Erection doco just doesn't stand up

If you had to pick which one of the five free-to-air stations would air a documentary about an erection pill, SBS is the obvious choice.

The channel started out ages ago focusing on information and entertainment for migrant groups, who were being chronically under-serviced in the pre-internet era.

It has also (instead?) managed to carve out a niche as the broadcaster of, well, slightly naughty movies and documentaries.

Such as this one, about a herbal competitor to Viagra known as Stiff Nights, created by Mormon Kelly Harvey and an elusive vegan who calls himself Erb Avore.

The drug goes gangbusters and makes them rich; then they realise the "golden speargrass extract" from China used in the pill is actually sildenafil - the active ingredient in Viagra.

So it wasn't a herbal medication at all. No surprises there, as anyone familiar with the bogus nature of herbal concoctions will know.

While it might sound like an interesting story; it's really not.

There is so much padding here as the makers try to stretch 20 minutes of material into a 90-minute documentary.

They achieve that largely through the use of every single lame double-entendre they could come up with, alongside old stock footage that is suggestive of sex while never really showing it.

Ironically, the documentary could deal with a dose of Stiff Nights; as is it's really flaccid.

It's a doco no-one need waste their time watching.

This episode - featuring comedian Tom Gleeson - wasn't available for review prior to deadline so I haven't seen it.

The program description notes that "stand-up comic" is the only job Gleeson's had since university. "What's the secret to his incredible work ethic and success? He'll do anything to land the joke - and he doesn't care who might be offended."

Trying to dig down into the reasons a creative person does what they do can be tricky.

Too often, they themselves don't give a lot of thought to the hows and whys of what they do - they just do it.

Couple that with the tendency of a comic when interviewed to try to turn everything into a joke and it will be interesting to see how much Trioli gets out of Gleeson.

Is she able to really drill down or do we end up with an entertaining yet superficial look at the life of a comedian?

This series is part of the relatively new TV genre that I'll call "following emergency services people around with cameras".

You know, like Paramedics, RBT, Highway Patrol and all the others.

Though there is a neat twist here; Our Law focuses on First Nations officers and links into the long-running tensions between Indigenous people and the law.

What happens when they see one of their own is the law?

It's a very well-made documentary series and one that left me wanting more.