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TV Tonight Awards 2009: The year of Shaun Micallef
The 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 …
ABC News up in summer
For the third night in a row, ABC News has won the 7:00 slot.
On Tuesday, following the Liberal Party leadership spill, it reached 1.17m. It again won last night with 1.05m well ahead of Australia’s Funniest Home Videos on 790,000, How I Met Your Mother on 753,000 and The 7PM Project on 714,000 -at least TEN is now holding its own against commercial rivals.
Summer figures continue to remain modest, with Seven News the night’s top show on 1.25m.
But it was Nine’s share that delivered with a very strong 31.0% thanks to …
Nine adds new Sheen to Wednesday..and then dumps it
Just days to go but still the changes keep comin’ thru…
Nine has just announced a new episode of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory to air tomorrow night at 7:30 / 8:00pm.
They will replace a repeat of Men and What’s Good For You This Summer, the latter is bumped to next week.
27.9 and counting….
UPDATE: Cancel that.
We’re back to two repeats of Two and a Half Men. Crazy times….
Nine News drops Grant Hackett
Former Olympian Grant Hackett has been dropped as weekend sports presenter on Nine News Melbourne.
TV Tonight understands the swimming champ was given the bad news on Friday by GTV9 boss Jeffrey Browne. Hackett has been with the network since signing in September 2008, after being pursued by Channel Seven.
He has been in the role on weekends, occasionally alternating with Darwin-bred Lisa Andrews, as well as taking over in weeknights in summer in place of Tony Jones.
Hackett was also recently announced as part of Nine’s Winter Olympics presentation team, to present “colour …
Sigrid cops it for Underbelly
The third season of Underbelly has got itself a bit of a coup with the announcement that Sigrid Thornton will appear as tough cop Gerry Lloyd.
Thornton is one of the few actresses to carry marquee status, critical acclaim and a beloved status by Australian viewers. Fewer still are recognised simply by their first name. Sigrid, Georgie, Lisa, Magda, Noni, Rebecca….And even less have given addresses to the National Press Club or sat on the board of State film bodies.
Of the new role, Thornton told news.com.au: “It’s more of a character role …
Twenty Two and Half Men
Two and a half ‘Two and a Half Mens’ might be watchable, but there’s even more Charlie Sheen coming.
It’s now on 7:30pm Wednesday July 1 too. Added to regular Mondays, Tuesdays and in some cities, Fridays -on top of the 7pm screening- that makes the show more like ‘Twenty Two and a Half Men.’ And that’s despite the new episodes drying up.
All this for a show that Nine once couldn’t even get to rate?
On July 1 it’s followed by What’s Good For You at 8pm, while a one hour RPA shifts …
9HD breaks out with Jeannie
From today 9HD begins break-out programming in daytimes, with a mix of movies, sitcoms and repeat screenings of its network brands.
Beginning at 11am today Nine has Charlie’s Angels and Elvis movies and from Monday its Just Shoot Me, Seinfeld, a Brooke Shields movie, Domestic Blitz, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie ending at 4:30pm. Breakout programming resumes at 10:30pm.
The afternoon trend continues through to Friday adding repeats of RPA, What’s Good For You and Getaway.
Saturday will remain a simulcast.
Nine is expected to launch an entertainment brand on Channel 99 around October …
Thank God for 1.74m viewers
The first episode of Thank God You’re Here on Seven was the #1 show for Wednesday. It managed an impressive 1.74m viewers, beating RPA / What’s Good for You (1.22m, 1.20m), and MasterChef Australia, The Simpsons (994,000 / 1.09m).
All eyes were on Seven to see how the show would fare with viewers after a switch from Network TEN.
Seven took the night easily with a 29.9% share over Nine’s 25.6% and TEN’s 21.2%.
On the network switch, Working Dog’s Michael Hirsh told The Age, “We thought long and hard about a move …
What’s not so good for Dr. Andrew
Dr Andrew Rochford takes the reins as host of Nine’s What’s Good For You alongside presenters Grant Hackett, Lyndsey Rodrigues, and nutritionist Janella Purcell.
As previously reported, the show is back from April 8th.
Going ‘beyond the call of duty’ to find out if men have a higher pain threshold than women, Dr Rochford is hooked up to a labour simulation machine and, under strict medical supervision, has ever-increasing voltage of electrical impulses pumped into his stomach muscles for as long as he can stand it. How very Louis Theroux of him!
Grant Hackett …
Nine’s Easter programming
In keeping with previous posts about programming plans for the Easter non-ratings period, here are the Nine shows you can expect to see in the week of April 5:
Continuing new episodes: 60 Minutes, A Current Affair, Customs, Footy Classified (select markets), World’s Funniest Videos, Commercial Breakdown, Hell’s Kitchen, Bridezillas, What’s Good For You, RPA, The Footy Show, Getaway, Adults Only 20 to 1, The King of Queens, Til’ Death, NRL, Australia’s Funniest Home Videos, Tropfest 2009.
Repeat episodes: Two and a Half Men, Underbelly, Cold Case, 20 to 1.
Movies will also screen …
Returning: RPA, What’s Good For You, Hell’s Kitchen, Commercial Breakdown
Nine has announced a number of new shows returning in Easter non-ratings:
Commercial Breakdown hosted by MTV host Darren McMullen is back at 8pm from Tuesday April 7th. It will follow the premiere of World’s Funniest Videos hosted by Shane Crawford and Lyndsey Rodrigues at 7:30pm. The show was last hosted for Nine by Dermott Brereton.
Two and a Half Men continues in new eps at 8:30pm.
At 9:30pm Hell’s Kitchen returns in Series 2 from 2006.
On Wednesday April 8th a renewed What’s Good For You is back at 7:30pm. Dr Andrew Rochford …
First quarter broken promises
There is just one week to go before we move into the second quarter of 2009.
Late last year, the Nine Network told its advertisers that a raft of new shows would air in the first quarter of 2009. But a number of the titles on the list still remain unaired.
Gathering dust on the Nine shelves, and promised for the first quarter, are:
Sea Patrol
Crusoe
Local Heroes
For Richer for Poorer
What’s Good For You
Who Do You Think You Are? (US)
When I Grow Up
Without a Trace
This mirrors a similar list at the end of 2007 …