Upon hearing the news of the cancellation of Channel Nine’s reality show “My Kids a Star”, my eleven year old cousin exclaimed to the family that she was going to kill herself. Luckily, we managed to persuade her to remain in the land of the living, reassuring her that the program would still air – just not in primetime.
Once upon a time, in the days of media tyrant Kerry Packer, Channel Nine really was “the one”. But recent years have seen a steady decline in ratings and, arguably, program quality. Talented producers and program directors have been pushed away by power hungry network bosses – as detailed in length by Gerald Stone in the 2007 expose, Who Killed Channel 9?
Then again, perhaps quality is not the issue. Nine does not give its programs a chance to find an audience. If something is not an immediate hit, it is moved to a daytime slot or shelved until the non-ratings season. Tipped as the “next great Australian Drama”, “Canal Road” was taken off the air after just one episode. So too, was Nine’s flagship game show “Power of 10” – admittedly a ludicrous idea that suffered even more at the hands of its host – the ever painful Steve Jacobs.
However, those who are missing the “Power of 10”s mindless mediocrity need not wait long for Nine’s next game show offering – and no, I am not talking about it’s resurrection of “Wheel of Fortune”. I’m talking about “Hole in the Wall”, the game show where contestants have to fit through – that’s right – a hole in the wall. Stay tuned – I certainly don’t see how a concept as ingenious as a hole in the wall will ever grow tiresome.
Not even Channel Nine’s recent hit with “Underbelly” can save the network from being the laughing stock of the entire television industry. Even on televisions night of nights, the TV Week Logie Awards, Nine’s programming catastrophe was ridiculed and mocked by a wealth of actors and presenters. My personal favourite comment came from comedy veteran Garry McDonald, who said, “Ironical isn’t it, in the year that David Leckie discovered that he might never be able to give the finger again Channel 9 just keep giving him reasons to”. And let’s not forget which network the Logies was broadcast on – yet another ratings disaster for a network in turmoil.
peter taggart
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