Are Australian TV Execs The Thickest In The World?

[Kerr=God]

I remember coming back from the UK a few years back, and after watching a fair bit of tele in the colder months and seeing some of the homegrown shows they were producing and the way they programmed there schedules, i couldnt help but think 'geez the people running Aussie TV must be a pack of cardigan wearing morons'.

The fact Australian's are meant to be more 'rough' and 'open minded' then there allegedly stuffy/conservative British counterparts, only adds to my confusion.

Surely that open mindedness would be reflected in our television? Surely our execs would be greater risk takers and boundary pushers than the Brits?

But it simply isnt the case.

For about half a decade now, TV in this country seems to be about finding something cheap and safe, then flooding it on the viewer until they get sick of it. Take the following television 'periods' as a case in point.....

* The Home reno/DIY period....(Ground Force, Better Homes & Gardens, Room For Improvement, Changing Rooms, Backyard Blitz and any number of spin offs and cross polinations)

* The forensic/crime procedure shows (CSI/CSI Miami/CSI New York/NCIS/Law and Order etc/Medical Investigation Team)

* CCTV, Amateur footage shows (Worlds Greatest Police Chases, Caught on Camera etc).

* Fly On The Wall shows (The Force, Border Protection, Medical Emergency, Motorway Patrol etc)

* Guest Celeb driven gameshows

Now we have the archival footage/nostalgia show period....(Good As Gold, 20/1, What A Year etc)

Is it that Australian people are simply too thick too accept something different, or is it TV execs have turned them that way through years and years of mind numbing, flavor of the month programming trends, so that when anything outside the square comes along people are incapable of accepting it?

Why dont we see 'variety/live entertainment' shows like The Word?

Why dont we see lots of short run dramas and comedies (The Office, This Life, The Cops, Between The Lines, Teachers etc ) instead of three or four pieces of dross that hang on for 40 odd weeks a year (All Saints, Blue Heelers, Water Rats etc)? We used to have a bit of it on the ABC with Wildside/Phoenix/Janus, and some of the old Kennedy/Miller ones on Ten in the 80s, but god that seems a long time ago now.

Id love to hear some input from you guys.

 

[- PC -]

Is it that Australian people are simply too thick too accept something different, or is it TV execs have turned them that way through years and years of mind numbing, flavor of the month programming trends, so that when anything outside the square comes along people are incapable of accepting it?

Bit of both

Too many sheep and not enough money to keep the rest

 

[Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear]

Are the Australian people too thick? Well I think we know the answer to that when shows like big brother keep rating and turning up every year.

 

[Mr.Likeable]

Why dont we see 'variety/live entertainment' shows like The Word?

Why dont we see lots of short run dramas and comedies (The Office, This Life, The Cops, Between The Lines, Teachers etc ) instead of three or four pieces of dross that hang on for 40 odd weeks a year (All Saints, Blue Heelers, Water Rats etc)?

Id love to hear some input from you guys.

It's tough to develop shows from scratch and get a financial return in the Australian market. Every new show is a big financial risk, and our "market" of 20 million people is only one quarter the size of England's, for example. So it's harder to get new shows off the ground. Economics is the problem - economies of scale and economies of market size are the major concerns.

Second, it's much cheaper for Australian TV networks to buy shows from the U.S. and England, as these are "dumped" onto the Australian market having already earned their investment back overseas. If a show is going to rate very highly in Oz, then local networks will have to pay for that. But OS producers will also have some very ordinary shows "in the can" and they'll be happy to make a few extra dollars selling them to Australian TV networks for much less than it costs Australian producers to make TV locally.

This keeps downward pressure on Australian production costs, and on the risk that networks are prepared to take on locally produced shows.

It's an economic bind.

 

[emperor]

not having lived in another country i can't say

 

[emperor]

Are the Australian people too thick? Well I think we know the answer to that when shows like big brother keep rating and turning up every year.

Big brother is in other countries too, i agree on the whole it does seem we are 'thick' but i'm certain we are no thicker than any other western country on this planet

 

[celtic_pride]

I just generally only watch sports and sports releated programs on live TV, (unless it's like a new episode of teh simpsons) otherwise I just buy my fave shows on DVD boxsets, for instance I have just bought smallville season 4 on dVD (which is still screening here btw on 10) and I notice season 5 has already been released on DVD in the states (which I'll be importing btw as I am engrossed with teh storyline plus can't wait to see James Marsters (spike from Buffy) in it )

It's the reality TV crap esp on channel's 7 and 10 that have treated teh fans of such cult shows and sci-fi shows with contempt.
7 Haven't even started to screen season 2 of Stargate Atlantis and it is been released here shortly in Australia I believe.
Thank god for DVD box sets is all I can say "_

 

[Sanguinarius]

Why dont we see lots of short run dramas and comedies (The Office, This Life, The Cops, Between The Lines, Teachers etc )

loved teachers when I saw it on UKTV. I was pretty pissed when I found that it wasn't released on DVD. Brain (is it brian?) is very entertaining and his mates were quality.

in general I think you'll find the shows of ABC and SBS much better than the comercial networks, but still not much better.

 

[Magpiespower]

The only way for an Australian TV show to survive in this current climate is to get an international sale.

That's the only reason a show like 'Secret Life' got up in the first place - it was pre-sold to the UK.

'McLeod's Daughters' is an expensive show to produce but it's sold to markets all over the world - it's huge on US cable television (the Hallmark channel, I think?)

Doubt if you'll ever see another show like 'Wildside' ever again.

Brilliant as it was, the ABC couldn't sell it anywhere. Ended up losing big money on that one.

Kennedy-Miller were extremely lucky in the 1980s in that Rupert Murdoch owned Channel 10 at the time and championed the local industry.

He wanted locally made TV shows and didn't care about cost. Even personally intervened to ensure that 'The Dismissal' was made after his bean-counters tried to put the kybosh on it.

At the same time, the local industry has to accept some of the blame for the current rut.

It's been churning out crap for years.

The good news is that Fox is investing more and more into local productions...

 

[pmad87]

I remember coming back from the UK a few years back, and after watching a fair bit of tele in the colder months and seeing some of the homegrown shows they were producing and the way they programmed there schedules, i couldnt help but think 'geez the people running Aussie TV must be a pack of cardigan wearing morons'.

The fact Australian's are meant to be more 'rough' and 'open minded' then there allegedly stuffy/conservative British counterparts, only adds to my confusion.

Surely that open mindedness would be reflected in our television? Surely our execs would be greater risk takers and boundary pushers than the Brits?

But it simply isnt the case.

For about half a decade now, TV in this country seems to be about finding something cheap and safe, then flooding it on the viewer until they get sick of it. Take the following television 'periods' as a case in point.....

* The Home reno/DIY period....(Ground Force, Better Homes & Gardens, Room For Improvement, Changing Rooms, Backyard Blitz and any number of spin offs and cross polinations)

* The forensic/crime procedure shows (CSI/CSI Miami/CSI New York/NCIS/Law and Order etc/Medical Investigation Team)

* CCTV, Amateur footage shows (Worlds Greatest Police Chases, Caught on Camera etc).

* Fly On The Wall shows (The Force, Border Protection, Medical Emergency, Motorway Patrol etc)

* Guest Celeb driven gameshows

Now we have the archival footage/nostalgia show period....(Good As Gold, 20/1, What A Year etc)

Is it that Australian people are simply too thick too accept something different, or is it TV execs have turned them that way through years and years of mind numbing, flavor of the month programming trends, so that when anything outside the square comes along people are incapable of accepting it?

Why dont we see 'variety/live entertainment' shows like The Word?

Why dont we see lots of short run dramas and comedies (The Office, This Life, The Cops, Between The Lines, Teachers etc ) instead of three or four pieces of dross that hang on for 40 odd weeks a year (All Saints, Blue Heelers, Water Rats etc)? We used to have a bit of it on the ABC with Wildside/Phoenix/Janus, and some of the old Kennedy/Miller ones on Ten in the 80s, but god that seems a long time ago now.

Id love to hear some input from you guys.

Stop watching channel 9. With the footy gone, you'll have no reason to ever tune into Channel Eddie, at least for another few years.

BTW, does anyone else get the feeling that Sunday is turning into 60 minutes/A Current Affair? (e.g. "Is your child normal?")

 

[DB10]

Heh.

Television is one of the few things we (the UK) seem to be good at.

 

[Il Naso De Gastev]

Thick as bricks.... especially given that CH7 pulled probably the best local production in years (Last Man Standing) after one season.

 

[Kerr=God]

Thick as bricks.... especially given that CH7 pulled probably the best local production in years (Last Man Standing) after one season.

Marieke Hardy = chardy socialist, blight on Australia's literary landscape.

 

[Nomis]

I'm not sure that they are that thick, their breif is to make profits for their shareholders and they are doing a good job at that.

 

[dmc333]

Marieke Hardy = chardy socialist, blight on Australia's literary landscape.

Add to that, only got to her priviledged position in the TV community through nepotism.