Very Small Business

There’s a theory that in times of deeply conservative government, film-makers “take the mickey” somewhat more than usual. We may be seeing it again as yet another Aussie icon – the Small Business Man/Woman – comes under the comedy-satire microscope in Very Small Business, premiering on ABC1 at 9.30pm Wednesday, September 3. We’ve all met people like Don Angel (Wayne Hope), who runs a clutch of dodgy businesses with a line of phone patter that’s breath-takingly insincere. But Don’s failed dreams – and the tax snoopers—are the least of his worries. He’s got an irritable bowel problem, a greedy ex-wife with revenge very much on her mind, a born-again Christian daughter and his sole employee is a lapsed, depressed journalist, Ray Leonard (Kim Gyngell). How he deals with all of this in this 6-part series is a sharp commentary on Australia’s social structure 2008 that’s amusing – and disturbing.

The fortnight ahead

A bundle of new shows start on the small screen, post-Olympics, including a new series of Robson Green in Wire in the Blood. About time too!

SAT AUG 30

Leonard Cohen I’m Your Man is a critically acclaimed look at the songs, poetry and life of one of music’s most celebrated and influential troubadours. Includes footage of the Cohen tribute at the Sydney Opera House. 10pm on SBS.

SUN AUG 31

Australia’s best-known playwright, David Williamson, reflects on his life and career in Australian Biography, SBS at 6pm. Olympic rower Matthew Pinsett begins a new UK series of Who Do You Think You Are?, SBS at 7.30pm. Part 2 of the confusing 'Forest of the Dead' in Doctor Who, ABC1 at 7.30pm. Weddings and murder are in the air in a new series of Midsomer Murders, ABC1 at 8.35pm.

MON SEP 1

Celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, tries to prepare a salad in his VW camper van while The Stig races it around the test track, in Top Gear, SBS at 7.30pm. Carl’s furious when Ian starts dating his teacher in Shameless, SBS at 10.05pm. A repeat, but certainly worth a look if you missed it: The Falling Man is the chilling story of one man who jumped as the Twin Towers burned on 9/11. ABC1 at 11.35pm.

TUE SEP 2

At 7.30pm on SBS, Insight looks at ‘the age of rage’. How come some kinds of rage are condemned, while others (e.g., Gordon Ramsey) are celebrated? The final of Grumpy Old Women, who are facing the ‘joys’ of getting old. ABC1 at 8pm. A gorgeous plot of land in the glorious Scottish landscape becomes a building nightmare in Grand Designs, ABC1 at 8.35pm.

WED SEP 3

A family is devastated when grandma doesn’t make it home from a bingo night in Crash Investigation Unit, Ch 7 at 7.30pm. King Island in Bass Strait produces a peculiarly hardy breed of footballer. Alive and Kicking, SBS at 8pm. A junior Minister is caught up in a financial scandal. Should the PM sack him or support him? The Hollowmen, ABC1 at 9pm. A new social comedy, Very Small Business, begins on ABC1 at 9.30pm. See Pick of the Fortnight.

THU SEP 4

Andrew Paul is a Perth IT executive whose family fled Uganda’s hostile regime in 1971. He returns, hoping the journey might heal a 20-year split with his parents. Family Footsteps, ABC1 at 8.30pm.

FRI SEP 5

Wire in the Blood begins a new series on ABC1 at 8.30pm when Tony Hill (Robson Green) has a serial killer on his hands who eats his victims – while they’re still alive.

SAT SEP 6

Bout 2 of international sport begins with the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games live from Beijing, ABC1 at 9.50pm. SBS begins a new series of Great Australian Albums at 10pm. Tonight, the Go-Betweens and 16 Lovers Lane.

SUN SEP 7

Doctor Who finds himself trapped in a spacecraft with a group of tourists at 7.30pm on ABC1. Interesting ep. examining the frailty – and herd mentality – of humans. UK actor Jeremy Irons, traces his roots in Who Do You Think You Are?, SBS at 7.30pm. A long-term inter-family feud leads to murder in Midsomer Murders, ABC1 at 8.35pm.

MON SEP 8

The Top Gear lads salute the “bad car” and prove that you can spend money on a load of old rubbish. SBS at 7.30pm. Monica decides to be a better mother, with disastrous results in Shameless, SBS at 10.05pm.

TUE SEP 9

Disaster looms as a couple decides to build on a very steep hillside in Grand Designs, ABC1 at 8.30pm.

WED SEP 10

Two rival Tassie towns have merged their footy teams in a desperate bid to survive, in Alive and Kicking, SBS at 8pm. Tired of opening other people’s buildings, the PM dreams of leaving his own architectural legacy in The Hollowmen, ABC1 at 9pm. Don’s problems mount when his two children arrive to spend more time with him in Very Small Business, ABC1 at 9.30pm.

FRI SEP 12

Tony is arrested as a suspect in a series of killings. But the murders continue in Wire in the Blood, ABC1 at 8.30pm.