Author Archives: admin

It’s our new website!

We’re so happy to unveil the new Boxcutters website design. We’ve been working on it for quite a while.

What you’ll see here is part of our new direction with Boxcutters. It’s not really a change in direction but filling out some ideas we’ve had for a long time.

We want to have more reviews that you can read at your leisure. Some of these will be shows we’ve already covered in previous episodes, some will be shows we never quite got around to reviewing in the podcast.

Also, we felt it was important to be able to highlight news stories from time to time and also have a place to announce live events, competitions, and things that relate to what the Boxcutters team is doing and when.

Most importantly, we wanted it to be easier for you to see the latest episode, listen in your browser, know exactly where to click to download or subscribe, and look at the site on your mobile device.

What else? Well, we’re making it easier for you to just go straight to an episode. Instead of all those pesky dates and confusing titles in the URL, you can just go to http://boxcutters.net/epsiode##. For example, if you want to listen to or comment on episode 268 you could just type in boxcutters.net/episode268 and the site will automatically take you there. We haven’t converted all the episode to act like that, but we’re getting there.

None of this would have been possible without the hard work and sheer brilliance of Peter Wilson from Soupgiant (who put in all the hard hours of coding) and Christa Lopez-White from Zepol (who did all of our graphic design).

Please, let us know what you think and if there’s anything else we can improve on the site.

TV Manufacturers Put on a Brave Face

This week’s episode of Radio National’s Background Briefing programme is all about the battle for the lounge room and speaks to our question of how to define television.

They do a great job (much better than we’ve done) of explaining how simultaneously simple and complex the concepts are. People really have no idea what is going on around them and yet technology companies keep pushing out new products.

It’s interesting to hear people say things like: “ Perhaps you’ll just do [internet banking] while you’re sitting around in the lounge room. And you won’t get up and go and get your laptop out and connect to the internet.” It’s a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist.

The attempts by the companies that make television sets to stay relevant in a culture that is moving towards constant and portable access to everything seems so transparent and shallow. There’s the stench of desperation around it. They’re trying to make it sound like convenience but it really just comes across as being ill-conceived and reactionary.

Have a listen for yourself or read the transcript.

Ep 270: Happy Endings, Supertrain

It’s quite fitting that we review the show Happy Endings this week because that’s the one we all watched during the week.

John’s done a special Just Don’t Bother about the late 70s failure, Supertrain.

There’s an Amazing Race Minute, an I Don’t Buy It, some Quotes and more mentions of Channel 11 than ever before in any other episode.

Continue reading “Ep 270: Happy Endings, Supertrain” »

Ep 269: Making SciFi TV for Adults

Most of this episode of Boxcutters was recorded live at Continuum 2011 on 11 June.

John and Josh wanted to investigate the reasons behind Australia makes so much acclaimed television science fiction and fantasy for children but never attempts to do anything for families or adults.

Sitting on the panel were: Chris Gist, ABC Commissioning Editor in Melbourne;
Philip Dalkin, writer on Sea Patrol and Stingers, amongst others; David Napier, director of K9; and Mark Shirrefs, co-creator of Spellbinder and The Girl from Tomorrow.

It’s an interesting conversation about budgets, audiences, networks and risk taking.

The goose drank wine:

Want to tell us about some outrageous thing we said but shouldn’t have on the show? Go ahead and send us an email.

Photo courtesy of Nalini Haynes, editor of Dark Matter

Thanks to David Ashton.

Part of this episode was recorded at Outland Studios (John’s Loungeroom).

It’s The Muppet Show!

John and Josh will investigate the ins and outs of the Muppet Show live at ACMI on 28 July.

Remember how good the Press Gang and Degrassi show was back in February? Oh, you wanted to get tickets but couldn’t because it sold out? Well, don’t make that same mistake this time.

There will be surprises. There will be laughs. There will be intellectual discussions about pop culture that may change the way you think FOREVER!

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel justified in buying this t-shirt.

7pm 28 July
Studio 1 at ACMI
Full $14, Concession $11, ACMI Members $10
Get your tickets now

Everybody sing:
It’s time to something something, it’s time to something la. It’s time to start the music and la la la la la.

Ep 268: Lawrence Leung, Winners & Losers

Winners & Losers

This is a massive show with Lawrence Leung telling us all about his new show Unbelievable.

For the last few months, Channel 7 has had a new show on air called Winners & Losers. We thought it was about time we reviewed it. So we do that. We also watched it.

In news we talk about homophobia and ask who is looking after the children. There’s some Crap TV, One Thing and Toby Halligan is back with Trotters.

It’s a good one and you’ll kick yourself for missing it.

Want to tell us about some outrageous thing we said but shouldn’t have on the show? Go ahead and send us an email. Continue reading “Ep 268: Lawrence Leung, Winners & Losers” »

We won a Chronos Award

In totally exciting news we won a Chronos Award at this year’s Continuum, Melbourne’s spec fiction and pop culture convention. Continue reading “We won a Chronos Award” »

Spell effectedSM

John and I are both going to be on a few panels at Continuum this weekend but there’s one we’re co-hosting that is very exciting.

The premise is: Australian science fiction, fantasy and other speculative genres is very successful in children’s TV, so why don’t we make any for adults?

We’ll be interviewing:

That session’s happening on the Saturday at 2pm so get your passes and head on over.

There’s so much great stuff happening at Continuum this year and lots of great talks. We’re excited.

Johnsons

Remember ages ago when John told us that in New Zealand they were making a show about Norse gods who all lived in modern day Auckland? Well he did and it’s called the Almighty Johnsons and we review it for your pleasure.

John and Josh went to a Channel 9 event where they pretended they wanted to buy some advertising. It’s our first ever undercover investigation. We’re just like 4 Corners or A Current Affair now, aren’t we?

We launch a new segment called Amazing Race in a Minute where Josh has exactly a minute to talk about the Amazing Race.

All that plus News, One Thing, Letters to Boxcutters. What more could you want?

Listen to it:

Also come and see Josh and John speaking at Continuum this weekend.

If you missed out on our last session at ACMI your not going to want to miss us talking about The Muppet Show. You can book tickets now. Continue reading “Ep 267: Almighty Johnsons, Channel 9 Advertising” »

Ep 266: The Killing, Terriers

Killing2

We review the AMC remake of the Danish drama The Killing.

In Good Die Young we look at Terriers.

Our cohost this week is the ever-pleasant and totally ROCKING, Courteney Hocking.