NZ: 1 Oz: 0 US: .5

At least in terms of the comedy stakes.

Case in point: The Jacquie Brown Diaries, a very meta comedy wherein a reporter parodies herself. (Take that Larry!)

It’s Over?

The US recession may be “over,” but why does it feel like the end to the video of Smack My Bitch Up (hyperlinked in case anyone is a workplace not terribly friendly to massive drug and sexual references)?

On a slightly shallower note, The 7PM Project should make it through Summer, and hopefully they will work at ending segments without sounding rude to the guests.

Changing My Mind on 7TWO

When the details were released about Seven’s new channel (7TWO? I know they couldn’t use 9 (7+2), but 7TWO?), I was rather unimpressed. However, TV Tonight posted a very colourful interview with Seven’s programming chief, Tim Worner, and I must say that I definitely get the very measured and conservative way that he’s steering 7TWO.

Still a daft name though.

Oh, Dearie

The NSW government used images from a Minnesota city (I’m going to say Minneapolis, based on what I see) for their campaign promoting their investment in infrastructure, according to an article in today’s Daily Telegraph.

Given what Four Corners just said about the NSW government’s poor job in this area, it makes a bit of sense as to why they went overseas.

Hollywood goes back to Hollywood

It was only a few years ago—or at least it feels like it—when the US press kicked up a nationalist fervour over the fact that a huge swath of American television and film production was being done in Canada (masquerading as various American cities from New York to No Name [North] American metropolis).

Perhaps it was because it was viewed as treachery by Our Friends in the North, or an example of the platinum level of NAFTA (bonus perk: your greenback goes further here!!!), but the loss of US media to Canadian locales, spurred on a slight boom amongst US cities and states to entice productions to film in their own backyard.

Although it didn’t receive as much press as Canada, Australia also received an influx of productions courtesy of the Australian dollar’s weakness against the American. The scale of production was so much that it spawned a theme park. 

Within Australia, the film production centred not around Sydney & New South Wales, but Queensland (think California’s industry and size with Floridian government, taxes, and mindset) and Victoria (the traditional home of Australian media). So when New South Wales managed to get a piece of the action, it was quite the coup.

But now the Australian dollar is strong, super strong, and the media conglomerates are haemorrhaging big time, and a strong Australian dollar isn’t in their cards.

While it is great that US film and television production crews are going to benefit (bizarrely) from the GFC, do spare a thought for NSW’s film and television industry.

And for certain bloggers on certain corners of the internet who would’ve appreciated seeing Ryan Reynolds caper about.

Oh well, we’ll make do with the third series of Underbelly.

Action versus Suspense

Jim Schembri writing Thursday’s TV Guide in the Sydney Morning Herald stated that “Rush is further evidence that Australian television just can’t do action well.” 

And he’s right to a certain degree, in my opinion.

The episode in question was very low in action, but it was quite high in terms of suspense, which I have come to find is a trademark in most Australian television and film.

A nation’s media output is a reflection of its environment and culture, remember. Friday’s Daily Telegraph ran an article that said that Australian horror movies may be hurting tourism:

Speaking in the article, QUT professor Mark David Ryan said: "Horror films hold up a mirror to the dark aspects of a given culture, or underlying cultural fears and anxiety, and in the case of Australian films it is often about a hostile landscape, nature taking its revenge, and also of a fear of outsiders”.

In the US and many other countries which have a higher population, you find that television and film illustrate that the threatening presence is another person rather the environment itself, and that other person is right around the corner, minutes or even seconds away. In Australian media, however, the threat is lingering, permeating the air, but not quite manifesting itself until the end for maximum shock.

It’s a slow burn instead of a rapid fire, so to speak.

A prime example of this slow burn used effectively are the understated City Homicide on Seven, and East West 101 on SBS, where the stories unravel at a slower pace, and the outcome is not always a given. American shows--for the most part--may have more bang bang, but showing the impact of the violence does not happen that often. (I’d say The Closer is one of the few that does.)

So Australia might not do action, but it does do suspense quite well.

Truly it was a slow news day

I’d like to think that big international news organisations would start a degree of self-examination in terms of what is deemed worthy of the full-court “let’s do nonstop coverage” and what is merely worthy of a five second “odd news” mention.

I won’t hold my breath.

I’ll just hide out in my attic.

Spruiking corner

Although according to Encarta, you can’t really spruik people, I’m going to try, mostly because an old mate of mine from college is a comedian. He’s making waves in the UK, and he deserves to make some serious waves down here too.

I’m biased, but I think he’d do a killer job on The 7PM Project.

Random Weekend, eh?

Obama vows to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell*, Rupert Murdoch decries the end of the free internet from China, Stephen Gately dies,** and Prince Philip tells it like it is in regards to televisions.

Not that there’s any strong link between the first three stories, but in today’s modern media world that still seems to go slow on the weekend, major (non- natural catastrophic) news stories breaking is rare.

* Re: Nobel Peace Prize, I truly like Obama, even more so now, but he’s hasn’t done anything just yet to advance world peace. I would think he would have gotten one in the future, but 9 months in…? Still, I think he gave the best response possible.

** Death doesn’t really take a holiday, but to those who were teenagers/young adults in the mid 1990s, it’s still a shock.

Sunday Jukebox is Sexy?

Or rather slightly camp/funk, which is how I’d classify Kome Kome Club, in particular this “goodbye” performance from March 1997.

Now For Something Different

Carmen Rupe, the first Maori drag queen, celebrates her 74th birthday.

See the story on 3NewsNZ.

Get this man off Australian Television

I’m not talking about Daryl Somers, but Dr. Rey.

Please, please, please. Return him to anonymity.

What the hell is he doing here?

Oi, Producer

Perhaps people reading this in the US have heard about the controversial skit on the Hey, Hey It’s Saturday reunion and Harry Connick Junior’s reaction to it.

(In case you haven’t here is a link to an ABC News post regarding it.)

I am not going to add fuel to fire, because the issue ignites both nationalism and racism, pushing rationality to the side.

I just have to wonder what kind of producer would think that it would be wise to have that sort of act on a show which featured:

• Marcia Hines
• Jessica Mauboy
• The Black-Eyed Peas (even presenting an award to them)
• Pink

Not to mention the aforementioned Connick Jr.

A bad call by the producers, not only for content, but for also failing to realise that in this day and age that everything is both global and local at once.

Midweek Comedy Moment

Feel frustrated at the DMV/RTA? Or at bureaucracy in general?

Watch this scene from the classic cartoon film The Twelve Tasks of Asterix.

The Past Comes A-Haunting

We've all said things when tired that we have later come to regret.

Yet when looking into this story on TV Tonight about former Sunrise weather presenter Grant Denyer*, I found this interesting slip-of-the-tongue which may give insight into what runs through his mind.

* (no AMS-equivalent nonsense here for the weather people, they just need to be perky in the AM and capable of reading a cue card from some far-flung and desolate part of the country.)

NBC meets its own level?

Taking a quick gander on the BBC News’s website, I read that NBC might sold to Comcast.

It seems oddly appropriate that NBC Universal, which was on its way towards become a cable behemoth when I left the US, would be bought out by one of the nation’s largest cable companies.

That said, the whole deal seems very AOL Time Warner.

Since we're on matters American, I just have to say: Go Chicago.

Australian Television Battle Royale 2: The Cheese Off

Nostalgia pipped celebrity as the reunion special for Hey Hey, It’s Saturday (think Sabado Gigante: Australia) beat out Celebrity Masterchef Australia’s debut by close to a million viewers, according to TV Tonight.

In other words: Nine beat out Ten (Masterchef, NCIS: Los Yawngeles), and Seven (World’s Strictest Parents Reunion Special, City Homicide), in that order.

It’s nice of the networks to let Norma Desmond have a little moment of glory.

iFail 2.0

Much to no one surprise, Kraft is going rename their new Vegemite brand from the daft iSnack 2.0, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The name was chosen by a Western Australian website designer (who should get out of the computer room a bit more, in my humble opinion) and has been roundly criticised nationwide ever since.

Appropriately the new name will be put to a popular vote, so that the Antipodeans will have only themselves to blame.

I have tried iSnack2.0/Vegemite with cream cheese, and it’s not horrible, but it does look very #2.0 on a crumpet, if you follow my meaning.

Australian Television Battle Royale

We are two days into what looks like 5 way match between all the Free-to-Air channels down here in Australia. (Even too-cool-for-school SBS and Aunty ABC are joining in.)*

* SBS and the ABC are government owned, so ratings aren’t supposed to mean much to them.

The winner so far: Seven, which has blanketed the airwaves, bus shelters, and frankly all of the country promoting Flash Forward, garnering it a remarkable 1.78 million viewers on Monday night in Sydney.

Personally, I found the promoting rather tiresome, and I wouldn’t be surprised that if the numbers start dropping next week. I left the US prior to the Flash Forward campaign kicking into high gear, but if it was half as promoted on ABC as Seven, then it must’ve been insufferable.

Seven also tried to seamlessly weave in NBC’s new Grey’s Anatomy knockoff, Mercy into Flash Forward with no indication that the latter had finished. Between the two, I prefer Mercy, but it’s also a case of being the best of mediocre lot. (Nine programmed the doomed-to-fail The Apprentice Australia against it and Ten had Little Britain USA.)

Still to come: Celebrity Masterchef Australia on Ten, which with its 7:30 pm timeslot, might bolster the fortunes of The 7PM Project.

For ratings, click onto TV Tonight.

Don’t Drink and Present

At least if you’re a footballer who can’t hold his liquor…and have a camera crew following your every move…at one of the most prestigious events in your sport. (The woman being interviewed talking about Brendan is his estranged--and pregnant wife, Alex Fevola.)

The off-season is going to be very interesting.