TV08:Australian Comedy

As you probably are already aware, 2007 was a great year for Aussie comedy. The big five were Kath and Kim, Thank God You're Here, Summer Heights High, the Chaser and Spicks and Specks. They were all ratings successes and were all very funny. It revived Australian comedy, which had been struggling a bit the past few years (with the exception of Kath and Kim of course).

This year is a different story. Of the '07 hits; There is no Kath and Kim (except maybe a movie), Thank God You're Here, Summer Heights High and no Chaser for the first half of the year. We only have Spicks and Specks, which is also part gameshow.

Of the new shows, we have Out of the Question, which is also part game-show, hosted by Glenn Robbins. This looks promising, and could be very successful if Channel Seven doesn't try too hard and over-structure the show. If they give our top comedians such as Glenn Robbins and Ed Kavalee (if he is on the show), some room to breathe, it could be very funny. If it turns out to be live it could be even better and some impromptu comedy "youtube" moments could be created.

There is also Good News Week, which we already have seen before, but with Paul McDermott hosting you know it is bound to be funny. It just depends whether enough people will watch it, with the previous GNW and its re-incarnation The Glass House not exactly rating fantastically and McDermott's The Sideshow being axed due to poor ratings.

Monster House is Nine's attempt at comedy. With no comedy successes in '07, it will be hard to establish a unique sense of humour but it will try again with this. In '07 Suprise Suprise Gotcha not suprisingly didn't work. This was not due to Matt Tilley, whose great talents were wasted on this show, in which Channel Nine tried to cash in on his "Gotcha" call success in Melbourne. It was due to the unintelligent set-ups and constant repeats of "Classic" suprise suprise set-ups.
Oh, and it was also up against Mr. Somers.
Monster House looks like another Suprise Suprise Gotcha only with non-famous people getting stung, not celebrities. It is also Channel Nine trying to use the moderately popular Rebel Wilson; who is moderately popular from the terrible The Wedge, Fat Pizza and a couple of appearances on Thank God You're Here (which these days earns people radio jobs- Akmal Saleh, Dancing with the Stars Appearances- Fifi Box, and leading roles in TV shows- Rebel Wilson).
Anyway, based on the success of Suprise, this show won't be the most popular show in the world, but it might create some funny characters, and it could use these characters to find some success.

Rove is back... which Channel Ten probably says "Thank God" to. If he would have moved to America permanently, it would leave a big hole in Australian TV, but people obviously don't realise this when they voted him Most Annoying TV Personality, but you can read more about that in the Cranky Corner post.
Rove and his "gang" will continue to entertain.

Packed to the Rafters looks to be a sort of "dramedy". Probably will be a good family show and with Rebecca Gibney and Michael Caton, who are quite popular, will probably be successful.

Of course Spicks and the Chaser will be popular again.

Kenny's World Tour of Toilets sees Shane Jacobson reprise his role as Kenny to travel the world. If this doesn't work, it will tarnish the Kenny brand but I don't see any reason why it won't. But you only have to look at the My Big Fat Greek Wedding TV spin-off to be a bit scared.

Friday Night Download can hardly be called comedy but I guess that is what they are trying to achieve. All I will say about it is that if you ever have a thought to watch it, log on to a little thing called YouTube.

If I have forgotten anything or if you have an opinion on any of these shows, post a comment.

It Takes Who?!

Now I have seen some pretty bad "celebrity" line-ups in the past over the last couple of years but this years It Takes Two certainly takes the cake. I mean, most people would not have heard of most of the celebrities on this years line up.

The seven website says there is;

Paul O'Brian from Home and Away. I don't watch Home and Away and even if I did I probably wouldn't know who he was.

Chloe Maxwell I only vaguely remember from a Just Jeans commercial.

Scott Draper; I think I have heard his name mentioned in the news.

Virginia Gay; Never heard of her. Never watched All Saints and I don't plan to.

Julia Morris; I have only seen her once or twice on Thank God You're Here and I heard she was in the Singing Office on Foxtel but I don't have Foxtel so...

John Mangos; Had never heard of him until I heard on Weekend Sunrise that his wife had had a baby. And once again, because I don't have Foxtel, I have never seen him on Sky News.

Sara Groen; I remember seeing her once or twice on Saturday Disney until she left and I haven't seen her since.

Mark Wilson; He is probably the biggest "celebrity" on this show- and that is saying something.

Candice Falzon: Had never heard of her until she did a couple of publicity interviews on the radio... apparently an Ironwoman... OK.

Russell Robertson: Once again, I am familiar with his name but not much else. I don't barrack for Melbourne either.

And by the way, a note on the It Takes Two web-page; Channel Seven, please update the picture of Grant Denyer and Terasa Livingstone at the top of the page... isn't Erika Heynatz supposed to be co-hosting? That picture is two years old!

Anyway, I will not be watching ITT as much this season. The show is just a vehicle for D- Grade celebrities to boost their profiles and hopefully get a job as It Takes Two co-host next season... like Kate Ritchie and Erika Heynatz.

Channel Nine's New Old Look

Well I know this is about a week old now but I would just to congratulate nine for reverting back to its old logo. It looks much better that its old 9 in a square. The Nine promos also look good in between the programs. The old promos were shocking. They were unimaginative and tired. The only thing that the new promos expose about Channel Nine is that they don't have a lot of new talent and new faces. Over the past two or three years the same faces have been around at Channel Nine. For example; Eddie, Catriona, Peter Hitchener, Bert, Ray, Sam Newman. I'm not saying we should get rid of these people because they are experienced professionals but an injection of fresh talent would give Nine its much needed boost.

It is also about time that they got a slogan again. I don't think that they've actually had a proper slogan for the past 2 years and their new one, We (heart) TV, while not the most original, is pretty good. Anyway, what do you think?

Sunrise vs. Today

As we head into another ratings season I was wondering whether the fortunes of the struggling Today show will improve. Which show have you been watching and what will you watch this year. I have always watched Today. Don't ask me why. To me, both of the shows are looking more and more like each other everyday. Are there any members of the Today show or Sunrise team who annoy you. Who is the best host? Karl and Lisa are always improving and the show can only get better as they improve their rapport together. The Today show has well and truly moved on from the whole Jessica Rowe debacle. Karl doesn't look as nervous as he used to and is also getting better. Sunrise is rolling along, still winning the ratings easily without having to make drastic changes to its format. If the Today show can continue with its current team without losing anyone, its ratings should slowly improve.

TV08

This post is designed for you to express your opinions, expectations and hopes for TV shows in 2008. Which new and returning shows are you excited about? Which ones are you dreading? Which personalities do you hope to see more of and less of? Once again I will start it off...
New Shows

So far no new shows have really got me excited. I don't know about you guys but

Reaper- Looks OK, could serve as a replacement to My Name is Earl before it comes back.

Out of the Question- This will either be really good and funny. Could be the next Thank God You're Here ratings wise. This will be some of the only Aussie comedy on offer at the start of the year so it could provide a few laughs, especially with Glenn Robbins at the helm. He has not yet fronted a show by himself but has become popular through his roles as Kel, Uncle Arthur and Russel Coight. If Ed Kavalee really is going to be on the show, it really will be worth watching. Fifi Box and Tony Moclair might be entertaining.

Good News Week- There is nothing bad about it returning, with the absence of the axed Slideshow, it will be good to see Paul McDermott back on screen. The big question will be whether it rates. It probably won't get really high figures given The Sideshow was axed, but it might pull respectable figures...And I know that it's technically not a new show.

Back To You- I think many people have been missing Frasier and Raymond since they left a couple of years ago and we haven't seen a decent new American sitcom since. It will be good light-entertainment.

Monster House- It might not be the best show coming up but it might unearth some new Aussie talent. It also sounds like a kind-of original idea.

I will add more to this when I find out more about the new shows.

Returning Shows

Lost- Lost has been a great show over the past couple of years and the saga continues to unfold and we will hopefully get closer to some answers in Season 4. The only bad thing about Lost is that Seven only has less than half a normal season up its sleeve. So don't get too attached to it because just as you start to get into it, it will be yanked off your screen.

Desperate Housewives- After a better Season 3, Season 4 of Desperate Housewives should be good. But once again, don't get too attached to it.

Rove- Consistently funny and entertaining show. Rove was voted most annoying TV personality at the beginning of the year but this isn't accurate at all. Anyway, hopefully the whole Rove team is back again for 2008.

Newstopia- The extremely funny Shaun Micallef is back with this fast-paced show which is sure to entertain again.

Scrubs- Hopefully it is coming back but I haven't read or seen anything yet. Also a very funny show but is buried at night.

Spicks and Specks- Great show which hasn't tired itself out yet. It should continue to be funny especially with Adam Hills, Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough still on board.

The Cranky Corner

This is the place where you can vent all of your frustrations about Australian TV. It can be your annoyances with certain TV personalities, TV commercials or anything else which happens to get on your nerves. I will start off the Cranky Corner with the Channel Nine Advertising Watermarks. If you thought that the scrolling banners across your screen weren't annoying enough, Channel Nine manages to step it up a notch with ads such as The Chopping Block- Coming February written across the bottom right of your screen for an hour while Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is on. I believe that there was also a Sarah Connor Chronicles watermark in the corner of another show which I glanced at. Anyway, another Cranky is a small one but is still really annoying. I am also against Rove Voted Most Annoying TV Personality. People have run out of people to call annoying and have gone for Rove. Is he annoying because he was on a mammoth 2 shows in 2007? Maybe you can tell me if you find Rove annoying and why/why not. Well that's all I've got for now, hopefully you can help add to the list.

Welcome

Hello... this is my TV blog. I am not here to supply news, http://www.tvtonight.com.au/ is the best source for news to do with TV. This site is to act as a forum for opinions and views on Australian TV. Discuss your favourite and least favourite shows and personalities on TV. I will offer some of my opinions for you to dispute or agree on. Feel free to leave comments or send me an email.