Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Best and Worst TV 2008...

In light of doing this post same time last year, I thought it pertinent to do another list of TVs best and worst moments from this year. So, in no particular order....

THE WORST:
1: Australian Idol. Seriously, watching these poor kids get through to the 'final' and win and then have their single bomb at no.52 in the charts is terrifyingly brutal. If their record doesn't sell, suddenly these poor kids then owe Sony/BMG a staggering amount of cash to make up their 'investment'. As I have said previously, if one of these kids can sing Wuthering Heights pitch perfect, then they have my respect, until then it's just glorified karaoke. As for the hosts, well, sometimes you wonder if their batteries need replacing such is their fascinating and sparkling repartee.

2: Big Brother: Went from the best last year, to one of the worst this year. The change in hosts to Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O just accelerated the demise. As hard as they try not to make it a 20-something beach party, it always turns out that way, because the housemates are all intellectually devoid 20-somethings. Strange that.

3: America's/Australia's Next Top Model: The combined mass of egos of Tyra and the other judges is so great that they're starting to form their own gravitational field. Get off my TV. Now.

4: Make me a Supermodel: How shallow are people? Hmmmm, just ask Jennifer Hawkins who just scored straight A's in Shallow Puddle Diving 101. Is it just me, or does she never open her eyes properly? Why is she on my TV? Can she even tie her own shoe laces?

5: A Current Affair/Today Tonight: A repeat entry. If the terms "alcohol fueled violence...", "rip off merchant....", "How to feed 9 children on a budget...", "Undercover cameras recorded this conversation...." interest you, then you need to seriously take a long hard look in the mirror.

And the best...
1: All Saints: As much as I hate to admit it, I do enjoy this show. It's really gone from strength to strength over the last couple of years and has become a real sleeper for channel 7. The sad death of Mark Priestly made it even more compelling to watch.

2: Enough Rope: How Andrew Denton gets big name Hollywood celebs to spill their guts over the course of an hour is quite telling. It's good because it's not like Rove where they have 5 minutes of quick fire questions before the next commercial break, it really explores conversation and was terribly engaging.

3: Top Gear Australia: It has had its detractors from day one, including myself, but looking back I don't think SBS did a bad job of it. The main host needs a bit of a personality transplant but the other two are perfect. The show was never going to be as good as the British version, not on 10% of the budget, but nonetheless, kudos for SBS for giving it a go. What people don't realise is that it took the British version a good three years before it hit its stride, the first 'reborn' series in 2002, if you watch it, is painfully scripted and sparse.

4: AFL Carlton Vs Port Adelaide: On the rare occasion that Carlton was given free to air viewing, we came back from 40 points down in the final quarter to win by 25. That's television, that's entertainment.

5: Documentary night on ABC: I think it's Tuesday or Thursday nights 8:30pm, ABC serves up some real corkers,mostly BBC derived documentaries. I might as well don the plaid slippers and dressing gown to watch these, but in amongst the sea of dross typically served up on the commercial stations, it's sometimes nice to sit back and learn something new.

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