion can bring additional joy to the life outdoors. But thought must go into pet-friendly plantings.

Where once the contrary but charming banter of David and Margaret was an authoritative guide to modern cinema, the ABC has replaced it with uninsightful postmodernism and lame jokes.

Larry David’s return as a cantankerous version of himself in a new series of Curb Your Enthusiasm is a chance to reflect on the roots of comedy and the discontent that produces it.

Intent on growing native orchids, the author finds the only club that she wants to have her as a member.

With their new show Get Krack!n, Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney have expanded their satirical universe from food culture to the dumb decline of the knowledge class.

Jane Campion’s latest foray into television, while featuring admirable performances, sees the writer–director stray too far from what she does best.

Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney’s sharp comedy Catastrophe gets to the truth of love and marriage, in all its strain and splendour.

As the latest Twin Peaks again pushes the boundaries of everyday morality, the viewer ponders its creator’s desire to illuminate the darkness in our souls.

The cold of late autumn can make it difficult to tend neglected gardens, but a fortifying nip can get you out improving the soil and installing seedlings.

From the designer clothes to the covetable houses to the A-list cast, Big Little Lies is a quality potboiler. But beyond the gloss, the series explores deeper social issues in a refreshingly nuanced way.

You may not learn anything from the lab-coated matchmaking experts of Married at First Sight, but the show captures the reality of today’s dating culture.

Summer may not be the most agreeable season to toil in the garden, but a little bit of labour now can bring good results down the track.

In Rosehaven, Luke McGregor and Celia Pacquola have delivered a comedy comparable to Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, with the wit to reflect on life’s disappointments without eschewing laughs.

At the pinnacle of Australian drama, Offspring presents likeable female leads who can be enjoyed free of moral qualification.

Breaking from TV's tradition of explaining Indigenous causes, the ABC’s sci-fi drama Cleverman makes no attempt to heal or instruct.

With the Bureau of Meteorology declaring El Niño over, the time is ripe for gardeners to replant.

The ABC’s sitcom incubator Comedy Showroom includes those who mistakenly believe comedy is a tool to fix the world’s problems or protect our freedoms.

Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul offers the same luminous insights into society’s chinks as its predecessor.

Reality TV shows should be left as an enjoyable way to unwind, instead they’re treated as touchstones for debates that matter.

Aziz Ansari’s smart and funny new show firmly focuses on the disappointment of commodities.

While the brilliance of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina may be muddied in this TV adaptation, The Beautiful Lie remains a pleasure.

With El Niño conditions on the way, gardeners wishing to defy the odds need to prioritise and get waterwise.

Dressed to thrill, the family saga Empire sings from the same song sheet as the fabulously over-the-top prime-time dramas of the 1980s.

As Jon Stewart bows out at the top of America’s rich “fake news” comedy roster, local attempts offer little more than glib cynicism.

Their claim to being true berries is curiously spurious but, when homegrown, raspberries and strawberries leave other summer treats in the shade.

A new drama on cyber spying thrillingly – and accurately – up-ends cliché to portray the complex power of information.

At last the Muppets acknowledge that their humour works best hand in glove with ‘adult’ themes.

Broad City offers a welcome step back from comedy focused on self-improvement.

To keep the peace in any garden, you must be unafraid to let slip the dogs – and shovels – of war.

Tony Jones invites Q&A audiences into an illusory democracy, where “representation” belies equality.

How Portlandia’s organic, free-ranging satire makes us laugh at our artisanal pretensions.

When it comes to being a great green, the brassica family of cauliflower and kale does it easy.

Gardening half-truths go back at least to Joseph Banks, but his more noble legacy is our love of exotic plants.

Only an incurable fan would think today’s medical dramas have any instructive value.

Why spend a fortune on herbs at the supermarket only to watch them decay in your crisper drawer? Get hooked on growing your own.

Canned laughter kills good comedy. Fittingly, for many years it came from beyond the grave.

When uninvited pests come to visit, declare war with sustainable practices – and also an old-fashioned dose of hand-to-hand combat.

Howard Jacobson’s documentary on Australia’s propensity to send its intellectuals packing.

Join the ranks of the fearless fighting rot and rain to nurture a nightshade – the tomato.

Shows like MasterChef have little to do with food, but instead reveal how we’ve become gluttons for meaning.

When it comes to producing flavoursome spuds, you can’t beat homegrown. The question is, do you dig it?

Politics is fertile territory for the small screen, but it has always been the sharp comedies that reveal the truth of the dark arts.

Seeking rich, colourful reward for little toil? An old-school thorny friend sets the standard.

Improving the quality of your soil is a time-consuming labour of love, and compost is a rotten way to go about it.

It may not be sexy, but nothing beats the satisfaction – or the economy – of growing plants from scratch.

Mad Men’s glimpses into another era make us just as uneasy about our present.

Despite the regal appearance of spring flowering bulbs, their simple cultivation makes them a common pleasure.

When a man known for vulgar humour combines with a beautiful mind, the resulting TV is no joke.

Since when does creating true art have to go hand in hand with ‘keeping it real’?