The Who We Are update: Week 21

Wednesday May 9, 2007 04:08 PM

Who We Are

This week of the blog is a heritage item -- worth studying but no longer current. For the latest media trends in Australia, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.
To learn why boomers hate GenXers, and vice versa, go to The Tribal Mind.
To nominate the best books about Australia, go to Who We Are.

The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday
Channel Ten went so well last Tuesday and Wednesday there was a possibility it could come in as number two station last week. But its programing fell apart on Thursday and Friday, with the result that the prime time audience shares at week's end were: Seven 27.9 per cent, Nine 26.0, Ten 23.4, ABC 16.9, SBS 5.9 (higher than usual thanks to a boost from Eurovision on Sunday). Care to suggest what Ten should show to improve its chances on Thurs and Fri?

This was Pay TV's account of itself for last week: "Live coverage on FOX Sports of the Saturday night National Rugby League game, Live: NRL Bulldogs v Storm gave the code its biggest audience ever on subscription TV with 359,000 viewers. In other sport in week 21, Live: AFL St Kilda v Essendon was watched by 256,000 people, Live: AFL Teams had its biggest audience of 2009 with 83,000 viewers and the live coverage of the MotoGP, Live: Motorsport: MotoGP Round 4, France was watched by 70,000 people (all on FOX Sports).

"215,000 viewers - a record for the fifth season of FOX8's Australia's Next Top Model - watched Mikarla and Eloise eliminated from the competition while the American Idol Grand Final (also on FOX8) drew 143,000 viewers. This week's broadcast of Selling Houses Australia on Lifestyle was viewed by 126,000 people, Numb3rs on TV1 had a year-to-date best of 93,000 viewers, Dalziel and Pascoe on UKTV gathered its biggest audience of 2009 with 81,000 viewers and My Friend the Sex Tourist premiered on Crime and Investigation with 78,000 people.

"Subscription TV was the number one source of television across all homes in week 21. STV channels accounted for 22.2% of all metropolitan viewing between 6am and midnight, was 22.3% of all regional viewing and 58.1% of all viewing in subscription TV homes."

What Australia watched, week ending May 23
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,703,000 414,000 490,000 397,000 155,000 246,000
2 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE Seven 1,684,000 479,000 491,000 372,000 150,000 192,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,662,000 454,000 448,000 355,000 174,000 232,000
4 NCIS Ten 1,629,000 447,000 453,000 298,000 200,000 232,000
5 TALKIN' 'BOUT YOUR GENERATION Ten 1,613,000 483,000 491,000 259,000 160,000 219,000
6 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,550,000 460,000 467,000 295,000 201,000 126,000
7 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,535,000 425,000 423,000 315,000 153,000 220,000
8 THE ZOO Seven 1,476,000 426,000 368,000 322,000 181,000 180,000
9 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA - CHALLENGE Ten 1,456,000 417,000 413,000 261,000 161,000 205,000
10 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,411,000 434,000 382,000 317,000 129,000 150,000
11 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,402,000 453,000 401,000 265,000 146,000 137,000
12 SEA PATROL Nine 1,399,000 407,000 401,000 238,000 171,000 182,000
13 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,397,000 392,000 382,000 282,000 169,000 172,000
14 MERLIN Ten 1,372,000 409,000 331,000 270,000 134,000 228,000
15 GETAWAY Nine 1,368,000 407,000 399,000 282,000 104,000 175,000
16 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,361,000 447,000 417,000 179,000 146,000 173,000
17 60 MINUTES Nine 1,314,000 390,000 364,000 291,000 138,000 131,000
18 THE GRUEN TRANSFER ABC1 1,312,000 439,000 371,000 234,000 134,000 133,000

19 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,297,000 356,000 397,000 303,000 63,000 178,000
20 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,289,000 314,000 443,000 270,000 114,000 149,000
21 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,286,000 352,000 369,000 270,000 137,000 159,000
22 BONES Seven 1,279,000 404,000 338,000 213,000 148,000 175,000
23 20 TO 1 Nine 1,262,000 363,000 389,000 220,000 109,000 181,000
24 NINE NEWS Nine 1,258,000 364,000 387,000 277,000 116,000 115,000
25 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Ten 1,248,000 389,000 365,000 214,000 130,000 150,000
26 RECRUITS Ten 1,226,000 371,000 301,000 245,000 134,000 175,000
27 BORDER SECURITY USA Seven 1,215,000 317,000 382,000 253,000 103,000 160,000
28 LIE TO ME Ten 1,194,000 272,000 407,000 217,000 150,000 148,000
29 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,184,000 342,000 406,000 166,000 123,000 146,000
30 THE FORCE - BEHIND THE LINE Seven 1,171,000 308,000 365,000 222,000 101,000 176,000
31 RPA Nine 1,158,000 364,000 323,000 209,000 133,000 130,000
32 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,152,000 346,000 287,000 243,000 128,000 146,000
33 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,144,000 381,000 335,000 244,000 120,000 65,000
34 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,134,000 333,000 352,000 235,000 106,000 108,000
35 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,127,000 348,000 365,000 211,000 85,000 118,000
36 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 1,120,000 345,000 355,000 210,000 102,000 109,000
37 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,119,000 298,000 376,000 207,000 101,000 137,000
38 COLD CASE Nine 1,101,000 303,000 355,000 186,000 127,000 129,000
39 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,088,000 302,000 345,000 218,000 105,000 118,000
40 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,081,000 338,000 311,000 214,000 110,000 108,000
(OzTAM mainland capitals)

What Australia watched, Saturday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SAT Seven 1,411,000 434,000 382,000 317,000 129,000 150,000
2 NINE NEWS SATURDAY Nine 1,144,000 381,000 335,000 244,000 120,000 65,000
3 AUSTRALIA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS Nine 1,120,000 345,000 355,000 210,000 102,000 109,000
4 NEW TRICKS RPT ABC1 1,051,000 334,000 285,000 189,000 117,000 125,000
5 CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY -RPT Nine 989,000 380,000 238,000 221,000 72,000 79,000
6 ABC NEWS-SAT ABC1 898,000 297,000 274,000 170,000 74,000 83,000
7 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY Seven 878,000 228,000 293,000 182,000 86,000 90,000
13 SATURDAY NIGHT AFL Ten 776,000 411,000 75,000 93,000 197,000
14 SATURDAY AFTERNOON AFL Ten 593,000 79,000 214,000 66,000 53,000 182,000
48 ALIEN RESURRECTION Ten 194,000 119,000 75,000
44 AFL - THE FIFTH QUARTER Ten 204,000 204,000
109 THE SANFL-PM ABC1 49,000 13,000 35,000
112 RUGBY UNION: SHUTE SHIELD (NSW) 2009-PM ABC1 45,000 45,000
135 RUGBY LEAGUE: (QLD) 2009-PM ABC1 34,000 34,000
146 VFL FOOTBALL 2009-PM ABC1 29,000 29,000
168 SATURDAY LATE NIGHT AFL Ten 19,000 19,000
172 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL LATE (after 2am Sat) Nine 16,000 10,000 6,000 1,000
192 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 9: GEELONG VS WESTERN BULLDOGS Seven 10,000 0 10,000

What Australia watched, Friday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,594,000 457,000 408,000 331,000 165,000 233,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,455,000 392,000 406,000 299,000 143,000 215,000
3 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS Seven 1,361,000 447,000 417,000 179,000 146,000 173,000
4 NINE NEWS Nine 1,171,000 372,000 359,000 219,000 92,000 128,000
5 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,094,000 324,000 259,000 238,000 131,000 142,000
6 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Ten 1,083,000 374,000 304,000 155,000 104,000 146,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,056,000 321,000 324,000 218,000 85,000 107,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,036,000 302,000 367,000 176,000 80,000 112,000
9 TEN NEWS AT FIVE Ten 960,000 265,000 280,000 180,000 89,000 147,000
10 SILENT WITNESS ABC1 957,000 313,000 252,000 144,000 114,000 135,000
14 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 9: GEELONG VS WESTERN BULLDOGS Seven 791,000 11,000 482,000 16,000 139,000 144,000
16 NINE'S LIVE FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 764,000 394,000 369,000
27 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Nine 453,000 312,000 140,000
33 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 9: GEELONG VS WESTERN BULLDOGS - AFTER THE GAME Seven 390,000 239,000 82,000 69,000
37 LIFE ON MARS FRI Ten 356,000 119,000 99,000 60,000 35,000 43,000
51 BOOB TUBE: SEX, TV AND UGLY GEORGE RPT SBS 248,000 68,000 67,000 50,000 32,000 30,000
104 SPICKS AND SPECKS RPT ABC1 97,000 30,000 34,000 19,000 6,000 9,000
122 SCRAPHEAP CHALLENGE: THE SCRAPPY RACES ABC2 66,000 28,000 6,000 8,000 20,000 5,000
130 THE WORST WEEK OF MY LIFE ABC2 50,000 15,000 23,000 4,000 3,000 6,000
131 STARS OF POKER ONE 47,000 8,000 15,000 5,000 11,000 9,000
132 NINE'S FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL LATE Nine 47,000 27,000 9,000 11,000
161 GIRO D'ITALIA 2009 HIGHLIGHTS SBS 34,000 11,000 11,000 5,000 6,000 0
204 THE GLASS HOUSE RPT ABC1 16,000 7,000 1,000 3,000 2,000 3,000

What Australia watched, Thursday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,625,000 409,000 470,000 348,000 177,000 221,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,487,000 400,000 426,000 306,000 159,000 196,000
3 GETAWAY Nine 1,367,000 407,000 399,000 282,000 105,000 175,000
4 20 TO 1 Nine 1,259,000 362,000 389,000 220,000 108,000 181,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,220,000 378,000 371,000 266,000 107,000 99,000
6 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Ten 1,146,000 375,000 346,000 191,000 104,000 130,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,119,000 328,000 324,000 258,000 100,000 109,000
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,113,000 331,000 364,000 195,000 95,000 128,000
9 GREY'S ANATOMY Seven 1,088,000 302,000 345,000 217,000 105,000 118,000
11 THE FOOTY SHOW Nine 1,032,000 239,000 411,000 140,000 129,000 112,000
14 LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT Ten 970,000 297,000 321,000 173,000 98,000 80,000
15 PRIVATE PRACTICE Seven 950,000 253,000 304,000 178,000 113,000 102,000
18 DEAL OR NO DEAL Seven 805,000 226,000 251,000 160,000 79,000 90,000
19 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT Ten 798,000 229,000 236,000 169,000 70,000 95,000
25 WORST WEEK Ten 705,000 194,000 220,000 154,000 61,000 77,000
26 HOT SEAT Nine 669,000 218,000 199,000 120,000 79,000 54,000
35 INSPECTOR REX RPT SBS 375,000 106,000 134,000 53,000 31,000 51,000
40 HEROES Seven 347,000 107,000 96,000 76,000 37,000 30,000
47 IRON MAN: ARMORED ADVENTURES-PM ABC1 263,000 80,000 61,000 64,000 24,000 34,000

What Australia watched, Wednesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,738,000 447,000 468,000 395,000 184,000 244,000
2 THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE Seven 1,685,000 480,000 491,000 372,000 150,000 192,000
3 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,516,000 426,000 410,000 301,000 146,000 232,000
4 SPICKS AND SPECKS ABC1 1,405,000 454,000 401,000 266,000 146,000 137,000
5 THE GRUEN TRANSFER ABC1 1,312,000 439,000 371,000 234,000 135,000 133,000
6 NINE NEWS Nine 1,296,000 361,000 396,000 318,000 103,000 118,000
7 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Ten 1,291,000 368,000 400,000 227,000 139,000 158,000
8 CRIMINAL MINDS Seven 1,288,000 352,000 369,000 271,000 137,000 159,000
9 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,217,000 376,000 277,000 285,000 132,000 148,000
10 RPA Nine 1,158,000 364,000 323,000 209,000 132,000 131,000
11 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,104,000 310,000 359,000 222,000 107,000 106,000
12 COLD CASE Nine 1,101,000 303,000 355,000 186,000 128,000 129,000
13 ABC NEWS ABC1 1,094,000 347,000 281,000 251,000 88,000 128,000
14 THE MENTALIST Nine 1,080,000 338,000 311,000 214,000 109,000 108,000
15 HOUSE Ten 1,076,000 287,000 328,000 195,000 114,000 153,000
26 FAMILY GUY Seven 726,000 156,000 262,000 146,000 90,000 73,000
35 TRAWLERMEN SBS 458,000 131,000 147,000 86,000 36,000 58,000
42 AT THE MOVIES ABC1 368,000 121,000 119,000 51,000 31,000 45,000
46 LOST Seven 296,000 72,000 114,000 66,000 24,000 19,000
47 FOOD INVESTIGATORS SBS 288,000 73,000 102,000 51,000 24,000 39,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Wednesday
Can any reader explain why NCIS suddenly did so well last night? It took such a giant leap that Ten won the night (with 30.2 per cent of the audience to Seven's 28.9 per cent).

At this point in the week, the prime time audience shares stand at: Seven 27.4, Ten 26.0, Nine 24.6, ABC 15.1 and SBS 6.9. Tonight Thank God You're Here will help Seven rebound, unless some nostalgists return to House for the season finale. Nothing will help Nine, which must be hearing the rustle of Yasmin's skirts outside the HomeMade office.

And while we're asking questions, can any reader nominate a finer nose than Julia Zemiro's?

What Australia watched, Tuesday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 NCIS Ten 1,626,000 446,000 453,000 297,000 199,000 231,000
2 TALKIN' 'BOUT YOUR GENERATION Ten 1,613,000 483,000 491,000 259,000 160,000 219,000
3 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,612,000 459,000 411,000 369,000 157,000 216,000
4 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,575,000 465,000 413,000 333,000 148,000 217,000
5 THE ZOO Seven 1,476,000 426,000 368,000 322,000 181,000 180,000
6 FIND MY FAMILY Seven 1,397,000 392,000 382,000 282,000 169,000 172,000
7 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Ten 1,291,000 428,000 357,000 226,000 141,000 139,000
8 NINE NEWS Nine 1,271,000 357,000 389,000 270,000 141,000 113,000
9 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,192,000 346,000 357,000 254,000 123,000 111,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,186,000 383,000 309,000 232,000 120,000 142,000
11 ALL SAINTS Seven 1,184,000 342,000 406,000 166,000 123,000 146,000
12 LIE TO ME Ten 1,170,000 267,000 400,000 212,000 148,000 145,000
15 10 YEARS YOUNGER IN 10 DAYS Seven 1,048,000 322,000 335,000 146,000 110,000 135,000
21 HOME MADE -ELIMINATION Nine 862,000 238,000 287,000 174,000 75,000 88,000
31 MUMBAI CALLING ABC1 464,000 181,000 116,000 72,000 37,000 59,000
38 SUNRISE Seven 374,000 110,000 90,000 94,000 35,000 46,000
43 TODAY Nine 276,000 81,000 88,000 66,000 16,000 26,000
72 LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN Ten 193,000 43,000 63,000 41,000 29,000 16,000

What Australia watched, Monday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS Seven 1,747,000 495,000 481,000 337,000 186,000 249,000
2 TODAY TONIGHT Seven 1,636,000 442,000 456,000 332,000 167,000 239,000
3 SEA PATROL Nine 1,399,000 407,000 402,000 238,000 170,000 181,000
4 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA Ten 1,388,000 409,000 402,000 261,000 153,000 163,000
5 NINE NEWS Nine 1,295,000 352,000 417,000 284,000 130,000 112,000
6 TWO AND A HALF MEN Nine 1,287,000 312,000 442,000 272,000 111,000 149,000
7 A CURRENT AFFAIR Nine 1,269,000 363,000 396,000 283,000 118,000 109,000
8 RECRUITS Ten 1,220,000 370,000 298,000 243,000 134,000 175,000
9 TWO AND A HALF MEN -RPT Nine 1,190,000 300,000 403,000 222,000 117,000 149,000
10 HOME AND AWAY Seven 1,178,000 367,000 293,000 223,000 122,000 173,000
11 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES Seven 1,127,000 348,000 365,000 211,000 85,000 118,000
12 GOOD NEWS WEEK Ten 1,079,000 279,000 324,000 228,000 113,000 135,000
13 MISSING PIECES Nine 1,076,000 294,000 360,000 181,000 110,000 131,000
14 FOUR CORNERS ABC1 1,060,000 334,000 289,000 218,000 96,000 122,000
17 AUSTRALIAN STORY ABC1 1,031,000 298,000 286,000 225,000 105,000 117,000
18 SCRUBS - MON Seven 1,022,000 267,000 305,000 229,000 92,000 130,000
21 BROTHERS & SISTERS Seven 898,000 277,000 309,000 134,000 94,000 85,000
27 SPOOKS ABC1 657,000 190,000 201,000 108,000 76,000 83,000
28 SUPERNATURAL Ten 656,000 167,000 172,000 159,000 67,000 91,000
30 TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA SBS 628,000 223,000 177,000 105,000 57,000 66,000
57 30 ROCK Seven 200,000 51,000 76,000 13,000 27,000 33,000

The ratings race, updated 10 am Monday
Normally SBS is happy if it can attract 5 per cent of the prime time audience. Last night, SBS attracted 9.9 per cent, a record for a non-soccer evening. The reason must be four hours of the sight and sound of Julia Zemiro, the woman with the finest nose on television. (The only other candidate for that title would be Georgie Parker, and she's not visible much at the moment.)

We are open to persuasion about this. If you can think of a more magnificent schnoz than the Zemiro, go to Comments with your nasal nominations.

The SBS jump was at the expense of the ABC, which attracted only 12.7 per cent (a Sunday slump that will be remedied by the arrival of this year's first Dr Who special). Seven got 27.6, Nine 25.5 and Ten 24.3.

What Australia watched, Sunday
Description Total Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth
1 SEVEN NEWS - SUN Seven 1,700,000 414,000 490,000 397,000 152,000 246,000
2 NINE NEWS SUNDAY Nine 1,548,000 460,000 468,000 295,000 200,000 126,000
3 MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA - CHALLENGE Ten 1,456,000 417,000 413,000 261,000 161,000 205,000
4 MERLIN Ten 1,372,000 409,000 331,000 270,000 134,000 228,000
5 60 MINUTES Nine 1,318,000 390,000 367,000 293,000 137,000 131,000
6 BONES Seven 1,278,000 404,000 338,000 214,000 148,000 175,000
7 SUNDAY NIGHT Seven 1,229,000 354,000 395,000 302,000 Not shown because of some sort of football 177,000
8 BORDER SECURITY USA Seven 1,219,000 318,000 383,000 255,000 103,000 161,000
9 THE FORCE Seven 1,172,000 310,000 365,000 220,000 101,000 177,000
10 CSI Nine 1,089,000 306,000 341,000 216,000 142,000 84,000
11 ROVE Ten 1,006,000 218,000 357,000 177,000 113,000 141,000
12 HOME MADE Nine 1,002,000 254,000 339,000 180,000 131,000 98,000
14 CASTLE Seven 939,000 255,000 301,000 138,000 116,000 129,000
20 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 8: COLLINGWOOD VS CARLTON Seven 626,000 84,000 306,000 66,000 96,000 76,000
22 NINE'S SUNDAY FOOTBALL Nine 542,000 329,000 Not shown 213,000 Not shown Not shown
24 DIRT GAME ABC1 517,000 199,000 123,000 82,000 48,000 66,000
25 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2009 SBS 482,000 135,000 181,000 72,000 43,000 51,000
28 HARPER'S ISLAND Ten 425,000 105,000 156,000 62,000 54,000 48,000
44 24 Seven 216,000 46,000 85,000 28,000 30,000 27,000
49 AFL GAME DAY Seven 210,000 Not shown 148,000 Not shown 27,000 35,000
59 MAGNUM P.I. Seven 167,000 52,000 52,000 41,000 23,000 Not shown
71 SEVEN'S AFL: RND 8: PORT ADELAIDE VS RICHMOND Seven 127,000 Not shown Not shown Not shown 127,000 Not shown
(OzTAM preliminary estimates, mainland capitals)
David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

COMMENTS

Great ratings for SBS with Eurovision which lasted over three hours. Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang did a brilliant job with the commentary at Eurovision. Worthy replacements for Terry Wogan and loved their T-shirts.
Bones & Castle doing well but CSI & CSI:NY are dropping badly. CSI only just beats Rove now. HomeMade is a flop while Masterchef is a hit. Good to see a scripted series like Merlin doing well. Maybe the networks will be encouraged to show more scripted shows that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

by J Bar on May 18, 2009 at 09:40 AM

Watched Castle last night (taped Eurovision for some guilty pleasure at a later date). I can't say that it really grabbed me. Maybe it was just first-show-itis so I'll give it another go.
Am loving Master Chef. Never really been a foodie but for some reason I like it a lot.

by Nic on May 18, 2009 at 09:45 AM

Weigh-Jay from the Biggest Loser is no more. Channel 10 announced this morning that she has quit the network. I'm guessing last year's runner up, Alison, has the job in the bag - from the appearance she did this season I think they were basically auditioning her.
The joy of Eurovision was ruined for me thanks to Channel Nine's clunky coverage - without spoiler warnings they just screened all of the results. Still watched it, but a little of the joy was lost. Perhaps my bitterness towards Nine is strong - I had the all 9s for my security code on this comment!!

by Beckala on May 18, 2009 at 10:28 AM

Eurotrash, a bit harsh I think! I watched all three shows and enjoyed them. As for Julia Zamero and Sam Pang, as so called comedians they were crap neither displayed any sense of humour whatsoever during the semifinals, but at least they did make a (failed) attempt to inject some sort of humour into the results section of the show which can be tedious as "personalities" from contestant countries make vain attempts to inject some levity as they make known their country's vote. The only one who actually managed to be funny was the bloke who, on advising that this was the second time his country's act had failed to make the finals, announced a minute's silence, and had a minute's silence to the protest of the hosts.
The acts were in the main pretty good, the staging was brilliant and the best act in my view was France, can that lady sing!
My birth country didn't make it to the finals either but than, the act put forward didn't inspire. The only other comment I would make on it is that too many acts sang bad English, including my special interest, the Dutch rather then their own language.

by zjonn on May 18, 2009 at 12:05 PM

Oh, beckala, how bloody annoying. A good excuse to never watch Channel Nine again, I would think! (Gwan, you wouldn't be missing anything...)
I was in lockdown mode, didn't even go visiting SBS's Euovision site (thanks for the link in last week's entry, Kym!) Just In Case. And no sneaky bits of news filtered in, so I managed to watch it all without spoilers. Yay!
Although it was a late night: we were recording Eurovision, watching it time shifted, and then took a break between 9:30 and 10:30 to watch Castle. Then back to Eurovision. Since we'd seen most of the songs, it was just a case of "listen to a bar or two to refresh our memory, then ffwd through it". Still, we were up to about 1am (Mr TQD refused to ffwd through the excruciating judging, even when it was obvious who was going to win).
I thought Castle was a bit meh (maybe just in contrast to the spec-TACK-ular of Eurovision), but I'm enough of a Captain Tightpants fan to tune in again next week.

by tqd on May 18, 2009 at 12:12 PM

Watched Castle.... not bad, shall hang in for a while until something better comes along (am over CSI, in all variances) Bones is good fodder when playing on puter. Can't wait for Dr Who. Am not really into downloading in advance.
The Daily Show with John Stewart is a needed show for me each day. Not having Foxtel means that what I had been able to see (an unabridged version from Comedy Central) is now broken into smaller bits, thanks to those what show the show wanting us to watch. Well, if it was on free to air, AND on the next day, it would be okay. I have NO idea how far behind it is in OZ (see above). But he is now sticking it to the Dems which some would find surprising, but is as it should be. Enough of me for now.

by Furlozza on May 18, 2009 at 12:46 PM

If there are any Ch10 programmers out there, could you please put Buffy back on after Letterman on Fridays? I quite enjoyed reliving Buffy after watching Letterman. It's got to be better than more 'Cops'.
And TM, could you tell the producers of the SMH TV guide that their reviews of Mad Men are for the next week's episodes. It happened last week and I thought it was a one off.
All demands and complaints today... You're doing a great job moderating this blog TM, by the way.

by merciless on May 18, 2009 at 12:53 PM

I'm in love with Eurotrash, it hurts. I've got nothing against Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang. Thought they did a fantastic job, but still missed dear old Terry Wogan. And as a further plus, we didn't have to get Graham Norton's feed (nothing against him, just don't think he's that entertaining).
A positive thing about Ch 7 news last night - they gave a head's up as to who the winner would be. Can't say the same for Ch 10 who spoilt it earlier though.
Hearing rumours that Karl's getting "promoted" to ACA and Tracey's shifting to 60 Minutes. Just when I was liking her interviewing skills.

by Kym on May 18, 2009 at 01:09 PM

We were having lovely cheese/nibbles/wine with neighbours last night & instead of either just conversation or music the tv was left on. While viewing HomeMade show I came up with the clever idea of having a slurp of wine every time we saw a product placement. Well that idea lasted about 6 minutes as we all would have been blotto very quickly!!
Started watching Eurovision, what a classy show that is....hahaha & as for the scoring. It is a comedy isn't it ???

by PJ453 on May 18, 2009 at 02:55 PM

Nine news Sunday with Mark Ferguson 1.5 million. Much higher numbers than Peter Overton. So much for the north shore accent.

by bobmar28 on May 19, 2009 at 07:01 AM

Why did Seven show that rubbish 'extreme celebrity' show at 10.30pm in the old Boston Legal slot? They had built an intelligent audience tuning in for BL at 10.30pm, so what makes them think they would be interested in that bogan piece of celebrity shit?
And 30 Rock was down because viewers had to sit through that tripe to watch the quality 30 Rock at 11.30pm. Seven need to get a clue and move 30 Rock to 10.30pm immediately. They've had success with Scrubs this year (at 10.30 and 8.00) and could have the same success with 30 Rock in an earlier slot.

by J Bar on May 19, 2009 at 10:03 AM

I have a nose nomination - Rachael Beck - she qualifies because she has been on that dire It Takes Two show on Ch7.

by Jill on May 19, 2009 at 10:11 AM

Has anyone seen the 'Reject the Recession Dancers' on 'Sunrise' yet? I saw them on 'Rove' the other night and thought surely that's a joke and took a deep breath and watched a little bit of it yesterday but didn't see them, just Kochie saying "even Rove's jumped on board or 'Reject the Recession' bandwagon".......I don't think that's what he was doing. Over on 'Today', Karl was having a winge about Rove making fun of him also. Delicate little flowers aren't they? Looking forward to 'The Chaser' returning and reclaiming their title as 'Kings of Making Fun of Stuff'. So much material...and only Rove to take the piss....
Anyone going to watch 'Telstra BigPond Presents' tonight (also know as 'Home Made')? Nine's trying very hard to make it look interesting. It's not working.
And lastly, GrammarGripe!, should it be "KFC's new Pocketfuls" or "KFC's new Pocketsful"? I expect a fastfood company making all things chicken-shaped to know better but maybe we can just settle for "Pocketful's"?

by darren on May 19, 2009 at 11:21 AM

Why isnt your nose 12 inches longs?

Because then it would be a foot.

by TG on May 19, 2009 at 11:41 AM

T.M., as Seven broadcast two separate programs last Sunday night after 8.30pm, one on S.D. and one on H.D., were both counted for the ratings?

Tribal Mind replies: Usually they are added fora station total. But since almost nobody watches HD, it's unlikely to have distorted the result.,

by Gary on May 19, 2009 at 01:27 PM

Ooh tense Spooks last night. Wonder if Auntie's going to show the next season afterwards. Am heavily anticipating Chaser and Dr Who next week. I've just realised they haven't dealt with the current Government or Matthew White yet. So much to look forward to.
Darren, I might've seen those 'Reject the Recession Dancers' on Sunrise a few weeks ago. Thought it too jokey for it to be real, but then again, it was Sunrise.

by Kym on May 19, 2009 at 03:48 PM

Read somewhere today that The Chaser were sighted down at The Sewer - whoops I mean the home of the Sharks down at Woolooware. As a diehard Dragons fan I'm looking forward to their pisstake.

by Bereft Skerrick on May 19, 2009 at 07:51 PM

TM @may 19. "Almost nobody watches HD."
I wonder why that is? The picture is stunning, especially for sport. And most people have HD sets now don't they?
I can't imagine watching NRL in SD these days.

Tribal Mind replies: Less than half the populace has HD.

by bobmar28 on May 20, 2009 at 07:05 AM

Calling Mumbai last night, totally awesome!!!

by TG on May 20, 2009 at 09:18 AM

NCIS probably scored well because of good lead-ins and the fact that a lot of us like Abby. An entire episode featuring her, well...

by Yuri on May 20, 2009 at 10:51 AM

so when in Home Made going to die?

by TG on May 20, 2009 at 10:52 AM

when ncis has an ep about one of the cast members everyone really tunes in and esp since it was abby. it was a great ep and i was glued to the screen. i bet seven are trying to buy the spinoff of ncis!!

by ryan on May 20, 2009 at 11:13 AM

Is that a 'Home Made' coffin?
Re The Search for the Perfect Schnozz, TM the more I try to find one the more I realise television is pretty much a nasal moonscape. All snubs and Mel Doylesque buttons. Julia Gillard maybe (you could put an eye out with that thing) but she's not really on television. Lee Lin Chin has from memory a snub to end all snubs.
But if Zachary Pinto as Spock has the ears and eyebrows and Julia Zemiro has the nose then I'd like to nominate Annabel Crabb for the hands.

Tribal MInd asks: When is Annabel on TV and what is special about her hands?

by darren on May 20, 2009 at 11:14 AM

Wow that's some rating for NCIS. I was going to suggest the previous programs ran overtime, but Talkin'...Generation didn't finish that late.
Ach, forgot to watch Home Made again, don't think I'm going to even catch a glimpse of it now.
For schnoz, I couldn't go past one Richard Armitage's. Tres distinct.

by Kym on May 20, 2009 at 11:34 AM

Count myself and Mr Skerrick in for people who think Abby is awesome.

Was it just me, or was Rebel Wilson deliberately playing a bogan last night. A visibly bored bogan who looked a little miffed when she wasn't the centre of attention? (No I'm not a fan of Bogan Pride).

How about eyes? This 80's movie junkie who was sadly too tired to stay up and watch Lipstick Jungle says Vote 1 Andrew McCarthy's eyes!

by Bereft Skerrick on May 20, 2009 at 12:42 PM

Annabel is on 'Insiders' on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am. Not every week but every 3rd week or so. Her hands are very small and clever and quick and white and small.
If we're talking unisex schnozzes (schnozzi?) by the way, another 'Insider' George Megalogenis has a biggie.

by darren on May 20, 2009 at 12:49 PM

TM - isn't Annabel Crabb an occasional panel member on The Insiders Sunday morning? That is the place I remember her from.

Meant to say I watched Castle for the same reason as most Captain Tightpants (aka Nathan Fillion) but forund is rakeish eyebrow interesting - everytime he said something suggestive he would raise one eyebrow and his eyes would twinkle - if I was a drinker could definitely make a drinking game out of that - not as good as CSI Miami Caruso sunglasses of course. Saw a few more US shows currently on our screens have been cancelled - My Name is Earl, Medium, Without a Trace, Eleventh Hour, Worst Week and Harpers Island.

Earl and Medium may yet be picked up by other US Networks.

by Cathy on May 20, 2009 at 12:55 PM

Tribal Mind replies: Less than half the populace has HD."
So far...
Like a groundswell that rises and rises without earth shattering vibrations or un-ignorable fanfare, the number of HD TV owners has risen from zero at the beginning of this decade to - as you say; less than half the population... which is quite a few million in less time than it took for other similarly priced exotic technologies to reach such a position.
Besides: HD ownership figures are quite difficult to assess accurately simply because PC monitors which are HD capable aren't counted in the figures, yet many downloaders of HD material watch their TV content on those HD capable monitors. Add to this, the explosion in low cost HD camcorders and the true amount of HD content that's being viewed becomes almost impossible to ascertain - apart from the fact that it's much more than HD's denigraters would like to promote as the case.
What is interesting is that there's such a commitment to defending a level of image that is demonstrably inferior.
Such fear of something that's plainly better in every way... Strange; very strange.

by Steve C on May 20, 2009 at 01:55 PM

T.M., Can you give us what were the ratings last night and where do Ten stand in the week?

Tribal Mind replies: Above.

by Gary on May 20, 2009 at 02:05 PM

NCIS and TAYG killing the competition on the night, I guess I can only look at what I did myself and the only stations I recorded were TEN and ONE, TEN for the above and LTM after it and ONE for the car races and the cricket, while watching previously recorded programmes.
The IPL commentators can be quite funny at times, the other day one of the Kiwi commentators displayed his grasp of the English language by describing a bowling action as by a shamelion (hear chameleon) and his Indian co-announcer after picking up on the mispronunciation promptly mockingly described the bowler as a bit of a sharacter. Quick wit from sports commentators, only on ONE!

by Zjonn on May 20, 2009 at 02:08 PM

yes, so agree, abby is such a kool character who i really connect with and laugh with.

by ryan on May 20, 2009 at 02:25 PM

I have a HD TV but never bother with it. One because outside of the capital cities even in Newcastle we don't get half the HD content, secondly because I record virtually everything I watch and I only had a SD recorder.

by Susan on May 20, 2009 at 05:30 PM

I haven't got a HD TV (or tuner, or recorder, or anything else I might need) because the SD stuff still works. I ain't getting rid of it until it's broke. (We don' need no steenkin' grammar, either.)
Is Abby the goth chick? She is rather cool.

by tqd on May 20, 2009 at 09:26 PM

Channel surfing on a Wednesday night:
Ten: Competition, backstabbing, nicely produced foodie porn. George Colimbaris saying yeah...oh my god stop saying yeah, but otherwise, I'm a fan.
ABC: Maggie and Simon laughing, nicely produced foodie porn.
Seven: TGYH, laughter, Julia Zemiro Nasal Godess.
Nine: How to cure chronic foot odour........
Ten: The Simpsons, laughter, clever writing etc etc.
ABC:James O'Laughlin being kooky. Spicks and Specks, that guy from The Saints, easy laughter, Sylvie Palladino almost in a dress.
Seven: TGYH, laughter, Julia Zemiro Nasal Godess. Some other guys.
Nine: A little girl in a snotty t-shirt with half her head covered in blood. A caption: 'Steve's brain operation begins' followed by the sound of a bone-drill......
ABC: The Gruen Transfer blah blah blah but The Chaser next week (woohoo).
Nine: Ooh look they're removing an old guy's carotid artery and his skin looks like orange plastic stretched apart like that. Mmmm, the sputtering and human smoke of a cauteriser.....
I think I've detected a pattern.

by darren on May 21, 2009 at 05:56 AM

We've got HD. When the channels actually broadcast stuff in HD, it is noticeable, the picture is really clear, the sound fantastic. But not a lot of shows do that. But we got it because we were replacing tvs anyway, plus we got a Blu-ray (free, I won a Playstation 3 from Merrick, Rosso and Kate Ritchie so that helped - didn't have to upgrade the players we already had) so we ended up upgrading our system over about 6 months. When we first had it, Channel 10 were great with their HD channel until ONE came along. Grr. It was mainly 10 that we were watching - they had Buffy on which I loved, for example. Now we only get the occasional program we want to watch - for example, last week they did a Desperate Housewives marathon on Saturday night which was kind of cool - betterthan the dodgy movies that were on. But I think for it to really work, the channels need to step up and really begin programming that HD channel rather than having a random 2 or 3 hours of different programs at completely random times of the day. It is so irregular it is difficult to track when other programs are available.

I found Sylvie Palladino quite painful on S&S last night. TGYH was great - Julia Zemiro was fantastic (but I missed Bob Franklin's original piece, who was apparently the best of the night). I know Carl Barron is very funny, but he just doesn't seem to suit the TGYH format.

by Beckala on May 21, 2009 at 07:55 AM

Bereft Skerrick,
I don't think Rebel Wilson was 'playing' at being a bogan. She grew up in Sydney's west and is a self-confessed westie and bogan. She has said in interviews that the characters she plays are mostly inspired by herself and the people she knew growing up. One of the first plays she wrote was called 'The Westie' and most of her series 'Bogan Pride' is based on her own school days. Other characters she has played like Toula on 'Fat Pizza' were based on school friends.

by J Bar on May 21, 2009 at 08:14 AM

SPOILER WARNING FOR THOSE WHO RECORDED HOUSE TO WATCH LATER: House was back again in fine form with House ending up in the funny farm, looking forward to next series.
Caught some of Masterchef and am not impressed, why do things have to be filmed and exposed soooo slowly, are they trying to extend a 1/2 hour show into an hour. All those lingering shots and slow pronunciations are just boring. Speed it up folks please life is too short.

by ned on May 21, 2009 at 12:38 PM

Great TGYH - Bob was tops. I was laughing at the spoof of The Famous Five. I love what they eat, even when they have stale bread and water.
Is anyone else getting a tad annoyed at Alan Brough's line, "Of course it is!"? Could just be me.

Tribal Mind asks: Alan Brough?

by Kym on May 21, 2009 at 01:31 PM

Entertainment Tonight showed previews of some of the new shows expected next season in America. Had to laugh out loud at the new Courteney Cox Arquette comedy/drama on ABC called 'Cougar Town'. It looked like a Super Desperate Housewives where her character was like a cross between Edie and Gabby, prancing around in a bikini, prowling on teenage boys. It was hilarious to read on the Entertainment Weekly blog that one contributor only thought this concept was funny because it reminded them of the mythical show created on 30 Rock called 'MILF Island'.

by J Bar on May 21, 2009 at 02:52 PM

I found Sylvie Palladino quite painful also. The one thing I hate about Spicks and Specks is when they have a pissweak guest and then everyone has to sit and listen to them tell the funniest story of their lives like Adam Hills rang them earlier in the week and asked them to think of something funny to say in lieu of just being spontaneous and naturally amusing and promised that if they did he'd make sure everyone was quiet and didn't interrupt while they told it. Don't like that.
The guy from The Saints was great.

by darren on May 22, 2009 at 06:29 AM

How did the Footy Show (AFL & NRL) go last night?
How do C9 get away with combining figures for the Footy Show's? - same name but it does give the wrong idea to some in the media who excitedly wrote about the over 1 million who watched the NRL Footy Show last week- which was very incorrect considering most of that audience was for the AFL Footy show in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne and in reality the AFL Footy Shows Melbourne audience has been bigger than the combined Sydney and Brisbane audience of the NRL Footy Show.
I notice the same was done for FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL when C9 had both codes also.

Tribal MInd replies: In the chart now. Sorry, I should have anticipated the interest.

by ben on May 22, 2009 at 09:33 AM

Mr Dale, Mr Brough is of course one of the team captains in Spicks & Specks. Personally, I don't mind his "of course it is!" because I find it rather funny how seriously he takes it all.

And Thursday can't be the dullest night on the box, it has Mad Men! (Which I am still dutifully recording, and still unable to find time to watch. *sigh*)

Caught a snippet of The Footy Show last night in passing, and it was seriously painful, very defensive and very "well, let's now segue to *sports*!"

by tqd on May 22, 2009 at 10:29 AM

Yeah, but when Sylvie Palladino sang she made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Loved her.

by Rupert on May 22, 2009 at 10:35 AM

Is Thursday night the dullest night on TV -a resounding yes. However, it is useful as I can catch up on shows I have not had a chance to watch, like Spooks, which I have been able to watch on iView every week.

by Louise on May 22, 2009 at 10:37 AM

I hear you, Darren. I couldn't give a crap if Sylvie Palladino was once on Sale of the Century - yet we had to hear 8 torturous minutes of description of it. Ye gads!

TM, did the Footy Show ratings drop following last weeks car crash boosted results? I know I certainly wasn't watching it. I was with Grey's and Private Practice - not minding it at the moment, Greys is slowly crawling it's way out of the hole, and with the Izzie mystery becoming clear, i'm making a point of watching now. I doubt my affection for Private Practice will continue after the double episode - not fond enough to stay up late (for some reason, the time tabling gods made it compulsary for me to have horrifically busy Fridays, so I need extra sleep on a Thursday)

by Beckala on May 22, 2009 at 11:42 AM

My fiancee will spend a solid five minutes or more bitching how MasterChef on Thursday nights has nothing to do with cooking and everything to do with Survivor Kitchen. This is followed by carping about how everything is drawn out to fill that lousy half hour. Rather than have yet another Thursday of this, I decided to put on a video instead and missed the rest of the night's broadcasts.

by Sanity teetering on May 22, 2009 at 12:24 PM

Shock! Horror! NRL Scandal! The Footy Show is actually now talking about Footy! In my humble opinion the departure of Johns gave the show the shake up it needs i.e. removal of the asshat quotient. But will it reflect in the ongoing ratings?

by Bereft Skerrick on May 22, 2009 at 01:03 PM

I'm not anti-Palladino. I don't really know who she is not being of the Christmas Carols lovers' set and boy can she fill out a dress but my point is that's what happens when everyone's too polite. No comedy is what happens. The same thing happened with Kate Miller Heidke a few weeks ago. Everyone had to stop and listen to her tell a tedious story after Adam said "Okay before we start, Kate, I hear something humourous happened to YOU once, back in 1992, didn't it, why don't you regale us?".....and then everyone had to laugh politely at the seriously unfunny punchline before the show could get started again.
It's like when someone practically non-existent (believe me I'm familiar with this scenario) makes a witty comment too quietly for anyone to hear except for the charitable person sitting beside them who takes it upon themselves to bring the entire proceedings to silence and says "Hey (insert name here) has something funny to say. I just heard you say something funny. What was it? We're LISTENING".....
The moment has well and truly passed. Everyone feels bad and awkward and there's throat clearing and crickets, dogs barking in the distance.
Being inclusive doesn't make for good tellie.

by darren on May 22, 2009 at 01:10 PM

Is Thursday the dullest TV night of the week? Yes. The only thing I find remotely interesting is Rules of Engagement. It's the only sit-com with audience laughter that I can put up with. Seems like not many others share my enthusiasm for that show though. Shame.

by J Bar on May 22, 2009 at 01:17 PM

tqd wrote "I haven't got a HD TV (or tuner, or recorder, or anything else I might need) because the SD stuff still works. I ain't getting rid of it until it's broke." a few days ago and there seems to be some confusion with people as to what will and won't work after the "changeover" to full on digital.
The simple fact is that nothing much will change when the old signals disappear, most of the programming will still be crap and no matter how fine the signal can be, if most of what the networks are broadcasting is garbage, having a signal which could improve the quality of the sound and picture still won't improve your viewing experience.
The analogue to digital switchover won't affect the SD signal as it is a Standard Definition digital signal which requires a set-top box even now. These boxes are available anywhere, even supermarkets for as little as $35 and these will work with the older TV sets and will continue to work with the older TV sets for as long as you want them to. In other words, there is no need to upgrade to a plasma or LCD for any reason other than that you want to do so.
As to the quality of the picture, new technology versus old technology, don't get conned by what you see in the shops, newer sets have a special setting for shop displays to enhance the picture under harsh shop lighting.
If you are happy with the picture on your old CRT set, well, it will continue to produce a perfectly adequate picture for as long as you want and the CRT type sets are likely to be available for quite a few years to come so the compulsion will not be there anytime soon to dump your old set or the CRT technology which has become very cheap, especially relative to the new plasma and LCD's. I hope this clears up what appears to be a very common misconception of matter related to the TV signal change.

by Zjonn on May 22, 2009 at 01:18 PM

Oh, one of the things I forgot to mention re the new TV technology, a cousin of mine was sold a high end LCD the other day and one of the reasons he bought the particular set he bought was because it would be able to "show Blu-ray", as was explained to him by the salesperson, a very important thing to consider when buying a new TV set.
If anyone ever spins you that line or one like it, buy elsewhere. Blu-ray is a format, like DVD or CD it only needs a compatible player and it will work on any TV set including the old CRT's.
The other thing about Blu-ray players is that not all are fully backward compatible yet. If you use your current DVD player to also play MP3s for instance, most do not facilitate it but some do. Don't be guided to much by a sales spiel, research what you want by using what the computer gods gave you, Google it first, find the model which suits your purposes, than stick to it and remember, a bit of bartering will get you discounts of as much as 30% of most advertised prices as long as you don't expect to get it on interest free.

by Zjonn on May 22, 2009 at 01:51 PM

Actually I find Saturday duller than Thursday as there is nothing I regularly watch or record on Saturday and I cannot abide the biffo so Fridays used to be a bit dull - now Silent Witness is back I am happy. Watched my recording of Spicks and Specks and Gruen last night - now understand the Sylvie comments. Thought Gruen interesting especially the comments about how ads no matter how clever will not break through hate - eg if you hate Maccas no ad will change your mind. I think that holds true for ads that p*ss you off - for me either any Red Bull ad or the beaver ad. I will not buy those products ever... anyone else have that total hate reaction?

by Cathy on May 22, 2009 at 02:10 PM

Thursday is definitely the worst night on TV. I started watching Mad Men but I just couldn't get into it. Sadly I got home from work at about 9ish last night and watched the end of 20-1 because at least I could watch half of it with out missing the story. Moral of this post; get home from work earlier so I don't have to subject myself to such dross.

by Nic on May 22, 2009 at 02:24 PM

Yes Cathy, I now hate the NRMA, because of their very un-funny, un-intelligent, un-whatever ads.
There are enough people around, unable to spell or string more than a few words together in a grammatical way. We don't need any more of it in advertisements.
Re Thursdays: there's Catalyst at 8pm on 2, followed by Sons of Anarchy on Fox, and then Heroes on 7 to record later on. I'm happy enough!
Last night I also saw the last 3 episodes of Scrubs (they have since announced there will be another season). A great ending too! Love that show!

by Sal on May 22, 2009 at 04:48 PM

Cathy, I for years have had the instant hatred with Lube Mobile with that stinking kid who can't pronounce the "ths". If my life depended on it, I would never call "firteen, firteen, firty two" (god, even typing it was like nails down a chalk board!). Also had instant hatred for the beaver ads, those stupid commonwealth bank ads and the CPU insurance with the stupid annoying rapping business owners - that one is a new champion in terms of instant hatred!!

by Beckala on May 22, 2009 at 04:50 PM

Hmmm... Friday night is giving Thrusday night a good run for it's money in the "Dullest night of the Week" stakes.
Channel surfing is proving to no avail against the uniform tide of dross.
The economy must be bad... it's usually a plot to get people out of their homes and into other entertainment/eating venues when the networks - without exception; dish up drivel that even they'd have to know will drive people away from their giggle boxes.
I ain't a laughin' though...

by Steve C on May 22, 2009 at 08:55 PM

I vow to never ship at any frickin providores, especially ones who rap. I'm not likely to buy an alpaca (or llama) either.

by Bereft Skerrick on May 23, 2009 at 07:12 AM

I vow to never ship at any frickin providores, especially ones who rap. I'm not likely to buy an alpaca (or llama) either. * by Bereft Skerrick on May 23, 2009 at 07:12 AM
At least Llamas spit... indiscriminately sure, but it does show a level of spirit worthy of some level of appreciation, don't you think?
C'mon Bereft - admit it... if it wasn't for some of those ads, the entertainment value of TV on Thurs/Fri nights would register in the negative figures!
Rappa may be crappa,
an' da door should be shown
to that annoyin' providore,
but she'z a clever deli whore
who provides uz so much more,
than da doctorz operationz
and da footy consternationz... Yo!!
So take da chill out pill,
of alpaca's get your fill
and be like Dr Phil
who'z Operah'z honky dill
sit back and ride the thrill
and let marketing make da kill... Ohhh...
Sing it!!
Be a Llama,
Yo! a Llama
Be Ho bama,
Datz mi Marma
Spittin Llama...
Ring, ring ring you a Llarmed a?

by Steve C on May 23, 2009 at 11:36 AM

Final episode of "Midsomer Murders" last week had 1,150,000 viewers. First episode of "Silent Witness" last night had 957,000. Is there a message in there for the ABC?

by Gary on May 23, 2009 at 02:25 PM

Yes Gary, and the message to the ABC is "your viewers are dills".... says Sal, rudely.
Certainly Midsomer Murders was OK, umpteen years ago. I confess I usually fell asleep though, as it was so slow.
I certainly enjoy Silent Witness a whole lot more, and never fall asleep.

by Sal on May 23, 2009 at 05:00 PM

Firstly - Steve C - LOVE YOUR WORK!! Oh I'm so happy to hear that as many people as me hate the rapping alpaca farmers, providores et al!! Mr Beckala is always fearing for our remotes once I hear those fools start with their very very white rapping! So glad to hear others feel the same way - such an irrational hatred, but now I feel ok about it!
Just got back from the movies - saw Angels and Demons. Not bad. Better than I was expecting (after Da Vinci, I wasn't expecting much). Main reason we went to see it was so we could re-live our Rome trip - exciting to see the streets we stayed in on the big screen. Not so concerned with the quality - but it was a nice surprise. Not claiming it was the best movie ever, but not a waste of money. But why is it that somebody always feels they can rebel against the new Greater Union ticketing system with allocated seating? This huge guy in front of me chucked a major tanty because he got asked to move - was still sighing and grumbling under his breath ten minutes into the film.
I think Friday is definitely the most boring night for tv. On Thursday, there are a couple of options which you may not love, but can tolerate. But Fridays - unless the dragons are playing in the NRL, I find it very difficult to find something to view - last night decided to put on Charley Boorman's 'By Any Means' which was a nice way to kill a couple of hours - although I feel the 'Long Way' series has the added bonus of the yummy Ewan (who is excellent in the aforementioned Angels and Demons), but Charley has his own charm too. Much better than any of the offerings of the FTA networks - oh why does my strata stay so stubborn on the Foxtel issue?!

by Beckala on May 23, 2009 at 05:35 PM

I like Friday night, two games NRL.

by bobmar28 on May 24, 2009 at 06:59 AM

SCRUBS SEASON 9 UPDATE - I'm facebook friends with Zach Braff (it allows me to feel like we're personal besties, although all it means is every now and again he posts something that me and about a billion other people read - he generally doesn't respond to anything anyone else comments on) and he posted an update on the new season of Scrubs. Here goes - Basically, he stated that the first 8 seasons of Scrubs is finished - "that chapter is over". Scrubs will be in a completely new format - the comparison he made was like the way Frasier was a new chapter of Cheers. He and (I think) Sarah will be in the first 6 episodes which will transition into the new format, whatever it will be (he was not clear on that, said that at this stage Bill Lawrence is still developing that).
So, for me, that sounds a little better - would hate it to be the exact same show, just without Zach, because that would be crappy. He also made the point (very valid) that they were thrilled they were going to be able to keep 200 people employed for another year in this economic climate - which you kind of don't think about - the 100s of people who would have been unemployed if it did go who would then have to find new gigs - for the actors it would be much easier. Makes me very respectful of Bill Lawrence - he seems like such a good guy. Zach is apparently going to write his next movie, and has a few projects in mind.
I just thought people would be interested, because I know there are quite a few Scrubs fans on here who were curious about how it would all play out. Time will only tell how it will play out next season.

by Beckala on May 24, 2009 at 08:01 AM

TM, do you have any figures for the AFL - Adelaide vs Carlton broadcast on Channel 10, Saturday from 5:30 PM in Adelaide?

Tribal Mind replies: Because the only questions I ever get during the weekend are football related, I have put every single football match I can find into today's list. If it isn't in the list above, OzTAM did not report it. Could the match you want be included within the program called Saturday Afternoon AFL?

by Dave on May 24, 2009 at 08:53 AM

Tribal Mind replies: Could the match you want be included within the program called Saturday Afternoon AFL?
LOL about all the football questions on the weekends. Channel 10 broadcast two Saturday afternoon games in Adelaide, the first from 1:30pm and I would assume the Adelaide vs Carlton game broadcast from 5:30pm would have rated better in Adelaide than the North Melbourne vs Fremantle game that I assume is in the Saturday Afternoon AFL figures above. Thanks for checking the list anyway.

by Dave on May 24, 2009 at 09:11 AM

"Main reason we went to see it was so we could re-live our Rome trip - exciting to see the streets we stayed in on the big screen.

oh why does my strata stay so stubborn on the Foxtel issue?!

* by Beckala on May 23, 2009 at 05:35 PM"

Ahhh... Roma. I don't remember too much about Rome myself. I got a dose of "Caesar's revenge" that laid me a bit low (apart from the rushed journeys to the loo/bidet... the upward blast of water proved useful in this particular instance!) for the majority of my stay in the "Eternal City".

Nice to hear T. Hank's not a wank and that Howard's not a coward in putting a piece of straightforward entertainment onto the screen.

I hope you didn't stay "in" too many streets during your Roman sojourn - some of those streets were quite busy!

Your strata is probably stubborn because their version of democracy is a little different from the version that supplies minorities like them with services that the majority of the populace have to foot the bill for... Western style freedom is such a blast!

If free-view gets any worse, I'm thinking of asking for my contribution to it's operation back...

I reckon I'll be almost as successful in any bid I make to recoup my contribution to free-view, as you'll be in convincing your strata about the benefits of Foxtel.

The more life changes, the more it stays the same...

by Steve C on May 24, 2009 at 12:43 PM

TM - do you have the ratings for saturday night for Alien Ressurection (on Ten)?
Cheers :)

Tribal MInd replies: I can probably find it, but it doesn't sound like a football match, so why would you want to know?

by Jason on May 24, 2009 at 03:02 PM

Steve C wins Teh Internets! Sorry I haven't been here to rap your praises soonah. But I had an emergency trip to Sydney. Past the Alpaca farmers at Shoalhaven Heads. And avoiding all providores. I just hope they don't start rapping at the Sara Lee Factory Outlet or IKEA!
The TBL addict in me watched the US version tonight. Why can't our version have such snappy editing!

by Bereft Skerrick on May 24, 2009 at 10:15 PM

The Sun-Herald

Who We Are

The Who We Are update: Week 21

COMMENTS

POST A COMMENT

Comments Terms & Conditions

RECENT ENTRIES

ARCHIVES