TV Lounge

2013-03-18_1747The TV Lounge is an Open Forum for you to add comments or ask questions on TV that you can’t see anywhere else on the site.

So if there’s something TV-related you’ve been meaning to get off your chest, or there’s a question that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere else, here is where it goes!

And remember, Comments Policy.

438 Comments »

  1. NicH May 3, 2013 at 12:05 am -

    Just saw Financial Review Sunday starts this Sunday at 10am,.

  2. William May 2, 2013 at 9:45 pm -

    @Pertinax
    We have totally different views on the cricket rights. I have already stated which networks should get what in the deal.

  3. Backflip May 2, 2013 at 9:45 pm -

    Im noticing a lot of bleeping out in Mrs Brown’s Boy’s tonight. Bit surprised at it given there has never been any before that I can recall. Actually finding it disrupts the flow of the dialogue.

  4. Maev....Sydney May 2, 2013 at 8:40 pm -

    Love..love…love…A Place Called Home….but from comments on Sevens catchup site…very clear division…either love it or not…a few comments on the acting…but I thought it was great…think younger folk do not realise how different life and people were then…as it said in the beginning….’the past is a foreign country’…and I guess if you have not been there…you may not get it.

  5. Pertinax May 2, 2013 at 8:39 pm -

    @William
    Yes they are tipping Nine to outbid Ten to keep the tests (including the ashes in England) and ODIs. But that with the increased costs they will do a deal for Ten to show the BBL.

    I don’t think that the domestic cricket is of any value to an FTA network so I think it likely that the Shield Final and most if not all of the local ODs will end up on Fox Sports.

    But other things could happen. Nine has downsized their cricket dept. recently so perhaps they have decided that the price is too high for ODIs, they interfere with establishing a lineup for ratings season and with reality TV shows. The bean counters want a healthy balance sheet so they can sell out, and they could also leave the ODIs for Ten.

    There are also the overseas Australian tests (other than the ashes) and other foreign tests, ODs and Twenty20s that Fox Sports will probably continue to show.

  6. William May 2, 2013 at 12:49 pm -

    @Pertinax
    This what I have gathered from reports
    Nine = Usual
    Ten = Domestic Cricket
    Fox Sports = Nothing

  7. Secret Squirrel May 2, 2013 at 12:27 pm -

    Was Arrow any good? I was on other channels.

  8. William May 2, 2013 at 12:24 pm -

    Oh ok. Thanks for the clarification. You clearly said “let’s wait until network announcements before we go claiming it as fact thank you”. Which I assume that you want comments from Cricket Australia or by FTA networks not by reports that they are suggesting

  9. David Knox May 2, 2013 at 12:20 pm -

    A forum moderator approves / disapproves comments and oversees direction of conversations. ie. it’s not up to users to tell other users ‘no more comments on this topic.’

  10. Pertinax May 2, 2013 at 12:16 pm -

    @William
    Ten currently holds the rights to all the cricket.
    But what want to keep and get to keep is the issue.

    Foxtel has only broadcast the Sheffield Shield Final to a handful of people in recent years. Showing it on FTA would be ratings suicide. It only makes marginal sense on cable.

  11. William May 2, 2013 at 11:48 am -

    David, what do you exactly mean by moderating?

  12. nik c May 2, 2013 at 8:11 am -

    Arrow was good last night!
    But I have to laugh. I missed the start because it began on time?!?!
    Why can’t they do this every night!???!

  13. David Knox May 2, 2013 at 1:37 am -

    William is now moderating?

  14. William May 1, 2013 at 10:35 pm -

    @Pertinax
    Ten is tipped to win the rights to BBL and Sheffield Shield which Ten is the preferred bidder and red hot favourite to win. I think we have killed this topic to death and can we hold of this a bit longer and I think the deal is shared between Ten and Nine

  15. tvf May 1, 2013 at 10:24 pm -

    Really annoyed at channel seven. I just checked the PVR and they have scheduled two double episodes of greys on both Monday and Tuesday next week. As mentioned in my previous comments why make a viewer wait till April and then burn off episodes. I will watch them cause I want to see the episodes but its a pointless exercise. Then there is private practice. Its in its final season. There are only four episodes to go and they were not scheduled for last Monday or the upcoming Monday. Why?

    If you were really that keen on burning episodes than it should be Monday and Tuesday night next week one episode of greys followed by private practice.

  16. Pete May 1, 2013 at 10:12 pm -

    I am going to pretend our taxpayer funded ABC has not wasted our money on an obscene skit on the show before The Thick of It where Ossama Bin Laden is in the cock pit of a jet with a boy in the pilots seat as they fly the plane into a stadium. At what point was there humour and how did it pass any tests of decency at the ABC.

    No wonder it has failed to get higher than low 200K in the ratings.

    Offensive in the extreme

  17. Maev....Sydney May 1, 2013 at 10:07 pm -

    @ jshaw…and when it has ‘encore’ added…it is even worse….I tried to watch encore of Graham Norton one night….gave up…
    I suffer it for F1…as it gets lost in the rest of the screen clutter….but mostly do not watch TEN…and that is just one of the reasons…

  18. jshaw May 1, 2013 at 9:20 pm -

    I was wondering if TEN can make it’s watermark logo smaller, even moving it to the bottom right hand corner of the screen ?? It’s currently too big.

    ELEVEN’s logo is way too big

    Channel 7 & 7TWO have made their logo’s alot smaller & better.

  19. Pertinax May 1, 2013 at 6:48 pm -

    @William
    Like everything on commercial TV the money will come from selling ads and sponsorship. If the ad revenue from the sport is not enough then they will have to cover it with revenue from other shows. And like any business they will borrow to smooth out expenses.

    Ten’s bid values all the cricket rights at 70m/year for 5 years. It is tipped that Ten will only end up only paying for the BBL component. Channel 9 will pay for the Tests and ODIs (the price of which Ten has driven up) and Foxtel will pay for the domestic ODs and Sheffield Shield Final.

    But we will find out at the end of the month.

    There is a value in owning sport beyond the direct advertising revenue. It generates large number of viewers, influences viewer habits and provides a platform for promoting other shares.

    Channel 9 may have lost $20m on the @l^mp!cs itself but they also gained something indirectly because it helped launch Nine programmes and suck the life out of Ten’s reality TV lineup, which Ten is yet to recover from, decreasing Ten’s share of the total TV advertising market and boosting Nine’s.

  20. q12321 May 1, 2013 at 4:37 pm -

    Craig season 6 finale is expected to air on July 9, that’s if 7 continue airing it every week without any interruptions. Winners and Losers will probably start on July 16.

  21. William May 1, 2013 at 4:07 pm -

    @Pertinax
    Where exactly is Nine getting the money from? They are making a huge loss on the NRL. Ten is the hot favourite to win BBL and Sheffield Shield Cricket. Fox Sports is the loser here as the rights will be on sold to Nine and Ten as expected which is a big gain for Ten where Nine was the favourite to win it and luckily Ten did change CEO

  22. Craig May 1, 2013 at 4:04 pm -

    I knew it was coming up but couldn’t remember if there were 22 or 24 eps in S5. Again not that ch7 would tell the viewers. the only thing that prompted me was at the end last night they promoted the full S5 DVD.

    I do wonder when W&L will take over the time slot (yes I looked) also now Parenthood has been renewed will ch7 fast track in sometime later this year or wait until next? Yes I know David you probably can’t answer these questions just yet.

  23. David Knox May 1, 2013 at 3:38 pm -

    I didn’t specifically note S6 because it was back to back with S5, but I’ve previously noted we have less than 3 months to go.

  24. Craig May 1, 2013 at 3:29 pm -

    Packed to the Rafters – I didn’t realize that last week S6 started on Seven, not that you’d know from them. Sorry if I missed it David but did you post anything on that?

  25. Pertinax May 1, 2013 at 2:18 pm -

    Cricket Rights.
    Seven put in low-ball bid just to stop Nine or Ten walking away with something cheap, as expected. Nine put in a similar offer to the last 5 year deal. Ten bid $350m for the 5 years and outbid Nine by 55%. Foxtel did not outbid the $20m that Ten bid for BBL.

    So Ten are now negotiating details of the deal with Cricket Australia. At the end of the month Nine gets to invoke it’s last bid rights and make a counter offer to Ten’s bid.

    Nine are expected to outbid Ten for the local tests, England Ashes tests and ODIs. But since they paid a lot for the NRL are not expected to outbid Ten for the BBL, which are mainly on Friday nights and the weekends.

    Foxtel will probably pick up what Nine and Ten don’t want to broadcasts.

    And once this is settled next month we will turn our attention to the Tennis.

  26. nik c May 1, 2013 at 1:33 pm -

    Any one have any idea how long season 2 of House husbands will be? Just curious. IMDB have 10 and Wiki has nothing.

  27. nik c May 1, 2013 at 1:26 pm -

    @Pete Thanks for that! I would have missed the double ep. Here I go updating the PVR again!

  28. Pete May 1, 2013 at 10:30 am -

    I notice that Amazing Race is two hours next Tuesday on 7Mate. I assume this is to catch up with US screenings.

    Seven and Nine’s treatment of Amazing Race and Survivor respectively has been excellent in terms of fast tracking and is appreciated.

    This season of Survivor is one of the best yet.

  29. Pertinax May 1, 2013 at 9:41 am -

    So Channel 9 was bluffing with The Voice tonight. It is back to a sandwich of two repeats and one new episode of TBBT as a lead in for Arrow’s premiere.

  30. William April 30, 2013 at 9:57 pm -

    @Craig
    It should finished in time but who knows with 7 and their programming

  31. Craig April 30, 2013 at 6:52 pm -

    Don’t know if it’s been reported but the Rafters are being pushed back until after 9pm because of the ‘celebrities’ jumping into water. just hope it ends in time for the Oliver Stone series on the History channel at 10:25.

  32. Pertinax April 30, 2013 at 12:27 pm -

    @Secret Squirrel
    Revenge is escapist fun but they have actually done a very good job with the writing and direction of keeping things afloat and moving. It was surprising that they handled a major scenes like the ones on the boat so badly (dead calm it was not). The flashback episode into Victoria’s past was also not very well executed.

    In S1 the major problem was the way they wrote Daniel in the second half of the season but they have done a much better job which him this season.

  33. Secret Squirrel April 30, 2013 at 11:42 am -

    @Pertinax – if these are these the first plot holes that you’ve seen in Revenge then I’d guess that you’ve only watched this one ep.

    1. Sit down
    2. Turn to channel seven 20 minutes after advertised time
    3. Turn reality checker off
    4. Watch Revenge
    5. Turn reality checker on

  34. Adam93 April 30, 2013 at 11:30 am -

    Just wondering if anyone knows roughly when Gruen will be back this year?

  35. Pertinax April 30, 2013 at 9:18 am -

    So how did Femily and Nolan see Jack being put into an inflatable lifeboat from a webcam below deck on the other side of a locked hatch?
    Through one of the bullet holes?

    And how come martial arts and firearm expert Femily was unable to take care of one street thug after she knocked him out with a plank?

  36. Phoenix April 30, 2013 at 9:11 am -

    @ Pertinax and @A — Thanks for the heads up on Beauty and the Beast. I’m about to leave on holidays and would’ve been annoyed to find that this show had started while I was away.

    I’ve now set my PVR to record it.

  37. D@GP April 30, 2013 at 8:33 am -

    @ squareyes April 29, 2013 at 5:14 pm –

    Yes – too much blood and guts.. Finding similar with Criminal Minds of late too but we persevere.

    If only they could segue Hannibal with the Sound of Music – the world would be a much happier place…

    (That’s a joke, Joyce.)

  38. Maev....Sydney April 30, 2013 at 12:11 am -

    Miranda…such a great show…still smiling… :)

  39. A. April 29, 2013 at 10:53 pm -

    I saw an ad for Beauty and the Beast on Eleven and they advertised it to start on Monday May 27. I’m guessing at 8.30pm because Supernatural will end in 3 weeks. But it is just my speculation. I hope it’s OK to mention it. As for Star Trek: Voyager I hope they have plans to show Season 7 this year in prime time. I wouldn’t have a problem if it goes back on Saturday night if or when convenient.

    Lastly thank you to SBS for playing Mythbusters at 7.30pm. I do appreciate it very much. I do know it wasn’t the first time recently. I prefer it.

  40. Maev....Sydney April 29, 2013 at 10:20 pm -

    I had the joyful experience of watching ch.9 this morning….an hour and a quarter in a waiting room…..
    Mornings (is it…)…nothing but one ad or infomercial after the other……and then a number of cutsie young folk…trying to do news…and all having trouble stringing their words together…
    I was glad when I had to leave….

  41. Pertinax April 29, 2013 at 10:05 pm -

    Beauty And The Beast is starting Monday May 27th on Eleven, presumably replacing Supernatural.

  42. squareyes April 29, 2013 at 9:24 pm -

    @cronker
    Agreed.
    It’s like Dancing With The Stars except without entertainment…… or stars.

  43. cronker April 29, 2013 at 9:01 pm -

    Oh dear. Zelebrity Splash, can anyone say trainwreck TV?
    Just dreadful.

  44. Pertinax April 29, 2013 at 8:16 pm -

    They are talking, if they have reached a deal the cricket will probably be broadcast before Channel 9 lets viewers know what is happening.

  45. Dave April 29, 2013 at 5:53 pm -

    And as I thought would happen the Channel 9 Facebook page has lit up with people complaining that Days has been taken off the air. And how could they have known? There was no announcement anywhere on Channel 9 at anytime. The only way people would’ve known would’ve been through websites like this

  46. William April 29, 2013 at 5:51 pm -

    This doesn’t include reports. We will have to wait till the deal is all finalised and said by Cricket Australia or by the FTA networks

  47. David Knox April 29, 2013 at 5:38 pm -

    Let’s wait until network announcements before we go claiming it as fact thank you.

  48. William April 29, 2013 at 5:36 pm -

    @NCISfan
    I got blasted on media spy about this topic. Nine and Ten are sharing the cricket with Nine getting the usual and Ten local domestic competiton with Fox Sports not in this TV deal the deal is expected in May. ODI and Tests will be shown live on Nine and Gem in regards to England

  49. squareyes April 29, 2013 at 5:14 pm -

    @D@GP
    I found the first ep of Hannibal a bit slow, but am now hooked.
    It’s quite different for a US drama, which is part of the reason I like it.
    Is it the gore that put you off ?

  50. NCISfan April 29, 2013 at 4:24 pm -

    Regarding the cricket, any news on the cricket rights etc. (or when we can expect an official announcement re that). Also, ICC Champions Trophy coming up in June and I remember Nine is sharing with FOX. Is that right and can we at least expect to see Aus matches live on Nine or multi channels (they can do so, I assume, because ICC champions league isn’t covered by anti-siphoning –> when we get to the ashes, the tests will have to be live on main channel, but not mandatory for ODIs and T20s — curious to see what 9 do with those two formats) Or this very early days for any sort of details on Champions League and, then, when can we expect further details….?

    BTW anti-siphoning list for all Aus sport is here –> comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2010L03383

    sorry for such a long post. people. thanks in advance for all replies

  51. D@GP April 29, 2013 at 4:00 pm -

    2nd ep of twin Crim Minds Wednesday night on 7 is indeed a new episode.
    Watched 1st ep of Hannibal last night – deleted it after 2nd commercial break.
    No thanks.

  52. wlv262 April 28, 2013 at 9:58 pm -

    The only comparisons I can see for A Place To Call Home to Downton Abbey are the powerful matriarch and being a period drama. Really enjoyed the show and hope it is rewarded with excellent ratings in the morning.

  53. Nathan April 28, 2013 at 9:45 pm -

    Bevan Lee (about A Place to Call Home) said in Sunday’s Telegraph comparison to Downton Abbey are misguided or (words the affect), well Mr Lee, you’re misguided, it’s Downton Abbey-Lite, very lite.

  54. Maev....Sydney April 28, 2013 at 4:14 pm -

    Just watched the final heat stopping, breath holding, episode of Inspector George Gently…and ‘Lewis’ as the bad guy…..
    Sadly…as it is BBC…another show that bites the dust for me…..will have to wait until my bestie buys the DVD…as she always does…

  55. TasTVcameraman April 28, 2013 at 4:08 pm -

    @Pertinax….True they stuffed the first run of series 3 by swapping it around on different channels.

    And I guess that while MKR and The Voice are on why bother.
    I am wondering what is going to happen on Sunday nights with Seven’s ” A Place to Call Home” Elementary and the drama coming up on ABC.

    Now if they could put something worthwhile on Thursday nights.

  56. Pertinax April 28, 2013 at 1:33 pm -

    @TasTVcameraman

    Why would Channel 10 buy the rights to S4 of White Collar and show it while The Voice and MKR are on, when they have repeats available?

    At it’s not like many people watched S3 the first time, the numbers for the repeats are probably almost as good.

  57. Maev....Sydney April 28, 2013 at 1:09 pm -

    @ gnat23….Thanks …but that is a long way off…with Nine…anything can happen between now and then……and even if they do start it….will they finish it?….their trust record is not good.

  58. TasTVcameraman April 28, 2013 at 12:27 pm -

    @gnat.. Thanks for the update on Dallas.

  59. TasTVcameraman April 28, 2013 at 12:26 pm -

    Does anyone know the reason why ONE showed series 3 to the end of “White Collar” and then went back to series 2, instead of showing series 4. When will TV stations realise that we are not stupid.

  60. gnat23 April 27, 2013 at 11:52 pm -

    For those interested I just saw an ad for Dallas on GEM, starting Thursday May 16th, no time.

    Also does anyone know if Ten still has the FTA rights for The Glades? I enjoyed season one and would like to know if I have to search for the DVDs or not.

  61. William April 27, 2013 at 9:17 pm -

    Here is the heads up for Graham Norton fans it will be shown at the usual time of 9.30pm next Sunday with One doing MotoGP Live

  62. Pertinax April 27, 2013 at 2:56 pm -

    Lewis has been dumped, it lasted one week. I just put on my recording from last night and discovered it was all MKR repeats.

    Guess they will appear on 72… eventually.

  63. David Knox April 27, 2013 at 11:03 am -

    In the glory days of the great Pete Smith on the very same network!

  64. Pertinax April 27, 2013 at 10:53 am -

    When have you ever seen a network thank viewers?
    Especially Channel 9 who drop shows on Friday night in the hope that people won’t notice and never tell anybody when they are planning to put shows on.

    Would expect them to draw attention to the fact that they are dropping a show?

  65. Craig April 27, 2013 at 6:41 am -

    Some big renewals from NBC.

    “NBC has announced the renewal of five key drama series for the 2013-14 season: “Revolution,” “Chicago Fire,” “Parenthood,” “Grimm” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.””

    tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/26/revolution-chicago-fire-parenthood-law-and-order-svu-and-grimm-renewed-by-nbc/179701

    Yay! for Parenthood! And we didn’t have to wait until the May upfrounts.

  66. tvf April 26, 2013 at 6:53 pm -

    I still can’t believe days has finished. I recorded and just watched the last episode after having watched it on and off for years. I really enjoyed the episode too. I too agree that it wasn’t acceptable that channel nine didn’t acknowledge at the end that it was the last episode. Very poor form.

  67. David Knox April 26, 2013 at 3:13 pm -

    Yes I was watching for an announcement. “Dear Viewer, thank you for supporting this show for 45 years. Next week we bring you replays of a show you can already see elsewhere in our schedule and on catch-up but hey at least we don’t have to pay Sony for it.”

  68. Rayne April 26, 2013 at 3:05 pm -

    Next week Hannibal has been bumped to 10.30pm following a double ep of Criminal Minds – not known at this stahe if the second ep is a repeat or not.

  69. Dave April 26, 2013 at 3:00 pm -

    I thought it was low that channel 9 didnt even announce it was the final episode on days of our lives today.

  70. Craig April 25, 2013 at 6:35 pm -

    Hannibal – I read it might air outside the US next week as for Seven it could air May 8. Wait and see what the EPG or advance guides on this site say next week.

  71. JB April 25, 2013 at 4:57 pm -

    Anyone know if Seven will be showing the episode of Hannibal that was pulled in the US? I think it was the 4th or 5th episode about a teacher who brainwashes kids to kill other kids. NBC pulled it after Boston Bombings, but edited it for webisodes but only including ongoing storylines. Meant to still be able to be shown internationally.

  72. William April 25, 2013 at 10:38 am -

    @Rayne
    They might have the last season to be shown later this year or early next year. That’s a bit strange that they didn’t finish season 7 off instead stopping at season 6. Maybe they have no new eps available to them or they are holding it off until the right time comes

  73. Rayne April 25, 2013 at 9:59 am -

    What the?? ELEVEN is finishing Star Trek Voyager this Friday with the last season yet to be shown!

  74. A. April 24, 2013 at 11:38 pm -

    I hope the ABC realises that Lateline labelled the former The 7.30 Report as “7:30[sic]” tonight. Seriously though it was concerning about the inappropriate use of drugs to “treat” symptoms of PTSD for veterans and serving members of the military that Lateline reported on. I had heard there was a PTSD problem but not the drug one. I really appreciate when you do serious investigative reporting.

  75. TasTVcameraman April 24, 2013 at 10:47 pm -

    Craig .. A fair way into the movie, they have a lot of news coverages from around the world, and our TEN,s Hamish is the longest piece.

    Probably around three quarters of the way through the movie.

  76. Pertinax April 24, 2013 at 9:39 pm -

    Reality TV doesn’t stop dramas being shown because they are nearly all M rated. I just wish the reality TV shows stopped at 8:30pm and weren’t used to stagger programming.

  77. Pertinax April 24, 2013 at 9:37 pm -

    Longmire has a date Wednesday May 15th. Because you can never have too many shows on a Wednesday.

    Dallas is still stuck in “coming soon”.

  78. Pertinax April 24, 2013 at 9:33 pm -

    @Pete
    Yes. They advertised R&I as starting in February but I guess the repeats were doing so well they decided to repeat all the way upto the new eps.

  79. Craig April 24, 2013 at 8:41 pm -

    I really like Mr & Mrs Murder but one think that bugs me, apart from the lazy detective is them cleaning up a crime scene before the killer has been caught or charged. Isn’t it common to seal off a crime scene for months if needed to go over evidence if they need to?

    @TasTVcameraman – that for the heads up, I just wonder how TEN got on there? Haven’t seen the move yet, how far in should we look out for Hamish?

  80. Pete April 24, 2013 at 7:24 pm -

    Rizzoli and isles returns in new episodes next Tuesday at 8.30 on Gem. We are up to episode 11 of 15 in the current series shown In the US last December.

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