Now the first live sing-off of Australian Idol is underway, give us your thoughts.
Who do you think will be first eliminated? What performance was a hit? How about the judges?
And any tips on the ratings figures for Monday?
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Strip Search, the American version of the show that Billy Cross from Manpower created for the Nine Network, will premiere this week on Fox 8.
8 Yankee hunks will be plucked from obscurity to form the Vegas-based troupe, American Storm.
It all starts 8:30pm on Wednesday night.
You know you want to....
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Network TEN will screen the 59th PrimeTime Emmy Awards on Monday September 17th from 10:10pm.
Hosted by Ryan Seacrest (how could we resist the blonde tips photo, Mr Seacrest?) TEN's broadcast will be a highlights package only.
For the full, live as it happens ceremony, check the Bio Channel, which has the Red Carpet Arrivals from 8am -but no Joan Rivers. Can we talk?
Seacrest was chosen by host broadcaster FOX after it was decided Hugh Laurie could be too British for the occasion.
Full Emmy nominees.
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The Chaser boys have released advance footage of their APEC police bust on their My Space site.
You can see Chas Licciardello being detained by police after the stunt by the ABC comedy team went a little further than planned.
More on the now-infamous APEC sketch will air this Wednesday night on ABC TV.
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They sing everywhere these days from Idol to It Takes Two, from Rock Star to Operatunity. So it's no surprise Foxtel was quick to pick up the Dutch format The Singing Office.
It's a simple idea really. Can you take a bunch of non-singers and get them to warble and drive up your ratings? It worked pretty well for the ABC's Choir of Hard Knocks. In fact it worked brilliantly.
This reality / game show hybrid chooses not to shoot so high. Nick Giannopoulis hosts the "live studio" segment of this one hour show where office and factory workers are culled by two singing team leaders to rehearse a number to perform before three judges and an audience.
The judges are Molly Meldrum and Tottie Goldsmith (both Foxtel stable favourites) and a guest judge (Ep 1: BB's David Graham).
In the opening ep the teams are pulled from the staff at the Victorian Arts Centre and Four & Twenty Pies in Bairnsdale. In recorded footage, expect to see lots of attempts at singing in hurried snapshots. Julia Morris adds a lot of zest to this cattle call, and her opposition is pulled together by Gus Worland (An Aussie Goes Barmy). Singing tutors, choreographers and costumiers follow before the big night.
As it turns out, the big night isn't really all that big. The studio set from Foxtel looks cheap, and Giannopoulis is overly earnest for what is essentially a karaoke night. As many karaoke patrons will tell you, they are great fun for those that are there....
The live performance element of Singing Office, with Meldrum and co looking on, looked remarkably like a performance ripped out of Countdown. The backing dancers were trying hard, the small audience was swaying along as instructed -but in 2007, music television that still looks like its in 1977 has its work cut out for it.
The two songs, Working Class Man and I Love the Nightlife (in complete Footy Show drag) were routine but the judges nearly had a hernia with their necessary enthusiasm. Molly knows a lot about music we know, but as he found out with Popstars, choosing when and where to show his expertise is a fine art.
By the end of it all, some team won, to be rapturously invited back for a final with some trophy. I can't be sure if their boss gave them a pay rise.
Principally The Singing Office lacked the emotional through line of Choir of Hard Knocks. Like It Takes Two and The National Karaoke Challenge from SBS a few years back, there isn't really a whole lot of outcome to this. At least in Idol the kids are offered a recording contract and a career shortcut.
This show might have more merit if it were 30 minutes shorter and if everyone involved treated it with the karaoke inanity it deserves. Or if Ricky Gervais had been involved....
If you love those Singing Star games on Playstation, this might be one for you.
The Singing Office premieres Sunday 9 Sept 6:30pm on Fox8.
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Just weeks after sounding like he was set to walk Ray Martin looks like walking back into a hosting, or at least co-hosting, role for the Nine Network.
Martin will join Ellen Fanning to present the Sunday show in a move that effectively ousts current co-host Ross Greenwood.
Martin will continue to file stories for 60 Minutes and is set to lead Nine's election coverage this year.
The appointment is bound to be one of the key decisions by new Director of News and Current Affairs, John Westacott.
Martin, in airing his thoughts, had always said he would be interested in discussing new projects with Nine. Clearly, the network wasn't about to let him go to Seven, a mistake they made with Jamie Durie.
Sunday has been a trailblazing product for the Nine Network over 25 years but has slumped recently, most particularly since the exit of Jana Wendt. If Ray can help restore its former glory then good luck to him.
Looks like he got the gig just before Mary Kostakidis put her hand up?
Source: The Australian.
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WIN Television and the Nine Network are back in bed together.
The contractual resolution to protracted joint programming issues appears to have been Nine's response to WIN recently announcing it had signed regional SA to the Seven Network.
Nine will continue to supply programming for regional stations in the WIN network and STW in Perth. Adelaide remains unchanged and regional SA,r Mildura and Griffith are unaffected by the deal.
WIN has had a long fight with Nine over supply arrangements and pulled shows like Mornings with Kerri-Anne to flex its muscle. So far KAK is only up for consideration after the new deal is settled.
According to The Australian, WIN appears to have agreed to a 33% revenue deal rising to 35% in five years. This higher than the alleged 29% figure it was seeking, and up on the current 32.5%. So Nine seems to have had a WIN there!
Press Release:
Nine Network Australia and the WIN Corporation today announced that agreement had been reached on licensing fees for the regional stations in the WIN network and STW in Perth . There is no change to the arrangements for NWS in Adelaide .
Ian Law, Chief Executive Officer of PBL Media said: “The new agreement is a good compromise reflecting the higher costs of our content and our need to invest in the Network at the same time ensuring WIN has capacity to invest and grow its business.
“Our focus now is to build the position of both the Nine Network Australia and the regional and metropolitan stations in the WIN Network. It is a positive outcome for our viewers and advertisers. The overarching principle of the new 5 year agreement is that stations in the Nine Network Australia and WIN will broadcast the same content and schedules, with minor variations for time zones.
“We are in the middle of a rebuilding phase of the Nine Network Australia and it was important for us to conclude the arrangements to allow us to work with the management and staff of WIN to build our audiences and also grow our collective revenues and profits.”
Bruce Gordon, Deputy Chairman of WIN Corporation, said he was delighted with the outcome and the fact that arrangements had been settled. He said on the basis of the new arrangements the WIN Network could focus on developing its business on a sustainable basis.
“We believe the outcome on licence fees is a reasonable compromise and will allow us the margin to invest in our content and the Network in a broader sense.
“ Perth has moved from a share of costs under the previous owners to a share of revenue and we think this is good for us. We also think it will be good for NNA. We intend to invest heavily in the business to grow our audience in Perth and WA, and we believe that we can grow the revenue. We are already planning a number of changes in the local news and current affairs content to take us forward.
“The outcome for the regional stations in the WIN Network is also reasonable and we are confident that we can work with Nine Network Australia to find operational synergies. The new arrangements do not at this stage apply to the regional stations in SA, Mildura and Griffith.”
Mr Gordon said he and Nine would review the situation with Mornings with Kerri-Anne once the new arrangements were settled. The regional sales operations of WIN and NBN would continue to present a total integrated marketing solution.
“Our focus now is to work with Nine to make the two networks, Nine Network Australia , and WIN, a powerful and united force.”
Additional Source: The Australian.
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Ewan McGregor will be interviewed by Andrew Denton next Monday on Enough Rope, 9:35pm ABC TV.
Remember when Australian Idol had a sense of humour? This CD of its worst singers in 2004 must be a Collector's Item already (although we can't be sure of its value). There was Jenna, the girl with the dog's pitch voice, the identical Duffy Sisters, Georgy the camp dancer, Nadine who asked "Am I Not Pretty Enough?" and of course Flynn, our own William Hung. Now that's entertainment!