The TV networks crank up the nostalgia

Australian
television has discovered a new trick – lists. The Nine Network is
close to finishing post production on a series called 20 to One,
which will be a series of Top 20 lists of books, movies, films, songs,
etc. Real Baby Boomer stuff and due to air over eight 30 minute
episodes in October. And I hear the ABC is, in its own ponderous
way, moving towards a similar project that will go to air sometime
between March and May next year. Again the content will be a series of
lists and it will come under the factual area of Denise Eriksen who has
given us the very mixed bag of programs that run at 6.30pm.

The
ABC has already had a go at lists with the Jennifer Byrne-hosted
special late last year on our most popular books, which was based on a
series from the BBC called the Big Read which listed the 100 most popular books and then turned into the Top 21, a list of the 21 most popular books. This
is nostalgia-driven TV and we are about to get a double dose of it on
the Nine and Seven networks in a fortnight’s time when they celebrate
the 50th anniversary of TV a year early. 16 September, 1956 was the
date of Bruce Gyngell’s now famous first up appearance on TCN 9 in
Sydney but both Nine and Seven have changed the way they measure the
anniversary: they base it on the 50th year of Television in this
country, not the 50th anniversary of the first TV broadcast in this
country (as opposed to test transmissions, which took place in 1955).

Last night’s TV
ratings

The Winners

 Nine by the biggest margin of the week. Normal, 2004 service
restored. A Current Affair (1.344 million) climbed back over Today Tonight
(1.271 million). Getaway (1.585 million) was the most watched program. It
celebrated Las Vegas’s centenary while the fiction show about Las Vegas on Seven
languished (1.003 million) far behind. The return of Fatty Vautin to the NRL
Footy Show in Sydney and Brisbane ensured good numbers there and a top ten
finish nationally with 1.265 million. Body Work on Nine (1.10 million) now paired
with the late replacement, You Are What You Eat (1.071 million). It replaced the
dud I Can Change Your Life. Ten’s Law and Order SVU (1.239 million.)
The Losers

Ten, again and Seven – without Lost it looks a bit lost
on Thursday evenings. Las Vegas will not be the filler that Grey’s Anatomy is
becoming on Monday nights for the Housewives of Wisteria Lane. The Mole (1.122
million) lost 230,000 viewers. Alias lost almost 300,000 viewers (701,000 this
week versus 1.015 million a week ago). Home and Away (1.305 million) dropped for
Seven and was beaten by Nine’s Temptation (1.370 million). I don’t know about the
new “Bec.”
News & CA

 Seven’s Today Tonight lost the
Network but won Sydney and Perth. But the real surprise was Seven News beating
Nine in Melbourne . It won Sydney and Perth and the Network. Nine News and ACA
won Brisbane and Adelaide and ACA won Melbourne after TT lost 73,000 from the
winning news in Melbourne. Today Tonight lost ground except in Perth
from Seven news. Nine’s ACA will go close to winning the week over
TT.
The Stats

 Nine, 32.7% to Seven with 24.9% and Ten with 21.4%. the
ABC with 16.5% and SBS on 4.5%. Nine leads the week comfortably 29.5% to 26.6%.
Nine won everywhere bar Perth where Seven won narrowly, thanks to the big wins
by the News and Today Tonight.
Glenn Dyer’s
comments

 The AFL finals start on Ten tonight and that will hurt Nine
for the next week or so until the finals revert to day time. The NRL is still
going in NSW and Queensland which will help the Network. There’s no cricket, so
a sedate end to the week. Last night would have disappointed Seven, they were
just not in the hunt without Lost. No dogfight on Spitfire Ace but 958,000
viewers. The most poignant moment was viewing the camera gun footage of a German
bomber being shot down and realising that people were dying.