News, Top Stories Archive:
The dumping ground of television
It’s become one of the stories of the 2008 television year: dumping shows ad infinitum. This month we’ve lost Fringe, Cold Case, Wipeout, Battlefronts, Kitchen Nightmares USA, Kath & Kim (US), 90210, Bondi Rescue: Bali and even a repeat series of Friends. Dropping shows isn’t new, but its rapidity is increasing, confusing audiences and disintegrating trust between viewers and networks.
Nine’s Head of Acquisitions, Daytime and HD programming Les Sampson spoke to TV Tonight about the challenges and ramifications of scheduling.
As we all know, delivering demographics to advertisers is an artform. Programming …
First ‘Fall’ victim: Do Not Disturb
FOX’s new comedy Do Not Disturb starring Jerry O’Connell would appear to be the first victim of the US Fall Season yanked off air after its third episode and replaced with ‘Til Death (the same show Nine is bringing back next week).
A network spokesman insists the show isn’t officially cancelled, but in the US where shows are never moved around like Aussie programming, such treatment is seen as the death knell.
The Reveille produced comedy centres around the going-ons at a once-popular New York City hotel as seen through the eyes of …
Dollhouse for FOX8
FOX8 has picked up the rights to Dollhouse, the latest drama from Joss Whedon. Although TEN talked up Dollhouse in May, the program will be aired with fewer ads and could have posed problems for a commercial free-to-air network.
Starring Buffy’s Eliza Dushku it tells the tale of a group of people, known as ‘Actives’ (or ‘Dolls’) who “have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas and hired out for particular jobs, crimes, fantasies and occasional good deeds. When not imprinted, the Actives …