Cop show really is a bit of a dog

The premise of the show is ripe for a jolt of comedy; for instance, Rex seems to hang around in the office with Hudson, rather than a kennel - but no-one comments on that at all. Not even to make a joke.

It's all very po-faced and features plenty of scenes of Rex running after the bad guy and Hudson - or any other character - explaining even the most obvious plot points.

Such as having to tell us that Rex has detected the scent of the bad guy on a piece of clothing. Well derr ... isn't that the whole reason they have police dogs in the first place?

Looking like they've taken their inspiration from bad 1980s cop shows, Hudson & Rex is quite painful to watch.

So I soundly recommend you don't do that.

The focus of this show is the very impressive structure of the Sainte-Chapelle church in Paris.

I've actually been inside the place and with its high stained glass windows it is thoroughly awe-inspiring - photos just don't come close to doing it justice.

But there is something unenjoyable hearing about the building's construction. It felt like they had taken this thing of wonder and broken it down to a dry recitation of its component parts.

It's like seeing a magic trick and then someone goes and ruins it by explaining how it was done.

When you've created one of the best shows in Australian TV history, it must be hard to work out what to do next.

That show was You Can't Ask That, a show where various groups of people - some of them quite marginalised.

The concept was brilliantly simple; members of a group would sit in front of a camera and answer anonymous questions sent in from the public.

The show had two key benefits. One, it gave these marginalised groups a voice - a half-hour where people actually listened to them. Secondly, it educated the viewer about what really went on with these people.

That was an invaluable service in the era of the echo chamber that is the internet; where you can find something to support your opinion no matter how moronic it is.

But the makers created a rod for their back in that anything they did next would be measured up against You Can't Ask That - which is a high bar for anyone.

Impressively, they've managed to equal that with their new series I Was Actually There. The six-part series focuses on an event in recent history and eyewitnesses sit in front of the camera and talk about what happened.

This first episode covers the Port Arthur shootings and features tourists, workers, emergency services and journalists all talking about what they remember from that day.

Interestingly, the name of the gunman is never spoken; because the focus is on those who experienced the horror and not the one who caused it.

It's a gripping half-hour of television and gave me a few insights into things I hadn't known.