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Rachel’s Farm is a bubbly, intriguing documentary by Rachel Ward, film star and wife of iconic Aussie actor, Bryan Brown, about her discovery of regenerative farming and a three-to-four-year push to switch over to no-fertilizer, no-herbicides farming rotating cattle around partitioned fields. The idea is to bring the soil back to its proper state, full of life and fungi. Ward is an engaging storyteller, frank and open, and with a sure touch with staging and plotting. A picture of obsessive work and deep love for a project comes through, in a style that is neither pompous nor didactic. One can query the very foundations of such regenerative farming as a means of overcoming the carbon contributions of the meat and food giants to global warming (some say regeneration does not come close to redressing the climate crisis imposts, others say that it cannot be efficient enough in delivering protein to eight billion humans), but I recommend Rachel’s Farm as a passionate (and surprisingly reflective) look at one regen attempt.

Watching Season 1 of The Newsreader in 2021 was one of that year’s viewing pleasures (see my review). Immersing the viewer in a 1986 Australian television newsroom, replete with episodes of evocative history (Chernobyl!), it spun around a storyline of Dale, a go-getter reporter keen to become an announcer, and Helen, the channel’s superstar host of “News at 6.” Season 2 kicks off with a 1987 election-eve broadcast and includes the Black Monday stock market crash, but the main focus is on the many deeply portrayed characters: Anna Torv is unforgettable as the queen of the screen inching downward in stature; Sam Reid nails a nuanced performance as the rookie presenter on his way up, grappling with his own sexuality and the superstar relationship; Michelle Lim Davidson wonderfully underplays a rookie behind-the-scenes producer who falls in love with a sports presenter; Rory Fleck Byrne ably plays a new character to the season, a flippant entertainer; Robert Taylor is note perfect as a stuffy, old-style news anchor; and Marg Downey is superb as his scheming wife. For my money, though, the standout performance is William McInnes as the profane slob running the newsroom, hilarious and imaginative in his portrayal. The arc of the season works wonderfully, with not a moment wasted, and the sets and cinematography bring the era and characters alive. Season 2 of The Newsreader is this year’s must-watch Australian drama.

An entire generation of readers grew up to laud Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series of space opera extravaganzas. All kudos then to the team that tackled this icon for an opening season of ten episodes a couple of years ago. Although highly impressive, Season 1 seemed slightly overwhelmed by Asimov’s complex plot (see my review), and Season 2 of Foundation reinforces that picture. Let me stress the many positives: the acting, only occasionally overly portentous, remains first-rate (I won’t list the many fine performances, see the review link above); the space-opera filmics are sublime, even awe-inspiring; some new plot threads are introduced in fine fashion; episode direction is steady-handed. On the negative side, the music remains appalling, but that could be dealt with. It’s the plot, specifically the underlying story of Hari Seldon, his magic cube, the time and space wizardry, and a propensity for weird new super-science to pop up (did Asimov really use those devices?), that often left me shaking my head with bewilderment. I noted at the end of Season 1 that the follow-up might bed down the overall narrative, instead the confusion, whilst not crippling, has deepened. I shall, of course, continue with the journey

I recall Hugh Howey’s Wool, which came out of nowhere as a sci-fi dystopian novel of striking originality, but fortunately the intricately unfolding plot was forgotten by me, for now “Silo” boldly attempts a ten-part TV show rendition. Great trepidation accompanied my viewing: how could they possibly convey the eerie nature of the underworld home for 10,000 people, its origins lost in time? I need not have worried. Showrunner Graham Yost has clearly spent unlimited funds on creating an evocative world, cast in dark hues and shrouded in mystery. The plot involves a series of characters, all played impeccably (but with specific mention of Rebecca Ferguson, striking as rebel Juliette), slowly starting to unravel the truth underlying the silo world. Attesting as much to Hugh Howey’s original wonderful plot as to the scriptwriters and directors, each episode is a standalone marvel, compelling, surprising, and inspiring. I commenced the series slowly but towards the end had to binge to satisfy an insatiable urge to discover the next layer of truth. The end-of-season cliffhanger is stunning. Is Silo the best streamer show of the year? Quite possibly.

The first season of “The Lincoln Lawyer” felt very different to both the splendid Michael Connelly novel from which it sprang and the Matthew-McConaughey-starring 2011 movie, but it proved to be a sparkling example of the legal thriller genre (see my review). Second seasons often slump but from the opening, sprightly scenes, Season 2 is terrific fun. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo again revels in a great role and he is utterly captivating, buoyed by a fine supporting cast. The various stories, short-term and longer-term, enmeshing Mickey Haller, the self-styled best defense lawyer in LA, all work well. The cinematography portrays the city as a character, the dialogue sizzles, the script is taut, and the direction is tight. All up, Season 2 is a jaunty, involving crime series. We all hope for a third season.

A pitch-black yet comedic revenge tale for women would not normally even come up on my radar but my wife was entranced by Bad Sisters, persuaded me, and rewatched it with me. Co-written by wonderful Irish actor Sharon Horgan, it dramatises the efforts of five close sisters to get rid of one of their husbands. The narrative switches between their bumbling killing attempts and a later investigation by two insurance adjusters (wonderfully played by Bryan Gleeson and Daryl McCormack). The script zings and the direction of the ten episodes is perfectly controlled and paced, with atmospheric cinematography in the Irish seaside country. Horgan herself is stellar as the sister elder, but the other four sisters are brilliantly portrayed by Eve Hewson, Sarah Greene, Anne-Marie Duff, and Eva Birthistle. Dark and hilarious and super-smart, Bad Sisters is a wonderful hybrid thriller.