Category Archives: on the show

Funny and painful in even doses.

Fifi Box was back for the second week running – probably the weakest link of the first episode – and was worse than last week. What’s more, she was given the night’s award. Surely the producers wanting to point out what a complete sham the scoring system is. Put in a Merchant Ivory style period piece she sounded as ocker as Kate Langbroek and, when called on to lay on a thick French accent, she chose to go all Kim Day-Knight – Look at moi, look at moi. God I hope she’s not going to be a recurring contender.

That’s the official term, by the way – they’re all contenders.

Shaun Micallef brought tears to my eyes with laughter in his solo piece and was the clear standout and should have won the award if it wasn’t completely rigged.

Matthew Newton was serviceable in his performance – though there’s something seriously weird going on with his hair. I guess he’s got those genes to contend with.

Angus Sampson was also back – looking less unhappy to be there and more flowing in his impro.

We neglected to mention the inserts in our review. They put the contenders into situations out in the “real world” – sell a car; offer wine tastings in a supermarket; etc – which were better this week.

Tom Gleisner is horrendous. He’s situated halfway back in the audience at a little desk with shithouse lighting and a camera angle that looks straight up his nostrils as he’s directing his comments to the stage which further emphasises his tendency to tilt his head back when he’s talking. His pieces were short and unfunny and, still, he had to read them off a sheet in front of him.

I find Shane Bourne quite endearing when he’s kept on a leash, which this show does with the requirement for him to explain each section. I just wanna know what happened to his two front teeth.

BB

Have a look at the Yahoo7 Lost site with hidden clues, episode recaps and message boards at yahoo7.com.au/lost

Some fantastic reading in the transcript of Neil Mitchell‘s 3AW show when Eddie McGuire called in on Ross Warneke‘s TV segment, thanks to Terry Television…

Update:
That’s SO weird. The link to TT’s site got broken on the post and, additional to that, TT’s site seems to be a bit broken right now. The previous posts on his site aren’t there and there are no archives since August last year. I’ll keep an eye on the situation and re-link as soon as possible… Stay tuned.
BB

There’s been a lot of talk about this issue… Maybe too much talk.

Nah. There really hasn’t been enough talk at all. Firstly, I encourage everyone to have a look at the discussion paper for themselves. You can find it here on the DCITA website.

The paper talks about many aspects of the media but, as you may have guessed, I want to focus on television and two major suggestions:

1. Multichannelling
Section 2.2(b)(i) suggests that: “current restrictions on commercial television broadcaster multichannelling would be removed at the end of the simulcast period”. At present these restrictions are in place to, effectively, give subscription television a head start. Meanwhile the Government is complaining that Australia “follows other markets in terms of the range and types on consumer equipment available” stating that our smaller population is to blame.

This logic is flawed because it is based on speculation rather than historical evidence. Historically we’ve seen that when a compelling reason is present, Australians take up new technology faster Continue reading “Avoiding the Digital Challenge (part 1)” »

Thought I’d give you a quick precis of what to look forward to on Ten next year without all the media release guff:

Network Ten caps off one of its biggest years yet by announcing even more for 2006.

TEN’s new Australian programs for 2006 include:

• The Wedge – sketch comedy set in a fictitious Australian suburb, from Cornerbox Productions and comedian Ian McFadyen, the genius behind The Comedy Company
• Thank God You’re Here – Working Dog’s latest project, where well-known personalities are dropped into a scene in which they have no idea who they are or why they are there and must improvise their way through
• The Biggest Loser – 6,000 Australians applied to take part in the local version of the series that has been a hit with TEN’s 16-39 demographic and women 25-54. US trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper provide continuity
• Honey We’re Killing the Kids – highlighting the problem of childhood obesity and sedentary lifestyles, this adaptation of the major new BBC format scientifically predicts how individual children will look as adults, and health experts then work with parents to radically change the family’s diet and behaviour
• Jamie’s Kitchen Australia – long anticipated, Australia gets its very own “Fifteen” restaurant, and 15 under-privileged Melbourne kids will get the break of a lifetime
• Friday Night Games – this adaptation of Big Brother Friday Night Live sees members of the public and celebrities put through hilarious challenges
• Australia’s Brainiest specials – eight hilarious episodes, including TV Star, Radio Star, Musician, Cricketer, Footballer, Olympian, Neighbours and Big Brother Housemate. The first, Australia’s Brainiest Comedian, attracted 1.61m viewers last Thursday and was the night’s most-watched show in all major demographics

New Australian drama projects include:

• Tripping Over – from Mike Bullen of Cold Feet fame and Seachange creator Andrew Knight, this multi-generational drama explores the joys of travelling and is set in Thailand, London and Australia
• The Society Murders – stars Georgie Parker and Alex Dimitriades and explores the Melbourne murders of Margaret Wales-King and her husband Paul through the eyes of Margaret’s five children
• The Joanne Lees Story – examining one of Australia’s most compelling unsolved murders from the perspective of victim Peter Falconio’s girlfriend, Joanne
• BlackJack – four new instalments in the successful telemovie franchise starring Colin Friels

New overseas series include:

• Supernatural, the closest show to X-Files in years and the US WB Network’s #1 new show;
• Everybody Hates Chris, written and narrated by comedian Chris Rock and already hailed as one of the best new US comedies in many years;
• Surface, where a new form of sea life arises, challenging everything humans thought they knew about the deep;
• Jamie’s Great Italian Escape, combining Jamie’s passion for food with the elements of the best travel shows;
• Reunion, spanning two decades of relationships and mystery among a group of college friends;
• Conviction, the latest legal drama from Dick Wolf, creator of Law & Order;
• Threshold, where a female analyst leads a secret team in contacting alien life;
• Out of Practice, the comedy starring Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler about a family of doctors who have little in common other than their professions;
• and The Jenna Elfman Show, in which the Dharma & Greg actress plays a successful lawyer looking for true love.

Meanwhile, all* of TEN’s regular favourites – the shows that perform week in and week out – return, including ALL NEW Big Brother, Australian Idol, Rove Live, Neighbours and The Ronnie Johns Half Hour.

And TEN has ALL NEW episodes of returning international series, including: House, Medium, NCIS, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: SVU, The Simpsons, The OC, Rock School, Smallville, Charmed, Brainiac and Numb3rs.

… and that’s with the guff taken out!