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TV Tonight Awards 2009: The year of Shaun Micallef

TV Tonight readers have voted Shaun Micallef their Favourite Male, Most Underrated Performer and Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation as the Best Light Entertainment show. All the winners and losers are here!

Shaun 1The votes are in.

Readers have spoken on their best and worst television for 2009 in the third annual TV Tonight Awards.

The winners: Shaun Micallef, MasterChef and Packed to the Rafters.

Over 1000 surveys were completed this year, and there were some definite trends. Some choices were clear decisions, others were tight races.

Several “winners” were also “losers” elsewhere, showing a divided audience, and a number of populist shows proved their mettle by staying ahead of underdogs.

Shaun Micallef won both Favourite Male and Most Underrated Performer, while Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation was voted Best Light Entertainment.

“Thankyou for this upstanding recognition,” said Micallef. “Amanda, Charlie, Josh and I look forward to bringing more Your Gen in 2010.

“When I’m looking myself up on the internet, I always log onto TV Tonight. There’s always something there about me (or Your Gen) and usually it’s complimentary. Thank you David for the support and for the always thoughtful assessments and appraisals,” he said.

“Happy New Year to you and your readers.”

masterchef4

MasterChef Australia was a dominant winner in the Reality category as well as taking out the Best New Show and Story of the Year award.

raftruby

Packed to the Rafters won Best Aussie Drama while Rebecca Gibney was Favourite Female.

But it was bad news for Eddie McGuire.

His return to daily television netted him Worst Male and Most Overexposed although Hot Seat did chart a strong second placing in the Best Game Show.

So without any further ado, here are the results as chosen by you…

chaserwar

BEST AUSSIE DRAMA: Packed to the Rafters
Runners Up: Rush, Underbelly, East West 101, City Homicide, Tangle.

Rafters was well ahead of the pack this year. 2008’s winner Underbelly slipped back to third place.

BEST AUSSIE COMEDY: The Chaser’s War on Everything
The Librarians, TV Burp, Thank God You’re Here, John Safran’s Race Relations, 30 Seconds

A tricky category given we asked for scripted comedy and that panel shows shift to other categories, so Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, Rove, Good News Week were all ruled ineligible. Review with Myles Barlow had no new episodes in 2009 so it was off the list. Last year’s winner: The Hollowmen.

dexter

BEST INTERNATIONAL DRAMA: Dexter
Lost, NCIS, True Blood, Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy

No change for the top three from 2008.

30r

BEST INTERNATIONAL COMEDY: 30 Rock
Glee, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, United States of Tara

Another tricky category as the definition of comedy varied wildly with the inclusion of dramedy (note Glee and Tara). 30 Rock wins for the second year in a row -and still no respectable timeslot.

Talkin Bout YG

BEST LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT: Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation
Rove / Spicks and Specks (tie), The 7PM Project, Good News Week, Hey Hey the Reunion

Last year’s winner Rove still polls well, suggesting its detractors are often more vocal than its supporters.

sunrise 2

BEST MORNING PROGRAMME: Sunrise
Today, The Morning Show, 9AM with David & Kim, ABC News Breakfast, Mornings with Kerri-Anne

The third straight win for Sunrise, but the Today show is a strong second place.

d2

BEST GAME SHOW: Deal or No Deal
Hot Seat, The Einstein Factor, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

A small field of eligible shows this year, given we again asked Celebrity shows be excluded. Ineligible were Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, Spicks and Specks, RocKwiz. Although Fifth Grader had some celebrity editions, it also had enough eps with general public competing on their own -which differs from RocKwiz. This is the third consecutive win for Deal but Hot Seat polled well.

BEST REALITY SHOW (Aussie): MasterChef Australia
Beauty & the Geek Australia, So You Think You Can Dance Australia, The Biggest Loser, The Apprentice Australia, Australian Idol

No surprises that MasterChef won by a huge margin. Newcomer Geek shows early promise. Both Dance (2008 winner) and Idol slipped back.

philk

BEST REALITY SHOW (International): The Amazing Race
Survivor, So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol, The Biggest Loser, America’s Next Top Model

Very much a two horse race between Race and Survivor (and no doubt many who enjoy both). Race still wins comfortably for the third year running.

bhomes

BEST LIFESTYLE: Better Homes and Gardens
What’s Good For You, Getaway, Gardening Australia, Domestic Blitz, Top Gear Australia

And this was a one-horse race as BH&G absolutely knocks it out of the park. Or is it that we just don’t think of other Lifestyle titles so readily? Either way Seven’s hit show takes the title for the third time.

border-security gb

BEST FACTUAL / DOCUMENTARY: Border Security
Bondi Rescue, Who Do You Think You Are?, Australian Story, The Force, Recruits

Border becomes another show to take its third title, still well ahead of the pack. SBS performs with WDYTYA? in a genre generally dominated by Seven.

seven news2

BEST NEWS / CURRENT / PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Seven News
TEN News, The 7:30 Report, Today Tonight, ABC News, Four Corners

Seven News again wins but TEN News gave it a run for its money this year. The populist Today Tonight has its loyal followers, but will prove divisive elsewhere.

q+a

BEST TALK SHOW: Q & A
Rove, The 7PM Project, Insight, Elders with Andrew Denton, The View

ABC’s Q & A takes its first title, but Rove was a close second. More good news for TEN with newcomer The 7PM Project in third place. Last year’s winner Enough Rope with Andrew Denton scored a few votes but was ruled ineligible due to no new episodes in 2009.

playschool

BEST KIDS SHOW: Play School
H20: Just Add Water, Hi-5, My Place, Prank Patrol, The Shak

ABC’s perennial Play School takes its first Kid’s category while Hi-5 drops from first to third. With just a handful of episodes Prank Patrol proves an early success.

beforegame

BEST SPORTS SHOW: Before the Game
The Footy Show AFL, Sports Tonight, The Footy Show NRL, AFL Grand Final, Australian Open.

There was a big rise by Before the Game this year pulling ahead of last year’s winner The Footy Show (AFL). Some Australian Open votes were specific about their vote going to FOX Sports and not Seven.

BEST NEW SHOW: MasterChef Australia
Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, Glee, TV Burp, United States of Tara, The 7PM Project

Another big win for MasterChef. Last year’s winner was Rafters.

FAVOURITE MALE: Shaun Micallef
Rove McManus, Adam Hills, Hugh Sheridan, Hamish Blake, Matt Preston

Micallef zooms from fourth to first, defeating 2008’s winner Rove McManus and illustrating what a switch from SBS to TEN can achieve. New names included Hugh Sheridan and Matt Preston.

Rebecca Gibney

FAVOURITE FEMALE: Rebecca Gibney
Julia Zemiro, Jessica Marais, Carrie Bickmore, Myf Warhurst, Kat Stewart

Rebecca Gibney wins for the second year as Julia Zemiro rises, Jessica Marais makes an appearance and Carrie Bickmore shows some fans.

MOST UNDERRATED PERFORMER: Shaun Micallef
Julia Zemiro, Adam Hills, Charlie Pickering, Ed Kavalee, Jackie Woodburne

This category wasn’t conducted in 2008, although Jackie Woodburne and Shaun Micallef did rate a mention in 2007. Should we expect Micallef to be off the 2010 list now he’s got a hit? Adam Hills was also a Gold Logie contender yet is still seen as ‘underrated.’

edmg

MOST OVEREXPOSED PERFORMER: Eddie McGuire
Rove McManus, Andrew O’Keefe, Grant Denyer, Bert Newton, Dave Hughes

In 2009 Eddie had Hot Seat and Australia Unites (plus the odd appearance elsewhere) but as one reader said, after being rested he is perceived as “Eddie Everywhere” again due to his other media appearances in radio, print and sporting roles. This is the first time this category has been held.

WORST MALE: Eddie McGuire
David Koch, Daryl Somers, Kyle Sandilands, Rove McManus, Richard Wilkins

Eddie takes the cake again, pushing two-time winner Kyle Sandilands back to fourth (and all on the back of a handful of Idol auditions). But take heart Ed, you only beat David Koch by 1 vote. Richard Wilkins joins the ranks for the first time.

melissadoyle

WORST FEMALE: Melissa Doyle
Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Tracy Grimshaw, Carrie Bickmore, Jodi Gordon, Ruby Rose

Melissa Doyle takes it for the second year. Walkley winner Tracy Grimshaw makes an appearance (with no sign of Anna Coren to upstage her anymore), Carrie Bickmore proves a divisive personality in both Favourite / Worst Female lists, Jodi Gordon’s year returns to haunt her and Ruby Rose (who just missed out in Overexposed) is on notice.

magda-szubanski

WORST SHOW (Australian): The Spearman Experiment
Home & Away, Packed to the Rafters, Today Tonight, homeMADE, Double Take / Neighbours (tie)

No clear winner this year with all results a close call, but Magda Szubanski gets it. Rafters makes a curious inclusion -is the honeymoon over or is the Tall Poppy Syndrome kicking in? Today Tonight makes the cut despite its votes in Best News / Current Affairs. Last year’s winner: Big Brother.

danceyao

WORST SHOW (International): Dance Your Ass Off
Two and a Half Men, Flashforward, Gary Unmarried, CSI, How I Met Your Mother

Very much a two-horse race between Nine’s Dance Your Ass Off and Nine’s Two and a Half Men. The rest were a long way behind. Men also ranked high in 2008 but that was won by Kath & Kim (US).

Modern-Family

INTERNATIONAL SHOW WE NEED TO SEE HERE: Modern Family
V, Community, Cougar Town, Melrose Place, The X Factor

No clear winner here but Modern Family pulls ahead. Most of these shows will air in 2010. There was some confusion over Pay TV titles being voted for and therefore ruled ineligible (True Blood, Breaking Bad [coming to ABC], Chuck, Dollhouse and Hung [coming to Seven]). Last year’s winner: Pushing Daisies.

THE STORY OF THE YEAR: MasterChef becomes a hit
News coverage of Black Saturday bushfires, Digital TV takes off, Hey Hey’s triumphant return, The Chaser’s “Make a Realistic Wish Foundation” sketch, Rove quits Rove.

Last year’s winner: “Scheduling hits a new low” (it may well have won again had it been up for nomination).

fox-8

BEST SUBSCRIPTION CHANNEL: FOX8
Showcase, FOX Sports, Arena, Comedy Channel, LifeStyle

Not much change in Pay winners as FOX8 takes it for the third year.

GO!

BEST NEW CHANNEL: GO!
7TWO, ONE, ABC3, LifeStyle You, 13th Street

GO! wins by a huge margin. Ineligible: ABC2, already on air in 2008.

tenlogo

BEST FREE TO AIR NETWORK: TEN
Seven, ABC, Nine, SBS

A close race amongst first and second but TEN snatches the title from Seven after two wins. Nine remains in fourth place again.

tvtawards2009

Congrats to all.

Thanks to everyone who voted.

25 Responses

  1. Interesting results!

    The only suggestion for the 2010 awards is that Sports Shows (e.g. Before the Game, The Footy Show) are separated from Sports Broadcasting itself, as these are quite hard to compare.

  2. I’m mystified as to why anyone would think that Seven News is the best news/CA program in the country. They are just as tabloid, manipulative and parochial as Nine and (increasingly) Ten, and barely anyone there could be called a serious journalist. ABC News is far and away the best news service in Australia.

    In the sports category, the Sunday Roast is a hidden gem, although less so since Nine dumped Matthew Johns and replaced him with some boring guy from Sky Radio whose name I can’t remember. Unfortunately their timeslot (early afternoon) means they don’t get a whole lot of attention from anyone.

  3. Thanks for doing the awards, David.

    A big cheer for The Gruen Transfer, too. It doesn’t slot neatly into any of the voting categories (light entertainment? talk show?), but it was my favourite show last year.

  4. Must say, after watching the Today show on Sunday (had people staying over with us at our holiday house, so out of politeness, let them pick the show), I wish I could re-vote worst female and male as Leila McKinnon and Steve Jacobs, after the appallingly embarrassing, cringeworthy “rap” songs they each performed. The other unfortunate thing is, our guests were going “oh, isn’t she doing well”, when I was about to throw something at the television as I couldn’t reach the remote to turn it off, so the thought of smashing the tv was preferable then living through the 90 seconds of Leila rapping. Oh, the humanity!!

  5. @Kathy, i totally agree with you on Mark Beretta. I personally have no real problem with Kochie or Mel (Kochie’s a Port supporter so i love him), but Berretta annoys the hell out of me. Can’t stand him. Can’t believe they picked him to fill in for Kochie, it was terrible to watch. Replace him with Simon Reeve.

    Ten was judged best network, but after today’s changes by Ten and reading some comments, me thinks a lot of people would like to change their vote.

  6. I’m also interested in why British TV doesn’t get a guernsey. David, do you think next year you could put the BAFTA TV nominations in your “helpful lists to remind us when voting” links? (Apologies if you’ve already explained patiently elsewhere why you don’t do this.)

    As British shows are generally underrepresented on commercial FTA I think it would still end up US-heavy in the voting, but it would be interesting to see if any at least made it into runners-up, with a bit of voter memory prompting.

    Thanks, I enjoyed voting and I’m glad others share my Micallef obsession. And also miss TV Burp.

  7. Saw that Double Take made the runner up list for worst show, while TV Burp made the runner up list for best. Everywhere else, critic-wise, it was the opposite. Never quite understood why this site’s visitors took such a set against DT. Thought a lot of it was outstanding, especially the song parodies. Wonder how the show came to run over Tv Tonight’s dog in a past life?

  8. Love your work David… this is top stuff, and no surprises really.

    Shaun Micallef said:-
    “When I’m looking myself up on the internet, I always log onto TV Tonight. There’s always something there about me (or Your Gen) and usually it’s complimentary. Thank you David for the support and for the always thoughtful assessments and appraisals,” he said.

    It would be great if a lot of other TV personalities would provide feedback as well, good or bad.

    Jed said:-

    ‘Sunrise wins Best Morning Programme yet Melissa Doyle also wins Worst female and Kochie 2nd by 1 vote for Worst Male”

    I have to agree with the results when it comes to Melissa (how fake is that smile) Doyle and David (pain in the A) Kochie… But, one other that should be on the list is Mark Beretta.. He drives me insane with his ‘know it all’ attitude. What does this guy not know 🙂 he has such a big head.

  9. I think the votes are pretty well on, would agree with the majority on most of them.

    I know people with disagree with me on this one, but I can’t understand Seven News’ popularity. I find the language they use to be overly emotive (at least in Melbourne) and can have a tendency to tell you how you should feel about a report rather than just reporting facts.
    Then again Nine News is also rather pathetically going down the “desperately local” angle, and has too many stories that should be ACA pieces somehow filtering in to their News (and too many ACA stories that shouldn’t be on air…)

    Not surprising to see Dave Hughes on overexposed either, I think he’s served his purpose on 7pm, fine for occasional/weekly appearances but out of his depth regularly during discussions on any serious issue.

  10. Thanks for facilitating these awards. It was great fun to participate & to see the overall results. It’s interesting to note that those in the worst female category are those who are famous for no perceivable reason where as those in the favourite female category are known for their talents i.e acting, comedic skills, knowledge etc. It differs from those who made it into the worst male category who are embarrassing or plain unlikable despite their knowledge or skills. Going by this years trend, I have a feeling that we might be seeing “chk chk boom” girl making the 2010 list considering that Nine is giving her a presenter position despite only being famous by being largely overexposed by Nine and News Corp for the purpose of publicity. I think fame and genuine likability doesn’t work without talent at the very least, it didn’t work for Ruby Rose and I don’t think it will work for Clare Werbeloff either.

    I’m also happy and proud of the shows and personalities that were voted favourably. 😀

  11. i was bit shocked with a few. most overexposed talent by a country mile would have to be tom williams

    same with worst male.. it should have been david koch

    best sporst program. before the game didn’t deserve that. talentless hacks on that show. one week at a time was better

  12. :O I love both Gary Unmarried and FlashForward! Some of the results are pretty suprising…but I am ecstatic Shaun Micallef is getting heaps of recognition, it’s about time, he’s a very talented man. And I can’t wait to see V here, but if Nine has the rights to it, I’ll be waiting a long time.

  13. I must say that I am surprised with the results for many of these. As David said, “detractors are often more vocal than its supporters”, which probably explains why shows like The Chaser, Sunrise, Deal Or No Deal, Border Security and Seven News managed to win their category and honourable mentions to 7pm Project, Hey Hey, Rove, Idol, TT, Carrie Bickmore etc. despite their incessant criticism on this site.

    I was a little disappointed to see that no British comedies made the list, and surprised that Australia’s Perfect Couple didn’t make the list of Worst Shows and that Bert Newton made the list of Most Overexposed, since the only show he appears on is 20 to 1 and even so his role is rather redundant. Also I’d like to mention Scope, which I voted for in Best Kids Show but unfortunately didn’t get a mention, a pity because it really is a good educational show for which Ten should be congratulated.

  14. Something that John Cleese said pretty much summed up my disdain of PTTR: “This isn’t emotion, this is sentiment; and therefore ought to be despised.”

    Anywho, I’d like to issue a big, congratulatory, propriety violating hug to Shaun for all of his success. It’s disenchanted though seeing such talent being wasted away on the sort of programming that will no longer be relevant or worth watching again in 5 years time let alone 20. Give Shaun and Magda their own scripted comedy series dammit!!!

  15. lelia mckinnon didn’t even make the list for worst female? what is wrong with you people? lol

    mostly what i expected, some surprises. chasers for best comedy, were they really that good? especially with tv burp in there. people here really don’t like 9news/ACA do they? glad to see before the game beat the footy show. Yay for eddie getting worst male. and what is HIMYM doing in worst comedy?

  16. Well i think TV Tonight readers should be the only ones allowed to vote for the Logies because the results seem spot on. Take not Seven, 30 Rock does have an audience as shown by the results. Give it a decent timeslot. Surprising the amount of love given to 7pm Project considering the ratings and comments on here.

    Sunrise wins Best Morning Programme yet Melissa Doyle also wins Worst female and Kochie 2nd by 1 vote for Worst Male.

    And Nine really does have problems. Ranked 4th here, and Nine News not even mentioned.

    1. While the Nine brand didn’t come off too well, GO! has certainly performed with readers. Quite a bit of anticipation for V and reality shows like Survivor and The Apprentice Australia have strong support bases as well as Big Bang Theory, Hot Seat and Footy Shows.

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