For almost two years, Crikey have been gracious enough to provide me with some webspace and bandwidth to natter on about television. I’ve made some good friends during this time (both at Crikey and with a handful of people who follow this blog), and the experience has been rewarding to me personally. But, the time has come to say goodbye to Crikey and to go it alone in the vastness of the wild west that is the Internet.

During this time, I’ve also watched as the TV industry has been somewhat shaken from its years-old methodologies as TV has adapted to the new multi-platform, multi-channel environment that it operates in. I’ve also seen that TV has gotten a whole lot more complicated.  Between downloads, streaming media, DVD/Bluray, and traditional broadcasting, it’s becoming tougher and tougher to keep a handle on it all.

With that in mind, I have revamped my old blog site and namesake for my weekly television podcast Televised Revolution. With a team of writers, we’re collaborating on a site that provides an overview of what television has to offer viewers in 2012 and beyond. We’ve been slowly building the site in recent weeks and we’re ready to unveil it properly and get to work.

TelevisedRevolution.com offers reviews and insights on TV shows airing locally, and across the globe. Columnists are focusing on US TV, UK TV, foreign language programs, Online media, video games, genre programs, and much more. It’s multi-platform and is endeavouring to become as comprehensive as possible. Be sure to check us out.

Before I sign off for good, I’d just like to thank the team here at Crikey for being so good to me over the past couple of years. Sophie Black for first suggesting I should start blogging for Crikey, Luke Buckmaster for answering all of my silly questions and handling my even sillier requests, Jason Whittaker for being Jason Whittaker, and Amber Jamieson for entertaining my love of quirky Abraham Lincoln photos.

It’s been a blast and I hope I see some of you all commenting over at the new site.

Nanu nanu!

Much of the fun of this weeks episode comes from the setting in Japan. While it was fun to see the team visit France and the tropics in the first two episodes, the cultural shift in this episode heightened the flexibility of the show. It’s not just WWII Germany to contend with. The show stayed true to the shows grindhouse aesthetic by not getting too crazy with Japanese culture (I’d almost expected to find the show delve into Tokusatu parody….which would offer a somewhat appropriate nod to Ultraman – another prominent South Australian genre TV production), but the show instead remained much more grounded.

What resonates best through the episode is the callbacks in this episode to previous episodes. It’s these recurring gags that tap nicely into the silliness of the shows concept. In this episode we have Pierre encountering another friend from the past, providing an opportunity for this wonderful exchange:

“Do you remember Shanghai?”

“Of course not”

Pierre truly is the ultimate party boy. Also we have another person die in his arms while offering a cocktail recipe to him as their dying words. This week we see his Oriental lover shot to death by Claire, offering the recipe for a Chinese Whisper with her final breath.

We also delve further into the not-so-hidden sexual and romantic tension that exists in the show. With Tucker and Ilsa turned into mindless super soldiers by Hitler and his new Japanese cronies, the gang must force the two to snap out of their controlled states with declarations of love. Tucker brings Claire to with a poetic admission, whereas Ilsa needs to be manhandled by a revived Tucker following Jacksons inability to clearly state his intentions for the Russian.  The tango of romance continues.

Episode highlights:

• Claire shoots an attacker (Che?) in the groin – it’s an immediate fatal wound.
• “Arigatou!”
• A Basic Instinct scene involving Ilsa reveals a Barbie-esque lack of genitals. Could the Danger 5 crew be more like Thunderbirds than we realise?
• Benito.

This delicious story updates.

I’m generally pretty impressed with the coverage that Channel Nine put together for State and Federal elections (switching over to the ABC for commentary by Antony Green, of course). But, what goes into producing election coverage? I have a chat this week with the Executive Producer of the Channel Nine election night special Brendan Hockings.

We also discuss:

• Controversy at Channel Ten’s The Circle.
• Subscription TV via IPTV set to increase.
• The Prisoner remake Wentworth.
• The cancellation of Terra Nova.

At Televised Revolution, we look forward to receiving your mail and check us out on the Twitter. You can also find the podcast on iTunes (please leave us a review, it helps people find the show).

The podcast can be downloaded / listened to HERE.

Airing live at midnight, The Talking Dead reacts to the events that occurred in that nights episode of The Walking Dead, with calls taken from viewers live to air and commentary on what has been said by fans across social media platforms. While host and faux nerd Chris Hardwick is bland and brings little to the show, this weeks panel was a lot of fun: the Director of this weeks episode “Judge, Jury, Executioner” Greg Nicotero, comedian and writer Dana Gould, and Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian.

What works about it is that The Talking Dead legitimises and strengthens the fan engagement with the text. It’s one thing for AMC to broadcast the episodes each week along with providing a message board, but it’s another to create a show like this that actually serves as a focal point for the fan discussion. (Without giving away any real spoilers) This weeks episode of The Walking Dead, particularly, served as a turning point for the show and it was great to see the panel on The Talking Dead offer their opinions on the morality of decisions the characters made, the effect the storyline had on the cast of the show, and also to hear fans take an interest in the technical aspects of the show (a question about a particular stomach-churning event in the episode led to some interesting revelations about chicken meats value to the show).

This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen panel shows dedicated to TV series before. The UK’s Big Brother’s Big Mouth is probably the best known of these types of series, but locally we’ve seen shows like Sunday Night and Australia’s Got Talent offer regular after show programs on digital multichannels. The Talking Dead is, however, one of the rare times we’ve seen it applied to a scripted weekly series.

There’s no reason why the structure and form of The Talking Dead cannot be applied to other scripted TV series. A similar panel/fan engagement series would work just as well for a show like Mad Men or Breaking Bad. I’d love to see Australian networks attempt something similar. I could easily see a program like this working for shows with strong viewer engagement like Underbelly, Danger 5, or Packed To The Rafters. The upcoming Foxtel program Wentworth seems like an ideal candidate for an After Party panel show.

With TV shifting more and more towards time shifted/online viewing and away from the linear TV station broadcast model, it is important for linear stream broadcasters to find a way to drive viewers toward their model. What more perfect a way than this? A low-cost panel show that serves to not only encourage viewers to stick with watching the featured program live to air, but also promotes and strengthens viewer engagement with their show?

The Talking Dead is a great, well-executed concept that TV network executives should learn from.

This week Nazi collaborating dinosaurs are making their presence known. The Colonel dispatches the team to discover the truth behind the threat and, should Hitler make himself known, kill him. Discovering crystals embedded inside a pterodactyl soldier, the team learn that the crystals could only have come from Antarctica. Just as the Danger 5 team are set to change direction, the Danger 5 branded plane makes an emergency landing on a tropical island where they discover the origin of these lizard soldiers of the Third Reich.

Personal tensions in the group are higher than usual in this episode. Ilsa’s general disdain for Claire continues, but lies in the shadow of the annoyance Tucker is feeling at having to deal with Pierre. The annoyance begins early in the episode after Pierre causes Tucker to experience a nose bleed after subjecting him to some sweet tunes from his Afro Cuban Rythm album mail-order club selection.

While one doesn’t expect a strong narrative from an episode of Danger 5, this episode feels a little disjointed with a lot of great ideas thrown in together yielding less than satisfactory results. “Lizard Soldiers of The Third Reich” delivers Nazi dinosaurs, the mad scientist who created them, his dinosaur butler, a tribe of simian musicians, women with psychic powers wanting to wage rebellion on the tropical island, and the personal friction within the team. It’s just too much.

There are also a handful of jokes that land with a bit of a thud, causing the rest of the episode to feel slightly off kilter. The episode opens with an awkward homosexual tension between two soldiers prior to the Nazi dinosaur reveal and it just feels a little too forced. The failure of the gag somewhat sets the tone for the episode, which is a shame as there really are some very fun things to enjoy in the episode.

Episode highlights:

“We’ve travelled back in time!”

The German plug.

Sensible Chuckle Monthly

Jazz playing ape men

Dynamite Adam

Danger 5 airs Monday nights on SBS1 at 9:30pm

Cnet offer a good review of the T-Box HERE.

This week saw the introduction of functionality to the T-Box which allows users to stream video and audio files from external storage devices. It’s not a new idea and lots of people already have that functionality via other devices connected to their TV’s. But, it will have people using their T-Box a whole lot more.

On Televised Revolution we discuss the new T-Box functionality, the launch of Channel Ten’s new Breakfast program, this weeks Academy Awards, and discuss just how good Australian TV productions have been of late.

At Televised Revolution, we look forward to receiving your mail and check us out on the Twitter. You can also find the podcast on iTunes (please leave us a review, it helps people find the show).

The podcast can be downloaded HERE.

Veep is a spin-off of sorts from the UK political comedy The Thick of It. Series creator Armando Iannucci is setting this series in the office of the Vice President of the United States with Julia Louise Dreyfus in the lead role as the VP. Joining her in the cast is Arrested Developments ‘Buster’ Tony Hale, UCB founding member Matt Walsh, My Boys actor Reid Scott, and from In The Loop is Anna Chlumsky. It’s a great looking cast and looks just as good as In The Loop from the outset. Veep launches on April 22nd on HBO in the US, with it likely screening on Foxtel soon-after.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Girls is written, directed, and stars Lena Dunham. For those who enjoyed Dunham’s film Tiny Furniture, they’ll know what they’re in for with this series which is executive produced by Judd Apatow. Dunham has a very specific comedic voice that thrives on her appearing awkward and vulnerable on screen. Also worth noting is co-star on the series Zosia Mamet, daughter of David Mamet. Girls launches on April 15 on HBO, with Foxtel hopefully airing it soon after.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Danger 5 concerns an ‘elite’ group of military professionals who are tasked each week with preventing the Nazis from committing acts of evil. Such atrocities involve diamond women warriors and Nazi dinosaurs, so it’s clear that the show is historically accurate. The teams secondary mission: to kill Adolf Hitler.

It is difficult to not think about Inglorious Basterds while watching Danger 5. Both films concern Nazi’s and offer a distorted reality, but while that film offered a hyper real fictional tale of [spoiler alert] the assassination of Adolf Hitler [End spoiler], this offers a similar tale through the lens of a 1960′s pop-art adventure film. Think Inglorious Basterds meets Barbarella meets The Thunderbirds.

The first episode, which airs tonight on SBS1, is “I Danced For Hitler”. The Nazi’s have been stealing a number of iconic monuments from around the world, prompting The Colonel (Danger 5′s avian commander) to send the team to France where the Eiffel Tower has just been taken.

“I think we can all agree a world without monuments is not a world worth living in”.

What works about Danger 5 is that it isn’t over-cooked with too many jokes. While the show isn’t afraid of being overtly silly (French Danger 5 team member / team bartender Pierre revealing himself to be hiding in a safe is an absolute joy to watch – “Bonjour!”), it doesn’t treat the jokes like a Zucker Bros film either. Occasionally the jokes do go a little far into pure goofiness. And that’s okay. Not every joke can be a winner. The show does a hell of a lot more that works than doesn’t.

Danger 5 showed considerable promise and more than lives up to it. It’s the funnest TV of 2012.

Episode highlights:

• Mans Gun Magazine.
• Sub-titled winking.
• The closing credits feature a great post-adventure montage of drinks at Danger 5 HQ.
• The bear playing piano, even if he was too adiago.
• Ilsa.

Late yesterday, Ten issued a media release to let the world know that Ten had decided to go early in launching their new Breakfast show. It had been expected to launch this morning Monday, but with the dramatic announcement by Kevin Rudd yesterday that he was resigning as Foreign Affairs Minister, Ten sought to use the heightened interest in local political news to give their shows launch a little extra oomph. And that appears to be the first of many mistakes presented to the Australian public.

From as early as July 2011, there were rumours that Ten wanted to get in on the Breakfast TV game. With such a long gestation time, it is astounding at just how poorly considered the show is.

The Hosts
Once you get past the lack of chemistry between the hosts, it becomes difficult to understand exactly what Ten were looking for with this trio. My immediate reaction upon seeing all three of them on the couch together was that their age, demeanour, and general look so closely resembled every other breakfast TV team.

With Paul Henry positioned in the centre of the trio, he is clearly the focal point of this show and he’s also the strongest presence on screen. Kath Robinson plays off Henry reasonably well, while Andrew Rochford seems a little lost on the couch. It could just be that Robinson was more in her element today with political news taking centre stage, but there certainly seems to be an imbalance.

The Rochford/Henry dynamic makes for difficult to watch television. Just 22 minutes into the show was an awkward moment in which Andrew Rochford momentarily forgot Paul Henry’s name. Rochfords role on the show seems to be to bring a sense of ‘connectedness’ with discussion about apps, awkward ‘analysis’ of the Twitter trends (“Twends”), and controls the main video screen on set with his iPad. Yet, Henry takes delight onscreen to dismiss anything tech-related, approaching it almost as an attack on Rochford for raising these as issues. Why continue to offer these segments/discussion points as integral aspects of the program to have the key host on the show be so dismissive of it all?

Of course, it would help somewhat if Rochford actually appeared to be knowledgeable about any of the techy subjects he was discussing.

The Set
Was the set designer a closet hoarder who just couldn’t say no to keeping as much as possible on set? The background was filled with decorational crates, a windmill, and a Vespa. And what’s with the random box of green apples on a bench beside the hosts? It all just looks a bit cluttered and cheap.

One of the more impressive aspects of the Today set is the massive video screen that occupies the space behind the main couch/hosting area on the set. Breakfast instead offers 16 screens built onto a wall to provide a larger screen image. It looks so cheap, nasty, and like something I recall being impressed by at the Adelaide Royal Show in 1992.

The Graphics
There’s one thing that works on the program and that’s the graphics. They’re fun, vibrant, and really pop on the screen. The news ticker on the on-screen flipper is a bit unnecessary (there’s a good reason we’ve seen TV news trend away from news tickers), but it’s hardly offensive. The quick-animated and stylish weather widget on the flipper that is really well implemented.

The only problem with the on screen graphics is the redundant Ten logo on the corner of the screen with ‘Breakfast’ written beneath it. With the name of the show already on-screen on the prominent flipper, there’s no need to see it a second time.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Going Early
What a mistake. The show seemed ill-prepared to present what Breakfast has to offer.

The Rudd/Gillard leadership contest dominated the show, as one would expect, however any attempt to introduce other subjects was clumsy. Early in the program, mid discussion about Rudd/Gillard, Andrew Rochford attempted to draw conversation instead to an app he was set to talk about which helps people schedule coffee breaks.

The subject matter at hand this morning begged for opinion from the hosts of the show, which they offered. Kath Robinson, in particular, was quite vocal on taking sides. And that would be fine for most mornings, but so early in on the first show where we don’t really know who these people are just yet? Their opinions are meaningless unless backed up by further in-depth conversation, which wasn’t offered.

I’m a Queensland viewer, which places me an hour behind the live broadcast. South Australia/Northern Territory is 30 minutes behind. And Perth is 2 hours. As Kevin Rudd delivered a speech this morning, Sunrise and Today cut into their shows and offered live coverage of the media conference. Meanwhile in Qld I was watching on Ten Rudd and Gillard impersonators going head to head in a ‘comedy’ debate. An hour later on Ten Breakfast Kevin Rudd delivered his speech from Washington while Julia Gillard spoke at a media conference live on every other channel.

Why go several days early if you are just going to provide delayed coverage on this ‘breaking’ story?

Channel Ten are not seeking a point of difference with this show, they’re seeking to emulate their competition. Yes, Henry has an interesting presenting style, but beyond that the show just feels like a lower rent version of Sunrise and Today. Breakfast exhibits moments of irreverence, but is ultimately more of the same. Outside of viewers in NSW/VIC/TAS, I don’t know who was still watching after 8am to view what was a very stale broadcast.

It was a very disappointing effort from a channel that had such a great opportunity to do something great and innovative with breakfast television.

[Photos courtesy of 'Abesty', at the MediaSpy forums]