Kylie Who back on

It's on... it's off...now it's back on again.

No it's not a Kylie romance, it's her upcoming role with Doctor Who.

Despite a previous denial from writer Russell T. Davies, Kylie has reportedly confirmed that yes, she is set to star on the Brit drama.

Latest rumor is that she is appearing in the Christmas special, but not as a villain. Read more...

It's Serbia!

Serbia has won Eurovision 2007!

Marija Šerifović took out the show with her power ballad 'Moltiva.' Serbia scored 268 points, defeating Ukraine (235), Russia (207) and Turkey (163).

It is Serbia's first win.

Serbia's act, which scored highly, seemed to resemble a lesbian act, an androgynous female surrounded by exotic women -and her voice soared.

At the bottom of the ladder were United Kingdom, France and Ireland.

In a rousing presentation from Helsinki, this year was dominated by the might of the Eastern European bloc countries. They also managed to oust a slew of Western European countries from the Semi-Final as qualifying for the Final.

Notable gimmicks this year included a bunch of old men singing, the flying mile high club, and several acts led by camp or drag performers, most especially Ukraine, Sweden and France (Denmark's drag queen didn't make it through to the Final).

As commentator Terry Wogan noted, the production from Finland was outstanding, overflowing with fireworks, lavish lighting and a gigantic, versatile set.

Critics will no doubt be calling for modifications to the voting system (once again!) to negate the power of the Eastern European bloc. Since the fall of the Russian Empire the string of new countries entering Eurovision sees them voting for their neighbours. But if truth be told, even the Western countries voted Serbia and Ukraine highly - so go figure.

And what about the change to the voting? Sure it's quicker just hearing the 8, 10 and 12 pointers, but I miss 'deux points!'

Finally, my top three were Germany, Serbia and Russia.

Goodnight, Helsinki! Thankyou for fabulous show! We congratulate you wonderful show! See you in Belgrade!

Final scoring.

See Marija Šerifović's winning act here.

Eurovision Watch. Read more...

Nine still not the won

Channel Nine came close to toppling Seven in Week 19 of ratings -but it still wasn't enough.

Seven cleared the week with 29.4% to Nine's 28.4%. TEN had 21.4% and ABC 14.9% and SBS got 5.8%.

It was Nine's best shot at toppling Seven's dream run. In its arsenal it had the Logie Awards and Seven was without both Dancing with the Stars and Australia's Got Talent. But Nine fell short of a win. It will be a morale blow to those in the network who had hopes of lifting their 2007 spirits.

Amongst Seven's strongest shows are the consistent pulling power of its News and Today Tonight. It is the reason Nine has addressed the poor lead-in of Bert's Family Feud and why it is trying to take control of the Perth affiliate where its low-rating news drags down eastern seaboard figures. Other top performers for Seven were It Takes Two, Where Are They Now, Home & Away, Desperate Housewives and Better Homes and Gardens.

The 49th TV Week Logie Awards were Nine's best but at 1.7m it was well short of recent years. Other winners were Red Carpet Arrivals, 1 vs 100, Getaway and Sunday News. In a week when the axe fell for Bert, he had a surprisingly strong pull with 50 to 1 indicating Nine has an opportunity to move against It Takes Two with the right product. The debut of Lost Tribes was disappointing given it owned Sunday night.

For TEN the news was flat all round. House was its only strong audience, and even that was beaten by the ABC. The Law & Order franchise and NCIS did ok, but the reliance on Big Brother is hurting TEN, barely passing the million mark. The Friday Night Live games outrated the eviction and nomination shows. With a long stretch ahead this is a major concern for the network.

The ABC consolidated its Wednesday wins with both Spicks and Specks and The Chaser's War on Everything. And Robin Hood almost beat Big Brother.

Ratings Week 19 Read more...

Eurovision Finalists

The results of the Eurovision Semi Final are in!

10 of 28 countries have now qualified for the Final to take place Saturday night (Sunday morning AEST).

To view the list of winners and losers

....they are as follows:

03. Belarus
06. FYR Macedonia
07. Slovenia
08. Hungary
11. Georgia
14. Latvia
17. Serbia
21. Bulgaria
22. Turkey
24. Moldova

These ten now join the other countries which had automatically qualified for the Final.

The list of winners was heavily weighted towards Eastern European blocs, ousting other countries like Norway, Malta, Israel, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

According to Alistair Birch's Eurovision blog, "Last year's Heavy Metal Eurovision winner Lordi had encouraged a number of countries to submit rock bands to this year's contest. All were eliminated at this Evening's Semi Final. Other high-profile eliminations included Switzerland's DJ Bobo and Andorra's Anonymous as well as most other Western European countries in the Semi Final."

According to his site, Aussie voters have voted Roger Cicero from Germany as its preferred choice, but it has no bearing on the outcome.

This site will not post any news or comments on the Final until after the SBS telecast ends.

Eurovision Watch
Read more...