TV has just gotten less gay with the cancellation of UGLY BETTY and across town at NURSE JACKIE's All Saints hospital, gay nurse Mo-Mo (Haaz Sleiman, pictured) is missing in action. The second season is about to start in the US and this hilarious trailer promises more drugs, more laughs but no more Mo-Mo. His absence won't be referred to on screen but co-creator Linda Wallem promises the hospital will still be overrun with other gay characters, specifically her real-life brother who plays another gay nurse called Thor. No news yet on whether Ten still want my favourite new show of 2009 given they ended its run at 1am (and in the non-ratings period). Let's hope another network will swoop in and give this series a better timeslot ...
Here's your first look at the cover for the third NUMBER 96 DVD AFTERMATH OF MURDER which will be released on March 13, the 38th anniversary of the serie's premiere, also referred to as "the night Australian TV lost its virginity". With very few stills remaining from the show, the covers are always designed with screen grabs from the actual show. So here we have Vera (Elaine Lee) finding a naked cyclist in her bathroom, Tania (Natalie Mosco) and Andy (Peter Adams), Michael (Peter Flett) and Marilyn (Frances Hargraeves), Trixie (Jan Adele) and the TC (Brian Moll) while Dorrie (Pat McDonald) is avoiding knives in the centre image. Other characters to feature in this colleciton include Maggie Cameron (Bettina Welch), Aldo (Johnny Lockwood) and Roma (Philippa Baker) so here's a scene with them as Trixie O'Toole discusses the finer points of 70's discrimination, Aussie style. ONe thing has really struck me watching these episodes - so many shows from this era are dated, with overly long scenes and set-ups. But the pace in NUMBER 96 never lets up, constantly moving between flats and cr5ackling dialogue - check it out ...
Yesterday I saw and loved CRAZY HEART starring Jeff Bridges, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell (all three do their own singing and are great) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (pictured). The story isn't that original and you probably need to enjoy (traditional) country music but it's all about Jeff Bridges in the title role. Academy Award nominations are announced next week and he has to be nominated, in fact he could win it given the Academy's sentiment for awarding for body of work. Bridges deserves to win on both counts, especially given a likable resume that also includes such classics as THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (what a debut), TRON (and he's doing the upcoming sequel TRON LEGACY), STARMAN, THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS, THE FISHER KING, FEARLESS (my favourite), THE BIG LEBOWSKI (a cult classic I need to re-watch), THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR (another stunner based on a John Irving novel) and the upcoming remake of TRUE GRIT (there ain't many actors with the balls to take on John Wayne but Bridges can probably get away with it). He also gave one of the most appealing acceptance speeches at this year's Golden Globes so he would be most welcome on Oscars night ...
I can't believe I missed marking a very important milestone in Australian TV history. Last Thursday (January 21) was the 30 year anniversary of ARCADE beginning on air (and sadly the end was just a few weeks later). So as drunk yobbos with Southern Cross tattoos and Aussie flags draped around their necks like Superman capes barbecue sausages at beaches everywhere in this great land, here a few clips that make me proud to be an Australian. Like Barry Crocker, Abigail singing, Cameron Daddo on IT'S A (CELEBRITY) KNOCKOUT, Rebecca Gilling on HOLIDAY ISLAND, Patrick Ward's bum on ARCADE, Johnny Farnham and Sigrid Thornton on BOBBY DAZZLER, Belinda Giblin on MATLOCK POLICE and Mel Gibson (pictured here frolicking in the nude with his GALLIPOLI mates and is there anything more ocker than that?) on the doomed PRISONER male clone called PUNISHMENT ...
It all starts on 7TWO with the biegest show on television, SONS AND DAUGHTERS (9am) and then the unbelievably daggy HOME & AWAY: THE EARLY YEARS (9.30am). Then it's black-and-white episodes of UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS (10am) before HEADLAND (11am) which is finally screening all-new episodes. It is such a shame this uni soapie didn't rate because it's really, really good. Rachael Taylor overacts as the blonde bitch but its roster of guest stars (like the amazing John Brumpton and Anne Tenney) and interesting stories (currently pole-dancing and baby bastardry) more than make up for Taylor's eye-rolling. At noon, change over to W for THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS (a drunk Jill crashing Kay's wedding today was hilarious) and at 1pm, switch back to 7TWO for ALL MY CHILDREN. The US daytime drama is at a very strange point in its history with a tortured transsexual and a serial killer but it's early days and still worth checking out. At 2pm it's New Zealand's SHORTLAND STREET with UK actor/singer Adam Ricketts (pictured) where they just caught their serial killer but another is running amok on CORONATION STREET (2.30pm). Don't think they've ever had a serial killer in rural dramas EMMERDALE (3pm) or A COUNTRY PRACTICE (Hallmark 3.30pm) and the 2010 return of HOME & AWAY tonight promises less killers and more love and comedy instead. I can't wait ... if only I had the time!
How can Mariah Carey put her breasts away and stop drinking long enough to actually do something amazing? Yesterday I saw PRECIOUS in which Mariah dresses down to play a brunette social worker and her performance is pretty good (as is Lenny Kravitz's as a nurse because I didn't recognise him). It's the start of my Academy Awards viewing and this disturbing but powerful film has to get some acting nominations although Mariah will probably be reduced to sticking her chest out while co-stars Mo'Nique and Babourey Sidibe get nods. At least Mariah has that new champagne she is brewing and if that doesn't keep her porked up, nothing well. Speaking of pork and rooting behaviour, JAMIE SAVES OUR BACON is repeated on Ten tomorrow (Sunday) at 2.30pm. This was the most inspiring piece of television I saw in 2009 as Jamie shows the most humane ways to farm pigs and then offers up a great suggestion which I just tried to great success. Apparently the shoulder of pig is ignored by picky consumers in favour of the loin but if more of us ordered shoulders from our butchers, we wouldn't need to kill so many pigs. Jamie Oliver's slow roasted shoulder of pork (the recipe is on his website) takes about 7 hours to cook but you end up with the most amazing crackling and meat that just falls apart inside. Again, just like Mariah Carey ...
US TV audiences are about to see just how much full frontal nudity and sex really is going to be in SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND, a hot new version of the classic Kirk Douglas movie. Starring Aussies Andy Whitfield and Jai Courtney (pictured), it's said to be the most graphic show ever made for American television. US cable TV just keeps pushing those boundaries and Aussie viewers who haven't seen BREAKING BAD on Showcase would be well advised to watch it from the beginning tomorrow (Friday) on ABC2. It's a tough show and not for everyone but it's unlike anything you've ever seen before. Soemthing else I'd never seen before is Nicole Kidman dancing like a drunk bogan and believe me, her moves make Kylie Minogue look like Margot Fonteyn. Sadly she has proved to be the kiss of death - yet again - with her latest movie NINE now a critical and commercial flop. In the clip below, Ketih does not call Nic "baby girl" like he usually does at most awards shows and I am still waiting for Nicole to acknowledge him from the stage as her "baby boy". You just know they say it to each other in private ...
PARADISE BEACH is one of the greatest tragedies of Australian TV. Over-hyped (as a new BAYWATCH meets 90210) but under-produced (with models who couldn't act), the series deservedly bombed in the US where it was programmed up against OPRAH. But back home on the Gold Coast, the production was radically overhauled (losing Olivia Newton-John's then-husband Matt Latanzi) and vastly improved with acting lessons and more experienced cast members. The show was a major hit throughout Europe but back in home in Australia, the plug was pulled (despite increased ratings) because its teenage audience wasn't sticking around for the 6pm NEWS. Location-wise (and I was the Locations Manager in my first TV gig ever) there was unlimited story potential in and around the Gold Coast but instead it finished and the dead-end cul-de-sac of NEIGHBOURS trudges on today. Sigh. Here then are highlights of the last episodes (together with my behind the scenes footage) with cast members Ingo Rademacher (now on GENERAL HOSPITAL), Raelee Hill (FARSCAPE), Kimberley Joseph (LOST), Tiffany Lamb (when in doubt, turn your character into a psycho killer), Robert Coleby (bowing out so his supposedly dead wife could return in the guise of Chantal Contouri for the third series which never eventuated), Gabrielle Fitzpatrick (MIGHTY SOMETHING POWER RANGERS), Roy Holding, Lochie Daddo, Melissa Bell (formerly of NEIGHBOURS), Andrew McKaige (SKYWAYS), Zoe Bertram (THE RESTLESS YEARS), Peter Bensley (CLASS OF 75), Paula Duncan (COP SHOP), Michael Caton (THE SULLIVANS), cheeky Isla Fisher (before marrying Sacha Baron Cohen), a very young Anthony Hayes, Jon Bennett and the late beautiful Megan Connolly (pictured here with Melissa Tkautz who had earlier guest starred as a love rival for Kirk's affections). Loved this show, loved the cast and loved the crew ...
STOP THE PRESSES! The Courier Mail in Brisbane is breathlessly bringing us the latest news on Lincoln Lewis, son of Queensland rugby league legend Wally Lewis and disgraced former star of HOME & AWAY. That cushy job went horribly wrong when Lincoln filmed himself having sex with a female cast member and then started showing it around. Thankfully his mother stood by him by telling the press the girl wasn't daughter-in-law material anyway. Phew, I was starting to think standards were slipping in rugby league families. Anyway, Lincoln is now back living with his parents after fending for himself in Sydney (and given how that turned out, one is assuming mobile phones and sleepovers are banned in the Lewis mansion). Lincoln is shocked, however, by the changes in Brisbane since he went away. "I went to the shops in Capalaba the other day and they've changed so much, I barely recognised the place," he told The Courier Mail. "I'm still trying to get my bearings with the short-term parking at the airport too." Dear God, can't Anna Bligh, Premier of Queensland, do something to help this poor confused lad ease back gently into his ever-changing old home town? And how will HOME & AWAY cope with the loss of this talent in 2010? Meanwhile Ten is going all out to get more people watching NEIGHBOURS with hastily scheduled omnibus editions planned for Saturdays so fans can catch up with the 25th year happenings. And like every soap, Ramsay Street is chock-a-block with LIES! DECPTION! PREGNANCY! TOUGH TEENS! CATFIGHTS WITH CAKE! and that old hack from THE COMEDY COMPANY playing a judge (anything to keep him reviving Con the Fruiterer I say) ...
Why does anyone want to watch "celeb reality" shows with stars whose careers have clearly jumped the shark? THE OSBOURNES may have revitalised themselves with their landmark show but since then have any of the tragic has-beens (like Denise Richards and Tori Spelling) parlayed their shows into new careers? The latest once-weres trying to be "hot" again are Lisa Rinna (pictured) and husband Harry Hamlin. Plastic surgery disaster Rinna is a desperado of the highest order, having stripped (and been extensively photo-shopped) for Playboy twice (once while pregnant) and then marching up and down Melrose Ave wearing a sandwich board begging for a job in the new MELROSE PLACE (they passed). Hamlin, who was a heartthrob in LA LAW over 20 years ago, was last seen having his head decapitated in the first episode of flop series HARPERS ISLAND. In other words, both of them are barely C-listers these days so why give them their own show HARRY LOVES LISA? Sigh. Meanwhile over in the UK, BIG BROTHER is spluttering to an end with one last celebrity edition featuring Heidi Fleiss, Ivana Trump, Vinnie Jones, and some cross-dresser who dated Katie Price. Check out how many times they can talk about farting in this clip ...
It's the big soap issue of TV WEEK today but even though I read their synopses religously, I still can't figure out if John and Marlena have left DAYS OF OUR LIVES yet. Their last episode aired in the US a year ago and I was sure it was a scam because these two have "died" countless times over the years and always come back to Salem. But this time, they really do seem to be gone and why hasn't some other soap snapped up the stunning Dierdre Hall (pictured)? Could she be in the running to be Katherine Chancellor's long-lost daughter on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS now that it's been revealed that Jill isn't. Y&R producers have scotched rumours that Kim Zimmer (GUIDING LIGHT'S Reva) is lining up to play the role so let's hope it could be 62-year-old Dierdre. After all, there aren't many actresses in Hollywood today who end up on Good Plastic Surgery.com rather than Awful Plastic Surgery.com. Come back soon Marlena ....
TV's first ever mini-series RICH MAN POOR MAN makes a welcome return to Fox Classics from tomorrow (Monday). It's got an all star-cast that includes Robert "Mr Brady' Reed, Ed "Lou Grant" Asner, Bill "Incredible Hulk" Bixby, Dick "second BEWITCHED Darren" Sargent, Van "who knew he was gay?" Johnson and Nick Nolte (pictured). This 1976 brekthrough role (playing the brother who is the poor man from the title) will remind people why he was once voted People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" instead of that tragic dishevelled hobo mug shot that springs to mind today. It's great to see some love for a classic TV show because SBS is showing little love for ts acclaimed HBO drama BIG LOVE. The season three premiere on Tuesday means we are now exactly one year behidnnd the US which is currently watching season four. Don't suppose there's any chance they might go straight into the new series so we can be up to date with all the polygamy drama shenanigans ...
Gary Coleman is suing the producers of his latest movie MIDGETS VS MASCOTS because they are using an unauthorised shot of his penis. YeP,the 41-year-old star of DIFF'RENT STROKES filmed a full frontal nude scene for the movie and then got cold feet (possibly blaming the cold for any shrinkage). Now he's furious that the scene has been left in the finished film after producers supposedly said they would cut it. Yeah right. The only reason anyone would see a movie with Gary Coleman today is to see how big his peen might be so dream on mate if you think your talent is big enough to save a "comedy" about the porn industry. We're not talking TITANIC here (or are we?) and even that great flick is being threatened by AVATAR. James Cameron's 3D epic has just become the biggest grossing movie at the Australian box office beating the previous record held by TITANIC so expect the rest of the world to follow suit. But despite Sam Worthington being the new "king of the world", one of his earlier star-making Aussie films is being thrown away tonight (Saturday) on Nine. This 2006 version of MACBETH, re-imagined in a modern Melbourne gangland setting and also starring Gary Sweet and Mick Molloy (in a rare serious role) is Shakespeare meets UNDERBELLY. Yet another first-run Aussie flick being dumped into the dead of non-ratings. Nevertheless, it's still worth a look, particularly for the three witches now ectasy-popping schoolgirls and shower scenes from our Sam ...
She is clearly a little bit crazy but that makes it even more exciting whenever Sharon Stone (pictured) goes slumming on TV (what were you expecting - BASIC INSTINCT 3?). The hot mama has signed on to do a four episode stint on LAW AND ORDER: SVU and one can only hope it involves Christopher Meloni getting it on and taking his clothes off for her. Sharon's mental but at least she isn't as deluded as our own BIGGEST LOSER Ajay Rochester who is quoted today as still promising to make a guest appearance on OPRAH (forgive me but Ms Winfrey will NEVER be that desperate). Rochester goes on to rant that she is building "Healthy Body Club into an international safe place of healing, health, growth, education and inspiration." Pass me the vomit bucket. The last thing overweight vulenrable women need is Ajay teaching them any life lessons given her own sordid history of welfare theft, rubbish dumping, unpaid bills, photo-shopped self-portraits and demented diva behaviour. Go away Ajay. Anyway, WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN is on SBS tomorrow (Friday) at 1am and it's one of Pedro Almodovar's best. And ABC1 begins a repeat run of THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW (which screens on ABC2 and UKTV) smack bang up against my favourite show OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE on Ten. Graham's first guests are Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne with Olivia Newton-John. Ajay Rochester could do worse than watch our Olivia ALWAYS behaving with grace and dignity while overseas ...
The sun is shining in Sydney but I can't go to the beach until HEADLAND finishes on 7TWO. Tragic I know, but they are finally screening brand new episodes and since I was a regular viewer when it first screened a few summers back, I might as well stick it out till the bitter end. Rachael Taylor has gone on to bigger and better things if you count TRANSFORMERS and dating Matthew Newton as a step up in life. But whatever happened to Reshad Strik (pictured, centre from gay surf flick NEWCASTLE)? It looks like he streaked off to LA to star in THE HILLS HAVE EYES II which means he could be perfect for the next American horror anthology TV series to be filmed down under. Tonight on GO! (Wednesday) it's Stephen King's NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES which features guest stars like Sigird Thornton, Susie Porter, Jacqueline McKenzie and Tory Mussett. It looks like it could be a new millenium version of classic 1973 TV seeries THE EVIL TOUCH. Spooky host Anthony Quayle would introduce each self-contained tale featuring a Hollywood star (like Caroly Lynley, Darren McGavin or Mildred Natwick) ably supported by locals like Jill Forster, Jack Thompson and the late Arna-Marie Winchester (see below clip). It used to screen late on Nine all throughout the 70s and whilst it never freaked me out as badly as the similar GHOST STORY hosted by Sebastian Cabot, it was still worth watching and one day will hopefully get a DVD release ...
A tribute to PACIFIC DRIVE has popped up on Facebook but could it snowball into another HEY HEY IT'S SATURDAY comeback? The Nine 90's soapie would be a good fit on GO! alongside such other other bizarre series such as DANTE'S COVE and NIP/TUCK. Set somewhere on the Gold Coast, just up the road from PARADISE BEACH, PACIFIC DRIVE started off disastrously with a murder investigation nobody cared about (who killed Sonia Kingsley?) but eventually its madcap stories (male gigolos, lesbianism, HIV and a radio station cum bikini business) found an appreciative late night cult audience (while kiddies coming home from school were thrilled at the somehwat edited down daytime repeats). The series launched the careers of Erik Thomson (pictured), Libby Tanner (who played Zoe the lipstick lesbian) and Christine Stephen-Daly (blonde bitch Amber), became a comeback vehicle for E-STREET favourites Melissa Tkautz and Adrian Lee and probably killed the careers of several other cast members who shall remain nameless. Originally set-up as a MELROSE PLACE clone, the show ultimately descended into far-fetched tales about serial killers and menopausal bitches but always remained nuttily entertaining ...
How did my favourite magazine in the world (Entertainment Weeklly) just name Sandra Bullock as their number one 2009 Entertainer of The Year ahead of the cast of TRUE BLOOD (number 2), Alec Baldwin (4), GLEE's Jane Lynch (12) and the cast of DEXTER (15)? Yes, she had two hit movies (THE PROPOSAL and THE BLIND SIDE) but EW conveniently ignores her starring role in the year's biggest debacle ALL ABOUT STEVE. It's not mentioned until later in the magazine when the wrost films of the year are mentioned and then it's brushed away as the "humiliating movie about a chirpy stalker" that's "a valley in an otherwise peak year". OK then, but had the magazine had any clue that Susan Boyle was about to singlehandedly save the CD industry in the lead-up to Christmas, SuBo would probably have been given another number one title. Then again, Bullock could always play Boyle in the inevitable movie biography ...
TV has just gotten less gay with the cancellation of UGLY BETTY and across town at NURSE JACKIE's All Saints hospital, gay nurse Mo-Mo (Haaz Sleiman, pictured) is missing in action. The second season is about to start in the US and this hilarious trailer promises more drugs, more laughs but no more Mo-Mo. His absence won't be referred to on screen but co-creator Linda Wallem promises the hospital will still be overrun with other gay characters, specifically her real-life brother who plays another gay nurse called Thor. No news yet on whether Ten still want my favourite new show of 2009 given they ended its run at 1am (and in the non-ratings period). Let's hope another network will swoop in and give this series a better timeslot ...
