FTA networks agree on EPG

Our Free to Air networks are finally joining the 21st Century by agreeing to a uniform Electronic Program Guide platform.

This is despite the Nine Network suing ICE TV over its EPG for breach of copyright.

Julie Flynn, Chief Executive Officer of Free TV Australia, said, "Free-to-view digital television is an open platform – available to every household in Australia.

"In the same spirit, we believe all consumers should be able to access our electronic program information."

The agreed format will be conditional "with some base level requirements designed to protect copyright, protect the integrity of the program information and facilitate collection of ratings information."

Any move forward on this is a positive step, though based on how slow some players have been to pick up the pace, I suspect there will still be some limitations.

TEN for example, still refuses to allow TV Tonight to re-host an advance guide, despite the same information being freely available to media, and indeed part-published in advance magazines like TV Week. No other network has indicated any issue with what is surely a win / win and promotion of product.
Read more...

Stan nears the end

Stan Zemanek, former host of Beauty and the Beast has only "days to live" according to 2UE radio boss Greg Byrnes.

"It's my understanding that it's just a matter of time now," Mr Byrnes told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"He is at home, he has a nurse with him and it's just now a matter of making him comfortable. It's my understanding that he will simply head into a sleep, possibly lapse into a coma and pass."

Zemanek, the longest-serving host of the panel show, is succumbing to a brain tumor, which prevented him from returning to the Foxtel show. Read more...

BB flips Nominations

Big Brother is reversing the Nominations and Evictions next week.

On Sunday night the viewing public will be able to Nominate housemates for 24 hours.

On Monday night housemates will nominate as usual without realising their votes are worthless. There will be a relaxing of rules that insists on "good reasons" for nominations.

On Sunday July 15 BB will announce that the public has decided on an alternative shortlist. BB will then call the housemates into the Diary Room and ask them "who do you want to evict?" The winner, or rather the loser, will go immediately.

It's good to see BB finding a variation, although I doubt it will have much dramatic fallout. In fact, there's really not a lot of reason to watch the Monday edition now is there?

Meanwhile the Diary Room chair will tour Melbourne and Sydney if you want to film a nomination yourself.

Melbourne: Highpoint Shopping Centre (with Andrew) Saturday July 7 11:30pm - 3pm

Sydney: Westpoint Shopping Ctr, Blacktown. Sunday July 8 11- 12.30 (Thomas and Andrew), Luna Park 2.30 - 3.30 (with Thomas)
Read more...

Julia joins Bert

Thje rather fabulous Julia Zemiro will be joining Bert Newton to co-host What A Year which is "returning soon" to Nine.

Zemiro has hosted the popular Rockwiz series for SBS and recently appeared on Seven's It Takes Two.

She's a funny gal and the teaming with Newton would be worth looking at, although for a clip show it's a bit odd that two hosts will be fronting it. Newton takes over from Mike Munro, who seems to be little more than a voice-over or newsreader with Nine these days -not bad given his rumoured salary.

Nine is also returning 20 to 1 so Bert will be busy with clip shows. Still, it's great to see Zemiro's star on the rise.

Press Release:

In 2007, What a Year returns to the Nine Network at a new time and with two new hosts.

Australia’s television legend Bert Newton teams up with retro queen Julia Zemiro to present a fresh and hilarious look at life spanning the disco days of the 1970s through to the “noughties” of the new millennium.

With more than 100 years of life experience between them Bert and Julia – the fabulous flashback duo – will provide a visual celebration of our favourite memories over the past three decades: what we were wearing, watching, playing, buying and listening to.

Over six weeks, What a Year will showcase the origins of our contemporary culture and remind us of the fads and fashions we thought we’d rather forget. Bert and Julia will define the moments that shocked us, made us laugh and cry, and often changed the way we live and think today.

Each episode will feature current-day interviews with the newsmakers of the time – sporting heroes, musicians, entertainers and politicians. Iva Davies, Raelene Boyle, Malcolm Fraser, Steven Bradbury and Leo Sayer are just a few of the household names who share a personal insight into their very public moments in the spotlight.

As the theme song says, What a Year is “reelin’ in the years” for a nostalgic look at the trivia and the trends, the fads and the fashions that shaped our memories and gave us the times of our lives. Read more...

Whodunnit baffles Emmerdale

A 'Whodunnit' of Dallas proportions is nearing for UK soap Emmerdale.

Millionaire businessman Tom King is about to meet his demise in the soap which airs on UKTV. But in a JR Ewing plot twist (or should that be Mr Burns?) a cavalcade of suspects will be set up for a mystery that will take a staggering 25 weeks to resolve!

Press Release: (minor spoilers follow)

Hugely popular UK soap Emmerdale, is set in the fictional West Yorkshire village of the same name. However this action packed series is anything but a sleepy rural drama!

Ruthless local millionaire businessman, Tom King has many enemies, but who hates him enough to commit murder? On the day of his wedding to the snobbish Rosemary Sinclair, Tom had already scuffled with his sons and several village locals. During his wedding reception, as the fireworks start, Tom is brutally bludgeoned and falls through a window to his death. Outside the marquee a wedding guest sees Tom lying motionless on the floor and screams. The crowd rushes towards Tom’s body as the snow begins to fall. Who was responsible for Tom’s murder?

This not-to-be-missed episode, screening on Friday, July 13 at 6.30pm on UKTV, is followed by 25 weeks of fascinating twists and turns of the biggest ever murder investigation in soap history. As police hunt down the killer, it seems everyone has a motive for killing the unpopular millionaire. Read more...

First Review: The Circuit

The Howard Government's response to a 'national emergency' in Aboriginal Australia is, sadly, brutally fortuitous for SBS' forthcoming drama, The Circuit. This six-part series was created, crafted and even scheduled well before Howard's startling press conference. Yet it's as if the two were looking at the same research material.

The Circuit grounds itself in the legal system of the outback. Drew Ellis (Aaron Pedersen), an Aboriginal Legal Service lawyer from Perth, is newly appointed to the Kimberley Circuit Court, the staff of which regularly embarks on a five day, 2,000km round trip to dispense justice in remote communities.

Pedersen's character is viewed with near contempt by his clients. Ellis may be dark-skinned, but he has big smoke values. When he arrives he is lumbered with an armful of manila folders - just another day's cases.

"When do I get to brief my clients?" he asks. He soon learns that court decisions are handed down in less time than a Centrelink reception interview.

Heading the Court is Peter Lockhart (Gary Sweet). The normally abrasive Sweet is measured and understated as a fair-minded Magistrate dishing out community orders for cases which mostly pertain to theft, fraud, alcoholism and juvenile crime.

As several locals are repeatedly brought before the Magistrate, it's clear The Circuit is not merely a title referencing the system of law as much as a relentless cycle of despair.

Director Catriona McKenzie establishes an energetic, frenetically-edited opening from directorial styles she studied under Kevin Hooks (Prison Break, 24, Alias, Cold Case). Sexy it may be, but thankfully this frenetic technique becomes more selectively employed as the drama develops.

Partnering white journalist Archie McMahon (Nick Simpson-Deeks) is his Aboriginal boyfriend Clarry Long (LeRoy Parsons playing a double minority). In early episodes there is a relaxed acceptance of this gay relationship, though future synopses indicate it may not remain so simple. Other minorities, including an ex-pat Polish lawyer and Lockhart's Asian girlfriend successfully represent Broome's cultural melting pot.

With plot lines including child abuse, racism and an abandoned generation, The Circuit boasts poetic moments not previously mirrored by most small screen dramas, and is almost certainly the tip of a dramatic iceberg exploring issues we have collectively shunned. Despite its excellent and authentic performances it will not make for easy viewing; which is a very good reason to watch it.

The Circuit premieres 9:30pm Sunday July 8 on SBS. Read more...

Thu July 5

[Fox8/7:35pm] Fish out of Water. Premiere. Ian Thorpe.

[Nine/7:30pm] Getaway
[Nine/8:30pm] Sea Patrol. Premiere. Australia’s most expensive drama series ever produced, shot on location in the waters off Far North Queensland, this action drama follows the exciting high sea adventures of the Royal Australian Navy Patrol Boat Service. Executive Officer Lieutenant Kate McGregor and Bosun’s Mate Spider Webb are on their first patrol aboard HMAS Hammersley, and in these first days they’ll encounter sea sickness, boardings, practical jokes, shipmates lost at sea, and what may turn out to be a marine scientist’s suspicious death. Stars Lisa McCune, Jeremy Lindsay, David Lyons and Ian Stenlake.

[Ten/1:00pm] Oprah. We are challenging Nate with a house that has been on the market for months and the owners must sell! Then, meet Jamie Durie all the way from Australia!! Why millions want him, and you will too!
[Ten/7:30pm] Pirate Master. Ep3.
[Ten/8:30pm] Law and Order: SVU. “Philadelphia.”
[Ten/9:30pm] Law & Order: CI. “Silencer.”

[Seven/8:30pm] Lost. THE BRIG. A newly focused Locke breaks away from 'The Others' in an attempt to persuade Sawyer to help rid them of a great nemesis that has caused nothing but pain in both of their lives. Meanwhile, a new island inhabitant discloses some shocking information about Oceanic Flight 815. Guest starring MARSHA THOMASON and KIMBERLEY JOSEPH.
[Seven/10:30pm] Family Guy. NO MEALS ON WHEELS. The Griffin family decide to start their own restaurant, but have a hard time attracting customers. After Joe promises to help, Peter is excited at the fact of it becoming a local hangout for the police. With the voices of SETH MACFARLANE, ALEX BORSTEIN, SETH GREEN and MILA KUNIS.
[Seven/11:00pm] Stargate SG-1. New Series. FLESH AND BLOOD. As the Ori gain power with their invasion of Chulak, Vala's daughter Adria ages years in a matter of hours and the secret of her conception is revealed. Starring AMANDA TAPPING, CHRISTOPHER JUDGE, BEN BROWDER, BEAU BRIDGES and MICHAEL SHANKS.
[Seven/12:30am Fri] Playing it Straight. How good is your gaydar? Twelve handsome, eligible men: can you tell who's straight or who is just Playing it Straight? Rpt.

[ABC/8:35pm] Brat Camp: What Happened Next. Six badly behaved British teenagers were sent to a pioneering American wilderness camp in a final attempt to change their behaviour. They have been home for a year now - are they back to their bad ways or did Brat Camp work?
[ABC/9:25pm] Gamer Revolution. Final. Tonight's episode focuses on the incredible worldwide growth of the online game revolution. Tens of millions of people are now spending more time in the virtual world of online games than they are in the real world. In Norway, 6000 gamers gather together to play online games - in a celebration of a new world. And money makes this virtual world go round. Gamers now spend hundreds of millions of dollars on virtual items from clothing, furniture to real estate. In Miami, Florida a hustling entrepreneur spends $US100,000 on a virtual space station that exists only in a game. His goal is to be the first virtual Donald Trump. As the power of the games grows, they are colonizing more and more of our lives. Now online games are approaching the final frontier: sex. In the world of online sex games, everyone is a sexual super-hero. From virtual money and virtual power to the search for virtual fame - the world of online games is like no place on earth. Gamer Revolution takes the pulse of this global phenomenon right now, as it is happening. It is a thought-provoking, powerful progress report from the frontlines of the digital transformation and shows how computer games are changing the world.

[SBS/10:20pm] Aussie Onslaught: 25 Years Of Le Tour - An in-depth look at the past 25 years of Australian cyclists on the Tour de France. The competitive nature of Australians on the sporting arena is legendary, and the roads of the Tour de France are no exception. Australian pro-cyclists have dominated the roads of Europe in this traditional sport, dating back over 100 years. Robbie McEwen, Stuart O'Grady, and Cadel Evans are Australians who have become household names in Europe, while Phil Anderson is regarded as a modern-day pioneer, after leading the Aussie invasion with his first Tour de France appearance in the early 1980s. There was a time when being selected to compete in the Tour de France was an achievement in itself. Now, the expectations are much higher. Stage victories are common, and many predict it will only be a matter of time before an Australian steps onto the top of the winner's podium in Paris, as the conqueror of the world's biggest cycle race. (Sport) Read more...