Boxcutters

Ep 215: Carol-Lynn Parente, Executive Producer of Sesame Street

Boxcutters — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:13:49 PST

When the opportunity arrived to speak to the Executive Producer of one of the most influential TV shows on the planet, there was absolutely no question about it.

Josh spoke to Carol-Lynn Parente about Sesame Street, the death of Mr Hooper, the introduction of new characters, and using TV as an educational tool.

Brought to you by the letters B and C and the number 215:

Send us all your Sesame Street related thoughts by email or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER).

And don’t forget to invite all your Facebook friends to become Boxcutters fans.

We apologise for this break in transmission

Boxcutters — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:34:16 PST

Hey, hey Kids!

We do have a show for you this week, with a fascinating conversation with Carol-Lynn Parente, the Executive Producer of Sesame Street, but I’ve had a couple of corrupt file issues in the elements of the show. All being well, it was just an issue with the transport media and the recordings are safe and well at the studio.

Consequently, the show will be up about a day late but it’s definitely worth the wait.

Love and kisses,
BB

Ep 214: Craig McLachlan Part II

Boxcutters — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:57:34 PST

As you will no doubt remember, the first time we had Craig McLachlan in the studio we were all so impressed, charmed and generally gooey about the experience that we had to invite him back to:

Finish examining his career thus far; and
See if multiple exposure to his delightful personality returned us to our jaded and cynical usual selves.

Join us for an episode of Boxcutters no hipster should miss.

Send us all your winter olympiad thoughts by sending us email or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER). And don’t forget to invite all your Facebook friends to become Boxcutters fans.

Ep 213: Winter Olympics coverage Peter Campbell [Foxtel] & Giaan Rooney [Channel 9]

Boxcutters — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:15:10 PST

It’s like going to the fights and having a hockey game break out this week on Boxcutters as we tie up the trans-Pacific phone lines, talking with Peter Campbell (Director of FOXTEL Sport and Olympic Games) and Giaan Rooney (former Australian Olympian and Channel 9 Winter Olympics 2010 commentator) live and direct from Vancouver, BC, Canada.

As we battle with international time-zones, we have some suddenly curtailed news, one thing to watch this week, some updates to things we’ve covered in the last week or two and some hilarious reality gossip.

Send us all your winter olympiad thoughts by sending us email or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER). And don’t forget to invite all your Facebook friends to become Boxcutters fans.

Winter Olympics Coverage: A Shambles?

Boxcutters — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:49:09 PST

Earlier today we received a barrage of text messages from Alex Boxcutter complaining about the poor Winter Olympics coverage on Channel 9:

No aussies in event means 9 don’t think we care. God forbid we’d enjoy something other than the summer swimming. Fucking disgaceful! I wish i had fox!
-Alex b

On Twitter we saw @mollyfud hitting his head on a virtual brick wall with anger.

The other night I saw what was neither worthy of being called an advertisement nor a faux-Getaway piece about shopping in one particular street in Vancouver.

So, tell us. Have you been trying to watch the Winter Olympics on TV? Have you been happy what Channel 9 have provided in terms of coverage? Has anybody out there bought the Foxtel package for the duration?

Let us know in the comments or through the contact form.

We’ll try to get some answers from Channel 9 in the meantime.

Ep 212: Archer, Ray Watch, TV Clichés

Boxcutters — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:52:20 PST

Archer is an animated series on FX in the US. Fox 8 announced it will air on March 7 in Australia so we take a little look.

We talk about Chuck vs the *shudder* “shippers”.

In the news we discuss The Biggest Loser fans gone silly, David Leckie on record and Senator Conroy skis his way into the networks’ hearts.

There’s a Ray Watch, some TV Clichés .

Have a read of the LA Times blog piece about Chuck and the ’shippers. Also, here’s the interview with Chuck’s co-creators.

You can read all about David Leckie’s rants and Senator Conroy’s fondness for skiing and networking thanks to the Daily Telegraph.

Let us know if you have any information about ’shippers or other holidays Sentaor Conroy’s taken that might affect our viewing by sending us email. Alternatively, send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER)

Ep 211: Biggest Loser, TV Licenses and Freebies for Networks

Boxcutters — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:25:21 PST

It’s all in the title.

Here are some things we mentioned during the show:

Gorge Yourself

It’s like Hulu but we can see it in Australia. But for how long?

Take a look at TV Gorge.

Thanks to Lovely Loyal Listener Lyndal for letting us know about that one.

If You Watch One Thing

Brett and Nelly: Australian Story, ?Samuel?s Story? – ABC1 – 8pm Mon, 8 Feb – Repeated: 12:30 Sat, 13 Feb
Josh: Elvis Costello with Bill Clinton – 11:25PM, 11 Feb 2010, ABC1

Questions for the Communications Minister’s Office

Firstly, have a look at the media release sent out by the Stephen Conroy’s office.

After reading that media release I had the following questions:

How does a 33%-50% rebate ensure continued Australian content on television? Isn’t that what local content regulation is for?
Where does the money from licenses normally go? Who is going to be missing out over the next two years?
Is this just the government buttering up the networks prior to the upcoming election? The television networks, while a little less well-off than in past years, are hardly in danger of collapse. We can infer from what the networks tell us that a little bit of proper management and some elbow grease could get them out of this slump. So how can the government justify such a huge discount?

This was the reply from the Minister’s office:

The rebates recognise the importance of Australian content on TV and the increased pressures facing commercial TV.

The licence fees are a tax which goes into general revenue.

As stated in the media release, the rebates build on the Government’s funding increase for the ABC and SBS in the 2009-10 Budget to fund Australian content on the national broadcasters.

As also noted in the media release, one of the factors considered by the Government in providing the rebate to commercial TV broadcasters, was the costs they will incur in rolling out new digital multichannels and extending the coverage of those channels across Australia.

When will your analogue signal go?

Boxcutters — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:37:11 PST

Further to our discussion last week about useless statistics and whether or not people are aware of when the analogue signal in their area will be switched off.

Here’s a map that tells you non-specific information. Click on it and see for yourself.

If you navigate through it, you’ll see that there’s a definite date for Mildura and NONE for anywhere else.

The DOA Wife?

Boxcutters — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:38:40 PST

Longtime Boxcutters listeners will know that I have never been one to watch much live TV. When we started doing this show, I had three video recorders hooked up that I would variously record on or try to work through the previously recorded shows while juggling the physical tape space on multiple VHS tapes. I still have episodes of Jake in Progress and Caroline in the City I’m sure I’ll get to one day… Anyway, I digress… The reason I was a power user level time shifted viewer from way back was so as to have a ready reserve of quality viewing available at a time convenient to me, rather than the time and day convenient to the networks, and to waste less of my life waiting for the show to come back after the ads. With more than 25 years of experience, I’m a veritable guru when it comes to readying the zapping finger over the remote buttons at the first sign of going to a break and getting the right count to come back to normal speed.

So it takes something really special for an advertising campaign to start to piss me off consistently. Congratulations channel 10… You’ve done it.

I’ve not read anything about The Good Wife, I’ve not paid particular attention to the teasers given in the ads, I’ve not looked for the small print on the billboards around town. I know that Julianna Margulies – the nurse from ER that was going out with George Clooney – has straightened her hair and is playing the titular character and Chris Noth – Big from Sex and the City - plays some sort of political public figure character who has been shamed by some sort of shenanigans. Not once have I bothered sitting through the entire “Sneak Peek” without turning the channel off or hitting the 30 second skip button twice. And yet I’m confident enough to call this one of the major flops of 2010. A bigger disappointment than FlashForward or even Commander in Chief.

There are sure to be parallels with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojovic, caught out trying to sell a Democrat held seat last year, and Hilary Clinton standing by Bill through the Lewinsky saga, probably peppered with inappropriate campaign-trail type press conferences on the front lawn of the family house or on the steps of a courthouse, proving the passionate attention given our hero by the entire nation. The magnitude of girl-power is likely to be off the scale as Margulies triumphs almost impossibly in the career that had only been simmering while she kept the home fires burning in support of her previously legitimate, successful husband. I don’t, however, see the skeptical audience turning off their sense of disbelief for more than a couple of weeks.

This show seems likely to be a fusion of a couple of recent genres we’ve seen: the latest hopeful to try to capture the loyal Sex and the City bloc, who like their women sassy and crave someone they can really relate to in a weekly drama; and the genius working in a professional capacity story – think House, Shark, Leverage, The Mentalist, Eleventh Hour - undertaking and conquering tasks that nobody else anywhere could possibly accomplish. I’m not sure it’s a fusion that can work. US TV has been desperate to get another SatC up for 3 or 4 years now – Women’s Murder Club, Cashmere Mafia, The Starter Wife - but they just don’t take and there seems to be a lack of ensemble in The Good Wife. The genius professional always tends to be a little odd, which is lateral, spontaneous and occasionally fun from a guy working with a team of minions or a federal handler but very quickly shouts ‘Bunny Boiler’ in a woman.

I could be completely wrong on all of this but the saturation promotion that 10 has been giving this show over an extended period has my Boxie senses tingling. We’ll have to wait and see.

Ep 210: The League, The Nature of Television Storytelling

Boxcutters — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:13:13 PST

The League is another show about men and their relationships with one another. We take a good long look at it.

We also have a long conversation about whether or not there is a place for episodic drama on television. It’s a very interesting chat with lots of information. We go a little bit high-brow so you might want to wear your thinking-cap.

There’s also a surprise guest right joining us for One Thing.

Episode 210 is the show that had so much in it, we had to go into extra-long overtime. You have been warned.

If You Watch One Thing

Brett: Seven Ages Of Rock ‘We Are The Champions: Stadium Rock’ – ABC1, 8:30pm to 9:25pm Thu, 4 Feb 2010
John: Magic Roundabout. Various times, Every Freakin’ Day on ABC 2
Josh: LOST LOST LOST LOST LOST LOST! (in north america)

An Update

A media release from Channel 7 arrived this morning. We have our answer. Do you have your set-top box?

7TWO today announced it will premiere the sixth and final season of LOST on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10 beginning with the one-hour special Lost: Final Chapter at 8.30pm followed by a two-hour premiere of season 6 at 9.30pm.

Right at the bottom of the release comes this addendum:

**The LOST season 6 premiere will also screen on Channel Seven at 11.30pm on February 10**

So you don’t need a set-top box to see Lost, you just need to beat away sleep.

Episode 209: Nazeem Hussain, Ben McNair

Boxcutters — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:09:01 PST

Comedian Nazeem Hussain joins us in the studio to talk about how dark people, Muslims and immigrants in general are portrayed on Australian television.

Then Ben McNair from Channel 7 News sits down for a chat about Haiti, Black Saturday, the ABC’s 24-hour news channel and Kevin Rudd.

It’s jam-packed information from start to finish.

Ep 208: Men of a Certain Age, NBC and Leno and Conan

Boxcutters — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:55:13 PST

Oh yes. We’re back, and we’ve prepared for your listening pleasure the greatest 70 minutes of television related discussion OF ALL TIME.

Nelly Thomas joins us at the start of the show to prove that she is not just John putting on a funny voice.

Then we discuss Men of a Certain Age, a new drama starring and co-created by Ray Romano.

Also there’s an I Don’t Buy It and some other stuff.

OF ALL TIME, people. OF ALL TIME

Boxcutters Welcomes Nelly Thomas

Boxcutters — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:55:36 PST

We’re very excited to welcome Nelly Thomas to the regular Boxcutters team.

Long-term listeners might remember Nelly from her co-hosting duties on episodes 130 and 137.

Joining us fortnightly, Nelly will bring her wonderful experience in all matter of media, her unabashed love of good television and excellent comedic sensibility to Boxcutters.

She will alternate with John Richards, whose many other commitments have forced him into fortnightly hiding lest he incur the wrath of the government broadcaster.

It’s an exciting new time for Boxcutters. We return this Monday with all new insights into the world of television. Nelly starts her Boxcutter tenure on 25th January.

East West 101: season 2

Boxcutters — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:01:47 PST

Note: At the end of last year I talked about East West 101 as an Australian TV highlight. Here’s some extended thoughts.

I continue to beleive that one of the last things we need in this country is more cop dramas but when a good one comes along, it’s really hard to ignore.

The second series of East West 101 was so good, we would do well to ignore the first with its ridiculous contrivances and overbearing political correctness. Now we get to see exactly what Australia can produce when drama is allowed to run its natural course.

Don Hany plays Zane Malik, a Muslim cop in Sydney’s west who’s trying to make a go of being a religious man in a secular world.

While the first series focused too much on revenge and the world’s inherent lack of fairness, the second delved into much more complicated territory: Maintaining one’s values in a society that offers constant temptation.

It’s complicated themes, treated with subtlety and patience, that make really good television. Imagine how much more interesting Dexter would be if there was no voice-over narration and his dead father didn’t keep explaining things. If there is limited exposition, then the audience is forced to work out the characters’ motivations. East West 101 stands out from other local drama because the creators seem to understand the importance.

The many storylines demand constant attention. The organised crime and terrorism world of Sydney’s west has many players. In addition, though, we see some of the trials of the characters’ home lives.

Susie Porter, whose presence in the series is mandatory under the SBS charter, is Patricia Wright. She’s Malik’s immediate superior in the police force. with has her own family issues to deal with and the piling dead bodies don’t make it any easier.

Both characters are, obviously, finding society’s inherent discrimination more difficult than it would be in a more ideal world. Still, they are committed to their jobs, their families and protecting themselves.

Yes, that all sounds very serious, but there aren’t any jokes here. It’s serious business, but it’s compelling, and that should be enough.

Buy DVDs, including the entire 2nd season of East West 101, at Sanity Entertainment.

A Special Note: East West 101’s first series alternated between unnecessarily melodramatic and promising. Those of you who remember my rant about Cptn Cardboard possibly also remember that I changed my stance on the programme after a few more episodes. I still think the first season could have been better.

Hitting the Snooze Button One More Time

Boxcutters — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:21:10 PST

Hey there lovely Boxcutters Family.

We’ve decided we need just one more week to get everything back in order for a wonderful 2010 Boxcutters-style.

We’ll be back with normal, but seemingly fresher, programming about programming, programmes and other television-related discussions on 18 January.

Thanks for understanding.

Everything Old is New Again (only disappointing & uninteresting)

Boxcutters — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:37:28 PST

“In the history of network television, no remake of a previous hit series has ever become a hit itself on network television.

“Plenty have been tried… Digging through the files of series past, one could perhaps make an argument for some shows spawned from original hits. Star Trek, of course, gave birth to four separate series, but those were all spinoffs. They were not remakes of the original with the same characters.”

– from Why Studios Keep Cranking Out TV Remakes, Despite the Flops – NYTimes.com

We’ve talked about TeeVeeLand’s inability to come up with solid new concepts for a while on Boxcutters. While this New York Times article doesn’t seem to build anything on what we already know, it’s good to see that the studios and networks are aware that all they’re doing is throwing shit at a flagpole, or something.

It’s also good to see the argument that the only good remake was Battlestar Galactica and that might just be because it was on Sci-Fi (as it was called when it launched), a cable channel that may just have given the creators the freedom they required to make a show on its own merits.

Countless television projects try and fail. It’s the nature of the beast. But the problem with remakes of old TV shows is that there is an inherent lack of understanding about what made it popular in the first place. It’s not just about the characters, the actors or the subject matter, but also what its competition was, how people led their lives and what could they be shown that they have never seen before.

Some End of Year Housekeeping

Boxcutters — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:18:19 PST

There were a number of things that we neglected to cover in the last show or maybe we just touched upon them.

One of those things was a look at the decade 2000-2009. For those pedants who say 2010 was not the start of a new decade (and you know who you are), we’re defining a specific ten year period to look at.*

Other things include a few shows that we’ve said were “great” but might not have expanded upon that.

Programmes like East West 101 and Supernatural, to name just two, deserve a little more analysis.

So we’ll try to do some of that here on the blog during our break and hopefully troughout the year.

And always, feel free to let us know what you’d like us to cover in the comments. We’re more than happy to oblige.

* That one is just for those pedants who wrongly believe one can’t end a sentence with a preposition.

Special Epinephrine Delta Force: Wilbur Wilde, James Talia, Tom Elliott

Boxcutters — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:20:32 PST

In our last episode for the year we look back at the year with some of our regulars. Wilbur Wilde talks about Hey Hey It’s Saturday’s return, James Talia looks back at the year’s news and Tom Elliott talks more about the death of television.

It’s some interesting conversation and some messy amateurs holding it all together.

Ep 207: Modern Family, Twilight Zone

Boxcutters — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:37:09 PST

Modern Family, not a black and white like it or not review about the new series from ABC in the US. Intrigued? You should be. It was an intriguing conversation. Also, the Twilight Zone is a beguiling series that we talk about in Things You May Have Missed. There’s News, Letters, Raywatch, Pork, One Thing and maybe some more words with “gu” in them.

Think of it as a guide:

If You Watch One Thing

Brett: It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 7 – 11:30pm to 12:00am Tue, 15 Dec
John: John Adams, SBS1, 9.30pm Sun, 20 Dec 2009
Josh: The Dagg Sea Scrolls 6:10pm ABC1 Sun, 20 Dec 2009

Ep 206: Misfits, The Prisoner, Lunch Disclosure

Boxcutters — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:51:57 PST

Misfits comes from the UK, is filled with unattractive and very annoying characters and is essentially Skins meets Heroes. So why do we find it so strangely compelling? Also, Corin and Toby from Beauty & the Geek give us a review of the remake of The Prisoner in a segment I think we should call “TV Will Eat Itself”.

Ep 205: Adam Christou, Melrose Place

Boxcutters — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:25:34 PST

Dear Listener,

We present, for your entertainment, Mr Adam Christou, who shares with us a brand new world of adult entertainment based on parodying television shows. Also, we review the new series of Melrose Place.

We investigate the universe’s disturbing quarters so that you can sound more knowledgeable at dinner parties.

Learn something:

Brett: White Collar, Tuesday, 8:30pm, Channel 10
Josh: Parks and Recreation, Tuesday, 11pm, Channel 7
John: Staring out a window, Tuesday, 9pm, his house.

Also, in letters we talk about this article about the Tbox and Fetch TV, and how none of us have read it.

Ep 204: Bored to Death, Foxtel’s EPG, Arguments

Boxcutters — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:06:08 PST

Bored to Death was on HBO in the US and we discuss its merits with almost argumentative tones. OK, they are argumentative tones but with good points. It’s an interesting conversation and you should listen to it.

Ep 203: Craig McLachlan (really!)

Boxcutters — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:06:11 PST

This week we speak at length to Craig McLachlan. He tells us all about Neighbours, the record industry, the wilderness and Alan Dale.

He’s a wonderful guest. Listen to it.

“If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them…”

Boxcutters — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:23:45 PST

In episode 202 we suggested there should be a action show called “ACMA Squad”. Actualchad agreed, and sent us this:

Ep 202: Community, Micro Men, Kim Dalton should resign

Boxcutters — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:24:13 PST

Community is a new show from NBC in the US about people in community college that is a lot better than it sounds.

Also, John talks about a BBC telemovie called Micro Men.

Hungry Beast could be better.

And, Kim Dalton should resign.

Find out why:

Spring Break with John Safran

Boxcutters — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:03:24 PST

This week we’re taking a little hiatus. A few weeks ago Josh recorded an interview with John Safran about his new show John Safran’s Race Relations. Here’s the interview in full.

Tivo and Freeview

Boxcutters — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:52:07 PDT

Tivo announced it will change the ‘Watch Live TV’ option to ‘Watch Freeview’ ….
http://smarthouse.com.au/Media_Centres/Set_Top_Boxes/V5V6V4B5

Although none of us know what Freeview is, it has enough pull to trick Tivo US into allowing the name change.

Ep 201: FlashForward, Dominos Pizza, The Future of Television

Boxcutters — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:18:44 PST

This week, we lounge into our new century with a look at the future (ooh, spooky) with FlashForward. There’s an I Don’t Buy It. Also, one of the most interesting discussions in Pork we’ve ever had.

It’s like delicious, fluffy mashed potato but for your ears.

Contact us by sending us email or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER)Also in this episode we mention the book Free: The Future of a Radical Price
by Chris Anderson. It’s really worth a read to learn about how the market is changing and think about what this might mean for television.

You might want to grab the novel of Flashforward and see the differences. Maybe one day soon we’ll do a piece looking at adaptations. Just a thought.

If you like Flashforward and think we were unfairly harsh, then by all means let us know what you think.

If you want to see something disgusting, here’s the Dominos website. Click the “watch ad” link. You’ll see what I mean.

Ep 200: Myf Warhurst, Highway Patrol, Surprise Guests

Boxcutters — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:36:53 PDT

200 episodes! Wow. It seems like only yesterday we were preparing for our 200th episode (and John’s 54th) and now it’s here already.

The beautiful and delightful Myf Warhurst joins us to talk about Spicks & Specks.

Also, “You’re under arrest” is not one of the things Acting Sergeant Alisdair Farrell says to us. We talk to him about how the police are portrayed in drama and also how they can do their jobs with cameras all up in their grill. He’s on yet another Cops-style show, Highway Patrol.

There’s some special surprises in-store including a guest appearance by our very own James Talia, live from some balcony at Channel 9. (Oh, now that’s no longer a surprise. Damn!)

Thanks so much to everybody who helped make this show wonderful. All the contributions were sublime.

Thanks also to the people who made the last 200 episodes an absolute joy: Marieke Hardy, Nerida Haycock, Tim Ferguson, Pete Smith, Wil Anderson, Daniel Burt, Anne-Marie Peard, Narrelle M. Harris, Jess McGuire, Wilbur Wilde, Ray Punjer, Jim Schembri, Ed Phillips, John Safran, Anna Brain, Josie Parelli, Jeff Jenkins, David Knox, Brian Nankervis, the man with the chicken, Tom Elliot, Matt Govoni, Gerard McCulloch, Ryan Shelton, Janet A. McCleod, Adam Richard, Corinne Grant, Rob Brearly, Leo Laporte, Justin Hamilton, Katrina Mathers, Marc Fennell, Dan Ilic, Alex Papps, Courtney Hocking, Toby Sullivan, Nelly Thomas, Lawrence Mooney, Scott Brennan, Javier Grillo-Marxauch, David Ashton, Damaris Baker, Jane Badler, Yael Bergman, Adam Zwar, Rob Buttery, Dr David Ranson, Andy Anderson, Alexandra Tynan, Lee Zachariah, Shannon Marinko, Doug McLeod, Rod Quantock, Genevieve Lemon, Peter Moon, Brendan Luno, Peter Lane, Sue Taylor, Sam Pang, and especially, Mr Ross McQueen.

If you watch one thing

We all agree: John Safran’s Race Relations, Wednesday 9:30pm, ABC 1.

Does Variety Television Actually Exist?

Boxcutters — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:51:15 PDT

There’s been a lot of talk about Variety coming back in the last couple of weeks. Everything to do with the Hey Hey It’s Saturday reunion (other than the obvious criticisms) shows has been about variety coming back. “Isn’t it great to have variety back?” people will say.

Of course, people said the same thing when Dancing with the Stars started. Also, when I was growing up, one of the long running variety shows was the Black and White Minstrel Show, as was the Muppet Show. Take from that what you will.

The truth is, Variety never really left us because it doesn’t really exist as a genre. Is Hey Hey variety? Then what is similar between that show and Dancing with the Stars? How do they compare to the Brady Bunch Hour or The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour or Donny & Marie?

There’s almost no difference to what Hey Hey became late in its existence and a tonight show. Dancing with the Stars is closer linked to Celebrity Masterchef than it is to Hey Hey or the Osmonds.

So we take the term Variety out of the equation and what do we have? People feel like they’re missing something from their television experience and it somehow involves singing and dancing and family entertainment with a bit of light comedy thrown in.

What people are saying when they talk about wanting variety to come back to television is that they want is some sort of stagnation. They don’t want to think, they don’t want to learn, they don’t want to go on a journey. It’s mindless television and it must be stopped. Its nothing but a distraction and that’s not the way any entertainment should be. If, when watching television, you come away from it with nothing, was that time well spent?

I was outraged after the second reunion show when reading the Facebook messages on the Hey Hey page about the Black Faces debacle. People were offended that Harry Connick Jr was offended. How does that even make sense? This so called family entertainment is pitting us against each other.

Television is like one of those comic book devices that could save the world but in the wrong hands would mean disaster. Variety is just another word for television being in the wrong hands. It must be stopped.

Ep 199: The Cult, Ads for Shoes, Garry Shandling

Boxcutters — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:05:35 PDT

Hi everybody. This is episode 199. We talk about the New Zealand show, The Cult and some other stuff.

Our energy levels were down. We apologise but we’re just saving it up for a big show next week.

Sorry.

If You Watch One Thing

Brett: 4 Corners – Monday at 8.30 pm on ABC 1. Repeated on Tuesday, 13th October at 11.35 pm.
John: The Avengers – Thursday night/Friday morning at 1am, Channel 9.
Josh: Louis Theroux, Channel 7, 11:30pm Wednesday.

Ep 198: Beauty plus Geek, Marc Fennell

Boxcutters — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:29:30 PDT

Corin and Jenna, one of the geeks and one of the beauties from Channel 7’s Beauty and the Geek, join us in the studio to talk about what it’s like to be part of a reality television series.

Marc Fennell, the star of ABCTV’s Hungry Beast is on the phone discussing the controversies around the first episode.

Hey, Facebook users, you can become a fan of Beauty and the Geek, and also see Corin and Jenna’s fanpages.

Also, why not get short snippets of Hungry Beast on twitter.

Then there’s always Josh and Brett, who are also on twitter.

If You Watch One Thing

Brett: Hungry Beast – ABC1 Wednesday, 9pm
John: Ace Of Cakes, Lifestyle Food, Saturday, 9.30
Josh: Dancing About Architecture, Channel 31, Thursday 8 Oct

————
UPDATE: We’ve just received an anonymous SMS.

?It’s a famous quote: “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture” – it’s a music panel show.?

You can find some history on the quote and its various attributions all over the web.

Remember When… Tim Ferguson

Boxcutters — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:54:27 PDT

With the Boxcutters team scattered around the globe this week, we take a wander down memory lane with an occasional series that we’ve now dubbed Remember When…

Remember When… Tim Ferguson joined us to talk about his impressively long career in Australian television, visiting on the eve of the inaugural Melbourne Comedy Festival show, Axed? If not, this is your lucky week because we’ve got an Encore Presentation in place of the regular show.

Here are the obligatory links:

Now is the time to send your obligatory communiqu? through our Contact Form or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER)

I’m not sure if Josh and John are going to update this week with their One Thing to watch over the week but I’ll stick this up and we’ll see how we go:

Brett: Hey Hey It’s Saturday ?Reunion Special? – Nine – 7:30 Wed, 30 Sep 2009

They’re baaaaaack! Daryl and Ossie Ostrich, Celebrity Heads, Plucka a Duck and most especially and delightfully Red Faces; remember the Luge – older but joyously no wiser – thank goodness. Yet another chance to show how fantastically foolish we can be.

[Thanks to IceTV for the description]

197: Sam Pang, Just Don’t Bother, The Loop, The Brownlow, The Emmys

Boxcutters — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:18:44 PDT

Sam Pang, host of the SBS quiz show, ADBC, is our guest this week.
He tells us things about stuff.

There’s a Things You May Have Missed about The Loop, a special Just Don’t Bother, and Brett thinks the Brownlow is both brown and low.

Listen to it y’all:

:30 Seconds — A Rule of One review

Boxcutters — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:59:19 PDT

The following took place as part of the Outland Institute radio show and our controversial “Rule of One” review process. Since this aired, last Friday, there has been another episode of :30 Seconds but the Rule of One prevails.

Last Monday, the first episode of the new sitcom from Andrew Denton’s Zapruder’s Other Films aired on the Comedy Channel.

Called :30 Seconds (complete with the colon), it’s about an advertising agency.

Yes, at the moment it seems like Zapruder’s is only coming out with shows about advertising. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Denton.

Comedy, as you well know, is a very sensitive lover. It requires caring, attention and tenderness.

To continue that already tortured analogy, the flowers and chocolate, the romance, if you will, are the acting and directing of a sitcom.

They make us feel like there might be something this relationship for us. We’re prepared to give it a chance and maybe allow a couple of dates.

The sex in the analogy that not even I can believe I’m taking this far, is the writing. It’s the writing that, BAM!, really drives home the idea that this comedy deserves a part of our lives.

As far as acting goes, :30 Seconds has the chops. Gyton Grantley, Kat Stewart, Peter O’Brien and Stephen Curry all bring their exquisite thespian skills to the set.

The glaring deficiency in the show is in the bedroom. The writing just isn’t there. So often we see a sitcom where the jokes come forced, like the writers are squeezing in the jokes regardless of context.

The secret is to let the jokes come from the characters. Especially when an accomplished cast is at the writers’ disposal, it the characters are good, the actors will find the comedy and the director will help bring it out.

The actors in :30 Seconds just don’t have enough to deal with. The characters are one dimensional at best.

The potential is there for a great comedy but the writing needs to improve.

Also, the lighting is some of the worst I’ve seen outside YouTube.

Ep 196: Wilbur Wilde, Generation Kill, I Don’t Buy It, Letters

Boxcutters — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:50:19 PDT

As we sail into our 5th year of Boxcutters ? thanks for all the cards and pressies for our birthday last week, BTW ? we take a look at the future of another show of longevity, Hey Hey it’s Saturday, as we talk to Wilbur Wilde about how things are going in the run-up to the two special reunion shows, happening on Tuesday(!) September 29 and October 6. Keep an ear out – there seemed to be a strange echo in the studio that sounded a little like some names we know.

Operation Generation Kill is launched, covering the TV series from HBO based on the reports of Evan Wright, reporting for Rolling Stone magazine.

Brett points out the rape of a cultural icon in his I Don’t Buy It.

And we’ve got your Letters, viewing advice for the week with One Thing and the News coverage we’re known and loved for.

Hit us up at Amazon for your own DVD or Blu-ray
copy of? Generation Kill.

RSS feed

iTunes

or listen to 196 in your browser

Contact us by sending us email or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER)

[For those affected by the dropout in last week's show during the review of The Lost Room, I've fixed the problem and the new version is available for download through last week's post]

As mentioned by Wilbur, you can become a fan of Hey Hey on Facebook.

If You Watch One Thing

Brett: Glee ?Pilot. Glee – The Director’s Cut?
—Ten, 7:30 Thu, 17 Sep 2009
Josh: Good Onya, Skip —ABC1, 8:30pm Thursday 17th Sep.
John: will be unwrapping his copy of The Wire

Also, you might like to get your hands on the book of Generation Kill.

Ep 195: Tom Elliott, Flash Forward, The Lost Room

Boxcutters — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:19:54 PDT

We have a week full of broken rules of time and finance with:

Tom Elliott ~~inventing the flux capacitor~~ giving us some rational explanations for the asset writedowns and massive profit downgrade at 7 and how hard 9 and 10’s parent companies are doing it;

a preview of Flash Forward, coming to our screens on the 7 network after the ultimate conclusion of Lost; and

The Lost Room from the SciFi Channel in Things You May Have Missed.

Pick up your very own copy of The Lost Room on DVD from Amazon.

RSS feed

iTunes

or listen to 195 in your browser

Ep 194: Nurse Jackie, Come Back Mrs Noah, Foot Scrapings

Boxcutters — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:11:08 PDT

Nurse Jackie is the new show from Showtime in the US starring Edie Falco. Come Back Mrs Noah is an old show from the late 70s that John once saw. There’s an I don’t buy it and a whole bunch of other stuff to make you laugh, cry and possibly even hit yourself in the nose with a hammer.
Ouch:

RSS feed

iTunes

or listen to 194 in your browser

Contact us by sending us email or send us an SMS on 0458 288 837 (0458 CUTTER)
Here’s some Come Back Mrs Noah (it’s terrible):

If you watch one thing:
Brett: The Wire starts on ABC2 Tuesday 9:30 and Saturday 10pm
Josh: Waltz with Bashir, Tuesday 10pm, SBS
John: Has not watched the Wire and therefore is going to bed without any supper.

Conspiracy theories in television

Boxcutters — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:14:42 PDT

Last week Oliver Stone announced his latest project. It’s a ten-part documentary series called the Secret History of America.

Stone is the king of creative conspiracy theorists. This series is apparently going to include newly discovered facts from the Kennedy administration and the Vietnam War amongst other things.

So I think it’s important to note how television has shaped the landscape of conspiracy theories.

Of course we can spend hours talking about the X-Files and its Lone Gunmen characters who subsequently had their own spin-off series that didn’t last very long. We could subsequently disappear up our own arses trying to work out why it didn’t last very long and who gave the order to pull it from air.

We can talk about the first moon landing being the first televised event to be derided as a hoax by conspiracy theorists who believe that the whole thing was shot on a soundstage in Burbank.

We can talk about programmes like 24, Prison Break, Heroes and even my beloved Lost, that base their entire story-lines around international conspiracy theories.

But we won’t, and I think you know why.

Conspiracy theories are a simple way to create intrigue in a series. They give the audience a chance to be part of the story-telling. Every reveal escalates the conspiracy up some chain of command that feeds on our fears of lack of freedom. They raise a question of the control we have over our own lives but, more importantly, how much trust do we put in the medium that is giving us information.

While these shows impel us to question everything that we see on television, they also serve as a warning. When we see the protagonist who has been following a conspiracy-chain for several episodes or several seasons, they always end up as loners, obsessed with finding the truth, often wearing the same clothes day after day.

So do these shows want us to actually know the truth or are they trying to stop us from finding the truth? And who’s in charge of trying to keep us confused like this?

Would you believe me if I told you it was an international federation of school teachers? I’m not crazy. This is the truth, people. They control the information. We are all their puppets.

Or maybe not.

This first appeared as an audible segment on John Richards’s excellent Outland Institute radio programme.

Because we are all the fifth cylon

Boxcutters — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:44:21 PDT

For this week’s episode, the computer decided that we should largely sound like Davros. Sorry but we’re not going to put it up.

It was hilarious and insightful but clearly just wasn’t meant to be.

If you want, you can take this opportunity to listen to John interview Alan Brough. It has swears in it!

Exterminate. Exterminate.
This relates to one of the news items you won’t hear this week.

Richard Hatch defends himself badly:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Once again, we’re sorry.

For those jonesing for something, ANYthing, from us and who haven’t picked up on the special round-up on the sidebar there each week (that’s where the quiz prizes have been going off), click the little play triangle to listen on the player at the top of the sidebar on the right – up where it says “THIS WEEK ON BOXCUTTERS”. Strangely, we recorded that message before we knew the show wasn’t going up.

Ep 193: Hung, Parker Lewis, Hamlet!

Boxcutters — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:12:25 PDT

This week we look at the new HBO drama, Hung, and in Before and After School there’s Parker Lewis Can’t Lose.

Parker Lewis Can’t Lose: The Complete First Season
is, of course, available on DVD.

The Triple R Radiothon is on now click here to check out the details including what you could win
– or click here to get straight to the online subscription page.

Go! It’s an instruction for tedium

Boxcutters — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:37:59 PDT

I really love what the free to air networks have done with digital television. The offering from Channel 9, Go!, is a remarkable piece of television development.

Remember when networks didn’t know how to fill their entire schedule so they’d put old, cheap or seemingly random programmes on at dead times? My Two Dads at 4pm, Newhart whenever it rained at the cricket, and Thrillseekers at midday on Saturday were all old Channel 9 staples.

I don’t think they ever thought people were watching their station at these times. Either that or Kerry Packer really loved an afternoon of stuntmen jumping cars over canyons.

One of the ingenious things about Go! is that you can watch their entire programming for a day depending on whether you wake up in the morning or the afternoon. They’ve really catered this one to the lazy. Despite the exclamation mark in the title, Go! does not seem to be an imperative. In fact, it’s the name I’d give to a new designer drug that made you feel like you were having a good time while really the whole world was passing you by.

Here’s a taste of what they’ve launched with: The Nanny, Just Shoot Me, Entertainment Tonight, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, and Australia’s Funniest Home Videos. All of those shows are available TWICE A DAY. In case you miss an episode of the Nanny you can catch it again eight and a half hours later!

I think what happened is they couldn’t fit the entire title, “Go Into A Vegetative State!”, on the screen.

Really, this was the laziest thing I’ve seen come out of the Free To Air networks for some time. Somebody got paid for coming up with that programming schedule, that title, that media release that came to my inbox. Everybody involved should be ashamed.

Pitching a buddy detective drama

Boxcutters — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:46:29 PDT

OK. ActualChad is clearly throwing everything he’s got at this pitching competition. We’re loving his entries. Here’s a video trailer he produced:

Think you’ve got what it takes to beat ActualChad? Enter the Pitch Boxcutters competition and win yourself a Crumpler Bean Bag!

Surprise Paintball

Boxcutters — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:16:10 PDT

Here is our first pitch competition entry, from ActualChad Productions:

Dock You Meant Aries

Boxcutters — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:35:46 PDT

So there’s this thing that’s been on the television for a while, I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it, but the kids are calling it “Reality Television“.

Anyway it’s this thing where you get real people in real life situations and follow them around or see them in fish-out-of-water scenarios like the mother from one family going to live with a different family for a couple of weeks.

It reminds me a lot of this thing they used to have on television called “documentaries“. Do you remember those? They were fantastic. We’d learn all about the world as people showed us the lives of ants or, if they were on SBS, the lives of Hitler’s ants.

Well, hold on to your seat because documentaries are back, baby, they just look a little different.

Because people have such low attention spans and trust issues, these programmes need to have famous British people:

like that guy from A Fish Called Wanda
or whatisname who played Oscar Wilde
or, even more famous than either of those, the guy that was in Who Dares Wins and Maid Marian and her Merry Men.

And of course, they can pretty much only be on the ABC for them to have any credibility whatsoever.

This week we’ve got the premier of two of these documentary things*.

The first is on Sunday night on ABC1. Stephen Fry, who you might remember from Blackadder, driving through the US and telling us about local customs in a way that is different to Louis Theroux or Ruby Wax.

Then on Tuesday there’s Tony Robinson, who you might remember from Blackadder, presenting the history of Crime and Punishment.

Apparently, this is not as you would expect – a 5 minute piece saying:

Dostoyevsky had an idea for a book, sat down with pen and paper for a few months and then got a publishing deal.

No, instead it’s about laws and criminals and punitive measures.

I don’t know who else from Blackadder is making documentaries but they seem to be the most trusted people in the world.

* Be aware that this was written to go to air on 7 August so time references might have no bearing to the actual time you’re reading this, if you are reading this, and if you’re not, I’m not talking to you so turn around and face the wall.

Ep 192: Southland, Quotes, Crap TV, Letters

Boxcutters — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:56:37 PDT

Southland is a new show from the US about police. We review it. The rest of the episode is good and full of information about television. Really. It’s wonderful. Also there’s an I Don’t Buy It to destroy a generation.

Helicopter Ear-Piece Dramas

Boxcutters — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:27:03 PDT

Channel 9 premiered their new Australian series a couple of weeks ago. It prompted me to create this piece for The Outland Institute radio show. It went to air on 31 July, 2009 but you can still listen to it thanks to modern technophilia.

Channel 9’s new weekly drama is called Rescue Special Ops (with cops). It’s what I like to think of as a helicopter ear-piece (HEP) action series.

I haven’t seen it yet because*, ever since Underbelly, Channel 9’s publicity seems to be more about secrecy than anything else.

But I thought we’d look at other HEP series from other networks.

Of course, there’s the one that started it all. Police Rescue. This ABC drama featured a lot of falling off cliffs with rescuers shouting “Hang on. Mate, just hang on.” Also combined with this was some shouting of instructions: “attach the rope to the belt” etc. Police Rescue also pioneered the use of the winch in weekly television.

More recently, All Saints, already on the do not resuscitate list, tried to reimagine itself as an HEP, renaming itself to All Saint Medical Response Unit. The introduction of helicopters into a hospital drama was novel if not sustainable.

It’s important to note here that helicopters are the most expensive thing in the filmed entertainment world. It is cheaper to burn giant containers full of truffles laced with cocaine than to hire a helicopter for a film or tv shoot.

So that brings us to Rush on Channel 10. Not happy to spend the national debt on two helicopters, one to film and the other to be filmed, the Rush crew decided to use computer generated images for their action sequences. To compensate for that, though, they have more earpieces and made-up technology than any other HEP series before or after.

How will Rescue Special Ops add to this genre? I’m guessing it won’t. Really. It’s more action for action’s sake until they realise that action’s too expensive and they just fall back into boring intra-department romance and politics like everything else does.

* Remember that this review went to air before Rescue Special Ops aired.

Some Great Deals from the Boxcutters Store

Boxcutters — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:02:06 PDT

There are some great specials available at the You Do Buy It US store at the moment.

A couple of weeks ago we mentioned Errol Morris’s The Fog of War documentary and it’s currently half price.

You can also get the complete Addams Family for cheap!

There are a bunch of other specials including indie-movies, sitcom box-sets, and a whole lot of British television.

Help support Boxcutters by getting yourself some wonderful entertainment.

Everybody wins.

Ep 191: James Talia, Torchwood, Hosts of things

Boxcutters — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:40:10 PDT

James Talia talks to us about news anchoring. We look at Torchwood: Children of Earth. Woo, says Brett Cropley.

You can buy Torchwood – Children of Earth on DVD and make your own mind up.

The Rule of One

Boxcutters — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:01:45 PDT

The following appeared as a segment on The Outland Institute on 24 July, 2009. If you’d like to hear this sort of thing live then tune in to Joy 94.9 every Friday at midday AEST.

One of the things I love about doing television reviews on the Outland Institute is what I like to call the rule of one. One episode is enough to judge an entire series.

This week I’ve seen the first episode of two new shows from the US. Drop Dead Diva and Ruby and the Rockits.

I can easily and quickly cover off on Drop Dead Diva. If David E. Kelly known for Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Legal and marrying Michelle Pfeiffer, took an overdose of oestrogen, the product pumped from his stomach would be Drop Dead Diva.

An aspiring Price is Right model (and no, I’m not making this up) dies in a car crash at the same time that a fat and clumsy but talented lawyer spills hot coffee on her blouse and subsequently gets shot (and I’m still not making this up). The model manipulates her way out of limbo but ends up in the lawyer’s body. Everybody learns a lesson and fried food tastes good.

Margaret Cho co-stars in this one but its almost like they cast her because Sandra Oh is too famous now. She is in no way used to her comic potential. The role just seems so generic. She plays the best-friend/assistant of the fat lawyer.

Then there’s Ruby and the Rockits, a traditional 3 camera sitcom or laffer. David Cassidy stars, as does Patrick Cassidy. It’s produced by Shaun Cassidy. If that’s not enough “where are they now” for you, then it’s also directed by Ted Wass, aka the Dad from Blossom.

David Cassidy plays David Gallagher, a has-been rocker doing a residency at an Indian casino. A girl comes into the venue and introduces herself as his daughter from his time on the road. He takes this at face value and takes the girl, whose mother has recently died, to his brother Patrick’s house. Yes, they are using their real first names. How original.

Patrick’s family also accepts this story of a long-lost orphaned daughter and agrees to let her live in their house. That’s the premise and no, I’m not making any of this up. No paternity test, no questioning; Ruby’s story is entirely accepted at face value.

Ruby and the Rockits dispenses with any of that unnecessary and tiresome suspension-of-disbelief rubbish that other TV shows require for plausibility. In fact, it throws any sense of plausibility out the window. It’s not important. Neither, apparently, is writing jokes.

RatR slso stars Alexa Vega, who was the sister in the Spy Kids series. I mean, really, what did I do in a past life that all of these people would return to haunt me in such a terrifying manner?

Ep 190: Parks and Recreation, Dance Your Ass Off, US 60 Minutes

Boxcutters — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:41:04 PDT

Too hot to mention, too cold to hold. Called the Boxcutters and in control.

This episode of Boxcutters has nothing to do with Ghost Busters 2 but we do talk about Parks and Recreation and other things already mentioned in the title of this episode.

If you want to get more of a taste, check out some show-note-action after the jump.

You can find John’s excellent Outland Institute podcast online (because it’s a podcast and that’s where it lives).

If you watch one thing

Brett: Liberal Rule, 8:30pm Tuesday 28th, SBS1
Brett: Fog of War, 10:00pm Tuesday 28th, SBS1
John: Mad Men Box Set
Josh: had his “one thing” lunch cut and is sulking.

John M. asked us if we had seen the promo for The Prisoner. We largely hadn’t.

Pitch Yourself a Crumpler Beanbag

Boxcutters — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:30:36 PDT

It’s time to talk about the Boxcutters/Crumpler Beanbag Competition.

We’re asking you to come up with a pitch for a new TV show. That pitch must contain audio and or visual components because the greatest way to get someone interested in your idea is to show people.

You can enter from anywhere in the world. Boxcutters love knows no arbitrary borders.

Entries must be submitted by October 31st but we’ll have a couple of rounds of advice/criticism by real television producers FROM TELEVISION, so get your entries in as soon as possible to have your pitch featured in those episodes.

You can submit your pitch in any way you think best gets its ideas across and gets to us. You can always email us to ask us any questions or generally get our attention.

If you just want to snail-mail us your pitch, send it to:

ATT: BOXCUTTERS
c/- 3RRR
PO Box 2145
Brunswick East
VIC 3057
Australia

The winner will be chosen on inventiveness, creativity, entertainment value and viability of pitch, as selected by a panel consisting of the Boxcutters hosts and some celebrity judges, possibly of questionable celebrity status (just like on Dancing with the Stars).

All entries must include your name, phone number, email and postage address. We are not able to return physical entries unless accompanied by correct postage and self addressed envelopes (just like on the Early-Bird Show).

By sending us your pitch you give Boxcutters the right to use your entry to promote the podcast or the competition. Unless otherwise noted, work will be attributed by the name on your entry (just like your name or something).

Boxcutters reserves the right to add to the conditions of entry as holes start to appear and things we hadn’t yet thought of become apparent (just like you have come to expect from our lack of preparedness).

Happy pitching!