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The Tribal Mind: Too much Australiana is more than enough
To discuss what movies our kids should study in English lessons, go to Who We Are
by David Dale
THE nationalists be damned. What this country needs is more American content on mainstream television -- or if not more, then at least different American content. Those who complain about US domination of our culture have only seen the junk the Australian networks choose to show us in prime time.
Last week's Emmy awards proved there's a cornucopia of US material that is more stimulating than most of the formulaic pap being produced in this country. The problem is that our networks think their prime time viewers are stupid, so they either broadcast the smart stuff at insomniac times of day or leave it to be snapped up by the Pay TV stations, thereby denying it to two thirds of the populace.
The program most honoured at the Emmys was 30 Rock, a screwball satire on the television industry. It won best comedy, best comic actress (Tina Fey), best comic actor (Alec Baldwin) and best comic writing (Tina Fey). Channel Seven has been showing it at 11.30pm, and last Friday's episode was watched by 352,000 people (plus an uncounted number who recorded it to watch at a civilised hour). That's an amazing result for such a timeslot. If any Pay TV station achieved that audience at any time of day, there would be a 21 gun salute in champagne corks.
Other awarded shows included In Treatment, a drama which examines the work of a psychotherapist played by Gabriel Byrne (starting this week on the Pay station Showcase); Mad Men, a comedy/drama about the advertising industry in the 1960s (on the Pay station Movie Extra), Damages, a drama about ruthless lawyers starring Glenn Close (shown erratically late at night by Channel Nine), and Pushing Daisies, a comedy about a man who can bring the dead back to life (owned but never shown by Nine).
Before you say that Australia is already swamped with Americana, look at the 40 most watched series on television so far this year. It turns out that only seven of them were born in the USA (House, Desperate Housewives, Criminal Minds, Two and a Half Men, CSI, Wipeout, and NCIS).
Another four are British (Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Attenborough's Life in Cold Blood, Midsomer Murders, and Doc Martin). The remaining 29 are Australian, including such cutting edge material as Australia's Got Talent, Gladiators, The One - Australia's Greatest Psychic and Hole In The Wall.
It stirs my patriotic heart that this nation so strongly supports its own creative workers, but I felt a moment of treachery when I read the Emmy acceptance speech by Kirk Ellis, writer of the miniseries John Adams. He said the show was about "a period in our history when articulate men articulated complex thoughts in complete sentences. The word was primary. They believed in the word over the sword, and the word could change the world.''
That sounds like something I'd like to see on the ABC or on SBS. But they left it to Pay TV. It might finally be time to subscribe.
Is there too much Australian content on Australian TV? Tell us at Comments
David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
COMMENTS
I suppose it goes against the favour of your article, but I would like to add The Wire to great US shows. However in saying that I do think it is such a complex show that it needs to be seen in large blocks, rather than 1 hour eposides interspersed with numerous commercials.
I would reiterate that the world is really is your oyster for any creative Aussie mind that can think up a new concept. The world, well at least me, is crying out for diversity. Get out there and satisfy me!
- by Neil on September 28, 2008 at 05:42 PM
The commercial channels have been grinding quality import material into dust for nearly 20 years. Remember the weekly hunt-the-Frasier-day/timeslot game? Or the 1.5 episodes of Blackadder per hour?
All I can say is hand me another DVD...
- by Mike on September 28, 2008 at 07:40 PM
I hope Australians don't get to see the better US shows. If the audience here is only interested in watching the crap that they do, so be it.
Thank Jupiter, I get to download brilliant shows like Mad Men, which I think is too good for audiences here.
By the way, the new Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) show is already showing in the US. Ah, it feels good to get an episode soon after it's shown there. I wonder when it will come over here and which channel will butcher it.
Only chumps watch actual TV shows here. Ratings be damned, I watch what I want when I want.
Long live the download
Tribal Mind asks: What is the new Alan Ball show called?
- by Julianus Apostatus on September 29, 2008 at 12:09 AM
Never too much Australian content of higher standard. What about Boston Legal from America - the best from America ever.
Tribal Mind agrees: And what time of night is it shown?
- by Glenys on September 29, 2008 at 05:26 AM
I concur, downloading is the only way to go. I gave up on the Australian networks years ago. Excessive adverts, constant timeslot changes and an inability to start a program at the advertised time are just a few ways the networks here show their contempt for the viewer.
I have long considered Australian content to be boring at best. When two of my co-workers explained Hole in the Wall to me, I was stunned that anyone could possibly think that was a good idea for a show. But the biggest shock was finding out that crap like this actually rates! No wonder the networks think viewers are stupid.
- by GIJones on September 29, 2008 at 05:37 AM
Unfortunately, a key charge in this article "The problem is that our networks think their prime time viewers are stupid" is misguided. The average Australian Viewers *are* intellectually challenged. Products of an inferior education system and convinced by their political masters (that they themselves elected - go figure) that greed is good and nothing else matters. This is reflected in the choices people make when looking for TV entertainment. The commercial networks would show more demanding and intelligent material (of which there is plenty out their, as is correctly described) if there would be a market that would come anywhere near that market who is content with watching the drivel that is served at prime time at present. So, don't blame the networks - it's a free market, and they serve to the lowest common denominator, 'lowest' being the operative term here. And for Australia, that is 'low', indeed.
- by Brenda Loots on September 29, 2008 at 07:06 AM
"The problem is that our networks think their prime time viewers are stupid..."
and then:
"The remaining 29 are Australian, including such cutting edge material as Australia's Got Talent, Gladiators, The One - Australia's Greatest Psychic and Hole In The Wall."
Looks to me like the networks are spot on.
- by Anto on September 29, 2008 at 07:11 AM
You might be focussing on the best from America but let's not forget that their most popular shows there are CSI, Two and Half Men, American Idol and Dancing With The Stars. They also produce a lot of other rubbish over there like Wipeout, and their own versions of Gladiators, Big Brother and Hole In The Wall. But amongst all that rubbish there's also some really quality stuff. Same goes for the UK where their most popular shows are British soapies that we only see here on pay tv and their own variations of reality shows. Their quality shows don't rate as highly.
Maybe Australia needs to be producing MORE Australian shows rather than LESS, so that we would get a few more quality productions amongst some of the dross. The popular stuff which is enjoyed by the masses subsidises the production of the quality stuff enjoyed by the discerning few.
- by Levendis on September 29, 2008 at 07:19 AM
Finally someone else mentions the poor quality of show selection and time slot placement. (I blame channel 7 largely for this, look what they do with Scrubs and what they did with Arrested Development, along with 30 Rock amongst other quality American TV shows that get thrown to the late hours) For all of those shows I have instead even given up taping them and just gone to the internet to download them. If they were all placed at reasonable time slots I'm pretty certain they would all attract very decent audiences. 30 Rocks current viewers at the 11:30 time slot is just a testament to that. There no longer is an excuse not to show these shows at reasonable times with every station having a digital channels and HD channels. ABC2 gets it right with showing different programming 24/7 and great music shows shown every sunday during the day.
With websites to watch the American shows at any time they wish, and often months/weeks before they would even be shown here, they are just losing more potential viewers which would tune in if the times weren't so erratic and ridiculous. I am sure countless other Australians also use the internet to watch these shows, along with taping, the true ratings potential surely would be something to take notice of.
The networks really are missing out on an opportunity for some decent ratings.
(Also, how many bloody gardening and DIY shows do we need? I swear, half of the Australian shows are generic crap cop shows, bad drama or DIY gardening back yard blitz style rubbish. I think our studio execs need to swallow razor wire, pull it out of their arses and floss themselves to death before we get a chance at quality foreign television shows being shown at reasonable times)
- by LSmith on September 29, 2008 at 07:59 AM
I always try and give Oz shows a chance and will tune in to any new drama or comedy . But my patience is thin and if it doesnt grab me after 2 eps I am out of there! We can produce quality shows, it's just that networks seem to think quality is ripping off US shows eg The Strip.
As to the US shows, the good stuff just doesnt rate here so networks yank it fast. I am a Sci-fi fan and also like the quirky different program but they just dont appeal to the "dumb" average TV viewer. They prefer mindless junk (wipeout) or formula based cop shows like CSI. So I am forced to have Foxtel, buy DVD's and download if I want to watch anything that is worth my time.
- by em on September 29, 2008 at 08:33 AM
The unfortunate thing is that the tripe served up in prime time continues to rate. So why should a network pay money to make a good show, when just as many people will watch a show that takes one camera man, one sound guy, one editor and one voice over man to patch together?
It annoys the hell out of me what the networks do with good TV shows. But it is just as much the publics fault. Good TV shows don't seem to rate as good as bad TV shows. So we get stuck with the bad ones.
Of course, I do sometimes wonder how well the ratings system does a proper cross section of the population. Do they really cover all types of people evenly such that might give shows aimed at different groups an equal measure?
But it's not even the putting good shows late at night that's the problem. 30 Rock is shown on Monday night! Not Friday night! I just happened to be tuned in at the right time to see it on Friday night otherwise I would have missed that episode! And the same happened to me with Scrubs once, where they just put on the next episode on a night they don't usually show it, without any warning, not even saying anything at the end of the previous episode.
But the unfortunate thing is that while the general public tune in to terrible TV shows and shun quality, the bad shows will be in Prime Time and the good shows shoved away late a night and then axed.
Tribal Mind remarks: And this week 30 Rock is on Tuesday night.
- by Chris on September 29, 2008 at 08:36 AM
I don't agree with Brenda Loots that the average Australian viewer is intellectually challenged. I know the ratings for 'Hole in the Wall' would indicate otherwise, but I think people just watch whatever's on when there's nothing in particular of any quality. People don't know how to protest. Austalian Networks serve up mindless drivel, people watch it because it's on, the Networks assume that either people are stupid & enjoy it, or that they can get away with it, so they serve up more.
I think if they showed programmes like those described & those awarded at the Emmys, people would watch.
The Networks have become more cynical than their viewers. And that's cynical.
- by darren on September 29, 2008 at 08:39 AM
One other thing. While one of the big issues is that rubbish TV gets ratings, there's also a big marketing aspect here.
So many of these TV shows are pushed so hard by the networks for many weeks before they even come on TV. Advertising them as the latest smash hit you have to watch. While the good shows are put away in the background and nobody is even told about them.
One of the best, most original TV series I've watched in a long time is Firefly. Everyone I know who sees it loves it. And then get's to the end of the last episode made and just about cries because they'll never get to see these characters unfold.
Apparently Firefly was shown on Australian TV. I had a friend who mentioned watching it when it was on. But I'd never even heard of it until the movie, Serenity, came out and I bought the series on DVD after that.
It was such an amazing series, but I expect it was played really late at night without ever being marketed, and then axed because nobody watched it.
How different could it have been if that show was marketed as the latest must watch show (obviously it needed that in the US more than here, as that's where it was axed). But it broke out of all the formula's so the network executives didn't know what to do with it.
Even outside of all the "reality" TV trash, with proper scripted drama's and the like. We don't need any more cop shows. Seriously. Enough. Just about every drama on TV at the moment is another cop show.
- by Chris on September 29, 2008 at 08:46 AM
I couldn't agree more, David. Remember back at the start of the year, Nine was hyping Pushing Daisies and gave away a free episode on DVD in the Sun Herald? And then never to be heard of again.
As for the fellow who says the world is your oyster if you can come up with an original idea--the networks aren't interested. I have friends who are highly respected TV writers and they have been pitching show after show, and all the networks--including SBS and the ABC--want are cop shows. Because Underbelly was a success, that's all the networks are interested in. So they churn our cop procedural after the next--what, are there three or four Australian cop shows on at the moment?--even though Underbelly wasn't a procedural and despite the fact that Australian budgets mean we can never match production standards etc of US crime shows. And different styles of programs can't get past development.
Oh, and the new Alan Ball is called "True Blood", and it's about vampires in Louisiana--another HBO series. No doubt it'll end up buried at 12.45 on a Monday night...
- by Misrule on September 29, 2008 at 09:29 AM
TV stations are there to make a profit. They broadcast shows that will rate. Quality generally doesn�t. But channel 7 should be thanked for at least broadcasting these low rating shows. At least we know we can (could) see Boston Legal, Scrubs, Arrested Development and 30 Rock late on Monday night (and, as someone pointed out earlier, these shows don't rate well in the US either).
I would rather have a fixed time, late timeslot, than be screwed around the way Channel 9 did for years with, The Sopranos. West Wing, Damages, The Wire, Seinfeld etc etc
- by tim on September 29, 2008 at 09:53 AM
Since I prefer to use my download limit for other things besides TV shows, I opt for Pay TV. Apart from TV series weekend marathons (most recently Heroes on Sci Fi Channel), they all manage to start their shows according to schedule and if there is even the slightest delay, it is there on the EPG for all to see. "Delay" meaning one to four minutes at worst, not the 10 to 15 that is caused by smarmy Rove, lobotomised Big Bother, or whatever other switch off the brain rubbish the FTAs are peddling.
- by Yuri on September 29, 2008 at 09:57 AM
This may be slightly off-topic, so I apologise in advance...
What started out for me as convenience, has turned out to be deliberate civil disobedience. I'm talking about 'illegal' downloads of shows.
As long as we Australians are held to ransom by the networks, pandering to the lowest common denominator (which I believe is more reflective than accurate), and holding on to an out-dated distribution model, people like me will continue to swell in numbers.
You are right... how come I did not know about shows like 'Rock' and now hearing about it have to stay up late to watch it? Why do I have to put up with the banal tripe that is dished out to us by a patronising corporate?
Answer: I don't
The irony is I would gladly pay to watch shows of my choosing and in timing that suits me (and doesn't mean waiting a year for it to show up in a DVD store... yet another business wedded to out-dated concepts).
And the more people who vote with their feet, the sooner Australians will be liberated.
Viva TV anarchy!
- by carl rogers on September 29, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Why again with this nonsense that networks underestimate the intelligence of the audience by showing smart show late at night or not at all. Time after time the networks try them out, they fail to rate, they get moved to later slots or dumped.
There is a market for smart TV shows it just is not very large and is not large enough to be economically viable on prime-time FTA. This is largely true even in the much larger US market with most of them screening on niche cable channels.
Your current example is 30 Rock. The facts are Channel 7 premiered it in a prime-time and stuck with it for several weeks as its ratings plummeted.
To start with 30 Rock was largely disjointed jokes with a sketch comedy feel (Fey's background). It wasn't till half way through the first season that they figured out how to make a funny one camera sitcom out it.
While 30 Rock has had much critical acclaim it is not and has never been a popular show in US. It is watched by 5.8m in the US and ranked 102 out 142 shows [1].
30 Rock only survives because its insider jokes about the media appeal to media people.
1. "30 Rock", Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_rock
Tribal Mind asks: And we think Wikipedia is an impartial authority because ...?
- by Pertinax on September 29, 2008 at 01:32 PM
I view the quality of local Australian content to be a damning indictment of the puerile mindset of a large number of viewers. If this is what the people are willing to settle for then why would the networks go to the trouble of producing something more demanding?
I've completely given up even watching Australian content simply because I'm sick of the disappointment every time it turns out to be more of the same mind-numbingly infantile drivel as last time!
I don't expect any changes in content quality to take place for at least a generation. An expectation that leaves me sadder and far more cynical than I'd like to be.
- by Steve60 on September 29, 2008 at 02:34 PM
Thanks to this blog and other useful websites, we can track programming changes by the silly network programmers. I just feel sorry for any other viewrs who aren't as commited to television as we are and would miss shows like 30 Rock, Boston Legal and Scrubs because the network programmers stuff us around. Is it too much to ask the newtorks to pick a timeslot, any timeslot, and then show the whole series in that timeslot?
- by Smart Alex on September 29, 2008 at 03:15 PM
Maybe the networks have concluded that the few australians with intelligence will already be downloading their choices, and that's why they just play the crap they do - for those lacking the educational attainment/intelligence to use bittorrent. But that theory doesn't explain why the same crap was primetime before the internet came along.
- by Karen on September 29, 2008 at 03:35 PM
Alan Ball's new show is called "True Blood" and the description Misrule gave is correct.
Very strange but interesting. Vampires living amongst humans, drinking synthetic blood developed in Japan and having sex with humans....It's already up to episode 4. Will watch tonight.
And Mad Men season 2 is going like gangbusters.
Just walk away from regular TV. Why bother disappointing yourselves. The net is where it's at in terms of TV content and awesome radio content.
If you want your news and other really interesting stuff, get it through podcasts. If you want TV shows, well...there are plenty of avenues...
- by Julianus Apostatus on September 29, 2008 at 08:18 PM
While we're having a whinge about the networks, has anyone noticed how Channel 10 have been cutting the eps of Friends they've been re-running? Scenes with anything slightly more risque are taken out, or sometimes part of a scene, so you get all this hacked into dialogue. Tonight's episode appeared to have an entire scene (with Danny DeVito as the stripper) excised. I'm not classing Friends with the sorts of cutting edge US TV that is the topic here, but it's still funnier after several years than Three and a Half Men or Till Death, about the only other comedies on TV at the moment. (Oh, excepting 30 Rock, which I adore.) Very irritating.
- by Misrule on September 30, 2008 at 06:41 PM
I saw a promo for "John Adams" on Foxtel last night and thanks to this blog, I'm now intrigued to find out more.
- by Yuri on October 01, 2008 at 02:40 PM
Well more Newstopia would not hurt. The reworked Qantas ad was not only cleverly done but something that everybody could get - so you do not have to aim at the totally stupid in order to be accessible.
- by Cat on October 02, 2008 at 04:42 PM
Really all we need is for the US networks to broadcast directly to Australia & not sell a series to a local network .A proper Pay to View set up at say 30 cents a show via the internet for 100,000 viewers who follow a series would i think be a better return for the producers.Right now you can watch their shows on line for FREE after the initial transmission , see NBC's LIFE show . Even the DVD is for sale at $19.99 of series 1, including 1 hour of extras.Same deal for all tv shows over there.
- by doug on October 04, 2008 at 02:04 PM
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RECENT ENTRIES
- WHO WE ARE: But what if the beetroots are the aliens?
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- The Tribal Mind: Too much Australiana is more than enough
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There's no such thing as too much Australian content on Australian TV. We probably have more foreign content on our screens than other country does. Maybe we should be encouraging Australians to create more innovative, creative and interesting programs than adapting so many foreign concepts for Australia (Gladiators) or trying to emulate foreign content (The Strip). If we produced more original programs then they we could have more of them screened overseas (Summer Heights High screens on HBO in November) or adapted for foreign markets (Kath & Kim USA starts in October). In regards to winning Awards, they don't necessarily translate to ratings either. 30 Rock struggles in the ratings in America and has come close to the axe a few times but probably continues to be saved the awards it wins. It's one of the best shows on television but and I would do anything to have 30 Rock in a decent timeslot in Australia but I don't think it would necessarily get huge ratings. Boston Legal didn't do that much better in a prime time slot than it does at 10.30pm and both shows probably have a similar audience. Right now, I would settle for a regular 10.30pm timeslot for 30 Rock rather than chasing it all over the schedule.