What's on TV: Monday, April 8
Dancing with the Stars
Ten, 7.30pm
I am not ashamed to say I wept my way through the "meaningful moments" episode of Dancing with the Stars. And in other weeks I regularly find myself bobbing on the sofa, tapping my feet and smiling inanely. This show is the epitome of feel-good, whether it's Jett Kenny nailing a jive or Sir Curtly tripping over his own enormous feet. And how awesome is Courtney Act, in or out of drag? If only – if only! – the episodes didn't drag on so long. Two whole hours – week in, week out – is way too much. I'd thought that as the number of contestants dwindled, things might tighten up but no. Group dances were introduced to pad things out. Still, there's always terrific family-friendly entertainment to be had, even if you don't make it all the way to the final credits. Tonight, as we reach the pointy end of the competition, the remaining five contestants must dance with their regular professional partner, and then with their regular partner and a ring-in. Anything could happen.
Sara's Australia Unveiled
SBS Food, 8.30pm
It's surprisingly entertaining to watch a fair dinkum foreigner – in this case, Finnish chef and TV personality Sara La Fountain – explain Australia. Especially as she does it in her charming not-quite-perfect English. (For instance, Indigenous Australians recognise multiple seasons "to keep up with the changes in the nature".) In this instalment, she's in the Northern Territory, exploring a drowned Kakadu at dawn at the end of the wet season. Her reaction to a river full of crocs is a revelation: she sees them not as terrifying predators but hypnotically silent and graceful – which I guess they are. As a chef, she's also keen to explore local cuisine, which she does by sitting downby a campfire with a group of Aunties who cook her barra, magpie goose and Jonny Cakes (damper), all of which she seems to genuinely enjoy. She also has the knack common to all good TV chefs of being able to actually articulate tastes and textures.