The Menzies Movies (Wednesday on Fox Docos) must be the definition of irony, given that Sir Robert once said about TV: “I hope this thing will not come to Australia within my term of office”. Had it not been for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, Menzies may well have delayed the inevitable until he left in 1966.
The Menzies Movies is star-studded at times, what with private home visits with The Queen “doing things everyday people do”, and Sir Winston Churchill. Such was his privilege, most of Sir Robert’s footage is shot in colour from his personal 16mm camera, but the newsreel footage that pads out this doco is all in back and white.
This is a nice idea that doesn’t get there because apart from the above mentioned overseas trips, there’s not much else to it. Home movies are always boring, and it’s not that much of a revelation to hear former PM John Howard and Georgina Downer both say that daughter Heather Menzies was “the apple of her father’s eye”. And within a minute of each other, too.
Space 22 (Tuesday on ABC) is about using art and creativity to change people’s mental health. Hosted by Natalie Bassingthwaighte, with a guest appearance from Eddie Perfect, this is a beaut idea that will hopefully help people, and it doesn’t wear out its welcome with half-hour episodes.
A Friend in Death (Sunday on ABC Plus), from director Josh Lee, is about volunteer biographers working out of Sacred Heart Hospice. They interview terminally ill patients to put their life stories into print before they pass. This is a beautifully made edition of Compass, and it’s a tearjerker.
Two new British dramas strike a particularly gory note this week. Ragdoll (Tuesday on BBC First) is the new series from the makers of Killing Eve, and is yet another serial killer drama. This one is killing victims and then sewing various bits together to make one body for discovery.
Claire Danes in The Essex Serpent
Meanwhile, The Essex Serpent (Apple TV+) is a period drama about a widow (Claire Danes) and a vicar (Tom Hiddlestone) searching for a mythical creature in spooky wetlands. This is a gothic tale told in a modern way and it could be the one to watch because Ragdoll left me as cold as a corpse.
Fingers crossed that Aussie entrant Sheldon Riley makes it into the Eurovision grand final (Sunday on SBS from 5am), and then it’s time for the next big event, the Election. And after three Leader Debates, which included the one on Sky, and the out of control shitshow on Nine, the results are:
Winner – Mark Riley (Seven)
Loser – Chris Uhlmann (Nine)Read more Mercado on TV columns here.
Listen to the weekly Mercado & Manning TV podcast here.
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