So, it's been a little while. This was a strange week for me. I was filled with nervous energy making it hard for me to sleep. Hopefully that passes soon, though it doesn't seem like it will. Did much happen this week? Aside from work and uni, on Tuesday night I went to Brunswick for Tom's birthday. It was dinner with a bunch of Tom's friends at a pizza restaurant. Good food, good fun. Afterwards we went back to Tom's place for beer and ice cream, a curious combination that somehow worked.

You know, lately I've been noticing that there are actually quite a few TV shows that I'm regularly watching on Australian TV.

'Glee' is just great fun, it's very cleverly written in that it deliberately employs a lot of stereotypical characters (the jocks, the cheerleaders, the nerds) but often plays them against type with great comic effect. It's funny, it has musical numbers that break up the show nicely and it has Jane Lynch. Jane Lynch is awesome.

'Man vs Wild' is a show I just discovered recently and I find it totally engrossing. Bear Grylls takes you through various environments, illustrating what to do in survival situations. The thing is, Grylls is quite a believable guy and despite the fact that many of the situations are probably orchestrated or set up with a team of researchers and experts behind them, it's still good viewing. A similar show that I used to watch is 'Survivorman' which is pretty much the same idea except with no crew, the guy in 'Survivorman' is genuinely all by himself with a camera.

'John Safran's Race Relations' is probably the best show I've seen in ages. The first episode was so entertaining and it's largely because the show is very much centred around Safran. His personality is what really drives the show. I also recommend you check out Safran's old audition tape for 'Race Around the World', it's great.

I've continued to watch 'Hungry Beast'. It has improved, I reckon. It's still not compulsive viewing by any stretch, but it's gotten better. This may be largely due to the fact that the hosts are more consistent, there doesn't appear to be so much of a revolving door of individuals, although maybe it's just that the regular hosts are now more familiar to me. The sketches are where this show could be improved, I'd love it if they were a bit more edgy. There's still this weird blend of comedy and current affairs style segments. Also, some segments are a bit misguided, the point is a bit unclear sometimes.

'Ten' (2002) directed by Abbas Kiarostami

I thought this was pretty cool. The film is basically set in a car, as an Iranian woman drives around, picking up passengers. It's divided into ten chapters, hence the title. The thing about this film is that the camera stays static, focusing in on either the passenger in the car, or the driver. This allows performance to remain the most significant element in the piece, giving the film a sense of realism. The static camera is a little unsettling at first, as you're almost sitting there waiting for the camera to move or for an edit, but once I realised that that was how the film was structured, it allowed me to just settle into it and take in the characters. It's very effective.

I thought I'd do an update to my article of last week about 'Hey Hey' and 'Hungry Beast'. I watched both of these shows again this week and here are some general thoughts.

'Hey Hey It's Saturday'

• Obviously the whole blackface 'Red Faces' thing has been all over the press, even making it's way onto 'The View' in the U.S. I don't want to comment on the skit too much, though when I saw it, my main thought was "What the hell were they thinking?". I was surprised that the producers of the show hadn't picked up on the potential that the skit had to cause offense.
• The show is pretty daggy. I mean, even the sets are the same as they were ten years ago. That's part of the appeal I suppose, but it's not really a step forward. A lot of the jokes are quite lame, but then, I was keeping in mind that it's a family show so it's aiming for all ages.
  
• The pacing of the show is quite slow and the graphics and titles are pretty raw, particularly compared to shows such as 'Rove'. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly is bucking the contemporary trend.
• Daryl is a very competent host but he's also quite annoying.
  
• The presence of Ossie Ostrich was excellent, a real highlight. I love the way Ossie just makes these quiet, subversive but very witty comments off to the side.

I definitely think a show like 'Hey Hey' has a place in the contemporary Australian television landscape. The main reason that I think it works is because it has a really wide cast who all contribute in some way. The people that make up the show aren't just people either, they're characters and they are all different. This keeps the show moving along, it's consistently quite funny mainly because at any moment any one of Ossie, Dickie Knee, John Blackman, Red, Wilbur, Russell Gilbert or the many others can chime in with a joke. The audience never knows where or when the next joke will come from and the fact that it's live means that anything can happen. Add to that the regular segments such as 'Red Faces', 'Plucka Duck' and 'Molly's Melodrama' and the show has a real structure that can be played with.

It's an excellent model for a variety show and it's the reason that the show can consistently provide two hours of entertainment regularly. However, there are aspects that are a little tired, 'Hey Hey' can't go on forever. Perhaps we need a new show that kind of combines the formats of 'Hey Hey' and 'Rove'. 'Rove' could definitely be longer, it would give it more room to breathe. 'Rove' would also work better if there were more people involved that had defined roles, that could provide jokes so as to support and also subvert the host (like Ossie Ostrich or Dickie Knee, though not necessarily a puppet). I guess one of the big things that came out of watching 'Hey Hey' is that a show tends to work better if the host isn't the one and only thing that the show revolves around. For instance, 'Hey Hey' is hosted by Daryl Somers but it's definitely not 'The Daryl Somers Show'. 'Rove' would benefit from this kind of approach.

'Hungry Beast'

This show just doesn't really work. Why?

• Way too many hosts. 19? What the hell. They all just kind of blur into each other and their personalities don't really shine through. Some of them are genuinely quite charismatic though, such as Dan Ilic.
• It feels like the television version of a uni newspaper. I read this description on Twitter somewhere and it pinpointed exactly what I was feeling about it. It's just a little too earnest, dare I say a little too tryhard.
• It's not consistent. It's very hard to get a grasp on the show because the hosts and segments vary constantly. A comedy sketch followed by a piece to camera followed by an interview with a grieving widow followed by some graphics about... who cares?
• Yeah, the graphics. Not a very interesting or effective device to link the segments.
• I keep drawing comparisons with 'Race Around The World'. The reason that 'Race' worked was because it had a structure. There would be the video made by a racer and then some judging. Was the judging necessary? Probably not, but it gave the show structure. It's the same reason that Tom Gleisner has a presence on 'Thank God You're Here'. He gives the show structure. Structure is really lacking in 'Hungry Beast'. You need a unifying presence.
  

I'm quite disappointed with it overall. Mainly because the concept is great but the execution is so average. I think it basically comes down to a lack of structure and cohesion. Without that, the show looks like a bunch of random clips strung together. I was initially reluctant to criticise 'Hungry Beast' because I reckon there should be more shows giving newcomers in the media industry a chance. But, as a show, I'm really struggling with it. It could just be a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen.

Wednesday night was a very interesting TV night. On Channel 9, you had the return of a classic Australian show, 'Hey Hey It's Saturday', a show that hasn't been seen on our screens for ten years. It was presented in exactly the same format as when we last saw it, featuring the same veteran performers. On the other hand, on the ABC was the premiere episode of a brand new show from Zapruder's Other Films called 'Hungry Beast'.

These two shows present an interesting contrast within the Australian TV landscape at the moment. Australian television seems to be in an interesting period currently as commercial networks look towards finding the next 'Masterchef', basically a show that everyone in society might be drawn to, that all members of the family will watch. 'Masterchef' worked essentially because it was a show that was geared toward a whole range of demographics. A big reason that people watch television is so that they have something to talk about with other people at school or work. It works as a unifier. It's similar to what 'Talkin' About Your Generation' has successfully achieved recently and it's also one reason why 'Hey Hey It's Saturday' was so successful in the past. It's interesting then that 'Hey Hey' has returned, placed on Wednesday night against 'Celebrity Masterchef' and this new show 'Hungry Beast'.

From all reports, 'Hey Hey' rated really well although whether this is due largely to the curiosity factor will remain to be seen. I watched most of it and enjoyed it, it seemed to retain the same spirit that it used to have, the performers all have that great chemistry and it was pretty funny overall. Some elements felt a bit tired and definitely the John Farnham cross was a laughable misstep because the delay was so extreme. Overall though, the show was good family viewing. It seemed to fill a void that has been lacking in Australian television of late, that of live variety. It's a domain that hasn't ever been filled since 'Hey Hey' left our screens, the closest approximations that haven't been axed within a season have probably been 'Rove' and sadly 'The Footy Show'. There have been some attempts such as the ill-fated 'Micallef Tonight', a very funny show that didn't get much of a run, but there has been nothing as sustained as 'Hey Hey' was. Can 'Hey Hey' come back permanently? I don't see why not, it still works as a show. But ultimately, it can only be a temporary fill-in. Australian television still needs to develop something new, fresh and exciting. Live television, particularly the variety format, is important because it exposes new talent on our screens.

While 'Hey Hey' represents an old favourite, re-booted for a new generation; 'Hungry Beast' on ABC represents an entirely new concept, an untried format. The premise of the show is that nineteen young media newcomers (sort of) are given pretty much free reign to create a half-hour weekly show. The emphasis seems to be on news and current affairs but the tone is light and features comedy sketches and pranks as well. Did it work? It is very hard to judge a show based on the first episode but my reaction was basically disappointment. I was expecting this show to be like a new 'Race Around The World', a show that was fresh and exciting and really allowed the individuals in it to create whatever they wanted. It was a brilliant show that should be brought back, it introduced us to such talents as John Safran and Tony Wilson. I think 'Hungry Beast' is the sort of show that could be quite up and down from week to week, such is the nature of the experiment. I found the first episode quite patchy overall and there seemed to be a struggle to link the various segments together. It was also heavily stylised which seemed to undermine the premise of the show- to present raw talent producing raw material. Perhaps, I've misinterpreted the idea behind the whole thing but it seemed way too flashy at times for what they were trying to convey. The comedy sketches were disappointing, one in particular I'm pretty sure was based on a 'Hamish and Andy' thing from a few years ago. Having said all that, the show is an interesting experiment and will no doubt produce some great moments in the coming weeks. It certainly presented a contrast with 'Hey Hey' on Channel 9. In the same Wednesday evening, the ABC was exhibiting what might be considered the future of Australian television while on Channel 9, it was the past re-booted.