In Defence of Luhrmann's Australia and Nicole

There is an abundance of negative publicity surrounding Baz Luhrmann’s latest film, ‘Australia’.
Tall Poppies
Criticism of ‘Australia’ seems to be strongest from the high brow movie watcher who appear guilty of a local cringe factor. It puts me in mind of the national consciousness in the lead up to the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony where a similar negativity was leapt upon by a waiting media, always happy to push any measure of bad news. And with headlines that scream “Australia disappoints at box office”, who can resist a knowing nod?
With a reported cost of $130m to make and promote the film, there is no doubt that this one film has cost more than any other Australian film. Coupled with a calculated business drive to promote the film heavily, which is unusual for Australian films, the nation’s “tall poppy syndrome” has been quick to set in.
Luhrmann’s use of Australian actors is welcome and his portrayal of outback landscapes is appealing. It is no wonder that Tourism Australia were keen to align themselves to his vision.
Despite the high price tag and popular nature of this film it has been far from a failure. In its first week alone its box office takings were in the order of $10m in Australia alone. It will run for a few weeks yet into the summer holidays and that figure doesn’t take into account any overseas takings either.
Contrast this with the Australian films nominated in the Best Film category at last weekend’s Australian Film Institute awards : The Black Balloon, The Jammed, The Square and Unfinished Sky. Have you heard of any of these films? Let alone actually watched any of them? Perhaps you have heard of The Black Balloon (which won best picture) or Joel & Nash Edgerton’s The Square, and that because they were advertised in some way more than the others. Their combined box office takings however are $3.9m. Total.
Furthermore their themes are broadly consistent with many Australian films of recent times, darker in tone and more serious in nature. By all accounts they are very fine films but do I, as a potential audience member, get excited about the prospect of seeing something dour and downbeat? To be sure, I will be watching these films as they hit our DVD shelves, if for no other reason than because they are Australian films, but don’t tell me that somehow they are success stories (other than the actual success of getting them made which is no small feat in and of itself) while ‘Australia’ is a failure. In every way ‘Australia’ outpoints these other films: in its profile, its popular sensibility and its takings.
The Nicole factor
The other reaction against ‘Australia’ is that of Nicole Kidman. For some reason she is ‘on the nose’ of Australian audiences and that is counting against the film.
As you all know, I am a fan of Nicole and have been for a long time and I don’t back away from that now.
I think the reasons for this anti-Nicole sentiment is two fold. The first is her tabloid profile and regular folks are heartily sick of seeing her mug on the cover of every women’s magazine. Being married to Tom Cruise placed her in the echelon of uber-celebrity and she has been a target ever since.
As an adjunct to that, facial surgery in early 2000s, initially (I believe) to reshape her nose and since then, who knows what else, has resulted in a face with no blemish or wrinkle. Certainly the absence of any “laughter lines” or the like give opportunity for people to complain of an expressionless, “plastic” face. Ironically she has the appearance of a Stepford Wife, a role she played in 2004.
Secondly, the movies in which she has played a part in recent years have not been either critically or popularly acclaimed.
Kidman’s great film roles occurred around the time of her break up with Cruise and which garnered a Best Actress Oscar : The Hours, Dogville, The Human Stain, Cold Mountain and Birth. The dark subject matter was more than met with the dark moods of her personal life. They were powerful and serious storylines.
Since then, lighter tones and more popular offerings that sadly have been less impressive: The Stepford Wives, The Interpreter, Bewitched, Fur, The Invasion and Margot at the Wedding.
All I will say in defence of Kidman and her choice of roles is that she takes risks. I can only imagine that an actress with her profile would be offered countless roles in blockbuster, ‘James Bond’ type movies. The fact that she has done very few of those types of films, and none recently, should be marked as a credit but it is not recognised.
For example, with Fur, she took the opportunity to work with director Steven Shainberg whose previous success was with the controversial and independent film Secretary. Fur turned about to be a bit too quirky for its own good.
Margot, to work with Noah Baumbach whose previous success was with The Squid and the Whale. Margot was a hard script to work through and would have sunk irrespective of the cast.
I believe that the opportunity to work on an Australian film and support the local industry was behind her motivation to work on ‘Australia’ and before that ‘Happy Feet.’
I tend to judge the success of an actor very simply. If, at the end of a movie, I am satisfied that I believed what I was seeing, then it’s a ‘pass’. It is my opinion that Kidman remains a fine actress although not every film she has appeared in, has worked.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I comfortably rate ‘Australia’ as a 3 out of 4 star movie. The fact that it is an Australian film that highlights our history and addresses some of our current day issues is to be celebrated and enjoyed.

You can read my review of 'Australia' here.

Dumb Fifth Graders

Pre-season running
A change in running tactic meant a slower crawl up the Anderson Street hill in last week’s circuit of The Tan that meant, with 1km to go, I was 40 seconds behind my previous time. Not having burnt all of the fuel however meant that after burners could be engaged and I finished strongly, making up 37 of the 40 seconds. This of course still meant that I was slower than last time (with a time of 17:04) and still some way (it would seem) to breaking the “magical” 17:00 barrier. My boss still ran a 16:30 ish sort of time which seems harder to crack every week I try. “Onwards and upwards !” Next week we’ll employ a new tactic, hopefully one that is FASTER.

Love/Hate
What I really hate is people who walk slowly, perambulate in front of me and add insult to injury by premeditating my walk-around by drifting from their pre-aligned path into mine. A situation where a laser guided rocket would be a great add-on to completely remove them from ever walking this earth again. By contrast, one thing that I love is breakfast, and in particular, a warm bowl of porridge (call me Goldilocks if you must), sweetened with brown sugar.

Rant
Have you seen this latest insult to low brow entertainment, masquerading as “family viewing”, ‘Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?’ ? We all accept that a quiz show is what it is and rewards general knowledge. Sale of the Last Century did that better than most for years. People enjoy it. Millionaire plays to the same kind of crowd and at least the questions get harder the longer one contestant plays. We also acknowledge the, ‘it has nothing to do with a quiz show’, versions that are game shows that ask dumb-ass questions to pass the time. The questions asked on the ‘5th Grader’ show are genuinely questions that primary aged kids might be expected to know or answer in a classroom. Now I passed grade 5 some years ago. And grade 6. And grade 7. And so on. {didn’t do so well in some other years but that is not the point – I AM SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER}. It seems that the questions asked are not especially difficult, one just has to take care how one answers. Think it through again. There’s no trick. Not like the trick questions we used to ask each other in grade 5, example, “an electric train … how much smoke, etc.” Take an example of a question I heard on Nova this week : which STAR is the closest to planet earth. Hughesy, not thinking, thought PLANET and said, “Mars”. WRONG. The Sun of course is the closest star to planet earth. See, it sounds tricky but its not really. The silly adults that appear on the show really deserve their public humiliation of being stupider than a 5th grader because they don’t know the answers ! “The largest dinosaur was called a T___ Rex.” I mean, Come On ! Get this dross off !

Brownlow blues

There is nothing inherently wrong with a time of 17.01 around The Tan running track, a distance of 3.85 km. In fact, by all accounts, its quite a good time. And its not the fact that I ran exactly the same time two fortnight’s in a row, both times I knew I couldn’t have run any faster to lessen the time. However the ridiculously competitive spirit within me wants to make every attempt a PB and (more significantly) beat my boss who is also running the Tan regularly and is now 30 seconds ahead of me. So, I’m disappointed with that time and will be looking to beat it next attempt. Not sure if I will by 5 seconds or 50 but I will !

There was plenty wrong with the Brownlow presentation on Monday night. As you know, I am a bit of a sucker for Award shows, Oscar’s night and Brownlow night feature prominently in my annual viewing calendar. The anguish on the faces of those who really want to win (such as Scott West last year) and the round by round highlight packages form a great recap to kick start Grand Final week. But the Funniest Home Videos-like commentary framing the highlights was the first on a long list of what to hate about that coverage this year. Bruce really needs a good smack in the head for his incessant blabbering about “did you knows” and “what abouts”. We really haven’t missed him while the footy was at channel 9. Even Eddie must have been kicked after his first year calling games because he has toned down his oh-so-interesting stat talk. The player interviews were as vacuous as ever; Bruce’s “interview” with Bartel the second it was apparent he had won was cringe-worthy and gratuitous as he would be on stage in just a couple of minutes more (“We just wanted to say, well done Jimmy. Congratulations from all of us. Well done”); and Ricky Olarenshaw managed to sideline whatever female viewership was left by 11pm with his take on partner’s use of their man’s credit cards. It seems that Demetriou was given instructions to read out the votes at double pace however that seemed redudant when ch.7 filled in the “extra” time with an unfunny cross to Stephen Curry (of the Toyota grand final highlight ads) and interviews with retiring players Hird, Kouta, Riccuto and Archer via a video tape and then have them on stage to ask them the same questions in person. And finally, the red carpet show preceding the medal count was as disappointing as ever with very few dresses actually being shown. It can’t be that hard to show what every woman in town wants to watch ? Show the frocks! Show the frocks. Don’t show Garry Lyon, Sam Newman or any of the other has-been meatheads in a not-so-witty piece to camera.

And in a new segment, I would like to name some things that I hate. Celebrating this time of year, I hate the Royal Melbourne Show. The rotten, over-tired, crashing from too much sugar darlings crowd on to my train at going home time, take up all the seats, carry way too many show bags/balloons/giant stuffed animals and talk way too loudly when all I want to do is get home quickly and quietly.
I do love the Grand Final parade however. It is my one day a year when I can be a starry eyed groupie in the crowd, cheer on the footballing heroes as they drive by in the backs of the sponsor’s four wheel drives and sing along to the club songs played out by the marching bands.

Formal dresses down Pixar

Thinking of attending the Pixar exhibition at ACMI these school hols ? Think again says long time GG supporter and first time contributor, Formal. ed GGBlog
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No doubt your children are as fond of the crazy, colourful, ever-so-lovable Pixar characters as is my little one. And with good reason - Pixar has re-invented animation as we know it.
So you may be considering the Pixar exhibition at ACMI at Federation Square. With all that creativity harnessed with amazing animation technology it would have to be a sure-fire hit with the kiddies wouldn't it? Woody, Buzz, Nemo, Lighting McQueen. IT couldn't possibly be dull or boring, could it?
Well, they achieved the impossible. It is dull and boring. Nothing but drawings and models and no explanation on how the animation is produced. And whilst ostensibly marketed at children it really doesn't cater for them at all. And all at a hefty entrance fee.
I think they lost sight of their target audience. Adults aren't really into Pixar the way children are and are probably only going thinking the kids will love it. But there is precious little there to interest children- nothing more interactive than a table with paper and crayons. Just blank paper, not even colour-ins.
Only arty nerds would get anything out of it but they are probably to highbrow to watch Pixar, preferring Greenaway, Almodovar and De Heer to satisfy their eclectic tastes.
So, I suggest you save yourself $50-$60 and stay home and watch the DVDs instead.

Eastern Rovers Round 7 Preview

Clearly ranting about something has no actual health side effects ! As blogged and ranted last week, I'm still ill and have spent more time at home than at work these last two weeks. I'm now on antibiotics as I'm pretty sure the cough has gone bacterial but I'm still far from 100%.
That means that training has been OFF the agenda and my legs feel as though they will atrophy from the inaction. This also means that I am unavailable for Sunday's round 7 clash with bottom of the table Box Hill.
Eastern are 4th off the bottom having beaten the other two teams below it and so a win is hoped for. Certainly we would expect to encounter a team who is a similar standard to us however one should take nothing for granted. We have played far from well in the past few games and turning victory into a loss is not beyond us.
My hope is to be well enough to stand on the sidelines and cheer the boys on.

Being Ill - Rant

There is nothing to spoil your week more than by being ill ! Despite having a head cold last weekend, that was not going to stop me from playing on Sunday. Unfortunately the cold triggered a mild asthma attack (alright, alright, I’m sure playing football didn’t help) which up until today has still not cleared. On top of this I have scored a more severe virus that has flu-like symptoms : continually feeling cold, headaches, high temperature, phlegmy cough that I don’t think has turned into an infection yet so that would be good if it didn’t.
I had Monday off from work but went Tuesday and Wednesday. The hardest part, with the asthma, was getting there and back again. The walk to the train station (from the car) and the walk to the office (from the train station) was slow and laborious. With a restricted airflow (which essentially is what asthma is), exacerbated by the frigid air, insufficient oxygen into the lungs prevents normal movement.
So here I am off work again today in a bid to recover more ably. The effects of the virus ebb and flow depending on my strenuousness and the time of day. My one outside activity today, you will be relieved to hear, was to purchase my copy of the Green Guide (what else, it’s Thursday!).
The pressure of not turning up to work, even when I know that I am genuinely unfit for the workplace, is still high. I have a lot of work waiting for me (it’s June year end) and I know that clients will start asking for this, that and the other.
But, to wile away the hours, I have rented from my local Video Ezy, Inarritu’s Babel (Blanchett, Pitt, Bernal) which I desperately wanted but failed to see in the cinema over summer, and Reitman’s subversive comedy, Thank you for Smoking starring Aaron Eckhart.

It's Cold Out There - Rant

I understand the point and even agree with it but the execution does not meet the ideals.
Our Group Executive (the very senior managers) have made a decision to act in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable manner by allowing the average floor temperature in our building to “a couple of degrees warmer in summer and a couple of degrees cooler in winter.” This is admirable and not a sentiment to be dismissed too quickly.
The previous average floor temperature was 22.5 degrees, neither too cool nor too warm. The new temperature they are shooting for is 20.5 degrees. Again, acceptable and if one feels a little chill then a jacket will easily accommodate that.
Here’s the problem. With the exception of the foyer, all floors are only equipped with cooling. The presence of bodies and computers and no door or window open to the elements will warm the floor sufficiently and the cooling ensures that the mean temperature is maintained.
By setting the system temperature to 20.5 degrees however ensures that the air-conditioning is blowing cold air all the time to ensure that the average floor temperature is kept at 20.5 degrees. Not only does this seem to fly in the face of being environmentally friendly by having an air-conditioning system running ALL the time, the wind-chill makes the air feel colder by another 6 to 8 degrees.
My desk is situated near an air con. vent and it feels about 12 or 14 degrees. I bought a thermometer a while ago to measure the static air temperature and it confirms that we are at about 20.5 degrees. If I had some easy means to measure air velocity then I would happily calculate the wind-chill and reinforce my case.
The system needs to be set to 24.5 degrees so that the cooling does not come on if it is less than that. Given that it is 10 degrees outside, this should not be too much of a concern !
The Managing Director has been made aware of my situation. The OH&S rep. has been made aware. The Building Property Manager has been made aware. They don’t care. Their desks aren’t near the vents. They don’t really understand how the air con works in this building anyway (trust me, I do. I have had 12 months of this and have thought about the rotten thing too often).
All I know is, I’M COLD !!!

The Appeal of the Cinema

It seems to me that one of the appeals of the cinema (both for those chasing the blockbuster and those others hunting down a ‘classic’) is time and price.
Watching a movie, perhaps like watching a TV show, are “easier” than reading a book. A watcher is not bound to invest as much energy in the engagement whereas reading requires considerable effort, even for accomplished readers.
With the vast location of cinemas around the metropolitan area too, finding a venue is not especially difficult, nor do you have to travel far. Travel is even less of an issue if you visit your local rental store and watch DVD’s at home.
Compared to other communal, passive (non sporting) entertainments, such as the theatre or musicals, the relative dearth of these performances usually requires a trip into the city with all of the effort that that involves (baby sitters, car parking, fewer performance times to choose from).
Many people cannot conceive going to the cinema by themselves (although I do often) but I cannot imagine anyone going to a live performance by themselves. A collective experience is one of it’s appeals.
Price too makes a trip to the cinema great value. Let’s say we are being “gouged” by the Village Roadshow’s of the world with a $15 ticket. For that sort of price, for two hours of entertainment, I want to make sure that spending my money and time is worth my while. That is where my interest in reading reviews and gauging reactions from others comes in. For many though, a trip to the cinema is a social cornerstone for catching up with friends. To see the latest “Shrek” or “Pirates” is a part of the fabric of engagement within their social circle.
In contrast I am continuously disappointed by the sheer expense in attending live events. That they cost a lot to stage is not in contention. Relatively though, they cost a lot for me to attend too.
As a family (5 members), we attended the ‘Walking with the Dinosaurs – Live’ experience in March. This cost $350. And I didn’t think it was that great.
I was drawn to the Missy Higgins concert and, notwithstanding its time and location (StKilda, midweek – neither easy to get to nor get home from) the tickets were starting at over $100.
When I first heard Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds musical as a teenager my imagination was captured by the drama in the story and the music. The sci. fi. story seemed very chilling and plausible. No wonder they freaked out when Orson Welles first broadcast the radio play in the late ‘30s. Some of Australia’s current songsters are performing this musical later in the year for the first time. The cheapest ticket in the pack was $99.50 at the tennis centre. While there is no “bad” seat at that venue, one would be quite a distance from the action all the same. My dismay at not being able to seriously consider booking because of price was very real.
It even costs $33 to reserve a seat at an AFL game at the MCG this year.
As can be observed, these options are all more than a $15 cinema ticket.
As a counterpoint, a “live” experience has the potential for a greater upside than a manufactured, 2 dimensional, projected experience and this is true. But how much better ? Twice as engaging ? Seven times ? Ten times ?
While not attempting to laud one and denigrate the other, the appeal of the cinema will endure for these reasons alone : accessibility (for location and time as well as the capacity to “get into” the experience) and cost.

West Coast continued - Rant II

In a brief follow up to last week’s rant regarding the West Coast Eagles palaver, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou made further comment on the weekend :

“I think it would be fair to say that the community has every right to be disappointed in some things that have occurred this year, particularly that relate to the West Coast Eagles Football Club. This week’s incidents certainly don’t do any good for the game whatsoever. We have a respect and responsibility policy (towards women) and [we need] players to understand that any comments that are offensive to women are not acceptable. Sledging has no place on our football field. Demeaning women is obscene and we’ve stamped out racial vilification.”

AFL, Headland & Selwood - Rant

What a disgrace this Headland/Selwood issue has become !
Firstly, Headland (of the Dockers) is found guilty of smacking the life out of Selwood but is then given no penalty for “exceptional and compelling circumstances by way of provocation.” Selwood (of the Eagles) is then found not guilty for saying anything that might have been provocative ! How does that work ? The AFL’s inconstancy aside a far more disgusting issue has been blared across our sensibilities.
So Selwood claims he didn’t make sexual connotations about Headland’s daughter. His defence went something like, “I was referring to some slut I met the other night.” Like that’s okay to admit that in public ? I know from being involved in a footy club that blokes are blokes and don’t always say or act in a way that is “constructive.” But to suggest that you can defend your actions with the denigration of women is an insult to all footy fans and women everywhere.
The AFL, by and large, has been constructively on the front foot about a number of key social issues : race relations and women in football being two that come to mind. This behaviour by this one player however runs the risk of railroading the League quickly. And to say nothing of the reputation of the Eagles at this point in their history !

Bring Me A Bucket - Rant

What is with Countdown to the Most Inspiring Movie of All Time (Sun 7 830P) followed by an actual screening of One of the Most Inspiring Films of All Time (Sun 7 1120P) ? The Countdown too “includes commentary from many of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors and filmmakers, including …” wait for it, “Jessica Alba.” Jessica Alba ? Plucked from obscurity for her round breasts and blonde hair in Sin City, I would hardly put her quite alongside other Countdown alumni like Steven Spielberg, Jane Fonda or Ben Kingsley.
What lazy programming channel 7 (and 9) are feeding us these days. They have their brand new “20 to 1” equivalent nostalgia show, Good as Gold, commencing before the Countdown counts down (with the promise by the show’s executive producer that “we’re using moments that we haven’t seen for a while that we’d like to see again but with each show we’ve tried to find stuff that hasn’t been rehashed over and over again.” Oh goody.) Small production costs, no sets, one host and lots of air time filled up with pap from straight out of the archives.
And as to the Countdown ? I hate to break it to you (and if you really do want to watch then look away now) but this is a cut & paste from the CBS television event in June (at least it was this years). The AFI (American Film Institute) have been pumping out the best 100 whatever each year for 10 years and all we see is the same 100 films placed in slightly different orders (best comedies, best quotes, best ever yadda yadda) and the latest, the Most Inspiring. It’s A Wonderful Life topped the list, closely followed by To Kill A Mockingbird and Schindler’s List. Talk about nostalgic crap. There have been no movies worth getting more excited about since 1946 ? What are we, stoopid ? Thank God for 9/11 it seems. We can justify the “safe at home,” “happy memories in the past” homilies now that international terrorism is a reality in our lives. Most folks under the age of 40 aren’t going to put up with this crock and they will continue to laugh at their elderly relatives in exactly the same way that the generation before were brushed off as being out of touch. I suppose it is a surety that we will reach that intransigence in years to come too but hopefully not too soon. John Howard can’t be PM forever, can he ?

50 Years of Cringe - Rant

What is it with all the 50 years – Best Of shows? Channels 7 and 9 have been working the hardest to pump out these high profile, easy to manufacture shows, some on a weekly basis for most of this year and apart from being “easy,” “mindless” TV, who actually makes a point of sitting down to watch them ? Obviously a lot do and no doubt a strong part of their appeal is watching highlights of old shows that haven’t been aired for a long time. Mind you, given the number of Graham Kennedy/Bert Newton tribute type remixes of the past two or three years, there can’t be much of their highlight reels that haven’t been shown at least once.
What I thought summed up the history of Australian TV’s poor self-image over 50 years the most is Channel 7’s Star City Casino black tie do on Sunday night which includes Americans Will Ferrell and John C Reilly (along with the vomit inducing Kochie and Mel) as guest presenters of the 50 most whatever moments on (channel 7's) TV over 50 whatever years. I thought we got over that inferiority complex at the Sydney Olympics if not before ? What happened to their point of difference with channel 9 who regularly submit to personality and not to content on their Logie shows with American guest presenters ?
Why do I hate (commercial) TV ? The same reason I hate political spin out of Canberra. Dumbing down what is put to otherwise intelligent folks because that’s what some closed minded, conservative event organiser thinks would suit the main interest. Like all good democracies I have the right to not watch and turn off my TV. I intend to exercise that right !

Channel Nine Programming Rant

Being described as “mild mannered” most of the time, not unlike Clark Kent, I was mightily annoyed when both Maltese Falcon (two Saturday’s ago) and Some Like It Hot (last Saturday) were not broadcast as advertised by channel 9 and replaced with repeats of Torvill and Dean’s Dancing on Ice (at least we were spared channel 7 hyperbole, “encore screenings”). I’m often mistaken for Superman, I expect it’s the square jaw and rock-hard pecs, and had I the super-power to fly, I would have picked up something heavy and dropped it on channel 9’s director of programming. A last minute programming change on a Saturday ? I don’t think so. Panting viewers, desperate for a repeat have called the station in a panic and threatened GG-as-Superman like retribution if they do not show T&D ? I don’t think so again. So why oh why do they make promises they have no intention of keeping? Certainly they might make a change between the time that the Green Guide is published and the actual screening date. On these two occasions, the daily paper still had the original programming scheduled. Channel 9 have raised the ire of many Green Guide letters to the editor for a whole host of programming sins (unexplained and unexpected removal of favourite shows from the schedule, switching time slots, repeating old series instead of showing new ones, broadcasting episodes out of order). They can add my dissatisfaction to the list and a plague be upon them !

Jack's Back

Channel 7 are popular rant material (as are the Australian government) because of their ongoing selfish indifference to the wellbeing of the charges they have sworn to serve. Notwithstanding the excellent TV commentary (below), another feature which will appeal to the Good Lady Wife if no other, is the return of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) in 24 next week (Wed & Thu 7 930P). An early comment I have read regarding this latest series of 24, series 5, is that it is a rehash of series’ 1 to 4 and doesn’t offer anything very new. It seems you just can’t keep a good man down though.
Meanwhile, back at the rant, Channel 7 have decided in their great programming wisdom to fatigue their viewers with two double screenings on sequential nights. Now that just beggars belief. Do they believe that 24 episodes is just to much (stretched over 24 weeks) or doesn’t fit into their ratings periods – couldn’t they have started sooner ?
Or do they believe that regular viewers are just so desperate to find out what happens next that they can’t wait an ordinary week like every other TV drama ? I find that hard to believe. If any punter is bursting with that much energy he should a) go for a run b) get on-line and order it from the US c) go for a run on a Malaysian beach and then purchase a ripped off copy from a street vendor for a whole lot less than US RRP.
Who has two hours, two nights in a row, to watch something that you might otherwise commit to over a season ? Isn’t there a greater chance that viewers who can’t hack the gruelling pace set up ch.7 give up thereby defeating the channel’s purpose of engaging more viewers ? I don’t doubt that there will be special “encore” (read : “repeat”) screenings tucked in over the following weekend to give those who missed a chance to catch up but me thinks they overestimate their capacity to entertain. The first, much hyped season of a series ? Yes possibly it will generate that much interest. The fifth season of a show that has run its course ? Probably not.
One last thing, why, when the (ridiculous) gimmick of 1 minute of show time equates to 1 minute of real time, would two hours of TV show only be scheduled to run for 1 hour 45 minutes ? On both nights, Jack Bauer is programmed from 930P to 1115P. Less advertisement breaks by channel 7 ? Well, maybe to get the punters in but I do find that hard to believe that they wouldn’t be milking one of their marquee shows for all it is worth. Channel 7, get over yourself.

SBS funding rant

Firstly many thanks to Formal Neil of Ascot Vale for raising this topic by way of ‘rant request’ this week.
Reported recently, SBS (that is, the Soccer Broadcasting Station) “is a step closer to full commercialism, announcing it will insert advertising during programs from January.” Currently SBS is allowed up to five minutes per hour but this has been restricted to bunching the breaks in between programs. If you have to show ads, then show them when I don’t have to look at them. I can handle that. To start placing the advertisements inbetween programs is grievous news indeed.
Not surprisingly SBS experience “massive viewer drop-off” when they show their clumped advertisements inbetween programs and this is something they are keen to rectify. Foisting advertisements on viewers when they are watching something (as happens on commercial channels) should see an increase in advertisement revenue for SBS which hopefully will lead to better programs.
Channel 7 are probably the most cynical when it comes to addressing viewer drop-off by starting shows late (so that you miss the start of something else on another channel) and going straight into the next show without an intervening ad. break to get you hooked. Viewer backlash was fierce last year with the continual late start/late finish of their marquee shows, Lost and Desperate Housewives, that they got around the issue by advertising that their shows would run 840 to 940 thereby still running out of sync. with other channels. This shows the murky path upon which SBS are treading.
Naturally this leads various campaigners, such as Friends of the ABC (whom I support in principle) trotting out the old cliché, “you can’t be a little bit pregnant” which in this case is a ridiculous thing to say. Advertising on SBS (or the ABC for that matter) doesn’t bother me over much. The ABC (both radio and TV) have an enormous amount of advertising on them, more so since the latest head took over from the maligned Jonathan Shier. The advertising in question however is the promotion for their own shows which are just as irritating, invasive, repetitive and boring as an ad. for Toyota Avensis (just a little self-promotion there, too subtle for most) or Libra Fleur with wings.
The real issue is, I believe (winding up for big rant to conclude with) that the ABC and SBS do not get enough government funding, despite many, many submissions from the Boards of these institutions. They try to make their funds stretch across mediums and demographics, first person news and current affairs reporting (and not exclusively relying on the BBC for example) and produce quality Australian drama. Instead these government sponsored stations are left to make ends meet with meagre funding and put out indifferent fare like games shows, one tele-movie a year, a sports segment on the nightly news from Sydney and so forth. The ABC and SBS is left to fight their own battles from any other means such as sales from the SBS shop or on-air advertising.
It would be a pity to have advertising within shows however it continues to demonstrate the parlous state successive Federal Governments have left ABC/SBS funding.

Return of the Rant ?

Now there’s no need to ring and tell me that my Nic has announced that she is getting married to that country music wanna-be Keith Urban – I ALREADY KNOW (Uncle J got in first). I’m okay with that. Good luck to them.
Its sad though reading about marriage break-ups that occur all around us – in the news at the moment is the Rex Hunt infidelity and the Greg Norman & Paul McCartney splits (not from each other as it happens). Now I don’t know these people and its only because they’re high profile that they make the news. I know that marriages fall down all the time. Its just a pity that either one person wasn’t faithful, or both weren’t more compassionate, or open to talk more, or whatever the scenario is.
At Small Group on Tuesday night we talked about conflict (ostensibly within the context of a small group however the idea of conflict in relationship is very widely applicable). Conflict itself can be a good thing but it must be done with an air of grace and humility, an underlying motivation to relate and converse, a desire to listen to the other point of view. That’s how relationship flourishes and not flounders. Ultimately that’s what love is, that giving of yourself (not taking what you can get) and it’s a pity that more relationships, both in the newspapers and out, don’t appear to exhibit this.

CommGames

What makes watching something like the Commonwealth Games on a station like Channel 9 so frustrating is that our reasons for being there are at polar opposites to theirs. We see the opportunity to show off our city, watch sports and disciplines we don’t usually get to see, and cheer on the best the rest of the world [commonwealth] has to offer.
The television station has three objectives too. These are :
1) Win the weekly (and nightly) ratings, so that
2) those companies that have paid for air time get maximum exposure and so that
3) channel 9 can entice you with their new shows coming up after the games so that those same companies can continue to get maximum exposure of their product/service/message
No wonder there has been countless inches of press space complaining about the parochialism of the coverage, the constant flicking between events (and lots of swimming) and the indifference/ignorance/jingoism of the commentators.
Just on Darrell Eastlake (broadcasting the weight lifting), he strikes me as the stereotyped north-of-the-border rugby league footballer. Entertaining at the footy club barbecue where funny story after funny story are called for but not so sure if I’d want to be share a house with him. He does get excited though doesn’t he ?

Games telecast rant

What a disgrace channel 9’s coverage of the Opening Ceremony last night turned out to be. That horrid logo, no longer an out-of-the-way watermark in the bottom corner of the screen such as ABC and SBS insist on persisting with, is more prominent than ever and a distraction to the proceedings on screen. The advertisement breaks (3 in total) when there was no break in the ceremony demonstrating a lack of respect and out-and-out rudeness to the athletes marching in to the stadium and the countries they represent. And finally those patronising, ill informed, ignorant out-of-towners, Ray Martin and Liz Hayes, “commentating” the ceremony to “our” games : “haven’t they done it well … don’t they always do it well in Melbourne.” Finally, after returning from an ad. break Ray said to viewers : “and we thought you might like to see the athletes you missed entering the stadium,” as channel 9 showed edited highlights for a minute while they played catch-up. Like we had a choice when you took us to an ad. break ! Like we wouldn’t want to see the ceremony in full ? You horrible, horrible people. While no great of fan of channel 7, they are looking like the very saint of all things good by comparison with their telecasts of previous Games.

Cnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Comedians doing "funny" things involving unsuspecting people sometimes works (think Garry McDonald) and sometimes doesn't. That's the nature of comedy.
The new series of the Chaser (Friday nights) seems to have been trying a bit too hard to generate comedy moments. So hard in fact that in a desperate bid to fill in 27 shows, being "hard hitting" and "controversial" they have over-stepped the mark in two well reported incidents.
The first involved handing over a fake cheque outside the Cole enquiry into the AWB bribery scandal. This matter was handed over to the Federal Police for investigation. Whoops.
The second involved submitting a Michael Leunig cartoon (which was never published) into a pro-Muslim, anti-Semite newspaper "competition" which was in itself in response to the bally-hoo about the Dutch newspaper publishing the anti-Muslim cartoon. The Chaser folk have been forced to apologise to The Age and Leunig publically with both aggrieved parties deciding not to pursue the matter.
Hardly an auspicious start for comedy by surprise. Controversial certainly but not that clever.
In truth I have never found the Chaser lads to be that funny : they appear to be more wrapped up in their own cleverness than anything else. Thus far I'm not inclined to change my mind about this new series either.

Sjov uddunstning

The current events in the muslim world surrounding Danish embassies etc takes me back to the playground in 1985.
I had a friend who had done something that I'm sure he now regrets and that was, in its own context, deplorable. No lasting harm came of it however. It was in reality a desperate act by a desperate boy who felt diconnected and unloved by his parents.
His problems magnified however when another mate of his had taken a photo of this act which was then seen at school by some trouble makers. These thugs climbed the moral high ground, were "outraged" and looked for an opportunity to mete out some justice with their fists.
The outrage expressed by many, many muslims (all from outside Australia I might add) seems a little over the top in response to an insensitive cartoon in a Danish newspaper.
The media and the violent muslims remind me of those mugs from year 9 at school. Looking for any means to create a story or go on a rampage, they highjack something about which they can be "outraged" and use it justify their actions.
Let it be said that I don't support vilification of other religions or race or gender etc etc but I don't support anarchy either.

The title by the way is Danish for "Comic Rant".