DISQUS

Yeah, I had wondered if it was everywhere except here before we spoke to James and, on reflection, probably am surprised that it hasn't been introduced before. It's definitely an obvious rationalisation target but does beg the question about using a skilled journalist for a task that they're not skilled for when they could be out breaking more stories. Will it take down the quality of ABC news? Probably but there's not much room left to go down for Peter Wilkinson's sports reports - which come out of Sydney - and if that's the standard they're accustomed to up there - where all the management decisions get made - then I'm sure they're not going to consider for a second the effect on a less shite service coming out of Melbourne.

The Zoot Coke ad is for mini cans. They're 200mls or something. Added to the wrapper they come in as the 'package', that's a lot more waste. And I'm not sure I can imagine kids being sated by just one of those baby cans...

I didn't notice the shoddy recklessness of the Patrick Swayze news. It's interesting that it's public knowledge - celebs usually tend to go more the Michael Crichton path where it comes out of nowhere but they've been battling for months or years.

@alex: I didn't really pay that much attention to the Stig's driving position but I figure there's going to be a bit of difference caused by the track - namely: being so short; going in and out of gullies; avoiding livestock wandering over the track from the neighbouring paddocks; and trying to keep out of the take-off paths of the light planes using the track/airport at the time.

He was probably also cringing, as I was, at the names of the various elements of the track - "The Question Mark", "Clarkson", "4", "The Chicane" - not actually a chicane at all but a couple of plastic barriers stuck in the middle of the track - "06" and "The Bus Stop" - on top of Cox's inane commentary.

@iann: The 'What were they thinking' board was so painful, not only for the forced audience participation in chanting the name of the board - complete with incorrect emphasis - but also the floppy photo printouts attached to the board by a single pin - often resulting in the picture not hanging straight.

As for only getting better, I think Charlie Cox passed any semblance of usefulness sometime back in the 80s and the show doesn't have a hope until they dump that dead weight. There are issues with the other two but they're salvageable.

Kicking off the Brown Age of TV, on Senor Sock's site you'll find his response to TV Guide's list of the 50 worst TV shows:
1. The Jerry Springer Show (syndicated, 1991-present)
2. My Mother The Car (NBC, 1965-66)
3. XFL (NBC, UPN and TNN, 2001)
4. The Brady Bunch Hour (ABC, 1977)
5. Hogan's Heroes (CBS, 1965-71)
6. Celebrity Boxing (Fox, 2002-present)
7. AfterMASH (CBS, 1983-84)
8. Cop Rock (ABC, 1990)
9. You're in the Picture (CBS, 1961)
10. Hee Haw Honeys (syndicated, 1978-79)
11. The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer (UPN, 1998)
12. Hello Larry (NBC, 1979-80)
13. Twenty-One (NBC, 1956-58)
14. Baby Bob (CBS, 2002-present)
15. Manimal (NBC, 1983)
16. The Chevy Chase Show (Fox, 1993)
17. Casablanca (NBC, 1983)
18. The Ugliest Girl in Town (ABC, 1968-69)
19. The P.T.L. Club (syndicated, 1976-87)
20. The Pruitts of Southampton (ABC, 1966-67)
21. Baywatch (NBC and syndicated, 1989-2001)
22. The Powers of Matthew Star (NBC, 1982-83)
23. Sammy and Company (syndicated, 1975-77)
24. One of the Boys (NBC, 1982)
25. Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? (Fox, 2000)
26. Life with Lucy (ABC, 1986)
27. Turn-On (ABC, 1969)
28. Supertrain (NBC, 1979)
29. Howard Stern (E!, 1994-present)
30. Unhappily Ever After (WB, 1995-99)
31. Homeboys in Outer Space (UPN, 1996-97)
32. Co-Ed Fever (CBS, 1979)
33. Holmes & Yoyo (ABC, 1976)
34. Alexander the Great (ABC, 1968)
35. Pink Lady...and Jeff (NBC, 1980)
36. The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (NBC, 1979-81)
37. Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell (ABC, 1975-76)
38. Hell Town (NBC, 1985)
39. Still the Beaver (Disney Channel, 1985-86)
40. Makin' It (ABC, 1979)
41. The Tom Green Show (MTV, 1999-2000)
42. The Flying Nun (ABC, 1967-70)
43. Woops! (Fox, 1992)
44. She's the Sheriff (syndicated, 1987-89)
45. A.K.A. Pablo (ABC, 1984)
46. Me and the Chimp (CBS, 1972)
47. Rango (ABC, 1967)
48. Bless this House (CBS, 1995-96)
49. The Ropers (ABC, 1979-80)
50. Barney & Friends (PBS, 1992-present)

Food for thought... What's on your list? Let us know - mail us through our contact form your thoughts

Hey Jimbo, have you checked that the ABC site restricts access based on GeoIP?

My special fancy - in whatever configuration - isn't going to work for you because it specifically identifies you as a US IP so as to be able to access the US sites.

You'd probably be best with our local BT community, Diwana. It has good coverage of local TV content. Let me know if you need an invite.

Firstly, on the election, it was absolutely stunning when the result actually came in - what a fantastic result.

As for the "hologram", what a fricken crock. It's NOT a hologram. The guy in the studio would have been looking at a blank space - in fact, probably a monitor right next to the camera that cut to him, with the shot going to air. I can only imagine the red spot on the floor was so that he'd have an idea where to look.

As for what it was, we're talking about an image composite with her on a shockingly bad blue-screen. Rather than running 35 cameras on her in a 'little tent', getting computers to render the morphs on the fly to match the position of the cameras in the studio, they would have got a much better execution of it if they'd simply hooked the couple of cameras in the main studio to a couple of cameras at her location - the exact same information they had to send across as they already had - with a blue-screen background on one side.

It's just hyperbolic bullshit to call any of what they did a hologram. The capitol building on the desk was much better executed - because they were generating all that in a computer and didn't have to capture live-action - but the figures they were actually showing were difficult to read and only helped to retard clear communication.

Did we even mention that it wasn't Monday? I think we may have completely failed to acknowledge the fact.

For those not following ActualChad's reference there to David Tennant, it seems he just can't stand the workload of four whole episodes for 2009 and has announced he'll be regenerating at the end of the year. Perhaps the BBC will learn their lesson from this and stop sceduling so many episodes in the future.

On Bogan Pride, I didn't mind the first episode - probably due to not wanting to be too critical too soon - but, I feel, its flaws have set in and are just getting worse. The show is full of one-dimensional caricatures that are all unlikeable and just become more repulsive with each episode.

Obviously, SBS also see the problem with the show and have tried to help out by programming the huge pile of stinking turd that is Swift & Shi<del>f</del>t Couriers so that Bogan Pride doesn't seem so bad. It is loathsome. Do not, under any circumstances, watch it. Michael Lallo's crack problem is clearly starting to show in his Green Guide reviews. You have been warned.

Which reminds me, the clip with Richie Cunningham, The Fonz and Andy Griffith is at http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=hm_ODrTQ6mc

Just to make sure my view wasn't clouded by my expectations of Top Gear, the universal mood in the comments on that news.com.au article has confirmed that it's not just me. Read them all at http://www.news.com.au/comments/0,23600,24459517-5016681,00.html

I absolutely could not believe the cop out at the conclusion of the Ford/Holden showdown. What a freakin' waste of time. And the idiotic idea behind turning the Smart car into a hearse was just embarrassing.

For me, now, the only tricky question is if this show format import is more or less bad than the Australian version of Survivor.

The ABC Family web site has some great support material for The Middleman, including the Javi-Cast with the creator of the show talking about various aspects of the production.

OMG Jimbo, did you listen to it? I did. Wow.

BTW you didn't tell us if you were getting the special ethics training...

My enjoyment of Wipeout is not a sadistic pleasure at all. The freezeframing of people getting a shoe in the face doesn't do it for me, more the way that they'll use a nickname throughout the show for a particular contestant based on something they'd said in the pre-race interview or use call-backs. It relies as much on the competitors providing some character as the commentators riffing off that.

Talking about Fringe with John before the show, we were both trying to nail down the time setting of the show. Is it supposed to be present day or 2/5/10 years hence? There were a couple of references to years that didn't quite add up though. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the second episode and, of course, it's far too early to make a call on the show as a whole given the rule of the magic three.

@gbsmith71: Mitchell & Web illustrate it perfectly. It was only through some primary school Catholic education that I was aware of the standing of the Samaritans. Since then I've heard the tale referenced often but never explained.

@Bolden: I haven't quite finished the second episode - and let me clarify, my problems with the first episode won't stop me watching further episodes - but the writing and technological concepts and storyline have been much, MUCH better than the first.

It all comes back to the magic 3 of new show reviews. The first is the pilot that is devised to get the thing sold, the second is the real first where they get to settle in and the third is the episode where they should have been able to establish everything they need to and can start operating normally.

I think what Josh was excited about was the pace of the show, with it having a lot more action than we see in a lot of cop procedurals and not too much two-in-a-room, serious face acting drama to bog it down. With a bit more believability, that's what I'm appreciating about it.

The one thing that has grated in the second ep is Newbie Cop having his radio transmit button pushed all the way through the conversation about seeing Hot Chick Cop's (as not seen in the pilot) tits. That bugs me almost as much as when people using hand-held radios hold the unit up to their ear while talking and listening.

@Mike: Yeah, we knew the tapes were shorter on the long edge but they were the same width (tape edge to spine) and slightly thicker. I think we resolved that they could display more because they could fit more shelves.

Having worked with BetaCam tapes, the large format ones are formidable - a bit longer than 12 inches, as wide as VHS tapes are long but the same thickness.

catbrain: LOLZ - I had the same initial thought during the recording, hearing it as Sea-Ho before doing my mental translation to C-Ho and then City Homicide

Listening to the show with Ray, there were so many questions that I didn't think of at the time or get a chance to ask.

I'm sure it'll be the same for some listeners so I'm putting the call out now. If you have any questions for Ray when we next speak to him, stick them in a comment here and we'll take them into the studio when he returns - as long as we can get a word in between he and Pete Smith.

I'm just now getting to have a look at the opening ceremony... Bruce McAveney took the trouble to tell us that Liberia was the only country at the games with a female head of state... What does he think Queen Elizabeth is?

Nice work from him with the fat jokes about one of the flag bearers too - love your work, Bruce.

BTW, Jimbo, Sonia Kruger wasn't in range of a mic when Czech Republic came into the stadium - it was only Bruce and Sandy Roberts for all the teams coming in.

And if I hear about how the footprints of the teams are going to be on the piece of paper "forever" again, I think I'm literally going to be sick. I'll let you know how it goes...

Interestingly, The Age's Next section on Tuesday - the day after we recorded this episode - had an article about the numbered days of television as we now know it that both Tom Elliott and I came across.

Check it out at this page.

Jimbo - I know how it started out but I think John's main point was really about the ACA/TT shonk chasers.

When are they doing the Oz L2L? Maybe it's been and gone and I didn't bother switching over at the right time.

As I mentioned a couple of shows ago, who the hell would want to turn into a stuck-up twat like either of the main Marms of that show? Could have been done well but the execution of the UK version I've seen is just horrendous. It caused a real physical reaction for me.

Speaking of physical reactions, I can't believe the racist, who had been voted out, ended up winning BB. It's a travesty and if they can let those types of shenanigans go on, channel 10 should have the show taken off them. What a pity they jumped before they were pushed.

Ahead of any special unveiling of someone's blog design, this week I've added the Boxcutters logo to the podcast.

Does anyone see it? At one point I started adding track numbers to each episode and didn't hear anything about it until I forgot to do it one week and suddenly heard about it...

Thanks Bolden.

50 points to anyone who can give us a link to the ad on YouTube, Google Video or any other online video repository.

Your time starts... NOW

lyndal: It's just crap and, IMHO, always has been. I was just quicker to see it :)

Bolden: So you think it's just like 10 cutting credits and putting them on the web so people don't get a chance to switch before the next show is on?

Bullpitt!

On the camera cutaways - to other crew or noddies or wide shots from further back - it's just to hide an edit being made to the interviewee. If you just hold on the person speaking, it's quite jolting to see them jump in position at the cut. Sometimes, such as on 4 Corners often, they'll just do a quick fade to black/fade in. It's a little more honest that way because it's declaring, "there's been an edit made here".

You can quite easily make someone talking flow on either side of a cut but you can't easily do that with vision. I'm often surprised that the switch back to the person speaking - from a noddy or crew shot - is usually right at the cut point.

But there's no favour being done for the crew - they're just being used as moving props.