House Rules
Seven, 7pm

This is a competitive renovation reality series in which fully-grown adults cry about things like laundry tiles. Louise Schwartzkoff

David Attenborough's Tasmania
ABC, 7.40pm

The image that encapsulates this David Attenborough-narrated documentary is a shot of a wallaby nosing through the snow for a snack. The central idea is that while Australian wildlife is a little bit different from that found in the rest of the world, in Tasmania things are wackier still. Sure, aside from the Tassie devil, most of the featured critters can be found elsewhere in Australia. But Tasmania's climate and isolation mean that its wallabies, wombats, platypuses and echidna don't behave like their cousins on the mainland. Tasmanian platypuses, for example, are bigger and apparently bolder than those that live elsewhere. One of the documentary's most remarkable moments is a section of footage that shows a plump platypus waddling across a grassy stretch of ground in broad daylight. You're more likely catch a platypus out of water in Tasmania, says Attenborough, because of the lack of predators. On Bruny Island, there is a thriving population of white wallabies. Anywhere else, these rare creatures would die young and disappear from the gene pool, but without predators, the white wallabies of Bruny Island live to reach breeding age, allowing their number to grow. Different rules apply for Tasmania's flora, too. Native mountain ash can be found on the mainland, but only in Tasmania do they grow big enough to make them the tallest flowering trees in the world. The damper climate and lower fire risk means they can grow close to 100 metres tall. David Attenborough's Tasmania is a lower-key affair than his recent globe-hopping series, Planet Earth II. It's interesting and well shot, but without the jaw-dropping moments of high drama that made Planet Earth II appointment viewing. Still, it's always a pleasure to listen to He of the Conspiratorial Whisper as he describes the private lives of creatures great and small. LS

PAY
Eat the Week
Lifestyle Food, 8.30pm