ah ha!! im first again...

... i need a life, so badly.

Ten completely ruined the scene in Californication tonight, to the extent that they should have just cut the whole thing. It made no sense whatsoever, with Charlie [Evan Handler] laughing at nothing in particular whilst dripping wet. Watching it with my housemate, he had no idea at all what had happened.

We've seen this kind of wholesale censorship before and, no doubt, we'll see it again but it's pretty hypocritical that Ten's promotion of the episode all week has been Charlie's and Hank's former partners walking in on them with the serious 10 voiceover talking about the 'oh my god' moment.

I wonder how much this was all due to pressure from Fred Nile's Festival of Light christian-cops. Get your filthy, God-bothering mitts off my TV programming, cunts.

I completely agree. The scene was a mess (as is so often the case with edits). Disappointing.

Also we forgot to mention The Librarians is replacing Summer Heights High this Wednesday.

I'm still trying to work out what Josh is trying to say about writers and residuals/royalties.

Good God. We discussed this a month ago Brett!

Choof was the news director in Sydney. He was replaced in that job some five or six weeks ago -by Ian Cook - at the same time it was announced David Gyngell was returning. Choof's now decided to leave the network.

You can make any simple scenario sound like a massive conspiracy!Fight the power!

Give him whats for on the show next week Jimbo.

Yes - I apologise for that news item... not because it wasn't another 9 exec being screwed around and put into an untenable position but because the source was a mess and I didn't have all the relevant facts to hand.

Here's part of the Melbourne Confidential item:

THE 'B' word has surfaced again at Channel 9 after former director of news John Choufiate is believed to have quit yesterday after being boned from his top job in a recent re-shuffle.

More worrying for Nine executives is speculation the veteran news man has engaged the same legal team as another former staffer, Mark Llewellyn, whose explosive affidavit during a contractual dispute with management proved a public relations disaster for the station's then CEO Eddie McGuire.

So the interesting thing is that he obviously feels he's due a tasty payout and that speculation is that he has engaged legal counsel to pursue such.

Thanks guys!

As for fourthof5's listener "I don't Buy It" - here's what I don't buy:

Dem Bigpond Network Homes

Who exactly is this supposed to appeal to? Its tone seems to be targeted mostly at parents and middle-aged people. Yet, why would a parent want this?

Yeah they really want the teenage son playing games all the time. And I'm sure they love the idea of the pre-teen daughter being exposed to 300 strangers on Facebook a whole lot.

The mother is using email on a desktop machine with the keyboard on a piece of furniture at armpit level, and the screen even higher than her head! Is she really supposed to be comfortable typing her emails with the computer that high up? Not very ergonomic. The father looks like he just commited a murder or something. Perhaps he's stalking pre-teens on Facebook?

Finally, if you want a network home, then why the hell would you choose Telstra anyway? I just switched away from Telstra to get enough bandwidth to make a networked entertainment machine practical. And it's not like anyone younger than the parents would be convinced that Telstra is a good idea, nor is the cheesy ad going to appeal to any younger people anyway.

At least they got one thing right - they gave up on any pretence of depicting the family being brought closer together, and depicted modern life for what it is - a bunch of individuals staring at separate screens. Being on the same network, but not close in any way.

Josh, I don't know which planet you live on but it isn't ours. Why argue the point of "writers should get paid lots more" when you know it's never going to happen and, IF it did, it would be EXTREMELY detrimental to the industry in terms of available budgets for shows. If the Writers' Guild is not all writers (I thought it was compulsory to be a member of something, kind of like Actors' Equity or whatever it is), you can potentially end up with a situation similar to what we have here with 457 visas, ie: bringing in cheap labour from overseas, rather than developing local talent.

oh wait... I get it now... those writers you told to move to New Zealand can move to the US instead.

Please pronounce Peter Krause's surname correctly the next time you use it. kthx

Check out Dancing Maxine before it disappears - it's great.

LOL! Josh, at least you saw some of Supernatural. When BigBrother ran over I missed all of Torchwood even though I padded the EPG out enough! I'm so paranoid now I run Channel 10 at least 40 mins over once its past 8:30, and when I was taping Weeds I was programming Channel 9 for an extra hour!

None of the commerical channels can ever get it right. (My Name is Earl is another that starts late) Although I have a new problem, as my PVR takes the digital clock it doesn't need modifying and "should be correct" but I keep finding I'm missing the start of Newstopia because SBS is starting their programs early (about 5-10 mins!). At least that ones is downloadable.

David Boxcutter, you are right, however Telstra is going to have a push with "Telstra TV" again methinks because there have been ads on their pages stating I can watch Damages (why would I want to when its on 9, superfast tracked!). I laugh at their "networked home, because it goes three floors, and my guess is their routers wouldn't make it (their equipment is awful, better buying your own, and 1/2 the price, like all Telstra deals). As for download limits, well you dont need that because of all the "free content" (actual quote from my Federal Politican when I saw him about competition in the broadband market, and why I only need Bigpond).

Oh, that shits me about Telstra - download via the BigPond site and they won't include it towards your monthly limit, but you will have to pay for (practically) anything you do download from there, AND they're already charging you a premium.

Nigel P, thanks for the reminder about watching Newstopia online - I keep forgetting and when I watch the show (don't forget it's repeated late on Sunday nights) I'm reminded that there are subliminals that are only viewable with pause.

The worst thing with "Secret Diary" is how pointless? it all seems. Whereas the blog and book it spawned are full of attitude and sass, the TV show just seems desperate for someone to grab it by the cuff and inject an angle, or god forbid - a throughline to the story. A blog is such an open format, and taking out all the extraneous material just proves how weak (as a story) the material is. I've seen the first four (of eight) episodes, and there just doesn't seem to be a long-term plot developing.
Besides - is it a comedy? a drama? it's not particularly funny or dramatic. I hope this isn't the next big thing - TV shows based on blogs.

Curious about Californication - is female ejaculation the last, the very last ever taboo on TV? Even SITC got away with the c-word. It can't *fnar fnar* have been the timeslot, and if any show was ever marketed as adults-only, it's Californication.
I can only wonder what they were thinking.

What happened to the changes to the show you mentioned a few episodes back? New bumpers or something?

Foxtel: Got my letter in the mail to say that the prices were going up in Dec. Looks like I get Showcase in the movies package.....

MordWa, it's a red-letter day - I think we're agreeing about something! Secret Diary is all sizzle and no sausage. It's entirely lacking in any sort of atmosphere or buzz. In the vernacular of one of my colleagues, it's as flat as a shitcarter's hat.

Very disappointing considering the massive promotional effort in the UK.

It's worse - it's no sizzle or sausage. At least if there was some sizzle you could watch minimum 5 to 10 minutes without getting bored...


Also, I jumped the gun a little with Californication - there are two eps left to screen on Channel 10 in the current series, not one.

Re: Josh's views on writers fees;

I don't necessarily agree with his argument, but can I suggest that these are the sort of questions he might ask in support of his case?:

If writers get residuals because they are partially responsible for the creation of the product (along with Producers and Actors) then what about the rest of the team?

What about the cinematographer? Aren't they also integral to the piece? What about the set designers? The hair & makeup people? Why stop there? What about the caterers?

If your argument against Josh's position hinges on the creative role of the writers then you need to show how/why that creative input is inherently different to the contribution of others. Otherwise surely you need to devise a set of metrics that acknowledges and measures the creative work of all involved.

Yes "No writers, no show" but has anyone ever made a 'three camera sit-com' without any fuckin cameras?

If your argument against Josh’s position hinges on the creative role of the writers then you need to show how/why that creative input is inherently different to the contribution of others

Well, the caterers are selling a product service, that is consumed once, and is not a part of the final product.

The choreographers, the set designers, all those creative roles should be able to negotiate royalties if they like. And, depending on who it is, I believe they do. Why wouldn't they?

As for the hair/makeup people - I think it's appropriate for costume designers and hair/makeup designers to get royalties - but not the people who simply style the hair the way they are told by the designer. Just like a set designer makes a creative contribution, but a set builder is just banging in nails where they are told to.

But hell, you can structure your payments however you like. In some low-budget independent films, almost everybody involved (including non-creative or "work for hire" roles) gets royalties, in lieu of a higher/any payment up-front. It depends on what they negotiate.

Anybody can get royalties if they like. I just don't understand why Josh is trying to say that people shouldn't be entitled to them.

Yes “No writers, no show” but has anyone ever made a ‘three camera sit-com’ without any fuckin cameras?

Well, if some company wants to hire/sell cameras on a royalty basis, rather than outright selling them, they are welcome to do that. Isn't that how some Special FX houses get paid? Invest in computers up-front, reap royalties when film is a blockbuster.

What is it with Channel 9 airing 10 min with of song at the end of the news bulletin? The news is "He's Dead"; not "here have a 10 minute tribute song in a 30 min news programme". Its not the first time they have done it either. I am not 9 bashing (well I am I guess) I just want to know what programmeing guru thinks that the news is worth less air time than a tribute song for a singer. Seriously, the Boy in the suitcase got less air time (on the day it happend) than this singer.

Who's the dead singer? Not Lucky Dube - I can't imagine Nine devoting 10 minutes to him.

I'm curious... now look what you've done, fof5!

Fourthof5, its the old TV addage. You have to ask the questions, is there footage, are they white, and can we make a big deal out of it. If you answer No to any of those, then the time that they show it goes down (I know this sounds harsh but its the case). For the poor kid in a suitcase there may not have been that much footage (especially with the amount its being played).

I'm guessing the singer Forthof5 is talking about is Robert Goulet, who most people will know from being the guest at "Bart's Casino" in the Simpsons (ep $pringfield (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)). I didn't see the story just guessing because I heard about his death.

@ Ross.
I'm sorry to hear that your marriage is in so much trouble that you have started smoking the crack. I figure that must be the case cause I can't think of another reason why you wouldn't like Carpoolers. I know it's not going to change the way we think about TV but I think it's funny, charming & makes my teeth hurt less than any new sitcom I have seen for a while.
@ Confessions of a Call Girl - I'm not surprised it is crappy if it is based on the Belle de Jour. I wonder if it feels as fake as the blog did - it read like it was written by a middle age man.

Lucky Dube died? I didn't hear squat about that. OMG, that's fucked up with the carjacking. Much more tragic news than Robert Goulet.

When I heard about Robert Goulet on the radio yesterday, I though they were talking about Robert Guillaume - I was going to check the news online but then got distracted...

10 minutes of a half hour news bulletin is outrageous. More than 3 minutes is pushing it, really. I can't imagine any news service putting a 10 minute tribute to air. What alternative reality are 9 operating in? It sounds like they're going down the path of the non-news-network-10

Um, which news bulletin? I'd like to investigate. Frankly I can't see how it could possibly be anywhere close to ten minutes. If there's gonna be ten minutes of news time devoted to a dead person it'd wanna be the Pope.

Apparently the guitarist for an old band died recently (obit in the paper today).

Their biggest/only claim to fame was that they released the worldwide smash hit, "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep".

I wanna see at least three minutes of sombre black and white photos of the band playing and touring, slowly zooming in and fading out, while "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" gets played over the top.

It's what he would have wanted...

Chad

The Pope is a dead singer? Well, that explains his face but not his outfit!




ZING!

The Pope is a Ratzinger.

The Pope's in The Ratzingers? Which one is he? I found photos of the band here, but I don't see him...



*boom-tish*

<object width="425" height="366"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/v7vHxw6El0E&rel=1&border=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v7vHxw6El0E&rel=1&border=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="366"></embed></object>

@Jimbo, "Nightline" aired a ten minute tribute for Robert Goulet. I don't mind the tribute, but I do question the need for it to run so long. It really isn't news and that time could be taken up with something more newsworthy.

[conspiracy]
Now that we convince you too look at British TV you pick a crap show in order to reaffirm your dislike :)
[/conspiracy]

Just to counter the rumours of conspiracy, let me say that I've enjoyed all the new Doctor Who episodes and have never yelled at the screen during a Russell T Davies episode, unlike some others I could mention.

We've all recommended Nathan Barley. I believe we've presented a favourable outlook on most Boosh incarnations. Spaced was welcomed warmly when I brought it up in the aftermath of the GAT process.

I'm sure I could continue in the warm flashback comment vein to provide more evidence that there's definitely no conspiracy against UK TV. And I could also make that point that we have now had two series of looking at what's new in the Fall seasons from the US, which can preclude examining content from other continents. No conspiracy, just busy doing other things...

I'll freely admit to yelling at the screen during Russell T. Davies' eps - they're shit; all bells, whistles, a few double entendres and running around without much plot. Give me a solid story from Steven Moffat any day.

I saw the Parky interview with Billie Piper last night - my, what a poshe accent she has now.

That's always been her accent though. She put on a cockney for Doctor Who.

No way has that always been her accent - I've seen her interviewed on Parky before and it wasn't quite as broad as Rose, but was still "common" - certainly no "oh, ya"s in her speech!