And the Logie goes to…
And the Logies goes to Mr Bert Newton of course. The Big B… the consummate professional, our TV darling. Bert may have said ‘I like tha boy’ to Mohammad Ali, but I love the man, and I know I am not alone. Surely he can’t stop at 19. A neat 20th time for 2011 or even a 21st time for 2012 would be a nice full stop to his Logies hosting gig.
Outstanding Performance goes to k.d. lang. A last minute ring in (replacing Susan Boyle) she shone singing “Halleluiah” and deservedly got a standing ovation. Halleluiah indeed. She for me was the highlight of the night.
With the Logies come and gone for another year, perhaps as was suggested by an interstate metro newspaper, what about The Bogies? Something akin to the USA’s The Razzies (the Golden Raspberry Awards). Sandra Bullock showed the entertainment world she had both guts and a great sense of humour when she did in fact attend the Razzies. She not only picked up the dishonourable award but a whole lot of new respect and what we would colloquially say, a good sort.
A rival network could broadcast the Bogies with the most annoying ads run in between. I reckon it’s got legs. So hypothetically speaking, who would you nominate for the following awards.. Most Annoying Personality, Biggest Ego on TV, Worst actor/actress, Worst dressed star, most unconvincing newsreader, TV gaffe of the year and Show You’d Most Like to Axe.
Speaking of axing, Channel 7’s The Bounce has been drop punted. Or should I say, gone into a production hiatus, a new term. Of course you could say Hey Hey It’s Saturday and The Block went into production hiatus’ and look what happened to them. Hey Hey back after ten years and The Block – which has the prestigious attribute of highest average ratings of any show on television ever (yes which does beg the question why it was axed, I mean went into a production hiatus, but it was a victim of boardroom politics) - back after 7 years.
But I digress. The Bounce, OUT. The Vicar of Dibly, IN. There were two reasons why this show didn’t work. Peter Hellier as the host. A brilliant comic, a great foil but Hellier is no traffic warden and that’s what you need in a host. Secondly, the timeslot. Better Homes and Gardens should be moved to Thursday or Saturday nights, and a footy-themed show, hey what about The Bounce, goes in at 7.30 to precede the televised football match. Audiences have been crying out for live coverage of Friday night games and if Channel 7 is unprepared to do that, then they should at least throw the dog a bone and give them something.
More headaches came for Channel 7 on Thursdays with the over-hyped US import, Cougar Town staring former Friend star Courtney Cox and the ‘comedy’ How I Met Your Mother. These shows have been replaced by the killer show Criminal Minds which rates very well for Channel 7. Fans of the aforementioned shows can see them later this year in the summer schedule.
Masterchef is on fire. Every night since its premiere on 19 April it has been the most watched show nationally – except on Sunday night when Underbelly was top dog. In an earlier column (21 April) I suggested that the soft lead in of the 7pm Project could impact on Masterchef in its new timeslot. It hasn’t. Masterchef is consistenly bubbling away at around 1.5 million viewers a night nationally. And in fact The 7pm Project is now enjoying its best ratings since its launch on 20 July 2009. This is because people are tuning in to watch Masterchef and seeing the tail end of The Project. This could be the shows saving grace.
But it’s not all beer and skittles for Masterchef. The judges George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Meighan have all come under attack from Nutrition expert Professor Peter Clifton of the Baker Institute, saying they are setting a bad example for having stacked on the weight between season 1 and 2. It’s an occupational hazard. They all work around food constantly. On top of this, on the opening night of season 2, the judges had to sample 50 barbecue dishes – simply to be able to do their job. Some of the foods since then have been highly calorific and then with the long shoot days, it means there is little time for anything else.
It’s a tough break, calling them bad examples but it does beg the question, can Channel 10 do a ‘healthy’ Masterchef, or perhaps they have plans for Celebrity Chef Biggest Loser after this season of Masterchef!
Still on the topic of food, Rick Stein’s cooking show, Far Eastern Odyssey, started screening on the ABC (Tuesdays 8.30pm). A seven-part series it is part cookery, part travel and part politics. It’s beautiful shot as he travels through Cambodia, Vietnam and other eastern countries. Stein shops, cooks and eats with the local people which bring to life the synonymous cuisines.
Closer to home, Poh (Wednesday 6.30pm ABC) catches up with the wonderful Ian Parmenter in Western Australia. He cooks a delightful dessert pizza – a grape pizza! He places local table grapes sprinkled with sugar on a dough based and then covers them with a second layer of dough, which he tops with another layer of grapes. The grapes in the middle become a warm juicy filling, while the topping grapes hold their shape and provide a burst of flavor and crunch!
Now that’s inspired cooking. More please!
