Glenn Dyer’s TV shorts and ratings

Blue Heelers survives the axe

The
decision by the Nine Network to cancel its series, The Alice probably did more
than just cut costs for the Network. It has
enabled the Seven Network to reach agreement on a deal that will see its
struggling police drama series, Blue Heelers, return to TV screens next
year.

The
common element in both shows is Southern Star, the production house owned
by Southern Cross Broadcasting. The
Alice was a
prestigious series for Southern Star, the biggest new production of 2005 coming
on top of the most successful tele movie of
2004. Blue
Heelers (and All Saints) had been revamped in 2004 boosting ratings for both,
but while the medical mob survived the departure of long-time star, Georgie Parker, earlier this year,
Blue Heelers sagged in the ratings, especially over the past three
months.

Viewers
tired of the ‘same old same old’ and rumours started
circulating of a possible demise. Seven
was confident that would not happen but all the Network would say was that it
was in discussions with Southern Star about the series return in
2006. They
concluded this week when Blue Heelers‘ audience pushed past the one million
mark, averaging just over 1.1 million on Wednesday night. The
program has been downsized (or right-sized), costs have been cut and a new
budget for 2006 approved. But it faces a second review early in 2006.

Production starts straight away on the new series of
Blue Heelers. It first went to air in 1994. So
that’s one-all for Seven in local drama this year: Blue Heelers saved, Last Man
Standing killed off after failing to set the world on fire. But Seven didn’t handle it well, moving the program around
timeslots.

Will Grimshaw replace Ray Martin?

That old rumour about Tracy Grimshaw replacing Ray Martin as host of the Nine Network’s A Current Affair in 2006 is back in circulation.

Grimshaw has been the stalwart holding Nine’s stumbling Today show
together this year. She’s also a successful summer edition host of ACA,
and is lined up to do that again in the coming summer season.

Ellen Fanning has been widely suggested as Martin’s replacement, especially after being given the Nightline program to host a month ago. But whether she takes over from Ray is not certain at this stage.

Nine, ACA management and Ray have some serious thinking
to do. Does he want to continue battling away, or do something else?
One idea is to put Ray on the road as a reporter. It’s his strength, as
he showed in Aceh in the Tsunami reporting in January and on several
other occasions this year.

Nine could easily afford to style him on the likes of Charles Kuralt, a reporter who did a program for years for CBS called On The Road, travelling throughout the US filing reports for CBS News and other programs.

Ray
has the ability and maturity to do that, and can probably be better
used in ways that reward him, viewers and Nine, while also keeping him
on screen. For all his faults, he’s still head and shoulders above
anyone else on the Nine Network.

Last night’s TV
ratings