Airdate: Valentine's Day

Hot on the heels of the success of Bed of Roses, the ABC is to air its next locally-produced drama, the telemovie Valentine's Day at 8:30pm Sunday July 6.

Rhys Muldoon stars as a former Aussie Rules footballer stuck with community service, coaching a local rural footy team, The Mighty Bears.

The Growlers, as they are also known, carry the hopes and dreams of the local Victorian community, not to mention the future of the local pie factory.

The telemovie, written by crime novelist Peter Temple and directed by Peter Duncan (Hell Has Harbour Views, Children of the Revolution, Passion, Unfinished Sky) will also feature Freya Stafford, Anita Hegh, Michael Tuahine and Adam Zwar.

Press Release:
Valentine's Day tells the story of Ben Valentine (Rhys Muldoon) who drifts into the small Victorian country town of Rushworth. He quickly finds himself in trouble with the law. As a famous Aussie Rules footballer fallen on hard times, he is given 200 hours of community service coaching the town's 'no-hoper' football team. But is he in fact who he seems to be?

Teetering on the brink of demise, The Mighty Bears (aka The Growlers) need to win three out of the four next games or they will be forced to merge with their arch rivals, Lucan. Worse still, the town's beloved pie factory, Dicks, which was recently bequeathed to the Bears, will have to be sold.

For the proud, close-knit community the future is looking bleak. Embraced heart and soul by the townsfolk, this one-time drifter learns how to live and hope again - as does the town.

Valentine's Day is a feel good film to make us all believe it's possible to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Also starring Anita Hegh, Freya Stafford and Michael Tuahine.

PRODUCTION DETAILS:
A December Films Production made in association with ABC Television, the Film Finance Corporation and Film Victoria. Written by Peter Temple, directed by Peter Duncan, produced by Tony Wright. ABC Television Executive Producers: Miranda Dear and Amanda Higgs. Read more...

Back to You, SVU and Psych update

Updated: TEN has confirmed it has the three "unaired" eps making a total of 5 more eps to go. Hurrah!

Don't go anywhere Kelsey Grammer, TEN wants to screen *three extra episodes of Back To You, which didn't air in the US.

When the show was pulled in America there were two completed eps that viewers didn't see, but Aussies will. As such the planned finale for Wednesday June 25 is no more (yay!).

And the good news doesn't stop there. Law and Order: SVU will also run a little longer. TEN will slate two episodes from the current series that it hadn't screened. "Signature" and "Unorthodox" will screen on July 3 / 10 but at 9:30pm, following Criminal Intent.

And viewers in Sydney can see Psych from this Saturday at 7:30pm on both SD and HD channels. The episode is "9 Lives." It will also air on TDT Tasmania. AFL football will air on other TEN Network affiliates. No word on when other TEN stations will follow suit.

*a third unaired ep "Hostage Watch" has been purchased by TEN. Thanks to Aaron.

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

Idol journey ends for Telstra

Telstra has chosen not to renew its sponsorship of Australian Idol this year, following a 19 percent slump in viewing numbers last season.

Procter & Gamble, which makes products including Head and Shoulders, Duracell, Braun, Pantene, Oral-B, and Pringles, has also discontinued its involvement.

But TEN sales officer Vance Rothringer yesterday announced Sony Ericsson as a new 'top tier' sponsor.

McDonalds, Mazda and Cadbury Schweppes have all renewed their sponsorship.

Source: Australia.TO Read more...

To catch a killer

Tonight's Australian Story sounds like chilling stuff.

It details the 2006 NSW case of a man who killed his wife, and the grief-stricken mother (pictured) of the victim who suspected him.

All the time she was grieving he was lying. Police even asked her to abet them in nailing him, including going along with his sham.

‘The whole thing was acting … at the end of every day I had to scrub myself clean. It was like just to get him off me, just to wash away the filth,’ recalls a family member.

When the child started saying things like ‘Daddy hurt mummy. Daddy went bang and mummy went flop’, the pressure on the two was almost too much to bear.

8:00pm tonight on ABC1.

Press Release:

How do you mourn the death of your daughter while holding the hand of her killer?

When Jody Galante was reported missing in January 2006, her griefstricken husband, Mark appeared on national television pleading for help in finding his young, pregnant wife.

But other family members were struck by the fact that his tears weren’t real and his sorrow seemed a sham.

‘We started to notice that whenever he cried, supposedly cried, he always put his hand up to his eyes. And after a while we realised that there were no tears,’ says Jody’s mother, Julie Hand on Australian Story.

When Jody’s body was found one week later, NSW Police confirmed that they were investigating a murder … but how to catch the killer?

Police asked Hand and Jody’s sister, Tina Good to help them - to observe, to report, to keep tabs and to keep secrets.

In the glare of the media and in the company of family and friends, the two were seen to be supporting Mark, dealing with their own sorrow and caring for Mark and Jody’s five-year-old child.

In reality, Hand and Good were leading double lives.

‘The whole thing was acting … at the end of every day I had to scrub myself clean. It was like just to get him off me, just to wash away the filth,’ recalls Good.

When the child started saying things like ‘Daddy hurt mummy. Daddy went bang and mummy went flop’, the pressure on the two was almost too much to bear.

In Australian Story, Jody Galante’s family finally talk about the aftermath of her death and the desperate race against time to protect their youngest relative from a psychopath in the family. Read more...

Airdate: Lipstick Jungle, Private Practice

Seven will continue its "female-skewed" Sundays with Private Practice and Lipstick Jungle replacing Grey's Anatomy and Brothers and Sisters (surprise, surprise).

On Sunday June 29 both shows take up residence at 8:30pm for Practice and 9:30pm for Jungle.

There are currently 9 eps of the former and 7 eps of the latter, but both have second seasons due in the US fall.

Update: The special Come Rain or Come Shine: Grey's Anatomy to Private Practice will now screen:
2pm Thu June 19
12:30am Tue June 24
2am Sun June 29
Read more...

BB: Surprise scheduling

When the show is sinking, just add more?

That seems to be TEN's strategy with Big Brother, now announcing the return of Monday nominations and a Surprise Eviction.

Nominations return from 7:30pm Mondays and the Surprise Eviction is set for 7:30pm Wednesday July 9.

Last night with the return of Kyle Sandilands, BB resumed its 1m audience for the eviction show, fourth in its timeslot. It was down the week before due to the long weekend.

But the 6:30pm edition was even beaten by the ABC's Einstein Factor and ABC News.

TEN's evening share was also fourth for the night behind the ABC.

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Week 25

Tuesday:
1 Australia's Got Talent Seven 1.593
2 NCIS TEN 1.571
3 Seven News Seven 1.514
4 Today Tonight Seven 1.419
5 All Saints Seven 1.380
6 NCIS Rpt TEN 1.363
7 A Current Affair Nine 1.248
8 ABC News ABC 1.245
9 Two And A Half Men Nine 1.215
10 Home And Away Seven 1.208
11 National Nine News Nine 1.181
12 The Simpsons 8pm Tues TEN 1.131
13 10 to One Nine 1.126
14 The All New Simpsons 7:30pm TEN 1.107
15 Medical Emergency Seven 1.040
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares Nine 1.032
Deadly Surf Nine 0.972m
Deal Or No Deal Seven 0.932m
Big Brother 0.850m
Renters 0.758m
Amazing Medical Stories 0.727m
Million Dollar Wheel Of Fortune Nine 0.594m

Seven: 30.9
TEN: 26.1
Nine: 23.3
ABC: 15.4
SBS: 4.3

Monday:
1. Seven News Seven 1.744
2. Today Tonight Seven 1.585
3. Sea Patrol Nine 1.490
4. Border Security Seven 1.435
5. David Attenborough: Elephant Nine 1.377
6. Desperate Housewives Seven 1.370
7. Surf Patrol Seven 1.308
8. National Nine News Nine 1.287
9. Home and Away Seven 1.277
10. Two and a Half Men Nine 1.220
11. ABC News ABC 1.203
12. A Current Affair Nine 1.202
13. CSI: NY Nine 1.096
14. Australian Story ABC 1.027
15. Elders with Andrew Denton ABC 1.006
Good News Week 0.986m
Deal or No Deal 0.984m
Big Brother – 7:00pm 0.901m
Boston Legal 0.831m
Top Gear 0.826m
How To Look Good Naked 0.751m
Big Brother – Big Mouth 0.634m
Wheel of Fortune 0.600m

Seven: 28.6
Nine: 28.3
ABC: 18.1
TEN: 17.7
SBS: 7.2

Sunday:
1. Seven News Seven 1.878
2. 60 Minutes Nine 1.635
3. Domestic Blitz Nine 1.515
4. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Nine 1.459
5. Battle of the Choirs Seven 1.445
6. National Nine News Nine 1.435
7. Grey’s Anatomy Seven 1.281
8. ABC News ABC 1.267
9. Wild China ABC 1.260
10. Gladiators Seven 1.254
11. Brothers & Sisters Seven 1.026
12. Big Brother – Eviction TEN 1.010
13. Without A Trace Nine 1.006
14. The Einstein Factor ABC 0.964
15. Northanger Abbey ABC 0.927
Rove 0.903m
Big Brother – 6:30pm 0.859m
AFL: Collingwood-Carlton 0.853m
Supernatural 0.695m

Nine: 30.4
Seven: 27.9
ABC: 19.2
TEN: 18.5
SBS: 4.1 Read more...

Sit Down, walk out.

Scriptwriters on the US animated adaptation of the Australian sitcom, Sit Down Shut Up have walked out, over contractual differences with Sony Pictures.

The writers, who are members of the WGA, claim they were misled by Sony TV that they would be covered by the WGA. Sony says it had made arrangements with another union, IATSE.

"The producer, Adelaide Prods., has been a signatory to the IATSE bargaining agreement for at least 10 years, and has been producing animated programming under that agreement," Sony said in a statement. "All of the deals made with the writers were specifically negotiated with their agents specifying that this program would be covered by the IATSE bargaining agreement."

Writers on all other animated Fox series, produced by 20th Century Fox TV, are represented by the WGA.

Sit Down Shut Up was a short-lived Australian sitcom about self-absorbed school teachers, which is having a US adaptation under the man responsible for Arrested Development.

"The writers of 'Sit Down, Shut Up' are Writers Guild members, and they want the show to be covered by a WGA contract," the WGA said in a statement. "We have been in conversations with Sony, and hope this will be settled soon."

Source: Hollywood Reporter Read more...

Bushfire disaster coming to Neighbours

In a few weeks an old-fashioned bushfire will bear down upon the good folk from Ramsay Street, leaving some of your favourite characters stranded in the bush.

Naturally, several of the Neighbours cast members are left in jeopardy.

But it will prove fatal for one who will not survive emergency treatment.

To find out who, read on... (spoiler alert)

It's Marco Silvani (Jesse Rosenfeld), left outside in the inferno. He is then treated by Dr. Karl but the outlook is grim. He even has a hospital bed wedding to Carmella (Natalie Blair) before slipping away. Beep...beep... beeeeeeep. All very soapie!

Expect casualties in the week of June 30.

Photo: stock image.

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Airdate: Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday Concert

A concert in London's Hyde Park to celebrate the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela will screen on ABC1 at 10:10pm Saturday June 28, only hours after it concludes in the UK.

The 44664 charity concert for HIV / AIDS is part of an international charity, titled after the prison number that was given to Mandela for 27 years.

Artists set to perform at this special event include Queen + Paul Rodgers, Annie Lennox, Simple Minds, Jerry Dammers, Amy Winehouse, Sugababes, Dame Shirley Bassey, Razorlight, Leona Lewis, Jamelia and Eminem. It will be hosted by Will Smith. Oprah Winfrey is also confirmed to make an appearance.

Joining them will be South African and African artists Johnny Clegg, Sipho Mabuse, Loyiso, the Soweto Gospel Choir, AIDS orphan choir The Children of Agape - the subject of the award winning film feature ‘We Are Together’, the legendary Papa Wemba and Sudanese ‘war child’ rapper Emmanuel Jal amongst others.

The concert will feature numerous surprise appearances, with several major artists keeping silent about their involvement.

Press Release:
Royalty and politicians, leading business, sport, film and entertainment names over the world celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday at a spectacular concert in London's Hyde Park.

The concert audience has been set at 46,664, to signify Mr Mandela's Robben Island prison number. He was prisoner 466, incarcerated in 1964 and freed 27 years later. Mandela makes an appearance for his birthday concert - a rare occasion since he is now "retired from retirement''.

The 46664 concert on June 27 is part of Mandela's vision to raise funds to fight the global HIV epidemic. At the time of Mandela's release in 1990, South Africa recorded 120,000 people living with HIV. Today the number in South Africa is more than 5.5 million.

Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday Concert will be repeated on ABC2 - Sunday, June 29 at 2:00pm Read more...

Mercedes v Anna: Take 2?

A lawyer for Mercedes Corby has hinted that she may sue for defamation all over again.

Last week Today Tonight's Anna Coren went on Brissy radio and commented on the case, clearly breaching the terms of the agreement.

Coren told ABC Radio host Spencer Howson on Wednesday, "Even though we did lose the defamation case we certainly stand by our story, without doubt." She added, "We stand by Jodie Power and her allegations and in the court of public opinion we certainly still have people's support."

Lawyer Bill Kalantzis said that standing by a story found to be defamatory Coren had effectively defamed Corby again.

Corby, who is in Bali, declined to comment - in keeping with the settlement terms.

Source: news.com.au Read more...