Not a Good Night - Definition of Irony

The 7pm Project tonight (on channel 10) had a story about the sexualisation of children after Australian author Maggie Hamilton released the results of a year long study into young girls' milestone life events.

They had a guest lobbyist, Julie Gale from the group Kids Free 2B Kids on the show to discuss the issue - who, I might add, was asked idiotic questions by guest panelist Jo Stanley (example; "What's wrooooong with an 11 year old girl getting a Brazilian though? If she wants one who caaaaaares?").

Now, to the ironic part - after the break, Myf Warhurst did an interview with The Black Eyed Peas - those wonderful role-models of all that is tasteful and appropriate.

To be honest I never really had an opinion of The Black Eyed Peas - until I saw the video clip for their song "I Got a Feelin'". Let me break it down for you. The clip shows a bunch of girls dressing up like hookers, getting smashed at a party, making out (read 'having sex') with random people and eventually passing out in a gutter.

That's a good night.

Of course there are much more graphic video clips out there and I'm not saying it's a bad thing or that sexy clips should be banned - on the contrary, but this particular clip is played on Video Hits at 10am on a Saturday - and my 5 year old niece thinks The Black Eyed Peas are fantastic.

The point Julie Gale was trying to make was that young girls are inundated with sexual images and are developing a warped sense of self as a result.

Maybe The 7pm Project should stick to less serious news stories so the panels bad jokes, ridiculous comments and obvious lack of knowledge about serious topics aren't so out of place.

Tony Martin, Jon Faine and Daniel Kitson

Could you ask for anything more? This morning Jon Faine had co-host Tony Martin in the studio for his Conversation Hour on ABC Radio Melbourne (774). They were joined by UK comedian Daniel Kitson - and of course, hilarity ensued. You can listen here.

Martin is currently promoting his new book of memoirs A Nest of Occasionals (following from his 2005 book Lolly Scramble) and Kitson is touring Australia with his latest stand-up show We Are Gathered Here.

Last time Kitson was in town I managed to catch one of his shows in the Triple R performance space and was thoroughly entertained. He's in Melbourne now as part of the Fringe Festival. Details for Adelaide and Perth are here (along with podcasts of previous shows).

Martin will be on ADbc on SBS this Thursday at 9pm.

Ten in the Pink

Australia loves Pink. The fact that I don't have to clarify that I'm talking about the singer and not the colour is testament to that. But how 'Pink' can we get? When digital radio was launched earlier in the year there was an entire station devoted to Pink. At first it was just Pink songs, then when the fact that playing songs from just 5 albums might become a bit repetitive sunk in, the station started playing Pink-inspired music - that's music that Pink likes, and music that's like Pink.

So it's not completely surprising to learn that channel 10's Australian Idol is doing a 'Pink' show this Sunday. That's right, an entire night of the contestants singing Pink songs.

Let's put this in perspective; previously Aus. Idol has done Beatles night, 80's night, disco night, Australian artist night, number 1 hit night, etc, etc. There has never been a Christina Aguilera night, or a Britney Spears night, or even an Anastasia night - you remember - that loud, rambunctious singer that wasn't hugely popular in her own country but made a killing over here?

Don't get me wrong, I think Pink is better than the average pop-singer and I've heard rave reviews of her Funhouse tour from even the most hardened music-elitist - I just think this is one of the most bizarre things the Australian Idol gang have done to try and boost the shameful ratings this season. Introducing a new judge? understandable. Changing the timeslot? Okay. Having a Pink night? Just skip to the Opera House already.
Meanwhile, pocket-rocket Sabrina got the boot last week and 'told-all' to Sydney's Daily Telegraph 'confidential' blog. She said that she misses Kyle and described him as "witty and funny" - clearly the trauma of being evicted has effected her logic.

Questions Answered and Then Some

Tonights Q&A on ABC was an edge-of-the-seat thriller. British author, journalist, literary critic and political observer Christopher Hitchens was a force to be reckoned with as he shot down in flames both his fellow panelists and those audience members that dared to question his commentary.

It's not often that the very intelligent and quick-witted Waleed Aly comes out second best in a debate but Hitchens was hard to beat tonight on topics such as the Israel/Palestine conflict, same-sex marriage and the treatment of women in Iran.

The video should be on the website soon, so if you missed it tonight, you can take a look at some really fresh, thought-provoking and exciting television - no Plucka Duck in sight, I promise.

(And look out next week for more sparks from Germaine Greer.)


* there is also a brilliant little Political Dictionary page on the Q&A site which is definitely good for a giggle.

Hey Hey the Verdict

Yes, I sat through the whole THREE hours of it. I did have aspirin and booze at the ready but surprisingly didn't use it - though it wasn't a completely pain-free experience.

Here's the run-down.

Unfortunately for everyone Darryl insisted on dancing AND singing and on telling his usual bad jokes. Besides that though - there were definitely some good moments, and there were some epic fails too. (If there was one person that didn't change channels during "Red Faces" I want to meet that person - and have them commited).

After Darryl's intro where he stated that Hey Hey really wanted to showcase young, new Australian talent - he introduced Jimmy Barnes. Twitter was instantly abuzz with people saying they were expecting John Farnham, and lo and behold, after the ad break Darryl announced that Farnsy would indeed be on the show later. Farnsy was, however, in the middle of a concert in Queensland so Darryl spent the last hour of the show stalling a live cross so that he could say hi to John between songs.

Speaking of Twitter, within 10 minutes of the show being on air #heyhey was a trending topic. By the second ad break it was number 1. Of course the second ad break was not far from the first, or the third, or the many to follow - I think the show might actually have fit into a one hour special were it not for the constant breaks.

Hey Hey tried to show that it had moved with the times by mentioning the infamous Facebook group that started this whole debacle and an email address for people to send their well wishes. In fact, someone was "unbeknownst to channel 9" illegally streaming the show on the internet which interestingly allowed Darryl to cross live to a woman in Michigan, USA - but it wasn't planned of course and nobody knew those naughty scamps would be streaming *wink wink*.

The show stuck to tradition by having b-grade celebs for the segments - the puffin-muffin girl (from the iSelect health insurance ads) was one third of the panel for "Celebrity Head" and pop-singer Cassie Davis (Cassie who? I hear you say) was a judge on Red Faces.

The hot competition for the night, Masterchef, had been mentioned three times in the first half hour - it was as if they were daring people to switch over. Even worse, there was a skit by Russell Gilbert called "Disaster Chef" that was painfully unfunny. In fact, Russell was as bad as he ever was - with his toilet humour and outdated jokes, his gags went down like a kebab-caravan-6am-special.

Particularly awkward moments (besides every second Russell Gilbert was on screen)? The "Great Aussie Joke" segment was a jaw-dropping affair. It seems the folk at channel 9 decided to bring Maurie Fields (who died in 1995) back from the dead without advising the viewers. It was an awkward moment of father/son joke telling with Maurie's son Marty sitting beside his father thanks to some fancy graphics (a la Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole in the "Unforgettable" video clip). It might have actually been a good segment were it not for the fact that Maurie passed away so very long ago and many viewers nowadays (watching for the first time) would have no idea who he was.

Livinia Nixon should stick to weather. She's a lovely girl but has nothing interesting to say - and she did encourage Darryl to dance - which I'm pretty sure is a chargeable offence.

There had to be a major fashion faux pa and that award goes to Cassie Davis and the badly-ripped-jeans. It seems she was channelling a fashion tragedy from the last time Hey Hey was on tv.

Highlights? There were a few. John Farnham singing "Freedom" - I know, it's horribly daggy of me but I just love him, I can't help it. I've always loved him. I've got "Whispering Jack" on vinyl okay? There, I said it. Judge me as you will.

Molly's Melodrama was definitely a highlight. Molly is a national treasure in my opinion and watching him bluff his way through his segment it was as if he'd never left the studio. John Blackman is as quick-witted as ever and he and Molly bounced off each other well. In fact, Molly was all over tv tonight - also starring on the panel of ABC music quiz show Spicks and Specks at 8:30pm.

Speaking of national treasures, Brian Nankervis as beat poet Raymond J. Bartholomew was simply brilliant (currently on Rockwiz on SBS). It was the first laugh-out-loud moment of the evening for me - how does Brian Nankervis not have his own tv show?

Perhaps because I had such low expectations, I could say that all in all it was a pleasant few hours of nostalgia - but it was really as if the show had never been off the air. To be honest, I don't care if they bring it back as a weekly show, because it can only mean that channel 9 will program less Two and a Half Men.

Chas Licciardello from The Chaser said it best on Twitter;

Big Night on the Box

Well the big day has arrived - there are some serious decisions to be made tonight with several shows competing for your attention on free to air tv.

First of all, there is the much publicized, much gossiped about, much anticipated Hey Hey it's Saturday The Reunion, running a whopping two and a half hours from 7:30pm on channel 9.

Channel 10 has the debut of the special celebrity version of it's powerhouse Masterchef, from 7:30pm.

Over on the national broadcaster at 9pm is the much-anticipated (for all the right reasons), Hungry Beast - Andrew Denton's production company Zapruder's Other Films did a call out earlier in the year for young media talent to create a current affairs type show with a difference - and this is the result.

Channel 7 have gone with World's Strictest Parents and City Homicide - which is either conceding defeat or giving it their best - who can really tell?

The real item-of-interest for me is the Hey Hey special. I truly want it to be something special but fear that it may be memorable for all the wrong reasons. When discussing tonight's line-up with a friend I insisted that she watch at least part of the Hey Hey special - because it's history either way - whether it's so bad it gets taken off air half way through, or it's so good that it heralds a new boost in light entertainment and local funding for Australian tv.

Clearly everyone is expecting the former rather than the latter - but channel 9 will certainly have their fingers crossed.

Coming to a Television Near You