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Matthew Weiner keeps them madly guessing
Matthew Weiner admits he is a fortunate man. As the creator, writer and producer of Mad Men, the darling of the US critics, he has worked hard for his success.
He talked to TV Tonight on the eve of the drama’s third series in Australia, explaining that working in television instead of film has allowed him to see his dreams realised.
“Being a screenwriter, particularly in television, I am one of the few who has written a lot of things that get produced and I know that my stuff is going to get …
106.5m Super Bowl viewers sets new record
Super Bowl XLIV has set a new US television record, after it scored a staggering 106.5m viewers yesterday.
The game overtakes the 27-year-old record set by the final episode of MASH, which previousy stood at 105.97m viewers in 1983.
There were fewer US TV sets in 1983 when the MASH finale was broadcast, but with the growth of cable and satellite, TV networks now face competition from far more channels and the internet.
The game was also the first US televised sports event to top 100 million viewers, beating last year’s 98.7 million for …
Big Bang minus the laugh-track theory
So what’s a sitcom like without the laugh track added?
Umm not very funny.
Check out this clip of The Big Bang Theory without the required mirth.
I once saw an entire episode of Get Smart without laughs. And it went to air too. It was really weird…. Some shows the laugh track is clearly a character in itself and just not the same without it. Someone MASH fans may be able …
Blast from the Past: TV promos
Now here’s a blast from the past.
I stumbled across some notes I made in 1991 (dear God), when as a young ‘un I jotted down some claims made by our television stations about their new TV shows.
I remember thinking “these guys always claim this show or that show is the best ever.”
Now nearly 20 years later, how well did they stack up?
Here are the lines they used, for your perusal…
Twin Peaks: “The Most Talked About Series of the ’90s!”
The Cosby Show: “The Most Successful Comedy Series of All Time!”
A Country Practice: …
Vale: Pernell Roberts
US actor Pernell Roberts, best remembered for his roles in Bonanza and Trapper John, M.D. has died of cancer aged 81.
Roberts appeared in Bonanza for six seasons as eldest son Adam Cartwright. The last surviving member of the classic Western’s cast, he left the show at the height of its fame.
For the next 14 years he mainly made appearances on TV shows and in miniseries, or toured with such theatrical productions.
In 1979 he found fame again in the playing Trapper John M.D., a spin-off from MASH, until 1986. The MASH role …
Yep, MASH is back
Looks like not much will change to Seven’s late-arvo schedule this year, with MASH and Deal or No Deal on their way back.
Both return in the week of January 31st, with a one hour “Great Deal Special” episode of Deal at 5pm Monday February1st: “In a special one hour Deal or No Deal, Andrew O’Keefe helps a contestant make the deal of a lifetime in an episode filled with surprises and secret deals.”
MASH reruns return from 5pm Tuesday February 2nd.
Come Dine with Me (UK) fans should note its return to 3pm …
May 09: Matthew Johns, Karl after the Logies, Eurovision, Bud Tingwell
May:
WIN loses defamation case
The Chaser: Charges? What charges?
Gold Logie: It’s Rebecca!
Gretel’s Logies flop
Search for an Aussie Jerry Springer
Late News returns to Nine
Sam Newman to be ‘tarred and feathered’
ABC’s Eternity Man wins international award
Media Watch: 20 Years: Stuff Ups, Beat Ups & Barneys
Karl Stefanovic, the morning after
Fawlty Towers stars reunite
MASH’s David Ogden Stiers comes out
Gossip Girl spin-off ‘dead.’
Sam Newman put on ‘ACMA watch’
Rex Hunt guilty of road rage
Kiefer Sutherland charged with assault
Idol dumps Monday …
Airdate: Come Dine with Me
MasterChef Australia has a lot to answer for.
Seven will screen the UK food series Come Dine with Me, in which amateur chefs host dinner parties.
It will premiere at 5pm Monday November 30th -yep, no more MASH for now.
The chefs attempt to wow each other and showcase their culinary skills in order to claim the title and cash prize. First up this week, ex-landlady Zoe, has strong opinions on good grub. But will her dinner leave her guests blown away?
An Aussie version is being produced for the Lifestyle FOOD Channel.
Returning: Elders with Andrew Denton
Andrew Denton is returning to television, as promised, to front a new series of Elders with Andrew Denton.
Six new episodes, filmed in New York, London, Dhaka and Alice Springs will profile seasoned individuals who have a world of wisdom between them.
The first subject is MASH legend, Alan Alda, aged 73. Actor, director, playwright and author, Alda will discuss his psychotic and alcoholic mother, his ‘muse, salvation’ and wife Arlene, and how she guided him through the pitfalls of fame.
In these conversations pieces, Denton will again focus on qualities gleaned from …
Vale: Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze, the hunky actor who danced his way into viewers’ hearts with Dirty Dancing and then broke them with Ghost, has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.
“Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months,” said a statement released on Monday evening by his publicist. No other details were given.
Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer.
He had …
Vale: Larry Gelbart
Writer Larry Gelbart, one of the main forces behind the success of M*A*S*H, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.
Gelbart was brought onto the the show which was based on the 1970 Robert Altman film. After writing 97 half-hour episodes and winning an Emmy, he quit during the show’s fourth season, saying he was “totally worn out.”
“What attracted me to MASH was the theme song, `Suicide is Painless,’” Gelbart once remarked. “It was written in a very minor key and appealed to me emotionally.”
He also won a …
Laughing matter
“2003 was the last time that all three networks had sketch comedy on at the same time,” ponders producer David McDonald. “Comedy Inc, The Big Bite and Skithouse all launched the same year, within a month of each other I think.”
His producing partner Rick Kalowski chimes in: “And Ronnie Johns was always a shell game. It was on but they (TEN) were not going to tell you when. Work it out for yourself. But when was the last time there was a hard launch of a commercial primetime …