Aussie Bloggers

Over here in the States, we’re going through a major change in our television – turning off the old analogue stations which have been serving us for upwards of 65 years in some areas, in favour of digital signals. In fact, we’re not the only ones going through this digital transition – it’s happening all around the world.

Of course, all of y’all in Australia have been experiencing digital television for many years now, with the convenient backup of the analogue signals still available for at least another year or so, depending on what KRudd and the crew decide to do. One of the most interesting things, however, is the fact that, over here, they aren’t making the most of digital television.

The main thing that broadcasters aren’t taking advantage of is switching to Widescreen digital programming. A major misconception over here is that if it’s widescreen, it is HDTV. As you have known for at least 7 years (possibly longer – I haven’t read up on the history), you can broadcast multiple channels in widescreen and not have any issues with quality loss.

This Sunday night Dexter will premiere on Channel Ten – yes, it is finally arriving on Australian free to air television. It’s only a couple of years late – the third season of Dexter is filming right now and is due to air in the states in September this year.

So for those of you new to the show, what can you expect? First up, let us state that this is not a show for the faint hearted. During the day Dexter is a blood spatter expert for the Miami police department. At night time, he is a serial killer – with a difference. He only kills serial killers. You could make the argument that he is actually saving lives. At the same time, killing is wrong, right? That is where the show gets interesting.

If you like your television bland and your characters black and white, Dexter won’t be for you. Michael C Hall said of Dexter – “A lot of times we see somebody with a black hat, somebody wearing a white hat, and he’s got a big ten gallon grey hat, which I like.” Sometimes there may be scenes which are a little scary, some might even say slightly gory, but certainly nothing worse than what you’d see on CSI. And of course given Dexter’s job, you’re going to see blood. Sometimes just a little bit, sometimes quite a lot of it.

There is a lot of great music in the show – from the jaunty theme tune which plays during the opening credits to more haunting themes and a lot in between. The first time I saw this series I would wake up at night hearing the music in my head. In this show the music is almost a character along with the cast.

Speaking of the cast, most of them will probably look unfamiliar to you to begin with even though a large percentage of the cast have been in many and varied shows previously. One person you’re likely to recognise if you are a Sex and The City fan is James Remar – who played Richard Wright in Sex and The City, one of Samantha’s favourite men.

In Dexter he is Harry Morgan, Dexter’s father who plays a huge role in Dexter’s life.

Rita Bennett, played by Julie Benz – Dexter’s sweet and trusting girlfriend. Rita has two kids – Astor and Cody – and an ex-husband who is currently in jail for what he did to her.

Debra Morgan, played by Jennifer Carpenter – Dexter’s sister who is a police officer. Debra works in the vice department and has legs up to her eyebrows but her dream is to become a homicide detective.

Lt. Maria Laguerta, played by Lauren Vélez – the always stunningly dressed lieutenant of the homicide department. Watch out for her sparkly lipstick, layered jewelery, salon fresh hair, fancy shoes and tailored suits.

Angel Batista, played by David Zayas – the detective with a heart of gold. He loves the Miami nightlife, and his wife. Aww. If you had to choose a policeman to help you, Angel would probably be the one.

Vincent Masuka, played by C. S. Lee – a forensic expert with his mind in the gutter who loves to drool over Dexter’s sister.

By the end of the first episode, Dexter will have introduced you to everyone near and dear to him – as well as those not so dear. You’ll get to know him a little. Will you like him? Will you tune in next time? Let us know in our new thread dedicated to Dexter Discussion.

For me and about 300 million of my fellow Americans (and for a lot of Canadians as well), the thought of a free-to-air channel that doesn’t have any ads conjures up images of foreign channels.* However, if I ask any of y’all about free TV without adverts, you immediately would respond with the ABC.

However, it’s the exact opposite that has been getting viewers to switch their TVs onto 2 (or 21 if you have digital) in numbers not seen since Kath and Kim debuted a few years back. The program that’s been hotting up TV dials all around Australia is about advertising – The Gruen Transfer.

Hosted by Glass House favourite Wil Anderson and produced by Andrew Dention, The Gruen Transfer takes a look at ads. Not just taking a look at an ad and being enthralled at it, saying “Ooh! Pretty!” or “Look! That ad had a puppy in it. I’m going to buy that car now!” – rather by discussing the ads, coming up with hilarious ways to sell things and explaining why ads work. Adding into the mix are a panel made up of professionals involved in the advertising business discussing their (and other companies’) work.

It’s a whole new outlook on the world of advertising – one that you won’t see here in the States (mostly because if we have a show about ads it’s one of those lame funniest ads shows that shows the foreign ads which are, to an American audience, very risque ). You even learn things about the industry, such as in the first episode when the regulations that alcohol advertising is held to, including not allowing what was termed the best part of drinking – sexual prowess, changing your mood and the like – to be shown on the ads.

However, to me, the best feature is The Pitch, where representatives of two ad agencies have the opportunity to create ads for something that, well, can’t be sold. The first example that they had was whale meat, and the two ads that were done (seen below) made you maybe want to consider trying the meat, if it weren’t for all the taboos involved in the potential gathering of the product.

If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s available for free download from the ABC Website (or on iTunes), or you can see it on ABC1 at 9.00 PM Wednesdays and on ABC2 at 8.30 PM Thursdays.

And now, the ads -

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XofGXKxpU2Y]
Whale Meat: The Beef of the Sea

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3u1gpFoY2Q]
The Angry Prawn

*If you’re wondering why I don’t claim PBS as advert-free TV, it’s because while the actual programs are advert-free, the spots before and after are really no different to the ads you see on everyday network TV.

Yes, I know. That is quite a wait – over three months! But the Aussie Bloggers who have been watching the series on Showcase will tell you the wait is absolutely worth it.

As the second season starts, Dexter is coiled and ready to strike. However he is unable to – Sergeant James Doakes is following him everywhere he goes. It has been 38 long days since he has been able to follow the directions of his dark passenger. Unknown to Dexter, an unpleasant surprise is on the way – some of his previous victims will soon be discovered, and his own department will be involved in the manhunt.

You can pre-order Season 2 of Dexter with free delivery within Australia Post via EzyDVD now – and they don’t charge your credit card until your order ships. Dexter will air on Channel 10 later this year, however it is understood this will be the version which is less intense than the pay tv version. And while you wait, here’s a little sneak preview..

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNEYE395KNo]

Two weeks into the most recent incarnation of Big Brother, the eighth, and the show might have actually turned a corner for the best. This is the first series with a new executive producer, replacing Kris Noble, who, in the time he was there, turned the show from an interesting social experiment into a launching platform for models and people just seeking fame, with more emphasis placed on looks and age rather than on personality.

This year, we’ve actually seen a range of housemates from 18-year-old Bianca to 50-something grandmother Terri, and there’s actually a variety of personalities in the house, other than the “I’m here for fame” types. Let’s take a look at some of the housemates up close. Just so you know, I’m writing this before having a chance to screen the eviction show. However, the Friday night show had the bottom three as of then, and they’ll be the first ones looked at.

• Alice: The vet from the country who hasn’t had that much airtime during her stay so far in the house. She’s committed to exercising and has earnt a reward from that, with a bye in the first round of this week’s Friday Night show. Whether that does anything to influence the vote, I don’t know.
• Rebecca: Another person who hasn’t featured that much in the daily shows up until now. The only notable thing that she has done is wanted to go home, but then slept on it and decided that she’s a soldier and she’d fight it out…
• Saxon: A council worker who is chock full of tattoos has shown himself to be a bit of a decent fellow, which is something he’s decided to change consciously, and I gotta say good on him for that, but I think his “old” ways are coming back somewhat. He’s also noted as part of the Spa Mafia, but that phrase didn’t really last all that long…

As for the rest of the housemates, this is what I think of them, in no particular order:

• Ben: Law student who is trying to, well I don’t know. My impression of him is that he’s white bread – pretty plain and not that interesting. He just kinda hangs out and is staying pretty much on the down-low.
• Bianca: 18-year-old who is probably a bit like me in the way that she is much more mature than her age would suggest. I like her mind, but one big negative for her was that she got a bit hung up over the whole Corey thing. However, she’s actually finding out that he’s not that bad of a fella, but I think the jury’s still out on that one. I’d tip her to get a lot of votes from the guys
• Brigitte: Dumb blond pretty much sums her up. Though she says she’s smarter than she appears to be, there are questions about that from me at least, and a lot of the housemates. She’s a good girl, but I think she’s also kinda plain.
• David: Cult escapee turned cop turned firie. I tipped him to be in the running for the win, but the voting is going the other way it would seem, with him in the bottom 5 the last couple of days now. They haven’t mentioned it on the daily shows, but I wonder if he’s going to mention his past to the house at any time. It’d make some interesting discussion.
• Dixie: The first of the Dubbo girls, and also a proud Aboriginal. She works as a coulsellor, but it seems that she’s needed some consoling over the time already, with the lack of food in the house, and then losing Rima to her injury. The latest is that she wanted out of the house, but after Rebecca chose to stay, she decided to stick it out as well.
• Nathan: The surviving housemate voted into the house by the public (after Michael and Barney were evicted by Terri at sunup), he’s won the Friday Night Games, but wound up not having any ability to use the main prizes, except maybe for the assignment of chores and the other duties. His popularity on the web could be useful when he goes up on the block for voting.
• Nobbi: What a pain in the rear end! He’s got probably the best sleeping arrangement in the house, even if it is in the unheated Kombi van, and he can’t seem to stop whining about one thing or another. The upside is that his constant requests to be allowed into the house get repeatedly turned down. It’s making him think of ways to ask, and making the producers think of ways to deny him his request. It’s pretty cool, even though he is prone to the occasional dummy spit. I’d expect him to go some distance in the show.
• Renee: The other Dubbo girl, and probably the coolest of the girls, as she is always happy and having fun. She’s definitely a tomboy, and she’s had an interesting past. I can’t say a bad thing at all about her – I like her. She could actually have a shot to take it all, but that’s just me.
• Rima: A professional belly dancer who, in the time she was in the house, has proven herself to be very worthwhile as a housemate, even if she can’t reach the windows in the garden. Unfortunately, the accident during FNL last week which broke her legs, has sidelined her for the time being. Rumor is that she’s going to return to the house.
• Rory: A Geelong brickie who has gone and probably ticked off half of his town by describing his part of town as a slum. I think that he still could go on and be in the running for the final win. At least that was my thought after I watched the launch show.
• Terri: A bit of bait-and-switch was done with her status, but it will work out in the end. She’s the nanna who was booted out of the house (predictably) after just one night. Then she was brought back as Corey’s chaperon, a job which she did with some aplomb, even climbing up a tree to try to find him. She was reinstated as a housemate, however, after taking up the task of removing two of the web housemates (though she thought it was two from the whole lot). I think that now she’s fulltime there, she’ll go quite some distance. Unless the voters are predictable like the housemates were.
• Travis: He can make his voice deep, but he still always talks in a voice that can only be described as fingernails on a chalkboard. His mannerisms are also very interesting, and have led to questions about his lifestyle. I gotta say that those questions aren’t baseless, considering that he hugs just about everything in sight. It will be interesting to see how he uses his twists to affect the nominations. If I were a betting man (and I’m not ), he’d probably save one of the girls if they wind up down in the bottom 3.

As far as other aspects of the show go, the best addition has definitely been the inclusion of a new show to replace the adults only show, which actually features discussion about the program and the goings on in the house by relatively intelligent people – Big Brother’s Big Mouth. It’s a show that started out in the UK fronted by Russell Brand, and has moved down to Australia. Somehow, I don’t think that this show will run into the same issues they’ve had with the Uncut shows in the past. If anything, it should be given acclaim for being able to give frank opinions of the house and the housemates. Not necessarily Logie acclaim, but maybe a nice writeup in The Australian or something.

Changing the hosts to Kyle & Jackie O has certainly created a different dynamic in the studio shows this year – I don’t mind them all that much, but there is something strange about them together. I’m not sure just yet…

If you’re interested in more discussion of Big Brother, there’s a thread ongoing in the forums: Big Brother 2008. Also, you can check out the official site for news and updates directly from Dreamworld. Lastly, the site with the most buzz about the show is Behind Big Brother – it’s been around for a few years now, and has made itself probably the best source for rumors and other news about the show, housemates, and even the constant ongoings from the live stream in their forums.

My overall impression of the show is that it’s definitely much improved over the last few years. I also think that the new eviction process (a hybrid of the old and the way it’s done in the States), will lead to more intriguing decisions about who goes and who stays, especially if the housemates have to specify a reason for why they’re giving so many points to each housemate. Also, unlike the past, I’m actually keeping an eye on the show every day now.