Posts filed under 'Entertainment'
As you may recall from this post (I have been referring to previous posts a fair bit recently), 2CC will be running an outside broadcast from the grand opening of Bunnings Belconnen. To my horror I have discovered that this Bunnings store will not feature a cafe and I will have to add “picking up coffee” to my schedule. Either that or taking coffee in a thermos.
My plan for the day is below, but right here I am reproducing the multi-page advertisement that Bunnings took out in The Chronicle (click to enlarge).
Yes, that’s right, Australia’s favourite children’s entertainer (although you don’t have to be a child to enjoy his show), Humphrey B. Bear will be there to entertain all and sundry from 7pm-7:30pm. He will be performing a special show at that time, and I hoping that he will be walking around the store for a little while before that. He probably wouldn’t be great on the radio (he doesn’t speak out loud), but it would be nice to get a photo of him standing next to Mike Frame at the 2CC outside broadcast.
Anyway, Friday for me will involve leaving home at about 8:45am so that I can be slightly early to CIT, find the correct room (J028) and hopefully be there at the commencement time of 9am. As previously stated, this “Introduction to working in your chosen profession” class, assuming that it sticks to its name, will be one of the greatest pieces of irrelevant snoring material ever to be produced by an educational institution…I’ve already worked in my “chosen profession”, why do I need to have it explained to me for five hours?
My theory is, the earlier I get there, the earlier I can get out of there. With any luck there will be a break which includes 11:30am-Midday so that I can enjoy Best Of Laws in its broadcast form.
When the class ends at 2PM, what follows will depend on what happened during the CIT class. If there were no break (they may find me a bit agitated if that is the case), I will need to decide where to have lunch. However, as I suspect that there will be lunch and morning tea breaks, I will make my way to the Civic bus interchange and catch an intertown bus to Belconnen. With any luck, I will be able to catch a nice orange bus, and avoid a horrid green contraption. Due to the fact that I will be pressed for time, I will probably catch the first bus I see. It will probably be around 2:10 or 2:15 when I reach the Civic bus interchange.
One of the many problems with ACTION’s new green buses is the way they interfere with the AM signal, this generally means having to listen to 2CC over strange buzzing and whirring noises.
When I get to Belconnen (approx 2:30), I will enter Westfield Belconnen, walk to the food court, and visit one of the coffee shops I like out that way, pick up a take away coffee, walk out of the shopping centre, onto Benajmin Way and head off in the direction of Belconnen Way, and somehwere up there I will find Bunnings Belconnen. I suppose it will be close to 2:50 when I get there.
I intend on being there for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, after which I will probably head back to Westfield, have another coffee, and head home. Of course, taking coffee with me in a thermos might be a better idea, but I will make that decision on that morning.
Anyway, it should be a good day!
Samuel
February 7th, 2006 at 11:49pm
The keen eyed amongst you would have noticed that I missed last week’s As Time Goes By update.
As Time Goes By (Reunion Specials)
8:00pm Friday, January 27, 2006
Sandy and Harry return from their walk to find Jean anxious to tell them about the arrival of Patrick – a young black man claiming Lionel is his father. Joining Lionel and Patrick she eventually discovers Lionel was the family’s benefactor and they all consider him their father, even Patrick’s mother. Having recovered from the shock Jean takes delight in seeing Penny’s face when she introduces Patrick as Lionel’s son.
Stephen has designs on becoming a celebrity and calls Alistair for assistance. Alistair, meanwhile, decides to visit a sex shop and leaves with some bags which, unbeknownst to him, Judith and Sandy later discover. Annoyed at his tactics they give the bags to Penny and Stephen as gifts from Alistair.
Tonight at 8PM on ABC TV, the final of this special series of “reunion specials” will screen. Here is the summary from the ABC Site (Spoiler Warning: May contain plot details that you would rather see for yourself):
As Time Goes By (Reunion Specials)
8:00pm Friday, February 3, 2006
In the final As Time Goes By Reunion Special, Jean is keen for Sandy and Harry to stay living with her and Lionel, she’s even willing to adapt the house for them…
Sandy declines Jean’s offer of running the secretarial agency, as does Judith, who no longer wants to work at all.
Lionel leaves everyone at the pub and returns home for some peace and quiet, and a custard tart. However his hopes are dashed by the arrival of Mrs Bale.
Later that evening Lionel is looking forward to a quiet night in when Patrick calls from the hospital. Rocky is in the Emergency Room.
Very soon Mrs Bale, Jean, Lionel, Sandy, Harry, Judith and Alistair are surrounding Rocky to hear how he injured himself. The sister complains about them crowding the area and Lionel manages to upset the hospital clerk. Jean thinks it nice that everyone came.
Samuel
February 3rd, 2006 at 12:32pm
With many thanks to Michael, I present the remixed version of the original Samuel’s Persiflage intro.
Michael writes:
I had some fun with this enjoy !!!
I can believe that…I have to wonder what made you want to do it, but I’m glad you did.
Thanks Michael!
Samuel
February 3rd, 2006 at 10:57am
One of the many examples of game show hosting talent is Larry Emdur, commonly known for getting people excited about games involving dollars, cents, golf, chance and cans of beans on Channel Nine’s The Price Is Right. In the most recent (and mildly unsuccessful) incarnation on Nine’s The Price Is Right, a giant dangerous wheel was introduced to the game. Larry seems to have liked the wheel so much, that he has jumped ship to Channel 7 as the host of Wheel Of Fortune, which has been on a bit of a production break.
I will be making sure to watch whenever I can as I quite like Larry, and enjoyed The Price Is Right. Regular readers would also know that I liked Wheel Of Fortune that much when Rob Elliot was the host that I drew a picture of it.
The new button pressing (well they don’t turn the letters these days) co-host is Laura Csortan. Wheel Of Fortune screens of Channel 7 and network station on weekdays at 5PM, just before Deal Or No Deal.
Here are a couple more pictures from the show.
I have also included the 15 second TV promo for Wheel Of Fortune in various video formats, listed in order of quality.
Real Media
Windows Media Video
Quicktime Movie
MPEG 4
Samuel
January 28th, 2006 at 12:00am
As you may recall, I reported about a week ago that the ABC are running a special “Reunions Special” series of As Time Goes By, which is a series of four episodes which pick up after the original series ended. These episodes are screening on Friday nights at 8PM.
Last night, ABC TV ran episode two, a summary of which can be found below. (Source: ABC TV)
Jean, Sandy and Judith wait nervously for news of Harry’s job and Alistair’s doctors appointment. Lionel is the first to return home, having left Alistair waiting for test results.
Alone at last, Jean and Lionel reflect on the day. Lionel is keen to talk about something other than babies, but Jean wants to know why he and his first wife never had children.
Episode three will screen on ABC TV at 8PM on Friday, January 27, whilst episode four will screen at 8PM on Friday, February 3.
Samuel
January 21st, 2006 at 11:24pm
I had the good fortune of finding that the ABC are running 4 new episodes of “As Time Goes By”, which is one of my favourite TV shows. It would appear that there was enough demand for more of As Time Goes By that the producers decided to write four encore episodes. Thankfully they live up to the standard of the show.
As Time Goes By can be viewed on ABC TV on Friday nights at 8PM.
For those of you who missed episode one of this series, I have mirrored the episode description from the ABC website below.
The As Time Goes By – Reunion Specials pick up after the original series left off and reveal Jean Hardcastle’s (Dame Judi Dench) great anticipation for grandchildren, much to the dismay of her husband Lionel (Geoffrey Palmer).
In episode one Jean has cots delivered to the house in the hope that Judith (Moira Brooker) and Sandy (Jenny Funnell) will soon be having babies. Lionel explains they may not want children. Lionel dreams of looking after babies that multiply at an alarming rate.
Alistair (Philip Bretherton) and Judith collect Sandy and Harry (David Michaels) from the airport. Back at Jean’s house an emotional Sandy tells Jean that Harry wants to kill himself. Meanwhile Harry explains to the others how he plans to join the armed response unit to gain a promotion. Jean wants to talk him out of it, but Sandy insists it must be his decision.
Alistair begins to behave peculiarly and Judith fears it is because she has been unable to get pregnant. She knows she is healthy and is concerned the problem lies with Alistair. Jean offers Lionel’s services to talk to Alistair, but Lionel refuses to be drawn into discussing such personal matters. However, when Jean plots to get him alone with Alistair, Lionel finds himself suggesting he seek medical help.
Samuel
January 14th, 2006 at 09:00am
I suppose this will be the final time I will have the pleasure of bringing you a Schnappi update. The recent release of the ARIA 2005 End Of Year Singles Chart places Schnappi, Das Kleine Krokadil, as the 27th most popular song of 2005. This would therefore be a good time to show you a picture of Schnappi!
Samuel
January 3rd, 2006 at 03:22pm
I should probably take this opportunity to wish all the readers a happy new year, may this year be kind to you.
Just after midnight I rang George Gibson to wish him a happy new year and congratulate him on his new job at 2GB. George is receiving a lot of calls from his old 2UE audience, including interstate people, which is a testament to his popularity, especially considering that the 2GB does not syndicate programs (except the football). In fact, his first two callers this morning were from Queensland & the ACT respectively.
I recorded the 2GB webstream for the first bit of the show, including my call. You can listen to the first ten minutes or so (Including calls from Joanna and myself) of George’s first show of 2006, and his 2nd 2GB show, by clicking here or using the audio player below.
[audio:https://samuelgordonstewart.com/wp-content/George-Gibson-1-1-2006.mp3]
The 32kbps real player stream from 2GB is extraordinary quality! You could be forgiven for thinking I had a studio recording.
Happy New Year!
Samuel
January 1st, 2006 at 12:57am
The proof is in the pudding, or in this case, in the continual games of “Schedule Shuffles” that 2UE management insist on playing.
This time around it is John Kerr and his many loyal listeners being given the pointy end of the stick. John Kerr is being moved to weekends as of his return from holidays in late January. Stuart Bocking is taking over the weekday version of New Day Australia, thereby confirming the June rumors of this happening.
2UE claim that this was due to the recent release of the annual overnight ratings (which it seems I forgot to write an article about), this is pure nonsense as 2GB had a very large and clear lead beforehand. Certainly 2GB’s Jim Ball gained 6.8 points to be on 29.4%, but a large proportion of this could be attributed to his recent Media Watch infamy, where he had an award for media dupes named after him, due to the fact that he fell for a clearly fictional internet story about a fictional school in a fictional town banning (a fictional?) graduation.
John Kerr may have lost 3.1 points, to be on 8.9%, but he has a distince advantage over Jim Ball, in that his show is syndicated to a whole heap of stations up and down the eastern states. John has a (mostly) very loyal bunch of listeners who have formed a nice community. John might only have 108,000 listeners in Sydney on a weekly basis (not far short of 2GB’s 168,000…I don’t know how those figures work), but he has a very large audience in the eastern states which earn Southern Cross Syndication big bucks.
I will admit that, after Media Watch made a big deal of Jim Ball, I checked out the 2GB webstream to see what his show was like, and it put me to sleep…it would appear to me that Jim Ball is more interested in his own voice than that of the callers, or perhaps, he doesn’t have many callers. Either way, John has the more interesting ad entertaining show.
John was obviously told by 2UE management to keep this quiet, the only notice he gave to his listeners was a cryptic reference to “weekends” in the few Christmas Cards he sent out. Ultimately this could have meant anything, as John is well known for chatting with listeners off the air. He did signal that something was up when he said on the Christmas Cruise that “we might not be together next year” or something to that effect.
John did confirm this by email to some listeners just before Christmas, but appeared to want it kept quiet, at least until he goes on holidays at the end of this week, so you can imagine his response when, just after reading through the emails after 1am and saying “your P.S is appreciated” or something to that effect in reply to my P.S about sending 2UE letter of protest later in the week, a caller who had been sent a card enquired about the reference to weekends…it sounded like John nearly choked on a glass of water! John did at this stage, being the honest man that he is, make it public knowledge that he is moving to weekends. Whilst he made no comment about it, it was clear from the tone of his voice that he was disappointed about the move, and he was then flooded by callers who didn’t want him to move.
Now, let me make this perfectly clear, I have nothing against Stuart Bocking, I think he is a great bloke and a great presenter, and I think weekends suit him (even if I do miss George Gibson), but 2UE are making the wrong decision by moving John Kerr to the weekend. John has not only built up an internationally popular show thanks to streaming radio, but has also formed a close relationship with just about every listener and has put together (with some help), a formula which works, with guests who are willing to come into the studio at obscene hours of the early morning because John and the listeners are there to have some fun.
Southern Cross Syndication sold New Day Australia to network stations who could have easily run automated music overnight by saying that “John Kerr has a close relationship with his audience, his friendly and approachable style is great company for the hundreds of thousands of people who are working, travelling or just can’t sleep each morning between midnight and 5:30am.” They even added that “The direct benefits for your station include the advertising opportunities that exist with this type of program. Talk radio is foreground radio. Talk radio means your audience has the radio up, they’re listening and involved.” (Source: Southern Cross Syndication website, (C) 2002-2005 Southern Cross Syndication)
If you add these two statements together, it is quite clear that they are making the point that advertising during John Kerr’s show is listened to by the audience because they are taking part in the conversation which John Kerr is having. According to what Southern Cross Syndication wrote, John Kerr makes people feel like they are part of the show, he involves them.
If 2UE go ahead with this move, not only do I think that the overnight ratings will fall further, I think they will lose a lot of money from Stations pulling the plug on their New Day Australia subscription.
2UE really need to listen to what the audience want, it is very clear from the calls after the announcement that the majority of the listeners do not want John Kerr to be moved, and do not want Stuart Bocking on weekdays.
John Kerr has previously announced that he may retire at the end of this year or next year anyway, so 2UE management, let him serve out his time on weekdays, and let him go when he wants to, the audience, the sponsors, and the network stations will thank you for it.
Here at Samuel’s Blog, I have decided to start up a petition to keep John Kerr on weekdays, not only will I be writing 2UE a letter of protest over their silly move, I will also be sending them copies of the petition on a weekly basis. To sign the petition, either leave a comment here, or visit the petition page, and help us keep John Kerr on weekdays!
Samuel
December 27th, 2005 at 02:55am
Just a quick reminder that Carols By Candlelight is on tonight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, with a live broadcast on Channel 9 and affiliated regional stations, and a live simulcast on 3AW, 2UE, 4BC and network stations (including 2CC).
It starts at 9pm and is supposed to end at 11:30, although it often goes overtime. Humphrey B. Bear and Santa will make an appearance, and Channel 9 have a replay tomorrow morning (check your local guide for details).
Samuel
December 24th, 2005 at 08:20pm
I was rather surprised to find on a Christmas Album (“Christmas The Album” – Universal Music 1999) a song which John Laws uses on a daily basis. After his intro he has a song (probably a karaoke mix) playing in the background while he runs through the news of the day, once he has run through the news he plays the last 20 seconds or thereabouts of the song. So what is this song? It is “Keeping The Dream Alive” by Frei Heit (seemingly reduced to one word on most websites as “Freiheit”, which is a German word for freedom).
Personally, I’m not entirely sure that it is a Christmas song, it makes no reference to Christmas or related events, and instead seems to focus on relationships. None the less, it is an uplifting song, and probably sounds like a christmas song, and in fairness, if Universal hadn’t put it on this album I probably wouldn’t have known that it really is a song and not just a jingle. If anyone can shed any light on the real year of release I would be appreciative, as Universal claim it was 1988 whilst half the internet claims it was 1989…
One thing is for sure, the royalties these musicians must be earning from Laws playing their song daily must be giving them a decent little income of sorts.
Anyway, here is Keeping The Dream Alive by Frei Heit (or Freiheit).
Tonight the rain is falling,
full of memories, of people and places
and while the past is calling,
in my fantasy I remember their faces.
The hopes we had were much too high,
way out of reach but we have to try.
The game will never be over
because we’re keepin’ the dream alive.
I hear myself recalling,
things you said to me the night it all started.
And still the rain is falling,
makes me feel the way I felt when we parted.
The hopes we had were much too high,
way out of reach but we have to try.
No need to hide, no need to run,
’cause all the answers come one by one.
The game will never be over
because we’re keepin’ the dream alive.
I need you.
I love you.
The game will never be over
because we’re keepin’ the dream alive.
The hopes we had were much too high,
way out of reach but we have to try.
No need to hide, no need to run,
’cause all the answers come one by one.
The hopes we had were much too high,
way out of reach but we have to try.
No need to hide, no need to run,
’cause all the answers come one by one.
The game will never be over
because we’re keepin’ the dream alive.
The game will never be over
because we’re keepin’ the dream alive.
The game will never be over
Hummed: because we’re keepin’ the dream alive.
Samuel
December 22nd, 2005 at 03:06pm
I could have been certain I wrote this earlier in the week, but not to worry.
It would appear that Schnappi has gone on holidays, as he is not currently filling a position on the ARIA singles chart, is this going to be a permanent thing? I suspect that it probably will be, but I’ll keep you informed anyway.
Samuel
December 21st, 2005 at 12:49am
With Stan Zemanek on leave for a few weeks (I think 4 weeks was the quoted figure), Glenn Wheeler will be pulling a seven day a week shift filling in for Stan. Glenn has also announced that he will still be doing his weekend afternoon show on Christmas Day and New Years Day.
For those who are still wondering where Glenn Wheeler is now that he isn’t on 2GB, you can find him on 2UE and network stations from 8PM-Midnight on weekdays, and Midday-6PM on weekends. Note that network station times may vary, I would say “check your local guides”, but has anyone seen a radio guide lately? What happened to them?
Samuel
December 19th, 2005 at 07:38pm
This morning at 10:30 Nattie, Humphrey and myself watched an episode of Here’s Humphrey in which Humphrey built a magic car which went on an adventure and sent him postcards. As always, Here’s Humphrey was a lot of fun. Nattie sat on my lap right through the show, as did Humphrey, and after the show I took this photo of Nattie sitting with Humphrey.
As per usual, Humphrey will be making an appreance with his good friend Santa on Christmas eve on Carols By Candlelight. Nattie, Humphrey and myself will all be watching.
Samuel
December 19th, 2005 at 12:09pm
Carols In The Park seemed to go quite well, with plenty of entertainment and a spot of good weather (although it did rain here in Reid, which isn’t far from Norwood Park). 2CC ran a simulcast of the event, with a Mike Frame outside broadcast thrown in. 2CC gave listeners the chance to ring in and wish people a merry christmas, I thought they would be run off their feet with callers, but they weren’t, and half an hour into the broadcast I became the first caller. I wished Cheryl (A nurse who lives near me and listens to 2CC) a merry christmas, to which Mike Frame announced that he has a sister named Cheryl who is a nurse, unfortunately we didn’t have time to work out if it was the same person or not.
The carols went well, 2CC took ad breaks during carol breaks, and continued to run the news on the hour. The thing that had me concerned was their plan at 9:30 when the carols were due to end, obviously they couldn’t return to Sydney programming and mess up the advertising schedule, so what to do?
9:30 came around and Mike Frame announced that they would play christmas requests until 10pm, he said goodnight, and somehow, with a combination of requested music, promos and generic ads the staff in the Mitchell studios managed to time out for the 10PM news perfectly. Well done!
Apparently Norwood Park plan on doing it all again next year, the only thing I can advise is that they schedule it for a night when free-to-air television isn’t running a different carols ceremony, as Channel 7’s screening of “Carols In The Domain” may have cost Norwood Park a few people.
Overall the event went well, and everyone at 2CC did an excellent job, hopefully the Aurora coverage went just as well. I might just take this opportunity to wish the couple who got engaged just after 6PM at Norwood Park all the best for their wedding and the future.
Samuel
December 18th, 2005 at 11:10pm
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