Separated at Birth?

Monica Attard of Media Watch

and

Jo Frost of SuperNanny


More lookalikes.

If you have any more twin suggestions let me know! Read more...

SBS' Big Lovin' week

SBS is gearing up for one of its most exciting new programmes all year.

In a major shift in programming it will schedule the acclaimed HBO drama series Big Love into the Sunday 8:30pm timeslot.

Big Love centres around a family in Salt Lake City with the father of the family having three wives and seven kids. Loosely based on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the drama stars big screen actors like Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Chloe Sevigny. In the US the church has been at pains to distance itself from any similarities.

It is controversial, sometimes dark and intelligent -perfect for fans of alternative dramas like Weeds and Six Feet Under.

The cable series will provide a real alternative to viewers bored by Grey's Anatomy, CSI and Rove. It is one of several key programming moves being introduced in early June.

SBS will follow the premiere of Big Love with a repeat of the award-winning R.A.N.: Remote Area Nurse starring Susie Porter at 9:30pm.

Later in the same week is the second series of Nerds FC and the premiere of Kick, the new local drama about a Greek family starring Georige Kapiniaris and Maria Mercedes.

Big Love will also have a repeat screening on Friday nights. Elsewhere in the network's schedule are repeat seasons of Oz, Shameless, Top Gear, South Park, Wilfred and a new series of Drawn Together.

Acknowledging the bold programming, a spokesman for SBS said the timing of the new shows were designed to keep new viewers who tune in for Big Love.

Together with the ABC's new Life on Mars commercial TV has never been so challenged on Sunday nights.

Stay tuned for a Big Love review soon!

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Oprah and Durie at it again

Jamie Durie has been back on Oprah this week in the US. He helped Oprah's neighbours makeover their balconies. Obviously they aren't much chop at being green thumbs in Chicago, they need "one of Australia's biggest stars" to help them out. Say what?

Oh well nothing like a little self-promotion. Durie has been smart to turn the axing of Backyard Blitz into a positive American career reinvention, and it doesn't get any better than having the Big O on board. So gushing is the host that she even says Jamie has "millions of fans."

Here's what the Oprah site had to say about Durie on the show this week:

To make her neighbors' balconies into miniature Edens, Oprah sends a call Down Under to get help from Jamie Durie—one of Australia's biggest TV stars and one of the world's most famous gardeners!

Known for his ambush garden makeovers, Jamie has millions of fans, a book of his design influences titled Inspired, and he has even competed on Australia's version of Dancing with the Stars.

Jamie's balcony designs even inspired these 12 condo owners to pay it forward to their other neighbors. "We all decided what we should do is have a balcony crawl so we can all experience the balconies and let other people in the building come into the units and see the balconies," Russell says.

There is also a video highlights section on the site.

In Australia Durie is set to bring the show Australia's Best Backyards to the Seven Network later this year. Read more...

Nine gets its balls back?

Getting hard to keep up with Nine's changes. Now the "balls" are coming back?

In limited promotional use we are seeing the return of Nine's long-standing logo which disappeared in January 2006.


The change was seen by many as a symbolic gesture to indicate the end of the Kerry Packer era. With a renewed push from the Seven Network, Nine was trying to show it was 'out with the old, in with the new'. A network renewed, refreshed, reinvigorated.

I actually liked the clean, minimalist look of its 07 promos.

But now as the Eddie Interim concludes Nine has got its balls back?

All this talk of boning and balls (and admittedly that's from us not them) can't be helpful....

Thanks to MediaSpy.
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Official: BBC quits Neighbours

After 21 years with the BBC Neighbours will move to Channel Five.

Following weeks of speculation, the BBC has officially withdrawn from further negotiations with Fremantle Media which reportedly wanted "roughly three times" the current license fee.

The broadcaster described the "unrealistic asking price" as potentially compromising its capacity to invest in new programming. Fremantle maintains the new price is part of a push to revamp the show, including the sets and backdrops.

The 5.6m UK viewers will see the soap on Channel Five in 2008. Read more...