It's no Secret

Next Monday you can see Oprah introduce America to The Secret.

Devised (or is that packaged?) by Aussie Rhonda Byrne, it's a philosophy supposedly showing you how to improve your life.

The basic principle is "Ask. Believe. Receive." The phrases good karma or visualisation also spring to mind, but good luck to her.

Byrne was once a Nine producer for Sensing Murder, Loves Me Loves Me Not and World's Greatest Commercials. Now she's hit pay dirt on the talk circuit and Oprah is more thrilled by her than, well, Jamie Durie.

Byrne put her mantra into a documentary which Nine screened in a low-key Saturday timeslot last month. They might wanna re-think about an Encore (y'know, a repeat where people actually wanna see something again for real).

You can read more about The Secret in Wikipedia. and on Oprah.

The Oprah episode airs 1pm on Monday 19 and TEN has a follow-up episode on Tues 27th.
Read more...

Shhh. It's Confidential TV.

Sydney Confidential in the Daily Telegraph is one of the better gossip-busters around.

So it's no surprise to see Foxtel is turning it into a weekly 30 minute show, Confidential.

Starting on June 6 on Fox8 the show will be hosted by Sophie Falkiner (Wheel of Fortune) and a yet-to-be-announced male host.

One of the downsides to a weekly show is that it won't be able to match the 24hr turnaround of fresh news of a newspaper column. So the show will be complemented by a new website www.confidentialtv.com.au

Press Release follows:

News Limited and FOXTEL today announced the launch of Confidential, a new TV show based on the hugely successful entertainment columns in News Limited newspapers. The weekly show debuts on FOXTEL’s FOX8 on June 6.

Running for 30 minutes, Confidential is the first homegrown show of its kind in Australia, delivering news, reviews and interviews from the world of entertainment. Focusing on Australian celebrities, but keeping an eye on the rest of the world, Confidential offers viewers a backstage pass to the celebrity world.

Sophie Falkiner is confirmed as one of the two hosts of the series. The male anchor will be announced in coming weeks.

Mr Joe Talcott, News Limited’s director of marketing said “Australians love celebrity news and gossip, and there’s no better vehicle than Confidential to deliver it to them. This is a tremendous opportunity to expand our brand onto television and we look forward to working with FOXTEL on this exciting venture.”

FOXTEL director of television & marketing, Brian Walsh said “It’s not often that new TV shows hit the ground running with such a strong brand, and there’s no doubt the Confidential brand is synonymous with entertainment. Yet again, FOXTEL leads the way in innovative homegrown television and we expect Confidential will be a huge hit with FOX8 viewers.”

The TV show and newspaper columns will be joined by a brand new website www.confidentialtv.com.au which directs readers to their local Confidential web pages on News Limited masthead websites.

The Confidential name was first introduced in January 2000 in New South Wales as Sydney Confidential, a section within The Daily Telegraph. Since then, the Confidential franchise has expanded into News Limited’s metro titles across Australia.

Confidential is a joint venture between News Limited and FOXTEL, who have commissioned 13x30min episodes from Landmark Television, producers of shows such as The Real Seachange for the Seven Network Australia, Five Star Insider for Discovery Channel and The Family Firm for Television New Zealand. Read more...

Nine's wall of water week

Nine will screen Tsunami: The Aftermath on Sunday March 25 at 9pm.

In the same week it will have a movie length CSI: Miami episode called "Crime Wave" in which a tidal wave is heading for Miami.

And that's on top of the FINA Swimming.

Tsunami: The Aftermath is a HBO telemovie featuring Toni Collette, Tim Roth and Sophie Okonedo. It was shot on location in Phuket and Khao Lak, Thailand.

UPDATE: But there is disappointing news in Nine's handling of this too. HBO produced this as a 2 part telemovie / mini comprising 3 hours (without ads). Nine has opted to edit this down to one screening, as a 2 and a half hour movie with ads. That's about 50% of the content washed away once you account for commercials. Scenes. Subplots. Gone.

A Nine spokesperson told me this decision was made to liven up the drama's pace. Hmm.

Here's what HBO have to say on the movie:

A tale of personal loss, survival and hope, TSUNAMI, THE AFTERMATH follows a group of fictional characters whose lives are irrevocably transformed by the cataclysmic natural disaster.

Among those whose stories are followed are: a young couple searching for their child; a Thai survivor who loses his family and tries to prevent developers from seizing the land his village is built on; an Englishwoman whose husband and son are missing; an ambitious reporter; a relief worker; an overwhelmed British official whose faith in the system is torn apart; and a leading Thai meteorologist, whose earlier report detailing the inevitability of a tsunami hitting the affected area was ignored.

TSUNAMI, THE AFTERMATH is based on extensive research and interviews by writer Abi Morgan and dramatically explores the interconnectedness of those who suffered loss in this unimaginable tragedy.

The miniseries examines the cultural and personal fault lines that can be ruptured when catastrophe strikes, and shows how people all over the world - and across a wide social and economic spectrum - came together in the aftermath of the tsunami to cope with their losses and try to help one another rebuild their lives.

TSUNAMI, THE AFTERMATH celebrates the best of the human spirit during the worst of times and explores the lessons for humanity raised by a disaster of such an extraordinary magnitude.

Filmed on location in Phuket and Khao Lak, Thailand, the production has had the supportive and collaborative cooperation of the local governments and communities. Local residents were interviewed for their input prior to production, and the Thai production company Santa Film has acted as advisor throughout filming. Read more...

Wed Mar 14

[Movie Greats/6:40pm] Movie: The Main Event (US 1979)

[Movie Extra/8:30pm] Movie: Standing in the Shadow of Motown (US 2002).

[Biography/9:30pm] Danny Bonaduce
[Biography/10:15pm] TV-Ography. The Partridge Family.

[ABC/5:25pm] Monster Warriors
[ABC/8:00pm] The New Inventors. James O’Loughlin uncovers the latest ingenious Australian inventions: The Lullabub self-rocking cradle; The Gem Solution for expansion and control joint finishes; and the Safebreak gate latch for electric fences.
[ABC/8:30pm] Spicks & Specks. The world of music exposed like never before. Comedian Adam Hills leads two teams through different rounds of music-related riddles and games.
[ABC/9:00pm] Extras. An hilarious episode in which a desperate Andy tries his hand at theatre as a means to offset his poor TV reviews. Only he winds up in a fringe gay play being directed by Sir Ian McKellan. You’ll squirm with recognition as he fumbles his way through the arty two-hander. It’s like every bad gay play you’ve ever seen.
[ABC/9:35pm] The Worst Week Of My Life : Friday. After a tense meeting at work it seems that Mel's big day has arrived early! Is it time to meet Baby Steel? CAST: Ben Miller
[ABC/10:05pm] At The Movies. Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton take us into the world of cinema. RAZZLE DAZZLE - Australian mocumentary about the kids competitive dance world - starring Kerry Armstrong. HOT FUZZ + interviews with Director Edgar Wright and actor Simon Pegg. BRA BOYS - doco on Maroubra's infamous Bra Boys, narrated by Russel Crowe. LAST KISS - starring Zac Braff and Rachel Bilson.

[Nine/7:00pm] Temptation. Tony Barber and Alyce Platt host!
[Nine/7:30pm] McLeod’s Daughters.
[Nine/8:30pm] Cold Case. “Static”
[Nine/9:30pm] Without a Trace. “The Damage Done.”

[Seven/7:30pm] SCU: Serious Crash Unit
[Seven/8:00pm] Police Files - Unlocked 'Cc'
[Seven/8:30pm] Heroes. Chapter Seven 'Nothing To Hide'. I wish this show would hurry up and connect the dots together, or more specifically, the characters. Watching all these disparate threads is starting to lose my interest. Every hero has some plodding character scenes laden with spooky secrecy added with their moment of glory. But to what end? How much longer until they join up and lock horns with a villain, human or otherwise?
[Seven/9:30pm] Prison Break. BURIED. The escapees find the hidden treasure, but Sucre has other plans. An anxious Lincoln risks everything to get to LJ, but LJ grows wary about the easy getaway. Kellerman rethinks where his loyalties lie after Sara gets to The Company's hit list. Mahone puts Tweener to the ultimate test. Guest starring JOHN HEARD and DIANA SCARWID.
[Seven/10:30pm] 24

[Ten/12:00pm] Strong Medicine. Series Return. “Positive Results”
[Ten/8:30pm] House. "Que Sera Sera." The team encounters logistical problems while trying to run tests on a 600-pound man due to his extremely large size. Meanwhile, House spends the night in jail after being arrested for various charges, including resisting arrest.
[Ten/9:30pm] Medium. "The Whole Truth." Allison is called to help Devalos investigate the shocking death of a well-respected congressman, but instead of reaching clues about his murder she keeps getting visions of a young boy trapped in a well. Read more...

'Cutie Patootie,' Ugly's Justin

"Cutie Patootie" is how Rosie O'Donnell described 12yo Mark Indelicato, aka Ugly Betty's Justin. And she's pretty much right.

This kid is a real scene-stealer on the comedy show. When he dropped by The View the girls were gushing with compliments, and Indelicato was quite the charmer.

Don't miss his hilarious tap dancing routine in the Halloween episode this Sunday night on Seven. There's a sneak preview of it in this clip.



Seriously, could this kid be any camper? Hilarious.

Ugly Betty screens 7:30pm Sundays on Seven. Read more...

Buy up, Birdsworth!

All 692 episodes of the acclaimed / trashy / campy / ground-breaking series Prisoner are about to be released on DVD.

That's a whopping 179 discs for addicted fans of Bea, Lizzie and Doreen.

Start saving your cigarettes now, you have until September 14 to rack up just $1599! Practically a steal?

This is the first time an entire Australian serial is being released on DVD.

Prisoner (aka Prisoner Cell Block H) ran for 8 years from 1979 - 1986 across 692 episodes. "The Complete Collection" brings together all 692 episodes on 179 DVDs with a special commemorative book, commissioned for the project all packaged together in a collectible and unique box that every Prisoner fan will want to own.

Prisoner was the first Aussie soap to make it big overseas, where it screened in prime time on US television.

Remind me to tell you about my visit to the set one day. I've still got some old photos somewhere too. Bea Smith grabbing me in a headlock on the set is still a bit of a prized possession. It only took me 25+ years to get her to sign the thing too!
Read more...