'Neighbours' celebrates 25 years.

Did you know?

• ‘Neighbours’ first premiered on the Seven Network on the 18th March 1985.
• Pin Oak Court is the name of the cul-de-sac which doubles as Ramsay Street, and is located in Vermont South, Melbourne.
• Since 1985 there have been six versions of the theme song, originally written by Tony Hatch and his wife Jackie Trent.
• Vivean Gray, who played acid-tongued Mrs Mangel, was forced to leave her role after she received abuse from people who were unable to separate fact from fiction. She is now a recluse.
• ‘Neighbours’ was presented with a Hall of Fame Award at the Logies in 2005.
• Several of the show’s writers have also appeared onscreen, including Alan Hopgood, Louise Le Nay, Chris Milne, Perri Cummings, Shane Porteous and Ian Smith.
• ‘Neighbours’ is the only TV show to have had its entire cast flown to the UK to perform in a Royal Command Performance in front of the Queen.
• Filming locations outside of Australia have included Kenya, the United States and the UK – which has been featured on three separate occasions.
• Erinsborough is a loose anagram of ‘Neighbours’.
• ‘Neighbours’ is the longest running series in Australian television. Worldwide it is beaten only by ‘Coronation Street’.

‘Neighbours’ kicked off its 25th anniversary tonight with the launch of new opening titles, which according to executive producer Susan Bower, features “a bit of bling” — in reference to the milestone anniversary.

“25 is the silver anniversary,” says Bower.

She calls the show “25 years young”, hinting at the big plans she has in store for the show during its 25th anniversary season.

“I’d like to celebrate the future as well as the present,” she says.

“We are planning a ‘family’ party in a couple of weeks to celebrate turning 25. This will be a celebration involving past and present cast and crew and will be featured on the Neighbours website for you all to see.”

The show’s renowned Lassiter’s Complex will undergo a huge makeover, with the village centre being completely upgraded inline with an upcoming storyline.

“The old back lot was bulldozed over Christmas and the new one built in its place. It’s not all that different to the eye, all the favourites are still there but everything is fresher and ‘modernised’,” says Bower.

New sets include a university campus, metropolitan police station and a new terrace cafe. Erinsborough News, Lassiters Hotel and Erinsborough Hospital will all receive new facades as part of the upgrade.

The updated sets will make their first appearance in May/June.

In regards to the show’s upcoming episodes, Bower wouldn’t reveal the specifics of any story lines, but says “We have fantastic stories leading up to the 6000th episode [in August] with a cliff-hanger you won’t believe. The consequences go on for ages.”

A few past ‘Neighbours’ stars will also return as a result, but before you start speculating, “it won’t be Charlene and Scott,” jokes Bower.

Bower does however promise a one-hour TV special which will take a look back at the show’s past and hint at what’s to come in the future.

Ten will screen a special later this year.

Check out the new opening credits below.

A family awaits the return of a kidnapped soldier in the Israeli drama ‘Hahatufim’ (Kidnapped).

With the future of ‘24’ still hanging in the balance, 20th Century Fox Television has lined up executive producer/showrunner Howard Gordon to helm a new project for the production company, adapted from the Israeli drama ‘Hahatufim’ (Kidnapped).

The drama is based on three real life soldiers who return home after being held under Syrian captivity for 17 years.

Translated scripts of ‘Kidnapped’ were brought to 20th Century Fox Television, who optioned the rights to produce an American version of the series — which was re-titled ‘Prisoners of War’.

After hearing the pitch for ‘Prisoners of War’, Fox TV chairman Dana Walden said it was an instant decision to take the project to Gordon.

“The format is very smart and has all of the exciting elements that go into ‘24′: an ongoing story, an incredible story engine and a very emotional situation,” Walden said.

Gordon will co-write the adaptation with fellow ‘24’ writer/producer Alex Gansa and original ‘Kidnapped’ creator Gideon Raff.

The American adaptation will revolve around three US soldiers presumed killed during the invasion of Iraq following 9/11 — two of which are found alive in a cave 10 years later.

“They come home greeted as heroes, but they are traumatised by the treatment there, and their families have become collateral damage to their captivity,” said Gordon.

It’s a “suspense, psychological drama” which explores the mystery of the third soldier’s whereabouts/death and the possible threat one of the returning soldiers may pose now that he’s home.

Gordon will exec produce the pilot with Gansa, Gideon and Avi Nir.

‘Hahatufim’, has generated a lot of interest and controversy since is launch earlier this month, with one of the soldiers, Gilad Shalit, still dominating news headlines in Israel. Some have argued that the show is insensitive to the Shalit family and to relatives of other kidnapped soldiers.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Forward.com

Matt Moran

Matt Moran will be returning to Ten’s ‘MasterChef Australia’, following a guest stint on rival network Seven’s ‘My Kitchen Rules’.

Producers called on Moran to step in as emergency guest-judge, replacing Gary Mehigan, who slipped at the end of a long day two weeks ago.

Moran joins several other guest judges who’ve been covering for Mehigan, while he recuperates from surgery to his knee and thigh.

The temporary loss of one of its judges couldn’t come at a worse time for the reality cook-off, as production ramps up on the final challenges of the season.

Mehigan will miss some crucial final cooking challenges, which were key to the success of the first season.

Some within the industry are already speculating that the second season of ‘MasterChef’ wont live up the first, with audiences appetites for cooking contests already fulfilled thanks to Seven’s ‘My Kitchen Rules’.

An unnamed rival executive said ‘My Kitchen Rules’ was partly designed to soak audiences appetites for cooking shows.

“We believe the viewers’ stomachs will be full so the questions is will MasterChef work after they’ve had their fix?” said the exectuive.

However, a ‘MasterChef’ source remains optimistic — confident that the hunger will remain.

“It’s good for us because it has got the viewers thinking about food again and people can wait for five weeks or so for us to come on,” said the source.

Mehigan is expected to return to the ‘MasterChef’ kitchen — on crutches — over the weekend.

‘MasterChef Australia’ is expected to go to air in late April on Network Ten.

Source: Perth Now

Earlier this year Ten promoted the new season of ‘So You Think You Can Dance Australia’ with the song “The Rhythm of Life” from the broadway musical ‘Sweet Charity’.

Now, Ten are wowing us with yet another show tune promo, this time “Food, Glorious Food”, the opening song from the hit musical and subsequent movie ‘Oliver!’.

Check out an extended version of the promo below.

Meanwhile, as the halo effect from the record breaking first season of ‘MasterChef Australia’ spreads internationally, TV networks around the world are taking cues from the Australian promos that kicked it all off.

Here’s a reminder.

Now here’s New Zealand’s take.

And from Norway.

Survivor

Channel 9 will serve viewers another double episode on Tuesday March 23rd from 8:40pm. If Nine decide to screen just one more double episode the following week, the series will be fully up to date with America with the turn around being just 4 days. At this time, March 30th sees a single episode scheduled but the 9:40 slot is currently TBA. UPDATED – That slot will now go to 20 to 1, so Channel 9 opted NOT to catch up.

Ghost Whisperer

With the AFL/NRL shows now in the schedule, something had to give..poor ‘Ghost Whisperer’. But fans can at least watch repeats of the show when it airs at 7:30pm Friday April 2nd on 7Two.

"Glee: The Music - The Power of Madonna EP" out April 16.

The upcoming fifteenth episode of ‘Glee’ is set to be a musical spectacular, paying tribute to Queen of Pop.

The episode, which is set to air on April 20 on FOX, was directed by series creator Ryan Murphy.

Murphy describes the episode as “big…huge”, saying “it’s got like 10 numbers in it, and the production value is very big. We adore her and worship her, so when I’m directing, I’m always like, ‘Do it for Madonna.’”

The singer granted ‘Glee’ the rights to her entire catalogue of music, ten of which were covered by the ‘Glee’ team for the highly anticipated episode.

Sony Music Australia will release seven of the tracks as an EP, which is set to be released on April 16.

“Glee: The Music – The Power of Madonna EP” track-listing:

1. Express Yourself
2. Borderline / Open Your Heart
3. Vogue
4. Like A Virgin
5. 4 Minutes
6. What It Feels Like For A Girl
7. Like A Prayer

‘Glee’ returns with all new episodes in April on Network Ten.

James Sorensen

James Sorensen is leaving Network Ten’s long-running soap ‘Neighbours’ in April to pursuit “other interests aside from acting”.

Sorensen’s departure from the show was confirmed back in January, but it has now been revealed that the 23-year old is seriously considering signing up as a new army recruit.

Fellow ‘Neighbours’ star Jordan Smith, who plays newcomer Andrew Robinson, told TV Week magazine about Sorensen’s future army plans.

“He’s really serious about it. It’s just something he really wants to do,” said Smith.

“He’s been training really hard, but I wish he’d stay. He’s become a really good mate. I’ve told him he’s going to get shot on his first day, but he’s adamant he wants to go!”

In true soap tradition, Sorensen’s depature from the soap won’t spell the end for his character Declan Napier. Actor Erin Mullally has been cast to take over role of the single Dad.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Photo (left to right:) Ria Vandervis, Tom O Sullivan, Martin Dingle Wall, Kate Ritchie, Kelly Paterniti and Graeme Squires.

Media Release

NINE ANNOUNCES CAST OF NEW AUSTRALIAN DRAMA SERIES – COPS: L.A.C.

COPS L.A.C., Channel Nine’s new Australian drama series about the fast-paced working life and complicated relationships of a diverse range of uniformed cops and plainclothes detectives, begins principal photography in May.

These police officers working in a busy Local Area Command are the new frontline of law and order. The territory of COPS L.A.C. covers the inner city, the harbourside and the eastern beaches of Sydney, from lowlifes to high society and everything in between. Their brief is to fight and control crime on their turf. From shoplifting to murder, small-time drug deals to major organised crime, these cops see it all every day.

COPS L.A.C. stars Gold Logie winner Kate Ritchie as Detective Senior Constable Samantha Cooper and Martin Dingle Wall as her partner, Detective Senior Constable Rhys Llewellyn. They are joined by Gary Sweet as Superintendent Jack Finch and Denise Roberts as Inspector Diane Pappas.

Tom O’Sullivan stars as Senior Constable Nathan Holt, with Ria Vandervis as Senior Constable Roxanne Perez, along with Kelly Paterniti as Probationary Constable Priscilla Smith and Graeme Squires as Probationary Constable Daniel Vandermark.

The cast also includes 2009 AFI Winners Roy Billing as Senior Sergeant Graeme Sinclair and Damian de Montemas as forensic expert Matt “Matilda” Hilton.

At the L.A.C. dedicated officers work and play side-by-side. They are passionate cops on the beat, the first ones at the crime scenes; savvy plainclothes detectives marked by their gut instinct and tenacity; naive recruits uncertain if they’ll make the grade; daring undercover officers flirting with danger; ambitious superintendents juggling politics with policing; and forensics experts with hi-tech toys.

It’s a competitive, pressure-cooker environment where the line between professional and personal relationships is easily blurred, and it takes plenty of grit, grunt and humour to get these cops through the day. Theirs is a tough and unpredictable job where some succeed beyond their wildest expectations while others fall by the wayside.

“We are really excited about COPS L.A.C. It has great scripts, a fantastic cast, and all the ingredients for another exciting Aussie drama series from Nine,” said Jo Horsburgh, Head of Nine Drama.

COPS L.A.C. is produced by the Nine Network and will screen later in 2010.

Source: Nine Network

Michaela McManus

According to Entertainment Weekly, Michaela McManus has landed the female lead in The CW’s upcoming action pilot ‘Nomads’.

The drama follows a group of young backpackers who earn extra money by undertaking secret missions for the CIA.

McManus, 26, will play the brave and resourceful Army Brat, who’s determined to land a place with the CIA — all the while fighting an attraction to her handler (Warren Kole) and a fellow CIA newcomer (Scott Porter).

‘Nomads’ which has been likened to J.J. Abrams’ actioner ‘Alias’, was penned by ‘Numb3rs’ writer/producer Ken Sanzel. Sanzel is also set to direct the pilot.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Kiefer Sutherland

Late last week it was reported that US network FOX and production company 20th Century Fox Television were nearing a mutual decision to end the long running action drama ‘24’ with its eighth season finale this May.

Declining ratings and rising production costs were cited as major reasons for its cancellation.

“Some writers are already leaving to do other shows — It’s more possible than ever that this is the end” says show-runner Howard Gordon.

Contracts for both Gordon and star Kiefer Sutherland are also set to expire following the current season.

Entertainment Weekly now reports that 20th Century Fox have approached rival network NBC to pick up the series, should FOX ultimately decide to pull the plug.

It’s been tipped as a very long shot, considering the high production costs, but “there’s definitely some interest,” says an insider close to the talks.

A move to NBC would likely delay 20th Century Fox’s plans to bring Jack Bauer to the big screen, which won’t take place while the series is still on the air.

Gordon expects to bring a ‘24’ movie to the big screen within 18 months of the series’ conclusion.

“I think the fans could wait a year or a year and a half for the movie, but not much longer than that.”

All new episodes of ‘24’ air 8.30pm Tuesdays on 7TWO.

Source: Entertainment Weekly, The Star

The cast of 'Glee'.

According to Entertainment Weekly, ‘Glee’ fans will be in for some extra musical numbers next season, with the show returning with an extended 25 episode season.

‘Glee’ creator Ryan Murphy spoke at PaleyFest ‘10 over the weekend, where he confirmed FOX’s plans to super-size the show next season.

“Season 2 will be much bigger and much longer,” said Murphy. “We are talking about doing 25 episodes as opposed to [the standard] 22.”

Murphy added that he already has the first four years mapped out, with season two seeing New Directions hit the road.

“As a kid I loved it when The Brady Bunch went to Hawaii,” he said. “I want them to go to some competition that’s in New York. I think that’s what we’re thinking about.”

‘Glee’ fans can catch the highly anticipated back-nine episodes of season one, when the series returns this April on Network Ten.

Source: Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide

Seven Line-up Tonight

Things will be pushed back tonight due to an extra 10 minutes of ‘My Kitchen Rules’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ will air at 9:10pm and ‘Brothers and Sisters’ will begin at 10:10pm.

Vampire Diaries

Great  to see GO! fast track the series with episode 15 of the first season airing here on Monday 29th March at 8:30pm, just 4 days after airing in America.

Nip/Tuck

Also great to see Go! continue with Nip/Tuck with the second last season beginning on Monday 29th March at 9:30pm on GO! 10 episodes to air in this season.

Weeds

To top it all off, Weeds will enter its fifth season on GO!, Monday 29th March at 10:30pm on GO! This will bring us in line with America.

Gangs of Oz

Due to legal reasons, this show will not air next week in all states. A repeat of ‘Criminal Minds’ will air.

Fringe

This show will take a week off on the night of 31st March due to no new episodes being available as GO! are up to date with America. There will be an episode available the following. A double ‘Terminator’ will air instead on the 31st at 8:30pm.

Summer Glau

NBC has added Summer Glau to lead its new superhero-themed drama pilot ‘The Cape.’

From Universal Media Studios, ‘The Cape’ centres on an ex-cop (David Lyons) who has been found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit, he becomes a masked hero, the cape, in an attempt to clear his name and reunite with his son.

Following roles in the shortlived ‘Firefly,’ ‘Dollhouse’ and ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ the actress will be hoping this role lasts longer.

Glau will play Orwell, a cute and intrepid investigative blogger who fearlessly goes after corrupt cops and costumed bad guys.

Who else is excited about NBC’s projects? They have some really promising pilots this year.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Michael Shanks as Hawkman

“They do appear again at the end of the season on ‘Smallville.’  The hope is for every DC character to appear outside the comic book. Correctly.”

Could this be also a hint for Batman or Wonder-Woman to finally appear on Smallville?

Source: Comics Alliance

The Bounce
The new AFl show with Peter Helliar begins on Wednesday March 24th at 7:30pm in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The show will air at 12:30am into Sydney and Brisbane. It only an assumption that this show is starting on a Wednesday night due to AFL Thursday night games for the first and second rounds with the show then moving to Thursday nights.
Host Peter Helliar will present four quarters of footy-flavoured action offering news, comedy and personalities of the sport to fans around
Australia, while AFL experts Matthew Richardson and Leigh Matthews will analyse the game and tackle the issues facing the sport.
Produced by Rick McKenna Productions, THE BOUNCE will have football fans talking. THE BOUNCE premieres on Channel Seven at 7.30pm, Wednesday, March 24.

The Matty Johns Show
What an awful title. Anyway, the show is making its debut on Thursday 25th March at 7:30pm into Sydney and Brisbane. Other states will get the show at midnight.
Johns will tackle the new season’s big issues as well as entertaining audiences with a family-friendly mix of sporting stars, special guests, live performances, music and comedy. Johns says he’s thrilled with the opportunity to expand rugby league’s audience.
“I grew up watching league on Seven with Rex Mossop,” he says. “Thirty years later for it to be me on Seven with a rugby league show is great.”
With several fun new characters to debut – including gardening guru Don Kirk, explorer Alby Sandals and 10-year-old Steven the Big Kid – there’s plenty of opportunity for Johns to let loose with his cheeky humour and incredible wit. But when joined by former Australian and Bronco lock Shane Webcke for Controversy Corner, the show will take on a more serious tone as they debate the biggest issues facing the NRL.
Clubs and players have been very supportive of the show by taking part in regular segments such as My Home Town and Home When You’re Away, giving them the opportunity to showcase towns around the country and surprise some adoring fans. High-profile stars will also lend their time for player challenges and to be part of the studio panel each week. “I think were heading into a fantastic era for the game,” says Johns.

NOTE: Sydney and Brisbane viewers will get a new RSPCA Animal Rescue on the Wednesday night and other states will get the same episodes on the Thursday night. So episodes are not skipped, just on different nights.

My Kitchen Rules
The grand final episode will air Monday 22nd March at 7:30pm and run for 90 minutes. ‘Desperate Housewives’ will follow at 9pm and ‘Brothers and Sisters’ at 10pm.

Private Practice
This show is back starting with the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ crossover episode on Tuesday March 23rd March on Seven.

Easter
Sunday 28th March marks the first week of the non-ratings period BUT these shows will continue with new episodes;

Scrubs
Royal Pains
Desperate Housewives
Brothers and Sisters
Ocean Force
30 Rock
Better Homes and Gardens
The Biggest Loser: Couples
Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation
The Good Wife
Good News Week
Bondi Rescue
NCIS: Los Angeles
So You Think You Can Dance
Burn Notice
Medium
White Collar
Domestic Blitz
60 Minutes
Survivors
V
CSI: Miami
Survivor
Top Gear
RPA
Getaway
Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show
All of 7Two’s normal shows will continue with new episodes

If I have not mentioned a major prime time show here then it is most likely to be a repeat.

Lost
This series will have a double episode on March 30th on Seven’s main channel bringing them in line with 7Two.

Melbourne Special
The line-up for Friday 2nd April will be:

6:00 Sunrise
9:00 Larry the Lawnmower ®
9:30 SPECIAL 2010 Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal
12:00 Seven Morning News
12:30 SPECIAL 2010 Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal
6:00 Seven News
6:30 Today Tonight
7:00 Home and Away
7:30 SPECIAL 2010 Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal

Supernatural
The show is back with new episodes on Monday 29th March at 9:30pm on Ten.

White Collar
The first season comes to a close on Friday 2nd April at 9:30pm on Ten.

Opportunity Wasted
Channel 10 could have run a new episode of ‘SVU’ on Thursday 1st April into Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth who missed the new episode the previous week due to AFL. Instead they will carry the same repeat as Sydney and Brisbane that same night.

RPA
Season finale already. The show will air Wednesday March 31st at 8:30pm.

Strikeforce
There are a few unaired episodes. The next episode will air 11:40pm on  Tuesday 30th on 7Two.

Heroes
The season (and possibly series) finale will air Thursday April 1st on 7two at 9:30pm. I have, from an excellent source, that all new Reaper will take this slot from the following week.

Alan Tudyk in 'Dollhouse'

‘Firefly’ and ‘Dollhouse’ alum Alan Tudyk is reportedly joining NBC’s reboot of ‘Rockford Files.’

Centred on Jim Rockford, a private investigator who investigates dangerous, quirky and unpredictable cases, the 1970s reboot is written by ‘House’ creator David Shore with Steve Carell as executive producer.

Tudyk will play LAPD sergeant Dennis Becker.

This follows the annoucement of Dermot Mulroney joining the cast as Jim Rockford.

Source: The Ausiello Files

ABC1
ABC2
ABC3
SBSONE
SBSTWO
Seven
7Two
Nine (N/A)
Go
Ten
One

*Channel Nine have chosen not to release their guides to me at this time. I am hoping they will come to the party as soon as possible. If you would like to see the Nine guides here at TVAUSCAST then drop an email to publicity at Channel Nine ekilkeary@nine.com.au and ask them to make those guides available – Aaron Ryan

The public is demanding. They want fresh content, they want networks to cut repeats, they want edgy drama, they want a broad range of programs to choose from, they want to be captured and inspired by the medium of television and they want to escape into new technologies that television can offer. So, please tell me then – what the hell is going on? Let’s look at some of the figures:

24 – averages around the 90 000 viewer mark at 8:30pm on 7Two.

Bewitched – averages around 130 000 viewers at 5:30pm on Go!

The Sopranos – averages around 80 000 viewers on 7Two at 9:30pm.

Terminator – averages around 140 000 viewers on Go! at 9:30pm.

M*A*S*H – can average around 400 000 viewers per day on Seven.

All Saints (repeat) – can average around the 200 000 viewer mark per day.

Ugly Betty – averages about 120 000 viewers on 7Two.

The Big Bang Theory (repeats) can average 220 000 viewers on Go!

So, these are only a small bunch of shows I picked. However, look at what this generates. Why would a network try something like ‘24′ which still garners over 8 million viewers in America, but gathers an audience of just 80 000 here? Especially, when you consider another 30% of that audience would prefer watching ‘Bewitched’ at 5:30pm in the afternoon. More people prefer watch ‘Mash” than only the once repeated drama of ‘The Sopranos’ and twice as many people would prefer to watch an episode of ‘Big Bang’ that has been screened in the last 12 months, than watch a new installment of ‘Ugly Betty’. What are we doing?

My rant for today is let’s not bag Channel 9 for airing repeats of ‘Jeannie’, ‘Frasier’, ‘Bewitched’, ‘Seinfeld’ ‘Top Gear’, ‘Get Smart’ and ‘Big Bang’ when only half of that audience for those shows will watch all new ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘Vampire Diaries’ and ‘Reno 911′. They are responding to what we want and apparently we want more classic shows, more repeats of repeats and more escapist nostalgia than we do new programming, innovative and edgy programming and fresh idea.

We have spoken…..

Welcome to the fourth edition of ASK AARON. Let’s get straight into it.

Will ‘FlashForward’ be returning to Channel 7 soon?

Some great news on this one. The show is part of the post Easter line-up for Seven, so expect the show back on air in about a month.

Any news on ‘Smallville’ returning to FTA?

I wish I had better news for you. All Network Ten would tell me is that it is not currently scheduled. They do have the rights to the show still but I would not expect it back on air before the launch of their new digital channel.

Will the wrestling show ‘Strikeforce’ return to 7Two soon?

Only a few more episodes are available and they will return to late night a bit later on.

I want ‘Reaper’!

I hear you and the show will be back in April. Yay!

Is there more episodes of ‘Style by Jury’?

Yes there is and they will have a run on the main channel soon.

Any news on ‘Not Going Out’ or ‘Benidorm’?

Sorry no word yet.

Any word of ‘The Amazing Race’?

This is a very annoying situation. Currently, Seven are running repeats of ‘Thank God You’re Here’ at 9:30pm on Thursdays which are tanking in the ratings. ‘The Amazing Race’ could have been used some time ago in that slot and Seven still do not have any plans to screen it.

That is all for this week.

Be Good. Be Kind. Be Careful. Stay Cool. Stay Green and Stay Tuned to TVAUSCAST!

Tom Welling and Richard Dean Anderson, Lead stars for both Smallville and Stargate SG-1 respectively.

Over the course of its ten-year run, Stargate SG-1 had plenty of achievements of which to be proud. Throughout the decade it was on the air (1997-2007), the show racked up seven Emmy nominations, two Hugo nominations, and between the awards received from the Leos, Saturns and Geminis it took home almost 20 trophies.

Its crowning achievement in the award category, however, may be the Guinness World Record it holds. In 2007, SG-1 overtook The X-Files under the category of Longest Consecutive Running Sci-Fi TV Show. (Of course, with the nearly 50-year-old Doctor Who in the mix, that title should be qualified with “continuously produced” or “in North America.”)

Unfortunately for SG-1, records are made to be broken. In just over one year, The CW network series Smallville will do just that. The young Superman series has been handed the greenlight for production of a tenth season.

In a confirmation report by Michael Ausiello on Entertainment Weekly’s Web site, the long-running series was heavily favored to return for another year. While ratings for Smallville have dropped considerably (due to a shift in airing nights from Thursday to Friday — often considered a dead zone for TV ratings in general), they still have improved demographically upon what The CW was airing in that time slot the year previous by anywhere from 67 to 200 percent.

Another key to the series return: the performance of the recent Smallville TV movie event “Absolute Justice.” The double-length episode, which guest-starred SG-1 alums Michael Shanks (“Daniel Jackson”), Brent Stait (“Ferretti”), and Brittney Irvin (“Merrin”), scored close to three million viewers, giving The CW its best Friday night ratings in almost 18 months, and proved to the network that the series still had drawing power and could be “event television.”

Here at GateWorld, we posed this scenario almost a year ago. Television is an ever-changing landscape where nothing is guaranteed. Did Smallville (another Vancouver-produced series) have enough life in it for a tenth season? Would the series be able to survive a move to Friday nights? Would lead actor Tom Welling be willing to return?

The answers to all those questions are a resounding “Yes.”

How does tying SG-1 in the number of years in production unseat it from the world record? Stargate SG-1 produced 214 hours in its run. By the end of next season (assuming a full, 22-episode season), Smallville will have produced 218 episodes — four more than SG-1 and enough to overthrow SG-1 as the new Guinness World Record holder.

SG-1 produced 22 episodes per year for its first seven seasons, after which Syfy Channel reduced its annual order to 20 for the final three years. Smallville suffered one 20-episode season due to the writer’s guild strike, but otherwise has continued with 22 per year.

The series continues Friday nights at 8 p.m. (7 Central) on The CW.

Source: Gateworld

‘Doctor Who’ fans rejoice – the new series will air here within a couple of week’s of its UK broadcast. Here is exactly what ABC has to say:

DOCTOR WHO AUSTRALIAN LAUNCH ON ABC IVIEW

In a first for ABC TV, the new series of Doctor Who will launch on ABC iView – the ABC’s internet broadcasting service – two days prior to its broadcast on ABC1.

Less than two weeks after the first episode airs on the BBC in the UK, Australian viewers will be able to stream it on iView from midnight on Friday 16 April at abc.net.au/iview. The episode will then be shown on ABC1 on Sunday 18 April at 7.30pm.

The new series stars Matt Smith (Party Animals) as the 11th Doctor –introduced to viewers at the end of the recent two-part special ‘The End Of Time’ – and Karen Gillan as his companion Amy Pond. Bafta-winning writer Steven Moffat (Coupling, Jekyll) is replacing Russell T Davies as lead writer and executive producer.

The first three episodes have been confirmed as ‘The Eleventh Hour’ and ‘The Beast Below’ by Steven Moffat, and ‘Victory of the Daleks’ by Mark Gatiss.

Director of Television, Kim Dalton, said: “iView is a fantastic offering, an additional way for Australian audiences to watch ABC TV’s content – generally after, but in this special case before, its television broadcast.

“We hope the lure of Doctor Who – and what a fun and exciting lure it is – will provide incentive for more viewers to discover iView, and experience how convenient and easy-to-use it is.”

Doctor Who was ABC TV’s highest rating program on iView in April to December last year – with 378,000 views during that period. The next highest program was Four Corners, with 260,600 views. In February 2010, ABC iView recorded 411,000 visitors, its highest number of visitors to date.

Seven have been very coy about these two programs, especially since they should be screening in just two weeks time. They have not even released the name of the NRL show. Here is what we know so far.

AFL

Name: The Bounce (confirmed)

Producer: Rick McKenna (confirmed)

Host: Peter Helliar (confirmed)

Time slot: 7:30pm (confirmed)

Day: Unconfirmed. ‘The Daily Telegraph’ is reporting that the show will air at 7:30pm Thursdays, which in some respects is the most logical slot for the show. However, I am hearing from multiple sources that the show could air 7:30 Wednesdays, which makes more sense in terms of schedule flow. On Wednesdays, the show would lead into ‘Criminal Minds’ whereas on Thursdays the show would lead in to the more female skewing ‘Cougar Town’.

Market Variations: This show will air at 7:30pm in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth and will be aired late night in Brisbane and Sydney, whatever night it is on. (confirmed)

NRL

Name: Untitled NRL show

Host: Matthew Johns (confirmed)

Timeslot: 7:30pm (c0nfirmed)

Day: Unconfirmed (see above)

Market Variations: This will air at 7:30pm into Sydney and Brisbane and will be screened late night in other states. (confirmed)

Stay tuned for more details.

Community

The NBC series that started in America on the 17th September 2009 is making its Australian FTA debut on Tuesday 23rd March on GO! at 9pm. It has already been renewed for a second season.

Jeff Winger enrols into Greendale Community College after his law degree is revoked and immediately finds a way to make his student life a breeze. He pretends to be an expert in Spanish forms a study group with a bunch of misfits to impress a girl named Britta.

The InBetweeners

I have had a lot of email about this program and when it will be starting, since GO! promised it 2 months ago. It airs here with a double episode premiere at 9:30pm on Tuesday 23rd March on GO! The show premiered on May 1st 2008 in the UK. So far, two seasons of 6 episodes have screened, so it will not take long to catch up. Here is a synopsis for the first episode:

When his father walks out on his mother and himself, bespectacled, nerdy Will McKenzie is forced to leave his private school and enrol at the local comprehensive, where his accent and appearance make him an easy target for the school psycho. Seeking to make friends with ‘normal’ boys he pals up with Jay, Neil and Simon, but none of them are exactly winners, as is evidenced when they try to buy alcohol in a pub.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

The final two episodes air over two consecutive nights. An episode will air Monday 22nd March at 11pm and then the season finale airs after ‘The InBetweeners’ on Tuesday 23rd March at 10:30pm. Australia is now fully up to date with this show.

Larry is hopeful that his plan is working when Cheryl invites him over to review Seinfeld reunion script. However, when an attempt to right a wronged Mocha Joe causes Larry to miss the date, Cheryl ends up turning to Jason for coaching. Stars Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards.

Tuesday 23rd March 2010 on GO!

8:30 Seinfeld (repeat)

9:00 Community (Series Premiere)

9:30 The InBetweeners (Series Premiere)

10:00 The InBetweeners (ep 2)

10:30 Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season Final)

Cougar Town

The last 2 episodes will be replayed back to back Wednesday night (march 10th) at 10:30pm on Go! ‘Kings’ will take the night off but return the following week with episodes moved forward.

V

Will be encored this Sunday afternoon (March 14th) on Nine. Check local guides for times.

Alison Brie

Following the early renewal handed out to ‘Parks and Recreation,’ NBC has renewed the remaining comedies of their Thursday comedy block.

Freshman comedy ‘Community’ produced by Universal Media Studios in association with Sony Pictures and veteran Universal Media Studios pair ‘The Office’ and ‘30 Rock’ will all be back in fall 2010.

“We are happy to give these early pickups to these critically acclaimed, incredibly funny comedies,” said Angela Bromstad, NBC entertainment president. “As a result, we look forward to continuing our rewarding partnership with the respective creative teams and talented show-runners for ‘30 Rock,’ ‘The Office’ and ‘Community’ as they all consistently deliver quality shows.”

Despite these pick ups, NBC has up to ten comedies in the works, so if the Thursday block remains NBC must be planning for another comedy block which can only be good news for fans of comedy.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Astrid (Jasika Nicole) and Walter (John Noble).

UPDATE: According to Hitfix, the third season is go!

EW.com is reporting J.J Abrams’ sci-fi drama ‘Fringe’ has been picked up for a third season by Fox.

Since its move to the brutal Thursday timeslot the ratings have taken a hit but the sci-fi drama has performed well against repeats and with timeshifted viewers.

And in a further vote of confidence, when queried about the future of scripted programming on Thursdays, Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment at Fox, told The Hollywood Reporter:

“Yes, absolutely. I’m really looking at the back half of the year when we’ll bring the combo back on again. “Bones” hit highs in January. People haven’t abandoned “Fringe”; it’s just the only scripted four-way race, and frankly we’ve heard from fans it’s not they don’t want to watch it anymore, it just may have moved to their second choice; they’re picking it up on their DVRs or Hulu. When there’s wiggle room in time period, they come back.”

Source: Entertainment Weekly

With the AFL and NRL almost underway, it got me thinking again about the networks and how they schedule shows in various markets when these sporting matches affect a network roll out.

Network Ten is clearly the worst offender of this, because they prefer a networked schedule where possible, so catching up for one or two markets is not a priority. This was (and still is) especially annoying with their Saturday night coverage. Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth viewers usually begin an AFL match anywhere from 5pm to 8pm and then generally screen a movie after. Sydney and Brisbane viewers usually receive the AFL after 10:30pm (except when it is a home match) and therefore schedule shows earlier in the evening, that cannot be screened in AFL markets due to their own matches. It would make more sense for Ten to screen movies at 6:30pm and 8:30pm but instead have offered Sydney and Brisbane with shows like ‘Smallville’, ‘Monk’ and ‘7th Heaven’ as past examples. They are generally shown in order and scheduled each week. Depending on what AFL match is being screened, other states would miss these episodes and then randomly every third or fourth week an episode would pop into these markets out of order. Ten never screened the episodes for the markets that missed an episode and instead these viewers missed out. Now it is happening again. ‘Monk’ returns with new episodes on Saturday 27th march at 6:30pm but ONLY in Sydney and Brisbane. This episode will not be rescheduled for other states on the main channel. How annoying is this?

Last year, Ten viewers in AFL markets actually missed at least two episodes of ‘Medium’. These were never rescheduled. Episodes of ‘Law and Order SVU’ were also missed, however, these were rescheduled many months later (out of order) when a repeat screened in Sydney and Brisbane when the State of Origin was screening.

It also works the other way. Nine viewers in AFL states have seen new episodes of ‘The Closer’, ‘Til Death’, ‘1 vs 100′ and other shows that Sydney and Brisbane viewers have yet to see.

Channel 7 have an easier run because their AFL coverage on Friday nights is counter balanced with a movie in other states. Their second game is on Sunday afternoons. However, TVW7 in Perth is the worst offender. Because of time differences, some AFL matches on Sunday have funny start times in Perth and some major prime time shows are skipped. They are very very disorganized in rescheduling major prime time shows or even 10:30pm programs that can still garner network audiences of 500k.

What is even more annoying is that there are slots available. Repeats of ‘CSI: Miami’ and ‘Cold Case’ air across Australia at 10:30pm Mondays and Wednesdays. Could these slots not be used to screen a show such as ‘ The Closer’ into markets that have not seen certain episodes? Can the Friday late slot on Nine not be used to catch up on shows in AFL states whilst Sydney and Brisbane are showing primetime NRL?

Can Ten not screen new episodes of ‘Law and Order SVU’ and ‘Medium’ in the non ratings season for Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth viewers that missed episodes because of Thurday night AFL? Ten will tell you that new episodes cannot be wasted there. However, the alternative at this time is to not screen missed ‘Medium’ episodes at ALL. The 2009 missed episodes have not seen the light of day and because of advanced storylines are a bit of waste now anyway. If Ten screens an AFL match at 7:30 to 10:30pm in Melbourne on a Saturday night, can’t that 10:30 slot be used to screen that night’s episode of ‘Monk’ whilst Sydney and Brisbane viewers get late night AFL? It basically is just flipping the schedule. There is no reason at all that this cannot be done. ‘Monk’ would get valuable late night points in southern states at 10:30pm. It is certainly a better option than not ever screening the episodes in some states when they have paid for them.

With digital channels now as well there is just no excuse. I ask that the networks wake up and look at this very very very frustrating viewer issue and accept that if it is good enough for one state then it is good enough for all states.

Welcome to the third edition of ASK AARON. Each week, more users are using this facility to get the info on their favourite shows. My contact with 7Two was away this week, so if you asked a question about that channel, I will use it in the next edition.

Q. When does SBS plan to show the new episodes of ‘South Park’?

A. Yes SBS will be screening the newest season immediately after the Football World Cup.

Can I assume the reason that Channel 9 changes their schedule so often is because it is making up lost ground since the mid 2000’s?

Yes and No. Channel 9 are very competitive and so they should be. They were the number one network for so long and the audience is shifting, not only to other networks but they are time shifting, watching pay television, using the internet and using other media outlets as a form of entertainment. The ratings race is so close. Have you noticed that one primary channel may beat another primary channel on a given night, but then the added audience from the second digital only channel can push the other network over the line for a nightly combined channel win? Thursday nights are a tight tussle between Seven and Nine but the big wins by Go! with repeating ‘The Big Bang Theory’ has made the entire Nine Network look much more competitive. Seven has been convincingly beating Nine on Sunday nights but with the high Go! share, Nine looks a lot more competitive. A night of demos can turn upside down when digital and time shifting is put into the mix, so if a network (like Nine) can make changes each week to certain slots, they feel it will make significant changes between winning and losing a night/week in total viewers and demographics. Of course, they risk alienating their viewers by making so many changes but that is a risk they are willing to take.

Why is ‘112 Emergency’ not screening on SBSTWO anymore?

SBS stopped playing this show simply because the season it had purchased had run its course. It may get repeated at some stage.

Why is ‘The Jay Leno Show’ not being screened on 7Two anymore?

Where have you been This has been a major talking point around the world for the last few months. In a nutshell, Jay Leno left ‘The Tonight Show’ and handed over the reigns to Conan O’Brien. NBC gave Leno his own show in prime time and it aired 10pm weeknights. This is the show that Seven picked up. The problem is that this new Jay Leno project did not work out and the series was canceled by NBC. There are no further episodes to screen and therefore 7Two cannot screen it. Jay Leno has returned to his old show, ‘The Tonight Show’ and O’Brien was paid out tens of millions of dollars to leave the network. The comedy channel on pay television owns the rights to ‘The Tonight Show’ so he will be back there. The chances of Seven picking up ‘The Tonight Show’ or any other talk show would be minimal after the lousy ratings it received on 7Two.

Do you know when ABC will screen the new Doctor Who?

Simple answer is no, but that is because ABC are not sure as of yet. The new season starts in the UK and USA next month but an ABC rep tells me that I will be informed the moment she knows.

Do you have any info on when ABC2 will screen Being Erica?

Another simple one. ABC2 will screen season two from March 12th.

Is there any news about the roll out of the new WA channel, Ten West?

I had a quick chat with CEO of Prime Doug Edwards early on in the week and he actually had meetings with the government planned for later in the week to discuss this exact issue as well as multi channeling as a whole in WA. He will advise me of the outcome soon. Stay tuned.

Update please on Seven returning ‘Parks and Recreation’ and ‘American Dad’?

Sure Matthew. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that ‘American Dad’ is returning in April. On a separate note it is nice to see ‘King of the Hill’ on Saturday afternoons on the main channel on Seven. Bad News is that ‘Parks’ is not scheduled and there are no plans for it to return. I was about to speculate, but best not to. Anyone can do that.

Are you able to tell me when ‘Dance Academy’ will screen on ABC3?

Spoke to my friend at ABC and she didn’t have anything set in stone. It will definitely be this year but looks more likely to be second half of 2010.

That is all for this week. Have a fantastic week and keep an eye on the amendments each day on TVAUSCAST and the new guides are updated everytime an amendment comes through.

Be Good. Be Kind. Be Careful. Stay Cool. Stay Green. Stay tuned to TVAUSCAST

ABC1
ABC2
ABC3
SBSONE
SBSTWO
Seven
7Two
Nine (N/A)
Go
Ten
One

*Channel Nine have chosen not to release their guides to me at this time. I am hoping they will come to the party as soon as possible. If you would like to see the Nine guides here at TVAUSCAST then drop an email to publicity at Channel Nine ekilkeary@nine.com.au and ask them to make those guides available – Aaron Ryan

My Kitchen Rules

On Tuesday 16th March, ‘MKR’ will have a special 90 minute episode. That pushes ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to 9pm and ‘Brothers and Sisters’ to 10pm. On Monday 22nd March the slot between 7:30pm and 9pm is currently TBA, so I would assume another 90 minute episode will air there as well. Tuesday 23rd March between 7:30 and 8:30 is TBA and also between 8:30 and 10:30.

AFL Game Day

The show returns to Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth at 10am on Sunday 21st March at 10am. Sydney and Brisbane viewers will see a repeat of the first season of ‘True Beauty’ in that slot.

According to Jim

This show goes under the radar, but it is interesting to note that even though this sitcom was canceled and last screened in America in June 2009, it did notch up an impressive 181 episodes. I would have noted the final episode date in Australia if it was uniformed across Australia. Sydney and Melbourne have completed the series already. Perth has played the final episode but missed a couple episodes, with the final new episode screening 27th March. Brisbane will get the final episode of the show on 21st March. That leaves Adelaide who fell a bit behind; the second last episode screens on the 27th March with the final episode still to be scheduled.

TBA’s for Seven

Sometimes these TBA slots create more talk than actual scheduled shows. Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm to 8:30pm on 24th/25th March are currently TBA. One of the slots would assumed to be the NRL/AFL shows that Seven is developing, with the AFL season due to kick off on Thursday 25th March on Ten.

Crim inal Minds / Gangs of Oz

In an interesting move, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth viewers will get a new episode as normal of Gangs of Oz on Wednesday 24th March, however, Sydney and Brisbane viewers will get a repeat of Criminal Minds. I am waiting on a reply from Seven as to why this is happening. You may notice an episode of ‘Criminal Minds’ will be ’skipped’ by the network in the next couple of weeks if you take into account the episode order in America. This is not the fault of Seven. Once the episode is released by its distributors, it will go to air.

UPDATED – Due to legal reasons this episode of ‘Oz’ cannot be screened in Sydney and Brisbane at this time, which is the reason for the ‘Criminal Minds’ repeat in Sydney and Brisbane.

AFL

AFL action is back with Round 1 of the AFL season on Seven with ‘Friday Night Football’. Each week Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth viewers will see the action at 8:30 starting with a round 1 match between Geelong and Essendon on March 26th followed by repeat Scrubs. Sydney and Brisbane viewers will get a movie at 8:30pm followed by a Scrubs repeat and then AFL before midnight.

Band of Brothers

If you have been watching this again on 7Two then please take note of the final episode which screens on Tuesday 23rd March at 10:30pm.

Make Me  a Supermodel (US series)

It has been previously reported that the show will be having its FTA premiere this week with a special episode followed by the first episode on March 17th at 7:30pm on 7Two. On March 24th the second episode will air at 7:30pm. However, the third episode is a bit naughty for the early slot so that same evening at 10:30pm, the third episode will air there as a special adults only airing. ‘Kings’ (which is a great series) will be preempted for the night.

Stargate: Atlantis

Nothing special here but just letting you know that the series reaches the half way mark of the final season on March 25th at 8:30pm on 7Two. Last few months to watch this series before it bows out forever. For those keeping score, the show ended on the 9th January 2009 in America.

Last Comic Standing

One of my fave shows is back with the six season premiere at 10:45pm on Friday 26th March on 7Two. The show had been canceled but was recently picked up again and a seventh season will air on NBC in America this summer. This is actually the second resurrection for this show.

Melbourne International Comedy Gala

This will air at 8:30pm Monday 22nd March for a two hour slot, preempting ‘Good News Week’. Tvtonight did report that ‘Supernatural’ may be returning on the night, but this has not occurred. When I contacted Ten about ‘Supernatual’ they informed me that they had no idea where that rumour started and there was no plans to bring it back soon. However, there is a chance they keeping it under wraps and is why I have not mentioned ‘Supernatural’ on this site.

NCIS: Los Angeles

Is back with new episodes on Tuesday 23rd March at 9:30pm. I actually felt this was a bizarre move since the 2 week non-ratings period kicks off the following week, probably putting the orginal NCIS in repeat mood for two weeks. Would they not have been better off just starting of new eps of ‘NCIS’ with new eps of LA after Easter?

Thursday 25th March on Ten

Because of AFL, Ten will have a different schedule across the country:

Sydney and Brisbane
6:00 The Simpsons ®
6:30 Neighbours
7:00 The 7pm Project
7:30 The Biggest Loser: Couples
8:00 So You Think You Can Dance Results 10 – 8
9:00 Law and Order: SVU (ep 7 of 22 in Season 11)
10:00 Medium (ep 8 of 18 in Season 6)
11:00 TEN Late News with Sports Tonight
11:30 AFL Round 1 Richmond v Carlton
2:00 The Late Show with David Letterman

Melbourne and Adelaide
6:00 Neighbours
6:30 So You Think You Can Dance Results 10 – 8
7:30 AFL Round 1 Richmond v Carlton
11:00 The 7pm Project
11:30 TEN Late News with Sports Tonight
12:00 The Late Show with David Letterman
1:00 Cops ®

Perth
6:00 The Simpsons ®
6:30 Neighbours
7:00 The 7pm Project
7:30 So You Think You Can Dance Results 10 – 8
8:30 AFL Round 1 Richmond v Carlton
12:00 The Late Show with David Letterman
1:00 Cops ®

That means ‘The Biggest Loser’ will not air that week in 3 markets. It also means that Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth viewers will miss a new episode of ‘SVU’ and ‘Medium’. The simple thing to do since it is the non-ratings season the following week is to play a repeat of both shows in northern states and those new episodes into southern states. This would be the sensible thing to do. However, last year Ten did NOT do this and ‘SVU’ was played months out of order in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth and ‘Medium’ was skipped altogether and to this day has still not screened.

White Collar

The second last episode screens 9:30pm on Friday 26th March. This would not normally be of any issue except the fact that the following week is Easter Friday. I would have thought a double episode would have been better on the 26th, rather than screening the season final on Good Friday or preempting it a further week.

Wide World of Sports

Returns with a new season on Sunday 21st March at 10am on Nine.

CSI: Miami

Sydney and Brisbane viewers will finally get to see the season final of the seventh season of this show on Monday 22nd March. Other states are five episodes ahead and therefore in season eight.

Survivor: Heroes v Villians

Still screening on March 23rd as normal at 8:40pm with the 9:40 slot TBA. If Nine once again changes that TBA slot to a double episode then that will bring the show within around 12 days of America.

Wednesday 24th March on Nine

Because of Thursday AFL on Ten, the  AFL Footy Show will air on Nine on Wednesday 24th in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth in prime time. Sydney and Brisbane will still get new RPA and new Cold Case. No idea when Nine will screen missing episodes into those markets.

Guides have been added for wc 21st March except, of course, for Nine.

Episode 1 – “Savior” (Season Premiere)

Aired September 25th 2009

Written By: Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders

Directed By: Kevin Fair

Guest Stars: Brian Austin Green (Metallo/John Corben), Alessandro Juliani (Dr. Emil Hamilton), Monique Ganderton (Alia), Terence Stamp (Voice of Jor-El) Sharon Taylor (Fiona)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Promo Pics: One ,  Two , Three & Four

Trailer: One, Two & Three

Tom Welling Interview

Preview Clips

Episode 2 – “Metallo”

Aired October 2nd 2009

Written By: Don Whitehead & Holly Henderson

Directed By: Mairzee Almas

Guest Stars: Brian Austin Green (Metallo/John Corben)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Promo pics: One , Two , Three & Four

Trailer: One

Interviews: One

Preview Clips: One

Episode 3 – “Rabid”

Aired October 9th 2009

Directed By: Michael Rohl

Written By: Jordan Hawley

Guest Stars: Cameron Bancroft (Dr. Coats)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Trailer: One

Preview Clips: One

Episode 4 – “Echo”

Aired October 16th 2009

Directed By: Wayne Rose

Written By: Bryan Q. Miller

Guest Stars: Chris Gauthier (Toyman), Terence Stamp (The Voice of Jor-El)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Promo Pics: One & Two

Trailer: One

Preview Clips: One

Episode 5 – “Roulette”

Aired October 23rd 2009

Directed By: Kevin Fair

Written By: Genevieve Sparling

Guest Stars: Steph Song (Victoria/Roulette)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Casting News: Steph Song

Promo Pics: One

Trailer: One

Episode 6 – “Crossfire”

Aired October 30th 2009

Directed By: Michael Rohl

Written By: Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead

Guest Stars: Elise Gatien (Mia/Speedy), Emilie Ullerup (Catherine “Cat” Grant)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Sneek peek for this episode

Promo Pics: One & Two & Three

Trailer: One & Two

Preview Clips: One

Episode 7 – “Kandor”

Aired November 6th 2009

Directed By: Jeannot Szwarc

Written By: Al Septien & Turi Meyer

Guest Stars: Julian Sands (Jor-El)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Promo Pics: One

Casting News: Julian Sands

Trailer: One

Preview Clips: One

Episode 8 – “Idol”

Aired November 13th 2009

Directed By: Glen Winter

Written By: Ann Coffel Saunders

Guest Stars: David Gallagher (Zan), Allison Scagliotti (Jayna), Dylan Neal (Ray Sacks)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Casting News: Wonder Twins Cast

Promo Pics: One

Trailer: One

Episode 9 – “Pandora”

Mid-Season Finale

Aired November 20th 2009

Directed By: Morgan Beggs

Written By: Drew Landis & Julia Swift

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Preview Clips: One & Two

Promo Pics: One

Trailer: One

Episode 10 – “Disciple”

Aired January 29th 2010

Directed By: Mairzee Almas

Written By: Jordan Hawley

Guest Stars: Elise Gatien (Mia/Speedy), Steve Bacic (Dark Archer)

TVAUSCAST Update:

CW’s Official Description

Trailer: One & Two

Preview Clips: One

Smallville delayed in favor of a Telethon for the tragedy in Haiti

Episode 11 – “Society” (Part 1 Movie)

Smallville: Absolute Justice [first hour]

Aired February 5th  2010

Directed By: Glen Winter

Written By: Geoff Johns

Guest Stars: Michael Shanks (Carter Hall/Hawkman), Brent Stait (Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate), Britt Irvin (Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl), Phil Morris (John Jones/Martian Manhunter)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Trailer: One, Two, Three & Four

Preview Clips: One & Two

Promo Pics: One, Poster Art, Two

Casting News: Michael Shanks dials in to ‘Smallville’ & Phil Morris Returns

Interviews: Michael Shanks talks “Smallville” & Hawkan spreads his wings on ‘Smallville‘

‘Smallville’ TV movie takes flight!

Smallville: Absolute Justice (New movie title)

‘Smallville: Absolute Justice’ interview round up

Episode 12 – “Legends” (Part 2 Movie)

Smallville: Absolute Justice [second hour]

Aired February 5th 2010

Directed By: Tom Welling

Written By: Geoff Johns

Guest Stars: Michael Shanks (Carter Hall/Hawkman), Brent Stait (Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate), Britt Irvin (Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl), Phil Morris (John Jones/Martian Manhunter), Pam Grier (Amanda Waller)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Trailer: One, Two, Three & Four

Preview Clips: One & Two

Promo Pics: One, Poster Art, Two

“Society” will be a 2 part epic

‘Smallville’ TV movie takes flight!

Smallville: Absolute Justice (New movie title)

Casting News: Pam Grier cast for multi episode arc on ‘Smallville’

‘Smallville: Absolute Justice’ interview round up

Episode 13 – “Warrior”

Aired February 12th 2010

Directed By: Allison Mack

Written By: Bryan Q. Miller

Guest Stars: Serinda Swan (Zatanna), Carlo Marks (Stephen/Warrior Angel)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

CW’s Official Description

Trailer: One & Two

Preview Clips: One

Promo Pics: One, Two

Casting News: Zatanna returns to Smallville, Carlo Marks returns

Scoop on “Warrior”

Smallville delayed in favor of a Telethon for the tragedy in Haiti

Episode 14 – “Persuasion”

Aired February 19th 2010

Directed By: Christopher Petry

Written By: Ann Coffel Saunders

Guest Stars: G. Michael Grey (Buddy Brown)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

Trailer: One

Preview Clips: One

Episode 15 – “Conspiracy”

Aired February 26th 2010

Directed By: Turi Meyer

Written By: Al Septien & Turi Meyer

Guest Stars: J.R. Bourne (Bernard Chisholm), Nicholas Carella (Dr. Flores)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

Trailer: One

Preview Clips: One

Promo Pics: One

Episode 16 – “Escape”

Air’s April 2nd 2010

Directed by: Kevin Fair

Written By: Genevieve Sparling

Guest Stars: Odessa Rae (Siobhan McDougal/Silver Banshee)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

Trailer: One & Two

A curious case of dejavu on ‘Smallville’

The Silver Banshee comes to ‘Smallville’

Episode 17 – “Checkmate”

Air’s April 9th 2010

Directed By: Tim Scanlan

Written By: John Chisholm

Guest Stars: Pam Grier (Amanda Waller), Phil Morris (John Jones/Martian Manhunter), Jonathan Walker (Dr. Paul Brenner)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

Trailer: One & Two

Episode 18 – “Upgrade”

Air’s April 16th 2010

Directed By: Michael Rohl

Written By: Drew Landis & Julia Swift

Guest Stars: Brian Austin Green (John Corben/Metallo)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

Trailer: One & Two

Brian Austin Green returns

Episode 19 – “Charade”

Air’s April 23rd 2010

Directed By: Brian Peterson

Written By: Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead

Guest Stars: Gil Bellows (Maxwell Lord)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

Maxwell Lord comes to ‘Smallville’

Episode 20 – “Sacrifice”

Air’s April 30th 2010

Directed By: Kevin Fair

Written By: Brian Q. Miller, Justin Hartley & Walter Wong

Episode 21 – “Hostage”

Air’s May 7th 2010

Directed By: Glen Winter

Written By: Jordan Hawley & Ann Coffel Saunders

Guest Stars: Annette O’Tool (Martha Kent), Michael McKean (Perry White)

TVAUSCAST Updates:

Martha Kent returns to ‘Smallville’!

Perry White returns to ‘Smallville’!

Episode 22 – “Salvation” (Season Finale)

Air’s May 14th 2010

Directed By: Greg Beeman

Written By: Al Septien & Turi Meyer

Season 10 episode list coming soon..

Roadshow Films will release the Australian comedy ‘I Love You Too’ on May 6.

‘I Love You Too’ follows Jim, a 30-something emotionally stunted man whose inability to declare his love to his girlfriend, Alice, threatens to cost him the best thing he ever had but leads him to befriend a talented dwarf who helps him find the words to get her back.

It’s romantic buddy movie about the meaning of relationships, the importance of friendship, and having the courage to pursue the one you love.

The comedy stars Brendan Cowell (‘Love My Way’), Yvonne Strahovski (‘Chuck’), Peter Dinklage (‘30 Rock’), Megan Gale and Peter Hellier.

It was written by Helliar and directed by Daina Reid (‘Very Small Business’, ‘City Homicide’).

Check out the trailer:

Visit the offical website, iloveyoutoomovie.com

Dateline: The Pink Gang

Not a big fan of ‘Dateline’. I did watch it sometimes when my fave news person, Jana Wendt was hosting. There is nothing wrong with the program, it just isn’t in my schedule.

As a media writer though I am sent preview copies of programs on a regular basis and this encourages me to watch ‘other’ programs that perhaps were not in my normal personal viewing schedule. This has been a major ‘wake-up’ call for me, with SBS and ABC becoming a regular part of my new personal viewing line-up.

This week on ‘Dateline’, Amos Roberts travels to India to meet a courageous women called Sampat Pal, a woman that will not stand for government laws that do not protect women’s rights and for police that regularly accept bribes, which allow for the continuation of criminal activity.

I think it is really important that we take the time to appreciate how lucky we are as a country. We all know about third world countries where people are starving, however, there is also more ‘developed’ countries that still have outdated laws that do not protect the civil basic rights of human beings. Sampat herself was forced into marriage at the age of 12 and was pregnant at 15.

I think we all realise that that there is a LOT to be done in the world but we often are overcome with the magnitude of it all and then step back. Sampat Pal is just one woman who said enough is enough and this fabulous crusader is an inspiration to even us lucky ones here in Australia. She has devoted her life to challenging the hierarchies and protocols that keep India’s poor in place. Sampat started a ‘gang’ called ‘The Pink Gang’ who travel India offering hands on intervention for abused child brides and corrupt officials. The gang seeks peaceful resolutions but will resort to violence if necessary. This is no ordinary gang. They now have a membership over 40 000 and are quite the fear to law breakers and government officials.

If Dateline is not your thing and you are usually watching ‘Talkin’  ‘Bout Your Generation’, ‘Bones’ and ‘Border Security’, I would encourage you to flick over to SBS, check out this powerful and inspirational story and be reminded of what our fellow brothers and sisters are living through in other countries.

The 18 time Walkley winner ‘Dateline’ and the program on ‘The Pink Gang’ airs THIS Sunday at 8:30pm on SBS.

Erica Durance and Tom Welling

The CW has renewed ‘Smallville’ for a tenth and possibly final season.

Recently, The CW renewed ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ ‘Gossip Girl,’ ‘90210,’ ‘Supernatural’ and ‘America’s Next Top Model’ but absent from the list was veteran ‘Smallville’.

According to a number of sources, the delay was due to talks with the cast and crew.

Now a deal has been struck and The CW has confirmed that ‘Smallville’ will be returning this fall.

Following its move to Fridays this fall, a timeslot The CW has usually struggled with, the show has performed solidly and developed a loyal following.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Ana Ortiz, America Ferrera, Becki Newton and Ashley Jensen on the set of 'Ugly Betty'.

‘Ugly Betty’ is gearing up for its series finale, which airs on April 14 in the US.

According to Entertainment Weekly, producers have already started recruiting former cast members for guest appearances before the series concludes.

Ashley Jensen — who is currently starring on the CBS comedy ‘Accidentally on Purpose’ — will reprise her role as Betty’s BFF Christina in episode 18, in which Betty heads overseas to cover London Fashion Week for Daniel.

Also set to return is Betty’s former flame Gio, played by Freddy Rodriguez. The last we saw of Gio was back in the Season 3 opener, following the love birds’ whirlwind tour of Rome. Things turned sour for the couple when Betty decided she just wanted to be friends. Could Gio perhaps be returning to rekindle his love with Betty?

Finally, Christopher Gorham, who played Betty’s former lover Henry — is also believed to be in negations to return. Nothing has been confirmed yet, so it may be a case of the unknown until an actual episode airs.

Another cast mate who we’d love to see return before the series ends is Rebecca Romijn, who played Daniel’s transgender brother Alex, turned sister Alexis. She fled the country with her long lost son DJ, following her escape from prosecution for the attempted murder of surrogate Christina/Wilhelmina’s unborn child.

Check out some more snaps from Ashley Jensen’s return on ‘Ugly Betty’ below.

In case you were wondering, the cast didn’t actually fly to London to film the episode. Instead, several New York locations were redressed to represent the British capital. The episode is currently schedule to air on March 31 in the US.

Ashley Jensen films a scene for her return to 'Ugly Betty', set to air March 31 on ABC.

Ashley Jensen on the set of 'Ugly Betty'.

Source: EW.com

Debra Messing

Emmy Award-winning actress Debra Messing is set to make her return to network television, with starring role in ABC’s upcoming comedy pilot ‘Wright vs. Wrong’.

The single-camera comedy centres on Evelyn Wright (Messing), a driven conservative pundit who tries to maintain her public persona despite facing her own vulnerabilities.

The ‘Will & Grace’ star will serve as an executive producer on the project, which is based at Sony Pictures Television and Tantamount Productions.

‘Wrong’ was written by actress-writer Stephnie Weir (‘Mad TV’), who will also serve as an executive producer along side Tantamount’s Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum.

Andy Fickman (‘Aliens in America’, ‘She the Man’) is set to direct.

Following her eight-year run on the hit NBC sitcom ‘Will & Grace’, Messing starred in the cable dramedy series ‘The Starter Wife’ on USA Network. The original six-part miniseries was filmed in Australia, with the Gold Coast standing in for Malibu, California.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Paramount Home Entertainment Australia will release the 2-disc Blu-ray set, which contains all 14 episodes from the show’s thirteenth and first high definition season.

‘South Park’ fans can pick up a copy of The Complete Thirteenth Season in high def on May 6.

South Park season thirteen comes, in high definition glory, to Blu Ray. In this season Kenny’s hopes to get to first base when he takes his girlfriend to a Jonas Brothers concert, Cartman and Jimmy come up with the funniest joke ever only to have it stolen from them and Kyle goes looking for a professional ghost hunter to stop the poltergeist that is haunting Ike.

No local cover was available, but here’s a look at the Region A cover.

For the first time, Paramount Home Entertainment Australia will release The Complete Ninth Season of the Emmy Award winning comedy ‘South Park’, from creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

The 3-disc set contains all 14 episodes from the show’s ninth season. It hits shelves on May 6.

The boys from South Park are back for the ninth season, released in Australia for the first time on DVD. In this outrageous season, Mr Garrison gets a sex change, South Park is flooded with hippies and in one Emmy winning episode Kenny gets a Playstation Portable – the device that God created to see who has the best skills to defeat the armies of Satan.

'Gossip Girl' returns March 8 on The CW.

‘Gossip Girl’ returns next Monday on The CW with the first of 10 consecutive episodes, following a three-month break.

The drama is in its third season and according to Entertainment Weekly, ‘Gossip Girl’ fans will be in for a treat come May.

The season finale will conclude with — as executive producer Stephanie Savage puts it — “two OMG moments.”

Savage wouldn’t reveal the specifics, but did say that the season three finale — which is currently being filmed — will be unlike the show’s previous two finales.

“It’s not centred on a big event,” says Savage. “There’s not a giant wedding or a graduation. It’s a real potboiler where all of this season’s stories bear down on each other.”

“It’s one of those episodes that just really moves,” she continues. “Every scene leads to the next scene in a very sort of tight and exciting way. I’m hopeful it’ll feel like a satisfying conclusion to all the stories we’ve been telling this year and also give you a sense of what season 4 will hold.”

Michelle Trachtenberg is set to return for the season finale as the manipulative and somewhat psychotic Georgina, however, fans shouldn’t expect the same Georgina we’ve seen before.

“[She'll have] a different persona,” teases Savage. “We’ll find out where she’s been the past couple of months.”

Fans are probably asking the same thing about the show itself, which has been on hiatus since early December.

“I’m excited that we’re running 10 in a row without any interruptions,” says Savage. “Last season, we had a very erratic schedule during the second half of the season, and I think it was hard for [viewers]. We’re excited to come back and have 10 in a row — If we were a cable show it’s practically an entire [season].”

‘Gossip Girl’ returns Monday, March 8 on The CW.

The second season is currently airing 10.30pm Thursdays on GO!

Source: EW.com

The Eighth Season of ‘Beverly Hills 90210’ is set to be released on May 6 by Paramount Home Entertainment Australia. The 7-disc set contains all 32 episodes from the show’s eight season.

Joining the cast this season is Acadmey Award winning actress Hilary Swank as Carly. Guest stars include Jessica Alba, Lindsay Price (‘Lipstick Jungle)’, Michael Trucco (‘Battlestar Galactica’) and Daniel Dae Kim (‘Lost’).

The Real World: 90210… School is over and friends of Beverly Hills 90210 are discovering that life after graduation is not as easy as they thought! Come along with Brandon (Jason Priestley), Kelly (Jennie Garth), Donna (Tori Spelling), David (Brian Austin Green), Steve (Ian Ziering), Val (Tiffani Amber-Thiessen), Noah (Vincent Young) and Carly (Hilary Swank) as they explore love and life outside of college in all 30 titillating episodes of Season 8. Experience Kelly’s recovery from a drive-by shooting, Brandon and Kelly’s wedding plans, and Donna’s drug overdose. It doesn’t take long for the gang to discover that the real world can be just as unpredictable as college.

Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman is headed to television, to star in HBO’s horseracing drama pilot ‘Luck’, from feature film writer/producer Michael Mann (‘Public Enemies’, ‘Ali’) and David Milch (‘Deadwood’, ‘NYPD Blue’).

Described as a provocative look at the worlds of horseracing, ‘Luck’ follows Hoffman’s character, a tough but intelligent gambler, who’s done everything from bookmaking and money laundering to casino operations.

Following his release from prison, he teams up with Gus Economou (Dennis Farina), his former chauffeur and “brawn”, and Turo Escalante (John Ortiz), a successful trainer with a sordid reputation, to craft a complex plan involving the racetrack.

The pilot was penned by Milch, with Mann set to direct. Both will serve as executive producers alongside Carolyn Strauss and Henry Bronchtein (‘The Sopranos)’.

Production on the pilot is expected to take place over the next few months in Los Angeles.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Top Gear

Will be added to Sundays from March 7th on GO!. These, of course, will be rebroadcasts that have aired on Channel 9. They will air at 6:30pm. A single repeat of Wipeout will still air at 5:30pm. Repeats of ‘Top Gear’ also on Thursday nights at 8:25pm on GO!

Wife Swap USA

New episodes of this show will air Mondays from March 8th at 7:30pm on GO! The first ep is episode 9 of Season 3.

Friday Nights

From Friday March 19th, GO! will try and cash on the success of what 7TWO offering on Saturday nights to boost ratings, which is now really stretching the youth channel image it gave advertisers. The line-up will be:

8:30 Black Adder  (repeats from episode 1)

9:40 Allo, Allo (repeats)

10:50 Little Britain (repeats of original series)

Jerry Seinfeld in NBC's 'The Marriage Ref'.

Some may ask what is ‘The Marriage Ref’?…and rightly so. Despite heavy promotion during NBC’s Olympic coverage, the actual promos didn’t seem to reveal much about Seinfeld’s latest comedy endeavour. But following the 2010 Winter Olympics’ Closing Ceremony, a sneak peek was broadcast giving the entire nation look at what Seinfeld has up his sleeve with the new series, ‘The Marriage Ref.’

Last century Seinfeld was a household name around the world and a ratings powerhouse for NBC. When the sitcom ‘Seinfeld’ ended, NBC’s reign as the number 1 network dissipated with it, and for the past five years they have been languishing in fourth place. So when Seinfeld proposed his new project to NBC early last year, it was greenlit immediately.

What seemed to be a routine husband/wife argument between Jerry Seinfeld and his wife Jessica, who conveniently had a friend over, has turned into a TV Show. Awkwardly placed, Jessica’s friend decided to leave, rather than see her out the door, Jerry asked her to be the ‘ref’ aka judge as Jerry and his wife pleaded their case.

The TV show is a cross between a reality, comedy and panel show. Our host is Tom Papa, who looks like he has been separated from birth with ‘Cougar Town’s’ Ian Gomez. He is joined by Jerry Seinfeld and two other celebrities as they provide their ‘expert opinion’ on the relationship at hand. Tonight’s episode featured Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) and Kelly Ripa.

In the sneak peak, we are shown clips of Danielle and Kevin who are arguing over a stuffed pet and Dianah and Greg disputing over whether or not a stripper pole should be fitted in the bedroom. The panel of experts attempts to parody the clip and the ‘contestants’ but it fails to draw many laughs, Baldwin came up with some good one liners but Seinfeld and Ripa didn’t add much to the panel.

Further, the corniness provided by Natalie Morales (NBC newsreader) the statistician who provided some useless numbers, some sports guy Marv Albert who might as well not be there and Tom Papa giving his ‘verdict,’  ‘The Marriage Ref’ isn’t NBC’s best replacement for Leno.

But who knows? NBC did include a clip show of what’s to come which included some big names in Ricky Gervais, Larry David and Madonna all on the same panel which had me excited otherwise it left a lot to be desired. Granted NBC has ordered only seven hours and the star power on display in the upcoming episodes, I’ll be returning for seconds.

‘The Marriage Ref’ premieres in its permanent timeslot, Thursday on NBC.

2 out of 5 stars

The AFL semi-finals are upon us and Tvauscast has the teams and telecast times for each market. The biggest programming change will be in Adelaide where many programs will be moved around to accommodate the earlier start on Friday night (see bottom of this post).

FRIDAY NIGHT AFL – SEMI FINAL 1: Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide on Channel 7
Adelaide @ 7pm
Melbourne and Perth @ 8:30pm
Sydney and Brisbane @ 12:50am (Saturday morning)

SATURDAY NIGHT AFL – SEMI FINAL 2: St Kilda v Fremantle on Channel 10
Perth @ 6pm
Adelaide @ 8pm
Melbourne @ 8:30pm
Sydney and Brisbane @ 11:30pm.

Here are all the programming changes that affect Adelaide -

Thursday 4th March

7:00 Home and Away - Double Episode
8:00 Ghost Whisperer – Ep 10 of 22 in Season 5
9:00 Cougar Town – Ep 4 of 22 in Season 1
9:30 How I Met Your Mother – Ep 4 of 22 in Season 5
10:00 Thank God You’re Here – RPT
11:00 Family Guy – Ep 5 of 22 in Season 8
11:30 Family Guy – RPT - Double Episode
12:30 Blue Heelers – RPT
01:30 Home Shopping

Friday 5th March

7:00 AFL NAB Cup: Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide
10:00 MOVIE: Species – RPT
12:10 MOVIE: Jeepers Creepers 2 – RPT
2:10 Auction Squad – RPT
3:05 Home Shopping
4:00 NBC Today

Saturday 6th March

6:30 Better Homes and Gardens
7:30 MOVIE: Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit – RPT
9:40 MOVIE: Disturbia Premiere
11:50 MOVIE: Doctor Detroit – RPT
1:35 MOVIE: Farewell, My Love – RPT

The guide for Seven wc 28th Feb has now been updated.