
TURN UP THE VOLUME
6pm, Friday, ABC ME
This new Australian series focuses on a bunch of teens who have to form a band in their weekly music camp.
Of course all of them have an aspect of their personality designed to create dramatic conflict; Vivi is very in-your-face, Jam is a vocalist with stage fright, Ginger is a guitarist suffering depression who uses music played through headphones to calm her and Hex is non-binary, though she has to transform back into "Heidi" when she goes back home to her grandparents.
In due course, the characters bump up against each other and create friction. Which is to be expected, really - would you want to watch a show where everyone always got along fine and there was never any problems?
Of course not.
As well as being the sort of show likely to appeal to teens, Turn Up The Volume also comes with the added benefit that those suffering depression or who are non-binary are given the chance to see a version of themselves represented on screen.
Some will surely consider the inclusion of these characters as part of some "woke agenda" (funny how it's only ever the critics who use the word "woke") but they tend to be the types of people who have never struggled to see themselves represented on TV.
And so they don't get how it feels to be able to look at a show and think "hey, there's me!".

ALONE AUSTRALIA
7.30pm, Wednesday, SBS
This is yet another reality TV show, which prompts me to ask a question - is there anyone out there who has yet to appear in one?
Because it's not as though you haven't had a chance; there are so many of these shows these days that it's hard to work out how they find enough participants without doubling up.
This is an Australian version of a global concept - there are version from the US, Denmark, Norway and Sweden - that sees people dropped in the middle of nowhere and forced to survive on their own.
In this instance, the middle of nowhere is the Tasmanian wilderness.
Each participant is truly on their own; they don't have another competitor to work with, and they're not even followed by a camera crew. Instead, they're given their own camera to document their struggles.
So not only do they have to work out how to survive, they have to do so while ensuring the best camera angles.
They're also unaware of whether any of their rivals have pulled out - which is important because the last person standing wins $250,000.
It's a lot of money, but I still reckon I'd prefer to sit and watch them rather than be out there battling the elements.
INSIDE DETROIT
8.30pm, Wednesday, Prime7
The US city of Detroit was once a thriving town - thanks to the car makers that employed so much of the city.
As is often the case when a city relies heavily on one key employment sector, when that sector packs up and goes it can be devastating.
This documentary - in which Ben Fogle spends much of his time climbing into abandoned buildings and poking around - provides an eye-opening look at what happens when a city is hollowed out.
REVIEWS: Glen Humphries

Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.