Preparing last week’s TV Guide, I was entirely excited about going to Nine’s Flood Relief Appeal call centre to tweet, etc. Who could have guessed what would become of Toowoomba, Grantham, Murphy’s Creek, Ipswich & Brisbane after that, only a week later?! We’ve all had the chance to overdose on flood coverage also, with all the major networks offering extended coverage – including Nine which ran at least 3 days of 18hrs each, in which Karl Stefanovic fronted at least  7 hours a day (that’s a LOT of hosting). An amazing time.

Here’s to normality returning to our TV schedules, barring another Flood coverage special or another telethon (and we’re due one now, as the one last Sunday was in the context of just the northern & western Qld communities that had been hit – not the ones I mentioned were affected this week!).

CAN’T MISS

• Modern Family (rpt) – Sun & Wed 7:30pm, Ch10
• Immigration Nation: The Secret History of Us – Sun 8:30pm, SBS1
• Glee (rpt) – Mon 7:30pm, Ch10
• Southland – Mon 11:15pm, GEM
• The Office (US) – Tue 8:30pm/9pm, Eleven
• Californication – Tue 10pm, Eleven 
• Raising Hope – Wed 8pm, Ch10
• Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure(s) – Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun 7:30pm, Ch10
• Fringe – Wed 9:30pm, GO!
• Party Down – Thu 8:30pm, ABC2
• The Shield (rpt) – Thu 10:30pm, 7mate
• Chopper Rescue – Fri 8pm, ABC1

BURIED TREASURE

• Mork & Mindy (rpt) – Daily 4:30pm, Eleven
• Mystery Men (rpt) – Sun 8:30pm, 7mate
• CNNNN (rpt) – Mon/Wed 9:30pm, 7mate
• Spaceballs (rpt) – Tue 2:30pm, 7Two
• Outback Fight Club – Tue 8:30pm, SBS1
• Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares Revisits – Tue 10:30pm, Ch9
• Grand Designs (rpt) – Wed 11:35pm/Thu 9:30pm, ABC1

SECRET TV PLEASURES

• Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention – Sun 6:30pm, ABC1
• NZ’s Next Top Model – Sun 7:30pm, Eleven
• Billy Connolly: Journey To The Edge Of The World (rpt) – Sun 6:30pm, Ch7
• The 7pm Project – Weeknights 7pm, Ch10
• Undercover Boss (USA) – Mon 8:30pm, Ch10
• The Trophy Room – Wed 8:30pm, ABC1
• V – Wed, 8:30pm, GO!

AT YOUR OWN RISK

• Australian Open Tennis – All the bloody time, Ch7
• Just For Laughs: Montreal Comedy Festival – Mon 9:30pm, Ch10
• Fat & Fatter – Wed 8:30pm, ABC2
• Bionic Vet – Thu 8pm, ABC1

LAST CHANCE(S)

• The Late Session – Tue 10:05pm, SBS1
• High Road, Low Road – Wed 8pm, Ch7
• Big J’s place – Sat 11:30am, 7mate

DO. NOT. BOTHER.

• Minute To Win It USA – Tue 7:30pm, Ch7
• Beat The Star (AU) – Thu 7:30pm, Ch7
• Gigli – Thu, 11pm, 7Two
• The Gadget Show – Sat 6:30pm, Ch10
• The Cube – Sat 7:30pm, Ch9

The most impressive part of the coverage last week was the special dispensation afforded Ch7 & Ch9 by the Office of the Federal Communications Minister to allow them to shift their sporting commitments to their digital multi-channels to allow them to broadcast the flood coverage on their primary channels. This meant the Medibank International Tennis for Ch7 was moved to 7Two from Wednesday until the end of the tournament (some day & night sessions), and the Twenty/20 Cricket – Australia vs England was moved to GEM on Wednesday. A sign of things to come?

It’s brilliant to have Fringe returning this week (we are a number of episodes behind the US now), as well as V, both on GO! Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure runs 3 of its 4 episodes this week, so we’ll get to see what all the 300 US guests got to do, and may even see Hugh Jackman hurt himself again. Having The Office (US) and Californication back on TV – thanks Eleven – is just wonderful.