In Things You May Have Missed, John introduces us to An Englishman in New York, the continuation of the story of Quentin Crisp. We discuss the changes going ahead at the BBC and also look at whether or not the Golden Age of Television has now passed.

• RSS feed
• iTunes
• or listen to 217 in your browser

If you have questions about the state of television, let us know by email or on the SMS-gift-deposit at 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER)

Twitter users: Follow us!
Josh is @sealfur
Brett is @bbox
and Boxcutters as a whole is @boxcutterscast

Continue to the show notes »

Comedian Nazeem Hussain joins us in the studio to talk about how dark people, Muslims and immigrants in general are portrayed on Australian television.

Then Ben McNair from Channel 7 News sits down for a chat about Haiti, Black Saturday, the ABC’s 24-hour news channel and Kevin Rudd.

It’s jam-packed information from start to finish.

• RSS feed
• iTunes
• or listen to 209 in your browser

Contact us by sending us email or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER)

Note: At the end of last year I talked about East West 101 as an Australian TV highlight. Here’s some extended thoughts.

I continue to beleive that one of the last things we need in this country is more cop dramas but when a good one comes along, it’s really hard to ignore.

The second series of East West 101 was so good, we would do well to ignore the first with its ridiculous contrivances and overbearing political correctness. Now we get to see exactly what Australia can produce when drama is allowed to run its natural course.

Don Hany plays Zane Malik, a Muslim cop in Sydney’s west who’s trying to make a go of being a religious man in a secular world.

While the first series focused too much on revenge and the world’s inherent lack of fairness, the second delved into much more complicated territory: Maintaining one’s values in a society that offers constant temptation.

It’s complicated themes, treated with subtlety and patience, that make really good television. Imagine how much more interesting Dexter would be if there was no voice-over narration and his dead father didn’t keep explaining things. If there is limited exposition, then the audience is forced to work out the characters’ motivations. East West 101 stands out from other local drama because the creators seem to understand the importance.

The many storylines demand constant attention. The organised crime and terrorism world of Sydney’s west has many players. In addition, though, we see some of the trials of the characters’ home lives.

Susie Porter, whose presence in the series is mandatory under the SBS charter, is Patricia Wright. She’s Malik’s immediate superior in the police force. with has her own family issues to deal with and the piling dead bodies don’t make it any easier.

Both characters are, obviously, finding society’s inherent discrimination more difficult than it would be in a more ideal world. Still, they are committed to their jobs, their families and protecting themselves.

Yes, that all sounds very serious, but there aren’t any jokes here. It’s serious business, but it’s compelling, and that should be enough.

Buy DVDs, including the entire 2nd season of East West 101, at Sanity Entertainment.

A Special Note: East West 101‘s first series alternated between unnecessarily melodramatic and promising. Those of you who remember my rant about Cptn Cardboard possibly also remember that I changed my stance on the programme after a few more episodes. I still think the first season could have been better.

Southland is a new show from the US about police. We review it. The rest of the episode is good and full of information about television. Really. It’s wonderful. Also there’s an I Don’t Buy It to destroy a generation.

• RSS feed
• iTunes
• or listen to 192 in your browser

Contact us by sending us email or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER)
Continue to the show notes »

Better Off Ted is a half hour comedy from ABC in the US. It’s funny. We talk about it. In Before and After School we look at Monkey. Also, Brett has problems with the Age’s TV guide and we take a quick look at the SBS celebrity sports quiz show, Squiz.

Better Off Boxcutters:

• RSS feed
• iTunes
• or listen to 184 in your browser

Contact us by sending us email or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER)

SBSTWO launches tonight. In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the promo they’ve been running:

At least they’re not lying about what it’s going to be. More of the same. How does a television network that is already supposed to be fulfilling a special need, provide more specialised content?
Considering the recent criticism of SBS’s new direction, perhaps SBSTWO will be the channel we all expected SBS 1 to be.

Freeview have a new ad out and we don’t buy it. Also we look at why television of yore might not stand up to today’s viewers. There’s some CrapTV from Channel 10 and we (try to) tell you what to watch

Ooh look:

• RSS feed
• iTunes
• or listen to 179 in your browser

Contact us by sending us email or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER)

You can help support Boxcutters buy buying yourself something pretty from the You Don’t Buy It stores.

Also, we’ve got new t-shirts! You can buy them, wear them and have people ask you what the hell it’s supposed to mean.

Boxcutters: Now shamelessly trying to sell you crap to cover our costs.

Great to finally have Season 10 about to screen here. As I said in the show 6 months ago it is a top quality series. However it is not without its problems.

Firstly why has it taken SBS so long to screen it? Season 11 has already started in the States. South Park famously has a week turn around from idea to finished product, meaning it can be a relevant, up to the minute satire. This is somewhat negated if SBS don’t screen the episodes for 12 months.

Secondly for some reason SBS is starting with Tsst – a great ep but episode number 8 in the series. For those less numerically inclined that means they have left out episodes one to seven.

My guess is that SBS is trying to make itself as despised as the commercial networks – first ads, now contempt for the viewers by ignoring the running order. How long until they claim these faults are just them responding to viewer suggestion and giving us what we asked for?