Programming Archive:
And while we’re talking finales…
And while we’re on the subject. Kudos to Seven for slating The Amazing Race in a two hour finale on Thursday December 18.
Adding the extra episode gets around the issue of a final which would have fallen on Christmas night.
The fastracked season concludes in America on Sunday (Monday Aus) so beware of internet spoilers.
Next week’s ep on Seven includes a very funny attempt at marching in the Russian army.
The two hour TAR final means no Heroes on December 18.
Seven summer guide
Updated *
Seven’s first week of summer viewing is in, and as previously reported, it includes the premiere of Eli Stone, Holby Blue, the return of Ugly Betty, Dirty Sexy Money, Kath & Kim (US), Las Vegas, Dance Machine. The 24: Redemption telemovie will also air.
Both Ugly Betty and Eli Stone air twice weekly.
Seven also continues Heroes, Prison Break, The Amazing Race, The Rich List, The Unit, repeats of How I Met Your Mother, A Touch of Frost and Bones.
Both Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone have just been all but axed …
Sci Fi Channel switching to 16:9
The Sci Fi Channel has its second birthday on December 1 and will celebrate by switching from 4:3 to 16:9 ratio across the channel.
Around half the shows on the channel will be broadcast in true 16:9 detail. Those programmes that are only available in 4:3 will be pillar-boxed with black stripes down the side.
“Star Trek: Next Generation, Voyager, Deep Space Nine are only available in 4:3,” a spokesperson told TV Tonight.
“Star Trek: Enterprise is available in 16:9 full frame along with programmes like Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Angel, Stargate, Stargate: Atlantis and …
Eli Stone to sing on Seven’s summer
Seven will finally premiere Eli Stone in Australia as part of its summer line-up.
The US drama by Greg Berlanti (Brothers and Sisters, Dirty Sexy Money, Everwood) features Jonny Lee Miller as an attorney with an inoperable brain aneurysm -and a bit of a fixation with the catalogue of George Michael. Each episode is named after a Michael song, and the pop star even makes an appearance during one of the fantasy sequences, incorporated as one of Stone’s hallucinations.
Seven will also premiere British crime drama Holby Blue and (gasp) American Gladiators.
Scrubs will …
24 about to have its Redemption
Channel Seven has confirmed to TV Tonight, 24: Redemption will air in the first week of summer, in the week beginning November 30th.
The two hour telemovie airs in the US on November 23rd, as part of a link to the next season in the US to premiere in January on FOX.
And there are other Seven shows set to continue through summer.
“The week after Prison Break returns on November 26th it will play twice a week at 10:30pm,” says Seven’s Head of Scheduling and Acquisitions, Angus Ross, “to play out the remaining …
Last minute guides keep viewers guessing
It took long enough but we finally got there.
Tonight according to a Seven amendment issued late last Friday, Bones is airing at 9:30pm, Heroes at 10:30pm and Prison Break is out of schedule.
But up until late yesterday, online guides were still listing Heroes at 9:30pm Scrubs at 10:30pm and Prison Break at 11:00pm.
Seven’s own online guide even had Heroes as a Hot Pick at 9:30pm yesterday. Now it chooses Bones instead. Either it prefers the Bones episode over Heroes, or it just prefers the timeslot to get a nudge along.
But why …
The double-edged sword of fame
Wednesday was quite an historic day.
While America was cheering in its first ever African-American president, I was talking down the phone to Gary Coleman, former child star of 1970’s sitcom Diff’rent Strokes.
Coleman was on the line to spruik a new DVD website enterprise, but I couldn’t help but wonder about the significance of the day.
In the ’70’s he had played a kid from Harlem adopted by a rich white family and living the good life. With his comic timing, precocious cheek, and memorable catchphrase, Coleman’s character ‘Arnold’ became a household name. …
Heroes drops 2 producers
It’s always a worrying sign when we hear of creatives leaving a show, particularly mid-season.
Co-executive producers Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb have been let go from Heroes.
Both have been with the show since its first season and were known to have led the day-to-day production operation under the direction of creator/executive producer Tim Kring.
Despite much promise, Heroes has struggled in the ratings in its third season in the US.
According to Variety, Alexander and Loeb are said to have been let go because of NBC’s frustration with the creative direction of …
Packered by the Rafters
It was the week the Packer family parted ways with Nine causing David Gyngell to vow to prove James Packer wrong, TEN announced a new channel, Pay TV launched another three, Minister Stephen Conroy signalled support for increased ABC & SBS funding, commercial networks (briefly) found a conscience but upset David Leckie, WIN sat down at the gambling table, Kath & Kim (US) got a greenlight for a full season, Andrew Denton announced the end of Enough Rope, David Tennant set his exit from his iconic role, Rove visited …
Gone: Prison Break. Bumped: Heroes
Wentworth Miller’s Prison Break is the latest casualty of network programmers with Seven removing it from the schedule until summer. Earlier this month Nine did the same thing to Fringe.
The drama attracted 427,000 viewers last night, which was actually up from 389,000 the week before. Seven lost the night to the Nine Network.
But Seven has had problems with Heroes, netting a disappointing 624,000, dropping from The Amazing Race’s 902,000. It was beaten by RPA’s 1.02m and a repeat of Law & Order: SVU on 930,000.
Race was #1 in key demographics 16-39, …
Kerri-Anne visits Ellen
Kerri-Anne Kennerley was in the US this week leaving her show to be hosted by Jamie Malcolm and Jaynie Seal.
The KAKster recorded interviews with John Travolta to air on Monday and Olivia Newton-John which airs next Friday.
While she was there she also visited the set of Days of Our Lives to air the following week.
And look who had a visit to Ellen.
You can see her dressed in white to the right of frame in the top picture, grooving to the daily Ellen …
Current affairs surge at Seven
It was the week that current affairs and finance dominated. Ray Martin lamented the state of commercial news and current affairs at the same time as a former sports presenter won his first week behind a public affairs desk, a CEO lashed out at his rival networks but shot off about the starting date of his new current affairs project, while the network signed a former Sunday journo, TEN reported a 25% slump in earnings, a Telstra boss said Foxtel subscriptions were slowing, another Murdoch stitched up a production deal with …