Who We Are
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The Who We Are update: Week 41
To discuss how to make Australians eat kangaroo, go to Who We Are.
To celebrate the birthday of Daffy Duck, go to The Tribal Mind.
What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,275,000 340,000 327,000 309,000 109,000 190,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,025,000 261,000 304,000 264,000 104,000 92,000
3 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 950,000 247,000 284,000 198,000 89,000 131,000
4 M-HOLES Seven 935,000 264,000 203,000 232,000 95,000 141,000
5 THE BILL ABC1 932,000 310,000 259,000 166,000 93,000 103,000
6 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEO SHOW Nine 914,000 231,000 224,000 230,000 80,000 149,000
9 SEVEN'S V8 SUPERCARS ROUND 10: BATHURST D2 - TOP 10 SHOOTOUT Seven 749,000 237,000 213,000 170,000 81,000 48,000
10 SEVEN'S V8 SUPERCARS ROUND 10: BATHURST D2 - AFTERNOON Seven 746,000 231,000 209,000 171,000 88,000 48,000
12 GARDENING AUSTRALIA ABC1 634,000 142,000 193,000 148,000 59,000 92,000
13 M-ALIEN VS. PREDATOR Seven 615,000 170,000 176,000 128,000 67,000 75,000
18 OLIVER TWIST Nine 542,000 141,000 170,000 108,000 54,000 70,000
19 SEVEN'S V8 SUPERCARS ROUND 10: BATHURST D2 - EARLY Seven 497,000 164,000 111,000 125,000 58,000 38,000
24 MYTHBUSTERS RPT SBS 307,000 83,000 76,000 68,000 36,000 44,000
27 NO WAY, GET F*#KED, F*#K OFF SBS 276,000 72,000 91,000 48,000 37,000 29,000
30 IRON CHEF RPT SBS 263,000 75,000 91,000 43,000 24,000 31,000
31 ROCKWIZ SBS 245,000 60,000 57,000 51,000 39,000 39,000
Continued here.
At this point in the week, Channel Seven has 31.2 per cent of the prime time audience and Nine has 26.4 per cent, with Ten on 19.6, ABC on 17.9 and SBS on 4.9.
What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,447,000 424,000 422,000 264,000 147,000 190,000
2 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,260,000 284,000 328,000 278,000 153,000 217,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,256,000 309,000 356,000 252,000 136,000 202,000
4 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,083,000 300,000 299,000 215,000 125,000 144,000
5 M-EIGHT BELOW Seven 1,014,000 276,000 352,000 176,000 101,000 109,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 990,000 246,000 301,000 227,000 87,000 129,000
7 NINE NEWS Nine 987,000 238,000 331,000 229,000 96,000 94,000
8 TAGGART ABC1 951,000 272,000 298,000 150,000 110,000 121,000
9 ABC NEWS ABC1 924,000 271,000 277,000 152,000 87,000 137,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 846,000 212,000 259,000 200,000 83,000 91,000
13 THE BOURNE SUPREMACY RPT Ten 709,000 224,000 232,000 116,000 70,000 68,000
14 HOLE IN THE WALL -FRI Nine 673,000 192,000 188,000 117,000 79,000 97,000
16 WIPEOUT -FRI Nine 662,000 192,000 182,000 114,000 89,000 86,000
17 AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL FRI Ten 659,000 190,000 196,000 119,000 58,000 97,000
What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,293,000 265,000 371,000 298,000 143,000 215,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,209,000 276,000 339,000 252,000 139,000 203,000
3 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,137,000 297,000 367,000 220,000 109,000 144,000
4 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 1,022,000 270,000 320,000 187,000 119,000 127,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,016,000 237,000 336,000 255,000 94,000 94,000
6 GETAWAY Nine 996,000 286,000 277,000 202,000 107,000 124,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 996,000 224,000 300,000 240,000 91,000 141,000
8 RPA Nine 964,000 272,000 277,000 159,000 133,000 124,000
9 THE STRIP Nine 957,000 282,000 245,000 207,000 102,000 121,000
10 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 957,000 222,000 324,000 226,000 93,000 93,000
11 ABC NEWS ABC1 935,000 235,000 267,000 209,000 82,000 142,000
12 MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL Seven 931,000 242,000 288,000 196,000 96,000 109,000
16 HEROES - THU Seven 878,000 199,000 317,000 165,000 94,000 103,000
17 ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? Ten 809,000 196,000 252,000 146,000 81,000 134,000
19 HEROES - EP 2 Seven 785,000 185,000 285,000 146,000 87,000 82,000
30 PRISON BREAK - THU Seven 387,000 113,000 141,000 60,000 49,000 24,000
32 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 336,000 77,000 116,000 71,000 29,000 43,000
The ratings race, updated 10 am Thursday
It's symbolic of the collapse of Channel Nine's fortunes that it can't even win a week that starts with the NRL grand final. It's symbolic of the collapse of Channel Ten's fortunes that even a former winner such as Jamie Oliver doesn't work any better than Kenny as a lead-in to House, which would now seem to be in terminal condition.
What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,449,000 431,000 418,000 304,000 141,000 155,000
2 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,385,000 396,000 447,000 250,000 140,000 152,000
3 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,366,000 305,000 437,000 278,000 159,000 188,000
4 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,341,000 411,000 425,000 208,000 124,000 174,000
5 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,336,000 294,000 371,000 285,000 149,000 237,000
6 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,301,000 344,000 375,000 248,000 146,000 188,000
7 CRIMINAL MINDS (R) Seven 1,224,000 297,000 401,000 210,000 150,000 165,000
8 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,199,000 258,000 355,000 242,000 124,000 219,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,198,000 347,000 388,000 220,000 127,000 115,000
10 CRASH INVESTIGATION UNIT Seven 1,162,000 330,000 304,000 235,000 115,000 178,000
16 THE HOLLOWMEN ABC1 931,000 269,000 311,000 140,000 92,000 119,000
17 THE NEW INVENTORS ABC1 885,000 281,000 247,000 154,000 94,000 109,000
18 HOUSE Ten 858,000 288,000 235,000 140,000 74,000 121,000
19 FRINGE Nine 771,000 237,000 210,000 177,000 66,000 80,000
20 JAMIE'S MINISTRY OF FOOD Ten 764,000 199,000 242,000 157,000 64,000 103,000
22 LIFE Ten 699,000 199,000 212,000 126,000 64,000 98,000
27 VERY SMALL BUSINESS ABC1 602,000 152,000 216,000 106,000 54,000 75,000
28 THE MENTALIST -ENCORE Nine 530,000 175,000 185,000 55,000 55,000 60,000
33 AT THE MOVIES ABC1 385,000 111,000 143,000 68,000 30,000 32,000
What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,979,000 622,000 629,000 343,000 183,000 203,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,798,000 486,000 544,000 351,000 173,000 244,000
3 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,509,000 393,000 462,000 289,000 158,000 205,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,426,000 348,000 419,000 270,000 155,000 233,000
5 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,377,000 436,000 459,000 165,000 155,000 162,000
6 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,360,000 330,000 408,000 231,000 158,000 233,000
7 NCIS Ten 1,296,000 326,000 387,000 252,000 163,000 169,000
8 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,217,000 373,000 354,000 208,000 129,000 153,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,154,000 259,000 412,000 234,000 128,000 121,000
10 NINE NEWS Nine 1,141,000 291,000 376,000 251,000 110,000 114,000
20 RUSH Ten 833,000 170,000 290,000 166,000 125,000 82,000
21 THE ALL NEW SIMPSONS Ten 823,000 156,000 282,000 170,000 106,000 109,000
32 SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA - FANS VS FAVOURITES Nine 467,000 149,000 178,000 55,000 52,000 33,000
62 30 ROCK Seven 215,000 70,000 53,000 33,000 30,000 29,000
The ratings race, updated 11am Tuesday
The Australian version of Top Gear lost 300,000 viewers between its first and second showings, but we might attribute this to the holiday factor. Sydney and Adelaide had Monday off, and some households with peoplemeters may well have been away (driving through the desert?).
Mind you, City Homicide, Border Security and Two and a Half Men were unaffected by The Holiday Factor. SBS will be biting its nails till next Monday.
What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,701,000 471,000 553,000 320,000 169,000 187,000
2 THE FORCE Seven 1,681,000 450,000 517,000 310,000 155,000 249,000
3 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,592,000 469,000 460,000 310,000 148,000 206,000
4 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,403,000 315,000 412,000 301,000 172,000 202,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,313,000 365,000 395,000 264,000 131,000 157,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN -MON Nine 1,301,000 331,000 434,000 282,000 128,000 126,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,299,000 293,000 399,000 257,000 134,000 215,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,213,000 315,000 379,000 288,000 121,000 110,000
9 NINE NEWS Nine 1,194,000 326,000 381,000 266,000 134,000 87,000
10 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,153,000 275,000 349,000 237,000 113,000 178,000
11 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,132,000 263,000 393,000 262,000 116,000 98,000
12 BONES - MON Seven 1,016,000 277,000 319,000 178,000 134,000 108,000
13 AUSTRALIAN IDOL - THE LIVE VERDICT Ten 964,000 283,000 294,000 179,000 111,000 96,000
14 TIL DEATH Nine 957,000 265,000 305,000 193,000 83,000 112,000
15 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 916,000 267,000 247,000 197,000 95,000 110,000
16 FOUR CORNERS ABC1 893,000 283,000 237,000 176,000 76,000 122,000
17 16 BLOCKS Nine 866,000 256,000 242,000 184,000 87,000 96,000
20 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 807,000 218,000 227,000 148,000 90,000 125,000
21 ENOUGH ROPE WITH ANDREW DENTON ABC1 799,000 253,000 270,000 114,000 64,000 98,000
22 SUPERNATURAL EP 1 Ten 777,000 206,000 231,000 139,000 108,000 94,000
23 MEDIA WATCH ABC1 750,000 252,000 205,000 126,000 64,000 103,000
24 SUPERNATURAL EP 2 Ten 708,000 200,000 192,000 123,000 96,000 97,000
26 TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA SBS 674,000 189,000 216,000 130,000 88,000 51,000
31 OUT OF THE QUESTION - MON Seven 468,000 108,000 184,000 83,000 62,000 31,000
35 BOGAN PRIDE SBS 376,000 84,000 147,000 53,000 53,000 39,000
37 SOUTH PARK SBS 367,000 90,000 153,000 38,000 47,000 38,000
39 BOSTON LEGAL Seven 361,000 74,000 143,000 62,000 56,000 26,000
The ratings race, updated 6pm Sunday
It was a humiliating week for Channels Nine and Ten. The only programs Nine could get into the top ten were two episodes of the American sitcom Two and a Half Men, while Ten discovered that it had become the fourth most watched network, dropping behind the ABC.
With Nine now showing five and a half hours of Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen has become the Gordon Ramsay of the second half-year. Nine's hot new cop show, The Strip, has lost 400,000 viewers since its debut, and is seriously at risk of getting dumped to 10.30pm so that Charlie can move into its Thursday slot.
Ten must have agreed with this column's assessment last week that Kenny's World was having a trickle down effect on the new season of House, because Kenny is moving to Tuesdays. Ten is also dumping Bondi Rescue: Bali and leading into House with a new Jamie Oliver series. Last week Kenny, which started with a million viewers, drew only 664,000, while House (on 1.3 million six months ago) drew 802,000. Ten's most watched show was NCIS, with 1.3 million.
The ABC soared with Doctor Who, Midsomer Murders and Spicks and Specks, all on 1.2m. The Australian version of Top Gear was a winner for SBS with 940,000 -- much the same as the audience for the British edition. With no NRL or AFL to tempt subscribers, Pay TV was grateful for the availability of Futurama (181,000 for Fox 8), The Simpsons (178,000 for Fox 8), The Man With The Golden Gun (176,000 for Fox Classics) and Kyle XY (159,000 for Fox 8).
Channel Seven grabbed 29.9 per cent of the prime time audience, while Nine got 26.1, the ABC got 19.4, Ten got 19.1 and SBS got 5.5. Ten's share is down 3.3 per cent on last year, while the ABC's is up 6.8 per cent.
What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 RUGBY LEAGUE GRAND FINAL Nine 2,074,000 942,000 492,000 503,000 57,000 81,000
2 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,334,000 407,000 386,000 285,000 98,000 159,000
3 60 MINUTES Nine 1,330,000 427,000 361,000 271,000 105,000 167,000
4 RUGBY LEAGUE GRAND FINAL PRESENTATION Nine 1,315,000 895,000 420,000
5 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,315,000 261,000 417,000 281,000 146,000 209,000
6 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,220,000 291,000 376,000 337,000 107,000 108,000
7 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,213,000 337,000 424,000 212,000 114,000 126,000
8 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC1 1,137,000 288,000 388,000 163,000 147,000 151,000
9 RUGBY LEAGUE GRAND FINAL ENTERTAINMENT Nine 1,121,000 505,000 253,000 277,000 36,000 50,000
10 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 1,000,000 211,000 373,000 179,000 98,000 140,000
11 ABC NEWS UP-DATE ABC1 980,000 247,000 319,000 168,000 130,000 116,000
12 CSI: MIAMI Nine 978,000 303,000 300,000 186,000 97,000 92,000
13 M-PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST Seven 896,000 279,000 275,000 131,000 97,000 114,000
14 M-THE PACIFIER Seven 884,000 240,000 302,000 234,000 108,000
15 THE LOST WORLD OF TIBET ABC1 809,000 225,000 245,000 138,000 91,000 110,000
16 ROVE Ten 794,000 174,000 310,000 145,000 82,000 83,000
21 CALIFORNICATION Ten 501,000 127,000 184,000 70,000 64,000 56,000
22 RUGBY LEAGUE GRAND FINAL 1ST DIVISION Nine 419,000 241,000 178,000
27 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? SBS 318,000 90,000 97,000 62,000 25,000 44,000
What Australia watched, week ending October 4
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 PACKED TO THE RAFTERS Seven 1,825,000 580,000 596,000 276,000 153,000 221,000
2 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,715,000 501,000 526,000 333,000 143,000 212,000
3 CITY HOMICIDE Seven 1,666,000 447,000 519,000 302,000 177,000 222,000
4 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED EP2 Nine 1,657,000 475,000 550,000 302,000 150,000 180,000
5 THE FORCE Seven 1,639,000 467,000 457,000 310,000 156,000 250,000
6 RSPCA ANIMAL RESCUE Seven 1,618,000 430,000 460,000 340,000 150,000 239,000
7 TWO AND A HALF MEN -WED Nine 1,513,000 427,000 494,000 275,000 150,000 167,000
8 BORDER SECURITY Seven 1,481,000 419,000 409,000 295,000 146,000 212,000
9 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,472,000 375,000 421,000 305,000 151,000 219,000
10 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,448,000 396,000 420,000 316,000 134,000 181,000
11 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,373,000 428,000 400,000 240,000 141,000 164,000
12 MEDICAL EMERGENCY Seven 1,338,000 369,000 387,000 260,000 143,000 179,000
13 60 MINUTES Nine 1,335,000 362,000 407,000 281,000 134,000 152,000
14 NCIS Ten 1,325,000 348,000 362,000 284,000 153,000 177,000
15 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,312,000 335,000 413,000 232,000 147,000 185,000
16 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,304,000 334,000 376,000 247,000 140,000 207,000
17 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,287,000 409,000 418,000 152,000 133,000 175,000
18 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,263,000 326,000 347,000 257,000 122,000 210,000
19 CRASH INVESTIGATION UNIT Seven 1,257,000 357,000 374,000 236,000 124,000 167,000
20 DANCING WITH THE STARS 8 Seven 1,213,000 361,000 412,000 203,000 99,000 138,000
21 DOCTOR WHO ABC1 1,207,000 391,000 334,000 229,000 127,000 125,000
22 AUSTRALIAN IDOL Ten 1,202,000 387,000 334,000 233,000 133,000 115,000
23 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,196,000 357,000 352,000 216,000 121,000 151,000
24 MIDSOMER MURDERS ABC1 1,190,000 386,000 362,000 188,000 122,000 132,000
25 TWO AND A HALF MEN -MON Nine 1,184,000 333,000 400,000 210,000 111,000 131,000
26 ABC NEWS-SU ABC1 1,181,000 321,000 373,000 231,000 111,000 145,000
27 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,180,000 305,000 383,000 249,000 151,000 94,000
28 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,176,000 369,000 352,000 197,000 111,000 146,000
29 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,175,000 313,000 372,000 245,000 120,000 126,000
30 BONES - MON Seven 1,148,000 300,000 339,000 215,000 140,000 154,000
31 NINE NEWS Nine 1,130,000 302,000 353,000 264,000 114,000 97,000
32 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,099,000 289,000 344,000 249,000 117,000 100,000
33 WIPEOUT Nine 1,090,000 276,000 349,000 183,000 123,000 157,000
34 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,084,000 272,000 350,000 234,000 129,000 99,000
35 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,078,000 304,000 326,000 208,000 90,000 149,000
36 GETAWAY Nine 1,068,000 293,000 352,000 227,000 85,000 110,000
37 TAGGART ABC1 1,060,000 284,000 330,000 185,000 114,000 147,000
38 CSI: MIAMI Nine 1,054,000 296,000 311,000 216,000 114,000 117,000
39 THE OUTDOOR ROOM WITH JAMIE DURIE Seven 1,047,000 321,000 305,000 203,000 96,000 121,000
40 GHOST WHISPERER Seven 1,046,000 304,000 330,000 180,000 90,000 142,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)
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
Does anybody remember earlier in the year when Ch 10 were having a go at Ch 7 because their ratings were down on last year? They thought Ch 9 and Ch 10 were more competitive this year and said Ch 7 had no chance of winning a second year in a row. Now Ch 10 is coming fourth and Ch 7 looks like it will convicingly win the year. Who is laughing now?
- by J Bar on October 05, 2008 at 04:44 PM
I don't understand how long it will take until heads fly at 10 for these humiliating results.
- by Nick on October 05, 2008 at 09:14 PM
The reality boom is over - except that channel 10 doesn't realise it yet .......
- by Randwick Geoff on October 06, 2008 at 05:25 AM
So Two and Half men is the Simpsons of Nein over 5 hours a week- haven't they heard of overkill? Oh wait they ignore that as mere piffle.... nevermind that they have at least a season and a half of ER unshown not to mention any number of non reality shows in the cupboard! Get some sense Nein.
And Shirl seriously - limit the fasttracking - 7 is not showing Greys or Despos - why show your highest rating show in fasttrack... keep it till next year and give it a decent lead in...
TM by the way J Bar did answer your question to me last week about how I knew about Kenny's World moving and Amazing Race coming back - the site TV tonight does have fairly up tp date programming info - but not the whimsy or debates and discussions of this site - so I spend more time here.
- by Cathy on October 06, 2008 at 07:48 AM
You would think that ABC beating 10 would prompt them to stop running shows late, but no. Rove went 12 minutes late. It's like convincing a baby to give back a lollipop.
- by Ben on October 06, 2008 at 09:43 AM
Interesting that Doctor Who's absence from the schedule has seen the ABC audience drop 400k in that timeslot and Australian Idol gain a significant number of those. Who has certainly been a major ratings success for the ABC this year, getting a major slice of the "family" audience.
- by Alex Rohan on October 06, 2008 at 10:31 AM
From TM's GF figures; NRL 2m, AFL 2.4m and as far as I know, both were live across all 5 capitals. However, AFL in Sydney only managed to get 300k while the NRL in Melb got 900k.
Why did Melb tuned into the NRL? Melburnians like sport more (also they seem to watch TV more than Syd ppl), Melb representation, GF week 'PR' (lots of hate between the Storm and Sydney media).
Tribal Mind wonders: Where did you get that the biffo got 900,000 in Melburne? The OzTAM chart says 492,000, which is OK but not great.
- by canoli on October 06, 2008 at 11:14 AM
TM, can you post the figures for the SANFL Grand Final yesterday afternoon (it was shown on ABC1 in Adelaide only, from 3.30pm to 6.30pm)? Thanks. Did it beat the NRL in Adelaide?
Tribal Mind replies: 96,000, so yes.
- by Johnson on October 06, 2008 at 02:11 PM
Hi David, do you have any figures for the WA Telethon? Thanks.
Tribal Mind replies: 77,000 in the morning, 80,000 in the afternoon.
- by Sasha on October 06, 2008 at 05:36 PM
Umm, Canoli, maybe Melbourne viewers tuned in to the NRL grand final because Melbourne Storm was playing in the game. Whereas in the AFL there was no Sydney team, hence not much of a following in NSW. Seems pretty straightforward.
- by NK on October 06, 2008 at 07:37 PM
I agree with Ben about the frustration of shows running overtime. However in ten's defence the times that are shown on the foxtel epg are pretty much spot on and with the 10min leeway u get u can record a show with confidence u'll see the end. But theres really no excuse to run late - its just the stations trying to screw each other over with no regard for the viewer.
- by emurray on October 06, 2008 at 11:24 PM
Regarding the football I would like to point out that NRL got 942,000 viewers in Sydney and gAyFL had only 300,000.
- by bobmar28 on October 07, 2008 at 06:06 AM
Quite liked The Mentalist. At least the part I saw of it. Silly me recorded it but forgot that 60 mins always runs late so chopped the end off. Really, is it too much to ask to finish shows at the advertised time? 60 mins ran nearly 15mins over according to IQ. I usually record the show after the one I want to see so I dont cut ends off but forgot.
It so pees me off that FTA networks just can't finish on time. Doesnt anyone in charge have a watch?? If Foxtel channels manage to finish on time and still show ads , why can't FTA networks? Ughhhhh!!!!!!
- by em on October 07, 2008 at 08:57 AM
How did late show rate last night with jokes about palin?
Tribal Mind replies: If you mean Letterman, 156,000, but that figure would not reflect Australia's interest in Palin one way or the other, since nobody would have known in advance and thus have been able to switch on or turn off.
- by joe on October 07, 2008 at 09:33 AM
Re The Mentalist - have lined up to record it during its "encore" performance later in the week. Not sure what the fuss is about as it doesn't sound a great deal different to Monk with Tony Shaloub which 10 have dumped on HD. I have learnt to over record at least 20 mins to ensure getting the end of what we want, although having just gotten around to watching the end of the Sopranos and we missed a couple of ends there (but not the big one). Still hanging for the return of Weeds - we are more than one season behind and for those that say it should be banned because of the subject matter (as I have read elsewhere), there is a struggle to see the difference between this and a serial killer working for the police. On the subject of Dexter (which was great) - had been hoping 10 would screen series 2 but we have given up hope on that given all the ads for the dvd box series. Oh well...
- by ozinoz on October 07, 2008 at 10:22 AM
with both Seven and Nine on 28.8, I suggest the most humiliating moment for Nine will be losing the NRL Grand Final ratings week.
- by Sahara on October 07, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Two shows I would like to comment on, Top Gear Australia, they didn't learn anything from last week's episode. Other than Warren Brown, the cast needs;
1 someone to script these blokes and
2 heavy tutelage as far as their very poor delivery style of both spoken and body language. The spoken words seem contrived, even strained, the body language would do Peter Cundall proud, however they only worked for him.
3 Australianize the Stig (maybe call him The Steggles) and get someone who can actually drive a car, this bloke is a dud.
They have a lot to live up to from the original and they didn't improve over last week's outing.
And than there is Nine's The Mentalist, similair to Ten's Psych only without a sense of humour. I doubt it will do much good.
A few people here have been knocking Ten for poor showings in the ratings, I would like to congratulate them, at least they are providing alternative viewing on their HD channel which includes shows like Psych, Angel, Torchwood etc and their use of HD to show Nascar, Yankee football, numerous entertaining shows like Monster Garage and fantastic documentaries, an alternative evening lineup on Thursdays, live showing of F1 and Moto GP as an alternative to the time delayed showing on SD.
They are actually offering something for alternative viewing, something none of the others are. Probably the worst of the lot in fact is the National Broadcaster, our local ABC who transmit the Sydney signal, news and all, to every other capital city. Not much of an incentive to watch that signal in Perth unless you really need to watch Sydney news. Our tax dollars at work no doubt.
- by Zjonn on October 07, 2008 at 11:21 AM
I can't believe I missed the last Boston Legal!
So not interested in the other shows on FTA on Monday nights, I watched recordings from Foxtel, and suddenly realised it was 11.55pm. Caught the last few minutes of BL, but switched off and downloaded the torrent.
Will enjoy another time.
FTA really is a waste of space.
I love how Foxtel usually gives you viewing options, as well as the IQ for recording. It's rare to miss a favourite show there.
Hmm, I'm off to set the IQ to record the last 30 Rock tonight, just in case 7 decides to show it this week.
- by Sal on October 07, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Can someone let me know if The Mentalist lived up to all the hype contained in the obscenely large advertising it received in the weekend press? I like Simon Baker, but if this is another "Life" (with another scrumptious lead man in Damien Lewis) - which I was so looking forward to, but it was a great disappointment - should I not bother with next week?
(by the way, Bereft - saw your post before under the other blog re: the north-west rail, but it seems to have disappeared now - SMH, you're not editing out unflattering posts now are you?)
Tribal Mind replies: Not that I know of. What other post about what north-west rail on what other blog are you referring to? Who or what was it unflattering about?
- by AJ on October 07, 2008 at 11:54 AM
A friendly reminder that the season final episode of 30 Rock is scheduled for 11.30 tonight. I say scheduled because it wouldn't surprise me if Seven bumped it again for a 'news special' due to all the economic doom and gloom around us.
I thought Top Gear Aust was better last night. Still too much 'hooning around' by the hosts for my liking. At least the hearse story was amusing.
I didn't like the Mentalist. Too CSI-ish. And lets face it, nobody likes a smart-alec.
Californication was a welcome return. Got to love a show that breaks all the rules, yet doesn't take itself too seriously.
Now that the footy season is over, am enjoying the American Football games on Shirl (10) HD. They're even showing Angel, the Buffy spin-off, from the very beginning on Tuesday nights.
And when is Shirl intending to screen the final series of The Shield? You can't show 6 seasons and leave those loyal viewers hanging not knowing when/if we are going to see how it ends. With the number of their programmes failing, they should get it on ASAP, even if its on Friday or Saturday nights.
And good to see that Seven is finally showing 'new' Scrubs from Thursday night.
- by Sacs on October 07, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Re the mentalist: em, like you I thought it was ok - I recorded it but always allow at least 20 minutes overrun particularly on Nein - and given they were showing the footy final I figured that would never run to the programmed time.
I must admit I think I prefer Psych to the Mentalist - broody main character with jokes falling flat are predictable.
- by Cathy on October 07, 2008 at 12:54 PM
TM: Missed Top Gear Oz last night due to late arrival home but will review after the d/load finishes. In other d/load news, Star Wars Clone Wars is now on US TV, Sarah Jane Season 2 now on UK TV.
The Skerrick Family took a leisurely trip to the Nth West of Sydney over the weekend, hence my lack of contributions. Highlights included some ******* setting towels on fire at the Rydges @ Parramatta @ 1am on Sunday Morn, causing an evacuation. Much better was the buffet breakfast @ Novotel Darling Harbour on Monday Morn.
AJ: the comment isn't there, at least someone read (appreciated) it?
Zjonn: we still don't have Shirl/Ten HD down here in the sticks so I'm missing all those pleasures. Those I haven't d/loaded that is.
- by Bereft Skerrick on October 07, 2008 at 06:12 PM
That's a lot of people watching TV at 7.30 to 8.30 - 5.5 million, and about 8 million including regionals - even tho FTA is dying, that's a lot of people watching it.
Nine is flogging 2 and a Half Men, and the funny thing is it still continues to rate well.
Secondly, what's with the 7 bias on this forum?
- by Alex on October 07, 2008 at 08:50 PM
Zjonn: Yes, I agree. Ten HD does deserve much kudos for actually showing alternative shows to Ch10. I was actually saying that to some one last week. I've also seen some pretty good documentaries on Ten HD. The only problem is that the main channel gets most of the publicity, I guess as it is more accessible to more people.
I actually enjoyed the Mentalist but then watching it in cyberspace without ads does improve the flow of it enormously.
Sacs, little confused. You say no one likes a smart Alec but not quite true, the main character in 2&1/2 Men is definitely a smart alec and it seems to rate, most of the CSI characters are smart alecs, and it rates. I think that the Mentalist is a slower burner (risky in TV land these days) having seen next ep and it did grow on me...
O.k. hands up - who is going to sneek a peak and watch the US Kath & Kim when it airs. Just to see if it is going to be as dreadful as we think it might be? Or will we avoid it because it will be as dreadful as we think it might be...
- by kate on October 07, 2008 at 10:12 PM
My brother and I LOVE the NFL Ch10 has been putting on during the midday on their HD channel. So much more entertaining than NRL or AFL. It would be even better if they put on the NBA but alas, foxtel has rights to that.
- by LJ on October 07, 2008 at 10:26 PM
LAst night's TG was an improvement, but the boys need to stop trying so bloody hard. We don't expect Clarkson et al, but we do expect to be treated to intelligence. And there are times when I think it IS scripted, especially the throws to ad breaks. Calm down boys, don't immitate, be yourselves... or else bring in a couple of newbies, namely Lowndsey and Scaiffey (sp??) now THAT would be REAL interesting.
- by Furlozza on October 07, 2008 at 10:44 PM
Like LJ I am also enjoying the NFL on 10 HD, the only problem is that I can't record it to watch later. Is a different recorder needed? Blue Ray? Does anyone know?
- by bobmar28 on October 08, 2008 at 06:33 AM
kate: just as I have absolutely positively no interest in the Oz version of K&K, I have even less in the US version. The promos are driving me nuts (they're not actually using any US content - that tells heaps) and from what I've read pretty well much the only thing that hasn't been changed (style of sitcom, professions of characters, lack of other characters) is the name of the show.
And the "most Promising New Show" line being used in the ads - sounds more like "most promising to make you reach for the remote and watch something else". I'd rather watch Cavemen.
TM: who won the "which show gets Yasmined first" pool? Plently chose Taken Out, did anyone actually predict 90210?
- by Bereft Skerrick on October 08, 2008 at 06:35 AM
City Homicide is doing brilliantly. They're still showing different episodes in different states at the moment so it'll be a bit hard to work out what the most popular episodes are. The episode we had this week in Sydney with the Iraq militia connection was excellent.
Bogan Pride is going to struggle against such a powerhouse on Monday nights. It wasn't too bad and gave me some good laughs but it didn't seem so original. It just reminded me a lot of Kath & Kim and Summer Heights High. Apparently the show was created about 5 years ago and was only given the green light now following the success of SHH but I'll give it a chance and see how it develops. It took a while for me to get into Very Small Business but I like it now.
With the pathetic ratings that Australian Idol is getting on Monday nights now, you would have to say that the new format is a flop. They should go back to the half hour result show with a group performance. If it wasn't for the slightly stronger ratings on Sunday nights, I would have said that the axe is being sharpened. If it continues strongly on Sunday nights then it may get one more year before the axe drops.
- by J Bar on October 08, 2008 at 06:45 AM
Here's the SNL take on the US Vic Presidential debate: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/04/tina-fey-as-sarah-palin-i_n_131964.html but I can't vouch for how funny as I haven't watched. There's also rumour that Sarah Palin is going to do a spoof of Tina Fey's AMEX ad on SNL shortly.
- by Bereft Skerrick on October 08, 2008 at 07:07 AM
RE: Top Gear, totally agree with Furlozza, they need to stop trying so hard. We're looking for the australian version, not a clone of the UK, especially Charlie (?), who is clearly trying to be a clone of Clarkson. Warren is clearly the best thing about it, the most natural - but found the hearse story just a bit... trying too hard, once again.
I too have just been enjoying the joy that the 10HD channel brings - only just got a HD recorder over the weekend, yay, how much of a difference does it make to the picture quality, and how psyched was I to find angel on last night! The other channels need to step up - surely they have many shows in the vault they could put on to replay, or seven, if you're listening, put shows like 30 Rock, Scrubs at decent times!!
I too am anticipating the return of Weeds... And yay for Scrubs returning, but boo for the fact that I saw these episodes months ago, and secondly, what a god awful timeslot.
- by Beckala on October 08, 2008 at 07:23 AM
Re: Bereft Skerrick's commment 8 Oct @ 7.07am
The SNL US Vice Presidential debate spoof is absolutely hilarious. I also recommend watching the Tina Fey version of Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric - which can also be found on the Huffington Post website. That is even more hilarious!
- by mel on October 08, 2008 at 08:50 AM
Sorry JBar, but Aus Idol has never had a half hour results show. American Idol did have, but not sure of theirs is still half hour or not. Aus have always dragged it out over an hour plus and please DO NOT BRING BACK THE GROUP PERFORMANCE. Too much like Young Talent Time that part! Yuck.
- by David on October 08, 2008 at 09:20 AM
bobmar28 - do you get your 10 HD signal through the TV or a separate set-up box? I have a sony HD recorder/set-up box and it records fine. Usually you can just re-route the signal from the TV or the set-up box to a recorder (AV cables or component etc) and it should be fine. The recorder doesn't necessarily have to support HD.
would be interesting to know what the audience of 10HD is and if it is taking away some people from the main channel.
- by LJ on October 08, 2008 at 09:23 AM
It was most amusing seeing Rusty (Crowe) explaining rugby league (NOT rugby!!!) and the history of his Rabbitohs to an American audience on Letterman last night...They even clapped when told Souths have won the most no. of premierships (superbowl)...Rusty replied however not since he was 7 years old...
- by cc on October 08, 2008 at 10:24 AM
Top Gear - we are going to stay with it...there were some LOL moments & Warren Brown is the best presenter. The "super pit" was an excellent challenge, but I did read somewhere it was not The Stig in the monster truck...something about OH&S.Continually forget to look at the HD channels in The Guide...except for ABC2...always look at Sun afternoon for what the "live music" show is eg this Sunday watched INXS before the RLGF.
Oh.....Bereft your comment (SMH Blogs-News) is there & was appreciated, as one who has lived in The Hills for over 45 years loved your "goat track" comment!!!!
- by PJ453 on October 08, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Yes, and was it just me or was Letterman sporting a new pair of frames last night (not sure if he mentioned them as I was watching 30 ROCK from 11.30)?
We,, Nine is adding NIP/TUCK to 9HD from next Monday @ 10.30 with new episodes.
I enjoyed THE MENTALIST on Sunday and will be watching every week.
Tribal Mind wonders: Why were you up at 11.30?
- by cpandilo on October 08, 2008 at 11:55 AM
I wanna HD set top box too! Wah! However, the household budget has been spent elsewhere already (again), so that particular luxury will have to be bought another time. And, meanwhile, I keep on missing Eureka. *sigh*
Managed to completely forget about 30 Rock (and First Tuesday) last night. D'oh. Will have to buy the DVDs, dagnabbit. In my defence, I was distracted by Iron Man, which was a rather amusing and intelligent superhero movie (we did play Spot the Product Placement for a while, but that proved too effortless to really amuse, and Tony Stark was too much fun to want to diss, really).
And on the big screen, In Bruges was excellent; and WALL-E was delightful.
Very little FTA TV watching happened over the weekend, especially now that Doctor Who is over. Recorded Californication for later viewing.
- by tqd on October 08, 2008 at 12:38 PM
LJ, i often watch 10Hd over the main channel - especially the F1 and Moto GP on Sunday nigts when it's shown at a reasonable hour...
- by Beanz on October 08, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Good to see Packed to the Rafter gaining ground again. I think last night's episode was brilliant and up there with the first two episodes. I like it when there's more humour and sarcasm in the show. All Saints is performing brilliantly too, especially for a show that starts after 9.40pm. Many shows at 8.30pm can only dream of those viewers that All Saints attracts. Poor old Rush is suffering from the strong competition from another Aussie show in that timeslot.
No need to apoligise to me David about Australian Idol. I haven't really watched it much in the past two years and hardly at all this year. It's a show that has it's day. The group performance might have been too much like Young Talent Time but maybe that's what brought the audience in because it was something different. I know putting on the three worst performance again is certainly not working now. Maybe they should just revive Young Talent Time then. Ha Ha. Only joking. But maybe Ch 10 might have to resort to such tactics if they continue to come fourth in the ratings. maybe they could create a new show called Recycled Talent Time and use all the Australian Idol has-beens to perform every week.
- by J Bar on October 08, 2008 at 12:50 PM
For the interest of bobmar28 with regards to recording the HD signal. If you have a standard definition PVR, chances are that you will be able to receive and record the HD as well. Your SD recorder can't decode the HD signal, however, if you have a HD receiver, in other words, your TV set is HD compatible and is able to receive and display the HD signal, it should be able to decode that data without any problem. When recording in this format, don't forget that the HD signal produces files about triple the size of the equivalent SD signal so house keeping could be important, depending of course on the size of the PVR's hard disk.
- by Zjonn on October 08, 2008 at 01:01 PM
Hmmm Bourne Supremacy is on Shirl on Fri Night. Have they lost the key to the cabinet where the Hugh Grant movies are? Or *gasp* does one of their gibbons read this blog? Can their gibbons read?
Probably won't be seeing Top Gear Oz until the weekend - unfortunately the Mininova link is slower than a Ch Shirl Programmer. Won't be staying up for Scrubs tomorrow night as have seen them all already and can't justify sleep deprivation.
PJ453: when it comes to snarky comments on blogs it's not just limited to this one :) I can't believe the changes up your way, but after 45 years I'm sure you have more stories than I do! Pity I didn't have more time to go to Winston Gardens Chinese Restaurant.
- by Bereft Skerrick on October 08, 2008 at 03:57 PM
@ cpandilo Yes, Dave had a new pair of frames it took me some time to adjust :D I was switching between Letterman and 30 Rock (I don't have IQ so I don't have the chance to record ).
- by Nick on October 08, 2008 at 07:00 PM
Thanks to LJ and Zjenn for the info re recording 10 HD.
I have heard that the 10 network might be creating their own HD sports channel. Can't wait for that.
- by bobmar28 on October 09, 2008 at 06:55 AM
It will be interesting to see how Seven promotes the 'Kath & Kim' U.S. version over the next few days considering the articles about how it's be savaged by critics over there ("gag-inducing" one said and I don't think he means gag as in joke). I always thought their promos were a bit strange given I'm sure I read months ago that the U.S. version was pretty crap (someone must've had a preview).
I'm thinking Seven will pretend they haven't heard the bad news & continue shoving more sickeningly upbeat ads at us, hoping that no-one reads papers or looks at the internet.
The first episode will probably draw the curious, but it doesn't sound like the show Seven were hoping for.
- by darren on October 09, 2008 at 07:38 AM
Jamie Oliver wasn't the miracle cure but he did better than Bali Rescue and Kenny's World. House actually increased slightly while Fringe ended up in fourth place, as did The Mentalist repeat.
Jamie increasing ratings at 7.30pm was also good news because they actually dropped for all the others like 2.5 Men and the factuals (probably affected by daylight savings too).
- by J Bar on October 09, 2008 at 08:45 AM
Following on from Darren's comments re KATH AND KIM - the early reviews have been woeful and if a show doesnt immediately tap into an american audience its usually canned.
I really can't understand why the creators of a show that is so uniquely Australian would ever consider selling the brand to America - oh silly me - I guess when there's money concerned anything is possible.
If KATH AND KIM was to have gone anywhere wouldn't Britian have been a better place to try another version - audiences there loved the Aussie version and probably would have been more likely to adapt to a british version.
CATHERINE TATE could have played KATH, DAWN FRENCH the SHARON character and JENNIFER SAUNDERS could assume KIM.
Americans generally don't find Australian humor that funny - the brits however have long laughed at our jokes and our comedians - think Dame Edna, Clive James, Fast Forward etc!
I also note that TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA is being savaged by viewers - I havent seen it but does anyone have any views??
- by GJ on October 09, 2008 at 09:14 AM
Watched quite a bit of FTA last night. 2.5 Men, to see just why everyone else is watching it. Not a single snifter of laughter from me, so I'm obviously not in touch with the average viewer, and I won't be repeating that experiment.
Then back to good ol' ABC, and the usual Wednesday night lineup. I *do* like Hollowmen - it may not be as cutting as Frontline, but I enjoyed this season very much. And recorded Newstopia for viewing at a more reasonable hour.
Regarding the American Kath & Kim: there is a review in this week's Guide, and they were pretty indifferent (Selma Blair in particular was seen as disappointing). I wouldn't have been watching it anyhow, I was never a fan of the Australian one.
- by tqd on October 09, 2008 at 09:18 AM
tqd, Re: '2.5 Men': yeah, I've watched it a couple of times, too, for the same reason (am I missing something? Why am I not laughing? Okay, I'm ready to laugh...now.....Nothing.)
I think '2.5 Men' can be boiled down to about 4 jokes:
(1) The Titty Joke.
(2) The Pee-pee Joke.
(3) The Titty / Pee-pee Joke combined to become The Sex Joke.
(4) The Stereotype Joke (ie: Women are either shrews or Bimbos, Men are either slavering morons with their brains in their Pee-pees or manipulative sex-geniuses on a never-ending conquest to find women who are not shrews but Bimbos).
Play these four jokes in varying order & have the actors wear different clothes & shoot them from different angles & you've got "America's (and Australia's, supposedly) Favourite Comedy".
The added bonus for Nine is that every episode looks like all the others & you can repeat them endlessly and the type of people who watch it (morons) won't notice. Although that fat kid keeps getting older (unlike the Simpsons), which ruins the effect somewhat.
Re: 'Kath & Kim' (crappier version), my fascination is not so much that its apparently crap, but that Seven is going to keep insisting that it's not as if it's not until they say it is.
They'll probably just yank it after a week or two and start repeating the Aus version, promoting it as "The Original & the Best" or "Special Encore Screenings of ALL YOUR FAVOURITE EPISODES!!!!!" (sorry to yell).
- by darren on October 09, 2008 at 10:22 AM
DAMMIT!! I keep forgetting Newstopia is on, I kept watching ABC.
tqd, am in much agreement with your assessment of 2.5 Men. I have given it a couple of viewings based on recommendations (a girl at work, her husband LOVES it, my stepdad really likes it, so each time they've mentioned it to me, I wonder if I just caught a bad episode, so I go back), plus, the Wednesday 7:30pm timeslot leaves a bit to be desired, so I gave it another go. SO NOT FUNNY. How is this Australia's favourite comedy? (according to the gloating advertising of Channel Nine) I just don't get it.
I enjoyed the Spicks and Specks behind the scenes last night, but then, I'm a big fan of Hamish Blake. Why can't channel 10 throw some money at him and Andy to produce another series, their spoof of ACA was really funny!
- by Beckala on October 09, 2008 at 10:35 AM
Quoth GJ on October 09, 2008 at 09:14 AM: "I really can't understand why the creators of a show that is so uniquely Australian would ever consider selling the brand to America - oh silly me - I guess when there's money concerned anything is possible."
Hey, if someone drove a dump truck full of money up to my house, I wouldn't be standing by my artistic integrity (not that I have any to start off with, but you know what I mean). Australia has a very small television industry, and very few people make it big. Good on them for making a success of a show here and being able to sell it overseas (even if the US version is a complete disaster).
Top Gear Australia: I've only seen one-and-a-bit episodes so far, and I think it's rather good. They need to loosen up a bit (I actually think it's slightly clunkily edited, rather than the banter: it seems to cut away rather abruptly all over the place, just as I'm getting into the swing of the nattering). It is a very close copy of the British show (maybe a matter of the license?) so apart from the accents and the backdrop it seems remarkably familiar.
- by tqd on October 09, 2008 at 11:10 AM
TM, no need to worry. I usually stay up till around midnight most nights, alot of the time on the HD channels.
Tribal Mind asks: Why? What time do you then wake up?
- by cpandilo on October 09, 2008 at 11:31 AM
I was wondering for those who have foxtel if they know what the new channel being launched next month 111 is about,from some of the promos looks like a lot of the sitcoms will be on their eg friends,3 rock from the sun etc.
Has anyone purchased tivo and if so what is the review.
I enjoyed The Mentalist and will be watching again but Simon Baker is nice eye candy for myself.
- by Shelly on October 09, 2008 at 12:03 PM
I note that TODAY TONIGHTS ratings are slipping - has the penny finally dropped and are viewers finally realising how over the top and over hyped this show really is...and what of the hosts - it would seem whoever takes the role is jinxed - so far its a case of NAOMI who - she appears to never to return to television again and will forever be remembered for the silly 'lizard on the shoulder' gaffe and as for ANNA COREN - she had credibility before she fronted this show - now all she has is the boot from Channel Seven and a series of shameless stories she herself endorsed and introduced. She may be going to CNN but she appears to have done her dash on Australian TV
MATTHEW WHITE must have rocks in his head if he thinks hosting a show that resembles FRONTLINE more and more everyday is going to improve his CV!
- by GJ on October 09, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Re Darren: Seven's feelings towards the US K&K can probably be summed up by the fact that none of the promos I have seen show any footage of the US show...they just show old clips from the last Aussie series.
- by T-Mac on October 09, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Apparently Jamie has been "banned" from the Yorkshire village featured on the show for making them look like a complete buch of losers.
Forgot Newstopia! ARGH! (Hope I can get it reliably off their website this week) That SNL skit for the VP debate won't show properly for me! Double ARGH!
And I still swear I won't stay up for Scrubs!
Tribal Mind asks: We know almost everything there is to know about you except this: do you have any form of recording device? IQ? Tivo? Broadband?
- by Bereft Skerrick on October 09, 2008 at 01:03 PM
Hey! Do you think you can get the figures for the Adelaide United game last night?I'm interested to see the coverage it got.
How long before people get tired of two and a half men? I don't think its funny at all, but it seems to be rating alright. Only thing Nine has and they're over doing it imo. Can't wait to see it go down hill, what will they do then?
It looks like i really need to get a HD box instead of standard digital. Monk, Psych, Nip/Tuck, The Shield all on HD. I'm missing out.
Tribal Mind asks: What sport are you talking about? On what station? If it's Foxtel, I won't know till Sunday.
- by JG on October 09, 2008 at 02:07 PM
Besides a few oddities like Home and Away...Is there anyone under the age of 30 watching TV anymore?
AND can anyone explain to me what is so appealing about 2.5 men?
Mind boggling.
- by Ryano on October 09, 2008 at 02:23 PM
Tm cpandilo is not the o nly late night owl on this blog - I usually watch shows at 11.30 live (30 Rock and so on) or catch up on stuff I have already recorded - last night watched my ABC recordings of Spicks and Specks Hollowmen and At the Movies after 10.30 pm.
I am a late night owl but when working still manage to get up about 6 ish - however I do avoid the breakfast TV as I feel it would sap my brain cells.
Watched House and Life live last night but in House I do not find the writing as good as it used to be. Watched recoding of criminal minds just then (advantage of holidays) thought it was a good episode - obviously was a season ender - alhtough we are going straight into the next season next week.
Like Ryano I cannot for the life of me work out the attraction of 2.5 men
- by Cathy on October 09, 2008 at 03:58 PM
TM: What's the point of having TiVo in the sticks? I have broadband at home and here at work. I don't have cable TV (the only thing I'd watch is the biffo which isn't frequent enough to justify).
I do have a DVR, which was used to record the finale of 30 Rock on Tuesday. Did anyone else think Matthew Brodericks hair looked odd?
And I had croissants for breakfast.
- by Bereft Skerrick on October 09, 2008 at 04:09 PM
I was talking about the soccer - Adelaide United v Bundyodkor in the ACL on wednesday night. It would have been on Foxtel.
Yes Ryano. I'm 20 and watch quite a bit of TV. I watch quality though, not H&A. Packed to the Rafters, City Homicide, 30 Rock, Heroes, Docotr Who, that's the good stuff.
As for two and a half men (hate 2.5 - i keep reading as 2 point 5) have no idea why people find it funny. I didn't get why ramsey did so well either. some strange people out there.
- by JG on October 09, 2008 at 04:54 PM
Ryano, I too am under the age of 30 (just scraping in, having celebrated my 29th just over a month ago). I don't watch H&A, I do watch Hollowmen, Australian Story, Enough Rope, Top Gear, Idol, Scrubs (obsessively, used to sit with baited breath every Saturday morning waiting for the upload to Fanpop)... Agree with JG on Heroes (new convert, must admit that), Packed to Rafters...Hate 2.5 Men, ACA, TT...
Am dreading the US Kath and Kim. One reviewer felt the need to apologise to Australia. To apologise for doing our country such a diservice with such awful quality tv. On paper, it SHOULD be good - Love Selma Blair, LOVE Molly Shannonn (her work on Will and Grace is outstanding, was reliving a few classic episodes today, love holidays!!). But just feel in the hands of the American writers, it has turned it into... Oh, I can't use that kind of language here!!
One thing gave me the heads up about the US Kath and Kim - Magda refused to allow them to include the Sharon character - it is her intellectual copyright, and she refused to sell - so they had to turn it into a gay guy. Is she perhaps the only one with integrity?!?!
- by Beckala on October 09, 2008 at 09:32 PM
Can anyone explain to me what appealing about Commercial TV,since I have discovered a friend you downloads I have just about give it up for Christmas,apart from the NRL GF.
But still Perth being such a backwater if you dont watch 7 you life is not whole,though TT and that cretinous mess on 9 would insult the average 5 yr old people watch it,never ceases to amaze me.
The 7 crowd come on radio and advertise there NEWs and TT with a straight face,mind you talkback radio here is also aimed at the Hadley crowd,people who dont want to think.
- by John Ryan on October 09, 2008 at 11:07 PM
Just as I thought, the ads for 'Kath & Kim' U.S. version (KAKUS) were coming thick & fast last night. I think there was about twenty during 'Heroes' alone. Nothing's changed.
"Who's going to be the new Kath?" .....Molly Shannon, Seven. Maybe you haven't heard.
"Who's going to be the new Kim?"....Selma Blair, it's been old news for months.
"Will the new Kim be a hornbag like ours?"....Different species.
"The Washington Post called it the most promising show of the new season"....It seems they were lying or just wrong....It's crap (so everyone except Seven has already heard).
This type of promo does my head in. The sultry voice-over, the inane questions everyone with eyes & ears know the answers to. Makes me want to throw something through the television screen.
Nine are doing a hastily cobbled together hatchet job on KAKUS tonight on ACA. Let the mud-slinging begin. More of the pointless same.
- by darren on October 10, 2008 at 04:55 AM
I have counted at least half a dozen people on this forum who don't get 2.5 men. Somehow that doesn't surprise me.
I'm one of the 1.4 million "morons" who does get it.
- by bobmar28 on October 10, 2008 at 06:17 AM
The interesting thing about 2 and 1/2 Idiots is not whether it is funny (I get more laughs counting Sarah Palin's maverick references) but the fact that it is rating. This show ran for several years without rating and presumably because it was cheap to buy Nein persisted with it. What other show that rated as badly as this did initially have Nein or any other network stuck with??? The refusal of the commercial channels to give shows a chance is something you folks mention constantly but neither you or the networks seem to notice when one which initially failed takes off in ratings terms. As crap as the show is it provides evidence for many of your arguments. Ciao
- by Cat on October 10, 2008 at 07:01 AM
Tqd said on October 9 - Hey, if someone drove a dump truck full of money up to my house, I wouldn't be standing by my artistic integrity (not that I have any to start off with, but you know what I mean). Australia has a very small television industry, and very few people make it big. Good on them for making a success of a show here and being able to sell it overseas (even if the US version is a complete disaster)
I agree TQD but this was like trying to sell KINGSWOOD COUNTRY to the yanks - the reason KATH AND KIM works in Australia is that its taking a swipe at what we all love about Australian suburbia - in all its high camp and very unique grandness - the matching cardies, the mother/daughter perms, the t-bars you always see bent over at the shopping mall and the prue's and trudes we all love and hate - these characteristics are typically aussie bred and born and like the kingswood, the americans just don't really get it.
I can understand any aussie producer wanting to make a quid but what we will have here is one shocking remake that will forever be remembered as a dud and could jeopardise any future potential sales of aussie comedies/drama overseas. I think Magda Zubanski was right on the money - there's just some things you don't sell!!
What would have been funny would have been the fountain lake girls holidaying in America - imagine Kath,Kim, Sharon and the boys in a caravan travelling through Vegas trying to find all the one cent machines and flocking to all the Cher and Barbra Streisand gigs - now that might have been funny, might have worked and might have drawn an american audience - who knows.
This remake will I think damage the franchise and even turn people off the original!!!
- by GJ on October 10, 2008 at 07:24 AM
Heroes & Prison Break: Can anybody please give a synopsis of what happened or a pointer to a website (not to a download though). Wouldn't normally ask, but it is difficult to miss the 2 opening episodes of the series and then follow what happens. After enduring a 4 hour blackout yesterday, the power went off again last night during H & PB and the recorder reset. Thanks heaps...
- by ozinoz on October 10, 2008 at 07:34 AM
@ ryano
I'm 26 and I watch quite a bit of TV...CSI Miami, The Strip, Prison Break, Good Game (ABC2), and Private Practice when that was on. No PTTR, 2 1/2 Men or H&A; they're not my type of shows. Gave up on Hole In The Wall when that kept getting delayed & moved by nein. Most of my selection is admittedly questionable but they are good relaxants.
- by arthur on October 10, 2008 at 07:37 AM
I'm impartial about 2 1/2 Men. With sitcoms I tend to like to have watched the whole series (hence my dedication to watching almost all of the repeats from Friends up to last night's series finale). If I had to choose 2.5 over, say My Name Is Earl or How I Met Your Mother, it'd lose every time.
Shamefully I admit I stayed up for Scrubs last night. It was Mr Skerricks fault.
The whole K&K ad campaign on Ch7 smacks of - um - putting lipstick on a pig. With the Oz version the lipstick.
- by Bereft Skerrick on October 10, 2008 at 08:21 AM
It's not surprising that the ratings for Heroes were bad. As we've seen before with Lost, the introduction of more mysteries without explaining the old ones is frustrating to most viewers. The Strip went up. It was quite good that they changed the partners around in this week's episode. I think Aaron Jeffrey worked so much better teamed up with Simone McAulley. But Simone McAulley was just as good in the scenes with Bob Morley. Frankie J Holden is great as their boss too. I'm now convinced that leading actress Vanessa Gray is the weak link in that show. If Ch 9 decide to go into a second series they should team up aaron and Simone and give her some decent clothes and make-up, so she doesn't look like a stripper.
- by J Bar on October 10, 2008 at 08:23 AM
A review of US Kath & Kim from the wonderful televisionary blog:
"Every now and then a comedy comes along that is so shockingly unfunny, so painful to watch that one can't help but think how it made it through the development process in the first place. This season, that comedy is none other than NBC's horrifically tepid Kath & Kim, the latest in a long line of US remakes of foreign formats.
Based on the hit Aussie comedy created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, Kath & Kim stars Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as a mother/daughter pair so utterly unlikable that it's hard not to want to reach through the television and slap them silly.
Yes, sitcoms built around unlikable characters are nothing new (just look at David Brent or Michael Scott of The Office) but there's usually something redeeming about their characters. Buffoonish David Brent can't see that he's actually the butt of every joke told around Wernham-Hogg and that his employees loathe the very sight of him; Michael Scott's humor doesn't have an off button but it conceals a deeply maladjusted and socially awkward manchild within.
The US version is written and executive produced by Michelle Nader (The King of Queens), who clearly owes Turner and Riley an apology for unleashing an appalling version of their comedy format on the American public. Here, Kath and Kim are just as shallow as they seem. In fact, their characters (Kath is sunny and oblivious; Kim sullen and child-like) are about as developed as the garish makeup and clothing they wear. In the Australian original, Kim is spoiled and self-absorbed; here Blair gives her a vapid gaze and little else. Kim is meant to be child-like, yes, but there's something extremely disturbing (but not humorous) about Blair's performance as a perpetual toddler.
Shannon is slightly better cast as Kim's garishly attired mother Kath, who after going through a divorce and transforming Kim's childhood bedroom into a gym, has fallen in love with a new man, Phil Knight (played by frequent Christopher Guest collaborator John Michael Higgins). Much of the attempted humor of the series opener comes from the kissy faces that Kath and Phil make with one another and their aging sexuality. Despite embodying the role better than Blair, Shannon still grates in her performance and one can't help but reach for the remote after a few minutes.
Ultimately, Kath & Kim is hardly innovative or original comedy and it barely registers as humor. I should point out that NBC originally intended Kath & Kim to air on Tuesday nights between a 90-minute edition of Biggest Loser and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I can't think of a worse scheduling idea and NBC apparently agreed, instead pushing this sodden comedy to Thursday nights, where it is now forced to sit alongside such vastly superior comedic endeavors such as 30 Rock and The Office. While those series offer snappy dialogue, memorable characters, and clever satire, Kath & Kim serves up reheated comedy that's about as sharp as a lukewarm Orange Julius from the mall food court."
- by Chris C on October 10, 2008 at 08:26 AM
Ozinoz, Re: 'Heroes', the NBC website has recaps of all 'Heroes' episodes (sorry don't know the address but it shouldn't be too difficult), including ones that Seven haven't fast-tracked fast enough.
Bobmar28, Re: 'Two & a Half Men', it's not that I don't 'get' it. I understand from the canned laughter that that was a joke about a penis, and that was a joke abot boobies, but it isn't funny. But then, I'm getting the feeling from the way people get annoyed & defensive over meaningless throw-away comments & different opinions that Australians don't have a sense of humour anymore. Maybe people just laugh when they hear laughing. Is that funny? I don't think that's funny.
- by darren on October 10, 2008 at 08:44 AM
I have given up on Heroes after 7's refusal to show the final 2 episodes of series 2 when they easily could have last year. Frankly, I couldn't be bothered to watch it anymore. Maybe others had a similar feeling, which is why it bombed last night.
Re ozinoz on October 10, 2008 at 07:34 AM; I have used epguides.com over the past few years and find it very helpful with a synopsis on episodes of just about every TV series made.
- by Sacs on October 10, 2008 at 08:54 AM
To Heroes fans...
Good episode last night - pity about the ratings do you think it will last in the timeslot???
At the end of last nights episode - i think it said you can go to the channel 7 website and watch the episode there..
- by James on October 10, 2008 at 08:58 AM
I have to agree with DARREN and others re TWO AND A HALF MAN - not funny at all - but that's unfortunately what americans find funny - straight bland 'safe' humour that doesn't require a skerrick of thinking - they run a fart joke and its cue for everyone to laugh!!! that's why they won't like KATH AND KIM -with Aussie comedy - our brand of humour is dry and more cutting -we're happy to take the piss out of ourselves because some of us just are naturally funny!!
BARRY HUMPHRIES and his alter ego DAME EDNA have been a success because he/she idenitifies our peculiar characteristics and milks them for all their worth and it works. The D GENERATION did it many years ago - so to FAST FORWARD TEAM and more recently THE CHASER BOYS - it's what we do REALLY WELL !!
- by GJ on October 10, 2008 at 09:17 AM
Maybe we should be bitching about the Americans trying to remake K&K, than bitching about Riley & Turner selling K&K. Maybe it's just my impression, but I got the idea that the Americans *bought* it, so they're the ones who thought it would somehow work (possibly with a lot of rejigging, which looks as if it didn't happen nearly well enough). What were the Yanks thinking!
I did watch Heroes last night - I was mightily peeved at Seven for not showing the last two eps of last season (and then putting the bloody Olympics and several weeks between showing them and this new season) but since I haven't got my act into gear for downloading (no time!) I gave up and settled in to watch. A few plot holes, a complete inability to kill characters (or keep them dead), but I enjoyed it regardless. I shall be back at the (to me) better timeslot next week.
- by tqd on October 10, 2008 at 10:20 AM
bobmar28, regarding 'Two and Half Men'. I get it but I just don't think it's funny. It's like when your dad tells you one of his 'dad jokes'. You can see his attempt at humour but it just doesn't make you laugh.
- by J Bar on October 10, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Thanks Chris C...my small interest in K&K US has just deflated!! (Could that be an example of a poor 2 & 1/2 men type "joke"??) Have always had difficulty in watching comedies with canned laughter & said 2 & 1/2 men show just hasn't interested myself & especially Mrs PJ
- by PJ453 on October 10, 2008 at 10:57 AM
I guess I don't watch much comedy, but I do like Scrubs (actually watched it late last night after it was recorded), really enjoyed Hollowmen and Small Business, and loved Arrested Development in days long gone, so can't be totally humourless.
But the bits I've accidentally seen of 2-and-a-half men were just smutty. I was rather surprised at the early timeslot for such stuff, not family fare in my opinion.
Ha ha, of course I'm "old". But then again I downloaded Californication after I forgot to record it, so I'm not a prude.
Who can figure things out these days?
Also enjoyed 4 episodes of The Office last night on Pay, starting at just after 1am. (Slept in to 9am this morning, David)
- by Sal on October 10, 2008 at 11:46 AM
It's good to see THE OFFICE returning to Ten with its return on Sunday, October 26 @ 10.20pm.
Seems like 5TH GRADER is starting to sink which is unfortunate as it's quite entertaining, and CRIMINAL INTENT seems to have regained (which is good) - is it just me or do the D'Onofrio episodes (with Det. Goren) rate higher than the Noth epiosdes? If so then what will happen when D'Onofrio's not in the series at all?
TM, it depends on the day though I usually wake up around 8/9.
- by cpandilo on October 10, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Cat, another show that did badly originally but got better ratings was FRASIER which only became popular on Nine in its final couple of seasons.
- by cpandilo on October 10, 2008 at 12:45 PM
David, how did the Fibros V Silvertails doco rate last night on the ABC
Cheers,
Tribal Mind replies: 442,000.
- by DB on October 10, 2008 at 02:38 PM
Apparently Kath and Kim did okay in the US ratings with 7.5million viewers. It had a larger audience than its lead-in, My Name Is Earl. I watched it yesterday and have not yet decided if I will watch next week's episode. There were some funny moments and a lot of the plot and dialogue were lifted from the original, but most of the jokes fell flat. Most of the characters seem to have been misinterpreted. The male characters are better looking and less eccentric. Kim is too skinny and selfish and Kath just isn't as over the top. No sign of a Sharon/ gay character. Maybe next week?
- by Billy on October 11, 2008 at 08:36 AM
Speaking of Chris Noth (In a segue that The Chaser would be proud of) I found a parody of Sex & the City which is worth a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMLITlAA0QM&feature=related
- by Bereft Skerrick on October 11, 2008 at 10:10 AM
TM Do you have the figures for Paycheck? Also did that movie air in Sydney (on Ch 9) last night or did Sydney get a different movie?
Tribal Mind replies: Only shown in Melbourne, where it got 148,000.
- by Jason on October 11, 2008 at 02:28 PM
Looks like channel 9 has no hope of winning the year. Couldnt even keep the lead it had with the NRL grand final. I wonder if this pattern is going to continue..
- by Kasey on October 11, 2008 at 03:07 PM
TM - Do you have the figures for Ten's movies "Evolution" and "Aeon Flux"?
Tribal Mind replies: Flux 590,000. Evo 609,000.
- by Jimmy James on October 12, 2008 at 03:30 PM
Thanks TM - Ten are going down the gurgler fast, they must be hanging on for dear life praying for a decent restart come summertime.
- by Jimmy James on October 12, 2008 at 03:48 PM
While you say it was a humiliating week for Channel Nine you fail to mention its wins in the 16-39 and 18-49 demographic.
Seven's huge win is in part due to their dominance of over 55's, although they did win 25-54's.
Good on ABC for coming third, although that's probably just to a poor Channel Ten.