Wed June 20

[Seven/8:30pm] Heroes. Chapter Twenty One 'The Hard Part'. Now knowing what's at stake if they fail in their mission, Hiro and Ando's determination to save the world is put to the test. Committed to the path, Nathan takes some surprising steps to guarantee his election. Jessica and D.L. begin to learn how their family fits into Linderman's plans. Guest starring Eric Roberts and Matthew John Armstrong.
[Seven/9:30pm] Prison Break. Fin Del Camino. Sara goes to trial. Michael is determined to get the five million, and to put an end to T-Bag's reign of terror. Kellerman faces his demons. Lincoln and Mahone face off.
[Seven/10:30pm] 24. Final. 5:00 A.M. - 6:00 A.M.In the final heart-stopping hour, CTU discovers where Philip is hiding and Daniels orders an air strike in a desperate move to appease the Russians. Jack and Bill go after Josh alone before the bombers find their target. Guest starring Rick Schroder
[Seven/11:30pm] Night Stalker. "Three". When a coed ends up dead after a bizarre accident, Kolchak investigates a strange college society that appears to be performing rituals in a mysterious old house.

[ABC/8:00pm] The New Inventors. This week video timesheets; a new and improved bucket for aerial fire fighting; and a sprocket system to make bicycles more powerful.
[ABC/8:30pm] Spicks And Specks. Joining Adam Hills this week are Richard Gill, Laurie Cadevida, Jono Coleman and George McEncroe.
[ABC/9:00pm] The Chaser's War On Everything
[ABC/9:30pm] The Robinsons. Final. Feeling more of a loser than ever, Ed seeks career advice. Vicky finds another man to donate sperm and George is promoted to Executive Director in his company. CAST: Martin Freeman.
[ABC/10:00pm] At The Movies.FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER – starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba and Julian McMahon. This is the second live-action Fantastic Four movie to be filmed, and is directed by Tim Story. NANCY DREW – starring Emma Roberts. Teen detective Nancy Drew (Roberts) accompanies her father on a business trip to Los Angeles, where she happens upon clues to a murder mystery involving a movie star. I DO - French romantic comedy. THE DEAD GIRL - he murdered body of a young woman named Krista is found by Arden, a lonesome caretaker living with her irascible mother.Brittany Murphy. Toni Collette, Rose Byrne. FOUR MINUTES - The story of the four minute mile-breaker Roger Bannister + I/V.

[Nine/7:30pm] McLeod’s Daughters
[Nine/8:30pm] Cold Case “8.03 AM”
[Nine/9:30pm] Without a Trace. “Eating Away”

[Ten/7:00pm] Big Brother.
[Ten/8:30pm] House. “Half wit”
[Ten/9:30pm] Medium. "Whatever Possessed You"

[SBS/7:30pm] Vasili's Garden - A fresh and thoroughly entertaining gardening program with a little bit of piano accordion and a lot of information. Each week, real-life gardening guru Vasili Kanidiadis starts off pruning, trimming and spraying in his own garden, before visiting a special garden or two. He's there to solve problems - providing seasonal tips and advice - as well as to explore the obsessions of each garden's creator. He will fire viewers' culinary senses as he regularly introduces viewers to his mum, Eleni Kanidiadis, who will share traditional Greek recipes using home grown ingredients. (Commissioned by SBSi, in English) (Documentary Series) G CC
[SBS/8:00pm] Bluelist Australia - A new four-part series by Lonely Planet reveals Australian's favourite travel experiences. The program presented by actor Samuel Johnson, features some of Australia's most unique and thrilling travel experiences, road-tested by prominent Australian personalities, and introduces the best travel videos submitted by contributors to the Australian Bluelist website. Features Tastiest Food Safaris & Top Urban Adventures. (An SBS Production, in English) (Documentary Series) (Part 3) G CC
[SBS/11:50pm] Movie: Like Water For Chocolate - (Como Agua Para Chocolate) - Based on ever, Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate is set during the time of the Mexican Revolution. Tita, the youngest of three daughters of a repressive mother, is forbidden to marry. She falls in love with Pedro. Tita's mother forbids the marriage and offers him Tita's elder sister. He accepts in order to be close to Tita. Tita pours everything into cooking. In a magical realist twist in the tradition of Marquez, she discovers she can wield power through her cooking. Nominated for a Golden Globe (1993) and a BAFTA Award (1994) for Best Foreign Language Film and received ten Ariel Awards including Best Actor (Mario Ivan Martinez) and Actress (Regina Torne). Directed by Alfonson Arau, and stars Regina Torne and Mario Ivan Martinez (From Mexico, in Spanish, English subtitles) (Drama) (1992) M (N,A)

[E/9:30pm] Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Leif Garrett. Destiny’s Child. Jonathan Brandis.
[Movie Extra/9:30pm] Movies: Six Degrees of Separation (US 1993)
[Showtime/10:35pm] Movie: Rent (US 2005) Read more...

Exorcism take two

He's not the Messiah, he's just a very naughty Jewish boy.

SBS is currently re-screening John Safran vs God and viewers will have the chance to again see the much debated "exorcism" episode in which Safran appears to undergo a transformation.

But was it a joke or was it for real? Safran has never publicly confirmed or denied what really took place, except to say that, he "felt something was going on", and that "there was something about the expression on my face."

Take another look, and decide for yourself.

The episode airs at 12:35am on Mon July 2 on SBS (that's very late on Sunday night in case you were wondering!). Read more...

Storm in a coffee cup

With 100km "cyclonic" winds likely for NSW from tonight, Sunrise has announced will go to air from 5am on Wednesday.

Kochie and Mel will cross live to reporters stationed in Sydney, Wollongong and the Hunter Valley.

Sunrise weather presenter Monique Wright will be based at the Bureau of Meteorology for the latest news. Read more...

Quizmania makes way for The Mint

Nine's Quizmania will be replaced by a late-night UK quiz format, The Mint from July.

Set in a "Mint Mansion" the show features two hosts, phone-in viewer contests, games and brainteasers. It will air Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from midnight.

Viewers can compete in a "crack the code" contest for a Mint jackpot.

A spokesperson for Nine says it will switch from Quizmania to The Mint as part of a "freshening up" of the late-night spot. The new show will be a Nine in-house production, unlike Quizmania which was made by Fremantle Media. The Mint will follow Nine's annual Wimbledon telecast.

Press Release:

The Nine Network has started production on a new late-night interactive game show, called The Mint.

Developed in the UK, The Mint is an energetic viewer participation program that will test callers with quizzes and puzzles for the opportunity to win big cash prizes.

Set in The Mint Mansion, The Mint is unlike any other quiz show on television, as two hosts play a variety of games and brainteasers with callers throughout the night.

Viewers phone in to play games for nightly cash rewards. Some active players get the chance to crack a code which will unlock The Mint Vault that holds the enormous Mint Jackpot.

Once viewers crack the code, they go into the vault to share in the monthly cash Jackpot.

Produced in-house at Channel Nine’s Richmond studios, the program will screen 17 hours a week, live and unscripted, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from midnight.

The Mint will be backed by strong experience, with supervising producer Jodi Boylan now in Australia after working on The Mint and other quiz television shows in the UK since 2004.

“The Mint is a highly popular genre of show in the UK and I look forward to working on an equally successful version of the program here in Australia,” Boylan said.

“The Mint promises to bring night owls a new range of interactive games and a whole new world of winning, as every viewer has the chance to be a contestant.”

Viewers will be prompted to call a special number for a chance to play live while The Mint is on air.

Callers are randomly selected by computer to play. When the phone answers, the caller will be talking to the host live on air. All calls from landlines will cost a flat fee of 55 cents.

Kindly link this website when sourcing or posting in messageboards, thanks! Read more...

"Sulking, fighting, cheating" Scud

Mark Philippoussis is a "past-his-prime tennis star" better known for "sulking, fighting with his fellow Aussies on the tour, and maybe or maybe not cheating on a long-term girlfriend" says one of the first reviews of Age of Love, his new dating reality-show.

According to the Washington-Post, the rather average show sees the Scud, make "brilliant comments like, 'I'm learning a little more not to judge a book by its cover' and 'I'm out of my comfort zone.'"

The show sees him choose between a group of females in their 20s and another in their 40s. But far from hooking the reviewer, the Washington Post says it "is so chock-full of cliches it's comic. We get references to crow's-feet, and so many tick-tocking biological clocks you wonder if the show has a fertility doctor on retainer." Read more...

Nine in Damages control

Nine programmer Michael Healy may have told Mediaweek that it will air one of its new acquisitions simultaneously with the US, but which one?

As TV Tonight listed weeks ago, Damages has already been flagged to air in 2007. If this is the same show Healy has in mind it would logically screen from late July.

Starring Glenn Close, Damages is described as "a legal drama centering on a take-no-prisoners Manhattan litigator who specializes in corporate-malfeasance cases." Each season is designed to focus on one court case. It also features Rose Byrne and Ted Danson.

It premieres on the fx Network on Tuesday July 24.

Official site.

2008 Show Watch

Kindly link to this website when sourcing or posting in messageboards, thanks! Read more...

CanWest retains TEN

CanWest will hold on to its shares of Network TEN after a sluggish response to its likely sale.

In retaining the network, the Canadian company will exercise more voting rights after it previously had limited control.

CanWest Chief Executive Leonard Asper said, "We have determined that retaining our Investment in Ten to be in the best interests of our shareholders."

Ten's third-quarter revenue will be announced tomorrow. Trading shares have resumed after TEN asked that its shares be placed in a trading halt.

Press Release:

CanWest today advised Ten Holdings that it had concluded its strategic review and intends to exercise its right (subject to FIRB approval) to exchange its ordinary shares and convertible debentures in The Ten Group Pty Limited (TGL) into ordinary shares of Ten Holdings.

CanWest is able to exchange its TGL securities for a majority shareholding in Ten Holdings (56%) in accordance with relief agreed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission at the time of the formation of Ten Holdings in 1998.

Executive Chairman, Nick Falloon said: "We welcome CanWest's decision as a sign of continued belief in the future growth prospects of TEN.

"TEN's management is pleased that they can concentrate their focus on running and growing the business."

Once CanWest exchanges, TEN's complicated structure will be simplified.

Ten Holdings will have approximately 928 million issued shares with a current market capitalisation of $2.75 billion with CanWest as its 56% controlling shareholder.

CanWest has indicated they believe there is scope for providing significant cash distributions to Ten Holdings shareholders in the future without limiting its growth prospects.

Following CanWest's advice, Ten Holdings has requested the lifting of the trading halt on Ten's shares.

At such time as CanWest exchanges its securities for shares in Ten Holdings and CanWest notifies Ten Holdings of any other proposed changes affecting Ten Holdings, shareholders will be advised.

In accordance with TEN's timetable, Ten Holdings will also be releasing its third quarter financial results and dividend announcement tomorrow.
Read more...

Tue June 19

[Nine/4:00pm] Lockie Leonard. Premiere. Lockie Leonard and his family arrive in their new town Angelus. Lockie meets and get to know the locals including Egg a weird kid from the bogan tribe and also Vicki Streeton, the first girl he's ever met who causes him to forget how to speak. If it weren't for the great waves in Angelus, life would be looking pretty scary. Stars Rhys Muldoon and Sean Keenan.
[Nine/7:30pm] Crime and Justice.
[Nine/8:30pm] CSI NY. “Silent Night.” Guest; Marlee Maitlin

[ABC/8:00pm] Chant of the Scrub Turkey. In the green hills of South East Queensland, there's a Buddhist commune called Frogs Hollow. Curled amidst lush rainforest, peaceful streams and abundant wildlife, it seems tranquil enough. But all is not bliss in this idyllic setting. Two years ago, a guest at Frogs Hollow accidentally killed a scrub turkey. This was not only illegal but very foolish. The small and reasonably well-behaved population of turkeys retaliated. Their numbers grew, their behaviour became aggressive and their intention became clear - to make life a misery for every two-legged mammal they could find. They invaded the community's homes and trashed their much-loved and slaved-over veggie patches. The community, inspired by their Buddhist teachings, are now responding with their own plans for karmic redemption - good thoughts, mirrors, loud music and decoy gardens. It's animals versus people, nature versus civilisation, Darwin versus Buddha - and so far, the turkeys are winning. Formed 27 years ago, Frogs Hollow comprises seven houses nestled in the 247 acres of prime real estate 10 minutes from the main street of Maleny in Queensland. It was formed along very specific lines - non-violence, cooperation, environmental values, respect and a Buddhist approach to life. Their approach to problem solving is consensus - although as we see, it doesn't always go smoothly. The half hour documentary, a mix of interviews and observational style footage, takes a light hearted look at the things that drive us crazy and over which we have no control. At Frogs Hollow, the turkeys become the obstruction to true enlightenment which prompts the ultimate question: how do we live with the day to day reality of our ideologies? This is the key dilemma of Chant of the Scrub Turkey and one with which all the characters are grappling. Turkey expert, Ric Nattrass, becomes the voice of the turkey - anthropomorphising and speaking on their behalf. He fills in all the gaps about why a turkey does what a turkey does, which is, using Ric's term, 'because of Mum Nature'.
[ABC/8:30pm] The Bill. PC Will Fletcher (Gary Lucy) is bashed coming home from the pub, and it happens minutes after PC Emma Keane (Melanie Gutteridge) confesses to her fiance Matt Hinkley (Mark Dexter) that she and Will had had a brief fling. As DC Terry Perkins (Bruce Byron) investigates the beating, Will is still determined to convince Emma to call off her wedding… Meanwhile PC Yvonne Hemmingway (Michelle Austin) and DC Zain Nadir (TJ Ramani) are looking into what appears to be the sexual abuse of a minor by a local doctor. During the course of the investigation, Yvonne is forced to betray a trust. Zain has trouble holding back his emotions as he visits his sister's grave on the 10th anniversary of her death, and confides in his girlfriend Kristen Shaw (Christine Stephen-Daly).
[ABC/11:35pm] Absolute Power : Country Life. (CC, Rpt, M *Coarse Language) Prentiss McCabe is engaged to represent The Real Country Union a right wing pressure group launching itself as a political party. CAST: Stephen Fry, Nicholas Farrell
[ABC/12:05pm] Nighty Night (CC, Rpt, M, *Contains a sex scene, sexual references and material that may offend some viewers) A determined Cath finally stands up to Jill and throws her out of the house. She also decides that she and Don will sell up and join a religious community far away from Jill or any other temptress. CAST: Julia Davis, Angus Deayton

[Ten/7:30pm] The All New Simpsons. "Rome-Old & Juli-Eh"
[Ten/8:30pm] NCIS “Grace Period”
[Ten/9:30pm] Numb3rs “Convergence” Rpt.

[Seven/7:30pm] It Takes Two. Guest: Guy Sebastian.
[Seven/9:00pm] All Saints. The team pull together to save one of their own - but is it too little too late? A secret shatters friendships. A young family faces their darkest hour. Bart declares his love for Erica.
[Seven/10:00pm] An Interview With Princes William And Harry. An exclusive in-depth and revealing interview with PRINCE WILLIAM and PRINCE HARRY at Clarence House - their official residence in London. The Princes discuss the memory of their mother Diana, and the concert and memorial service they have organized to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of her death. William and Harry also reflect on their life in a media fishbowl, their personal relationships, Harry's deployment to Iraq with the British Army and how their celebrity status affects them, their friends and girlfriends.

[SBS/8:30pm] Cutting Edge - Gangs Of Iraq - Two years ago, President Bush announced his exit strategy for the U.S. military in Iraq. It was a plan critically dependent upon training Iraqi security forces. "Our strategy can be summed up this way," said the president. "As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down." But despite a four-year training effort - costing $15 billion and producing more than 300,000 Iraqi soldiers and national police - the violence in Iraq has only intensified. (From the US, in English and Arabic, English subtitles) (Documentary) M CC WS
[SBS/10:00pm] American Ruling Class. Lapham's clubby and smugly pontificating host, with his easy charm and Luciferian tendency to pop up out of nowhere, injects every scene he's in with sly humor.” Darrel Hartman, Yale Alumni Magazine. John Kirby's astonishing documentary/drama/musical (yes, really) serves as a call to arms for anyone concerned with the consequences of their actions. Narrated and written by the wonderfully laconic and lucid Lewis Lapham (the nation's intellectual treasure), American Ruling Class screens in the Hot Docs timeslot on SBS Television, Tuesday, June 9 at 10.00pm. In the freest nation in the world, class is, perhaps, the last taboo. This film examines the existence of class, power and privilege in a democratic society. It follows renowned essayist and author, Lewis Lapham, and two recent Yale graduates, as they ambush Pentagon briefings, high-society dinner parties, the World Economic Forum, philanthropic foundations, and corporate banks in search of an answer to the question: “Who rules America?” Director John Kirby has fashioned a cinematically sly, subversive film. It plays with form, but is populist in outreach; transcending documentary expectations with wit, style and political savvy. One of the film's best moments comes with a Barbara Ehreneich interview. In the late 90s Ehrenreich went undercover. She took on various low-wage jobs (waitress, hotel chambermaid) and reported on how difficult it was to live on those earnings. She discusses her findings here, which reach their zenith in a full-blown musical number, with employees singing about being nickel-and-dimed. American Ruling Class has garnered accolades including The NY Loves Documentary Special Mention (Tribeca Film Festival); Official Selection (Two Rivers Film Festival); Official Selection (Joris Ivens Competition Film Festival); Official Selection (Williamstown Film Festival); and Official Selection (Woodstock Film Festival).

[UKTV/7:00pm] Eastenders Wendy Richards' exit
[Bio/9:30pm] Inside the Actors’ Studio. Ralph Fiennes.
[Movie Greats/10:15pm] Movie: Teen Wolf (US 1985) Read more...