Flash Forward

[Updated] Here’s how channel 7 is looking for the biggest week in TV since the first week of the ratings year in February.

1. Monday Sept 28, 8.30pm. After months of advertising and sneak peaks, Flash Forward is finally here. The show centres around the premise of every body in the human race losing 2 minutes and 17 seconds out of their life. Each person sees a glimpse of their lives six months from now. When they wake up, everyone is left wondering if what they saw will actually happen.

2. Monday Sept 28, 9.30pm. Mercy is on. Mercy is a new medical drama centred around 3 nurses who navigate the daily traumas and personal dramas inside the hospital and out.

3. Still on Mondays, Boston Legal will no longer be shown from Sept 28. At 10.30, a 6 part NBC reality series called Momma’s Boys will air. Following that at 11.30 will be Style by Jury.

4. Tuesday Sept 29 – late. At 10.30, following All Saints is My Shocking Story, followed by a repeat of Scrubs at 11.30.

5. Wednesdays. City Homicide’s new home is Wednesday night at 8.30. That is followed by Criminal Minds at 9.30 which is being promoted as a “sexy new timeslot”. At 10.30 programs are Family Guy, followed by American Dad at 11 then Louis Theroux at 11.30.

6. 7.30pm Factuals. Here is the summary:

Sundays: Border Security then The Force: Behind the Line
Mondays: from Oct 5: Highway Patrol then Destroyed in Seconds
Tuesdays: RSPCA Animal Rescue then Last Chance Surgery.
Wednesdays: from Oct 7: Border Security then Medical Emergency

7. 7HD [updated]. Although you won’t see them in all TV guides, 7HD is currently playing movies at varying times most likely in an attempt to bring in some extra ratings for the network just like what GO is currently doing for 9. Check EPGs and internet guides for movies regularly as they seem to change a number of times before airing!!! To avoid embarrassment, I’m not listing them anymore. I note last night (Friday Sept 25) they actaully advertised a 7HD movie during Deal or No Deal yet the movie was not listed in any of the advanced guides I use to compile posts like these.

When 7HD began on Oct 15 2007, one of the channels’ original objectives was to show movies at least 3 times a week. Is this a hint of what is to come? A movie based new channel? Maybe, maybe not.  No announcement right now, but if the new channel is to start on Oct 4, today should be the day to release the details to the media. Or 7 might opt to advertise on their own network first. Stay tuned.

8. Thursdays. October 1: Movie – The Narnia Chronicles. No Gary Unmarried at 7.30 anymore.

And from Thursday Oct 8, the line up is:

7.30 Ghost Whisperer fast tracked season 5.

8.30 Beuaty and the Geek Australia

9.30 Amazing Race season 15 fast tracked.

Some information here from Tv Tonight and Media Spy. Programming subject to late change.

Channel 7 are continuing with movies next Sunday September 20, with “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” scheduled to air at 8.30pm that night. Las Vegas follows at 10.50pm.

On Monday night, September 21, its the night of AFL’s Brownlow Medal. The presentation starts at 7.30pm in the AFL states (VIC, SA, WA) with the “Blue Carpet” arrivals. At 8pm, “Highway Patrol” is slotted between the Blue Carpet Special and the awards ceremony itself which airs from 8.30pm, finishing after 11.30.

That night in the NRL (QLD, most of NSW) states, you can see the Blue Carpet Special at 8pm on 7HD, as well as the Brownlow medal live at 8.30 on 7HD. On 7′s main channel in NSW and QLD (NT, Tas – check your guides) will be Highway Patrol at 7.30pm, followed by Destroyed in Seconds at 8pm. At 8.30pm, the Andromeda Strain will be seen on 7′s main channel. The AFL states will see the show on Friday night.

Those who can’t get 7HD in NSW and QLD can see a shortened version of the medal ceremony at 11.40 after the Andromeda Strain.

So what will be on channel 7 on Sunday September 27? *** CASINO ROYALE IS ON *** With networks about to fast track their key US shows as new seasons commence, the hot tip is that “Flash Forward” will be seen on Sundays at 8.30pm from Sept 27 – this we know now is on Mon 28th at 8.30pm.

Channel 10 so far is leading the was with US fast tracked shows with NCIS, NCIS:LA, Lie to Me, Supernatural, Glee and One Tree Hill all being fast tracked just days after their US air dates.

As for channel 9, the only show I know of so far that they are fast tracking is – wait for it – TWO AND A HALF MEN (also Mentalist and CSI will be fastracked from Sept 28 and Oct 1 respectively)! That means one new episode a week mixed with the 8 or 9 repeats the capital city markets currently see. The fast tracked episodes will most likley be on Monday nights at 7.30pm. No doubt other shows will follow like the Mentalist, and the remake of the 80′s alien classic “V”. Maybe some new CSI as well. Don’t forget Vampire Diaries coming to GO from 8.30 Monday 28 as well.

Note: Regional programming for Prime is the same as channel 7 but some areas may differ – for example, Wagga in NSW will usually get the same programming as the AFL states.

Now that Dancing with the Stars has concluded on channel 7, there is a new line up on Sunday nights:

6:30 Sunday Night returns, after nearly 3 months of hiatus.
7:30 Border Security is back
8:00 The Force returns
8:30 Sept 13: Movie: The Bourne Ultimatum.

And a change to Tuesday nights 7.30 hour from Sept 15:

7:30 RSPCA Animal Rescue
8:00 Last Chance Surgery

Want more City Homicide?

There will be additional episodes on Wednesday night September 16 and September 23 at 8.30pm. These are in addition to the Monday night episodes which remain unchanged except for:

The Brownlow Medal 2009 – which will be seen from 7.30pm on Monday September 21 in the AFL states. A yet to be named movie will show in the NRL states. Northern AFL fans can see the Brownlow medal at 11.45pm that night.

And as already mentioned in earlier posts, The Amzaing Race will air double episodes on Sept 17 and 24. Expect a new Thursday night line up from Oct 1. Wonder if they will fast track the new series of the Amazing Race? Possible night for Beauty and the Geek Australia as well.

The last TV Burp will air Thursday Sept 10. Double Take moves to 10.30 Thursdays on the 17th and 24th.

And we are all waiting for the air date of Flash Forward, presumably the show will be fast tracked and possibly air in the last week of September. It premieres in the US on Thursday September 24. An Australian air date of Sunday Sept 27 may be possible. Another option might be Wednesday nights, but Sunday would be more likely to minimise the number of days delay.

Some information here sourced from TV Tonight as well as Media Spy.

More changes to channel 7 programming.

1. After the finale of Dancing with the Stars on Sept 6, the movie “The Queen” starring Helen Mirren about Queen Elizabeth 2 will air. According to the TV guide, the movie will start at 9pm, but as past experience has shown with finals of shows like Dancing, the start time is more likely to be something like 9.20 or so. If you plan to watch or record “The Queen”, make sure you factor in a possible late start and late finish.

2. With TV Burp finishing for now, Thursday nights are set to change again. The Amazing Race will play out a double episode on Thursday September 17 from 8.30, and Double Take will be seen at 10.30pm. That will be the 4^th time slot change for Double Take. With only two episodes to follow that week of Amazing Race, another double episode of the show will air on Thursday September 24 at 8.30pm, this concluding the series. Gary Unmarried at this stage remains at 7.30 with repeats of How I Met Your Mother on at 8pm Thursday nights.

Expect a completely new Thursday night line up on 7 from October 1. Hopefully they may consider fast tracking the new series of the Amazing Race. A return for Heroes being fast tracked could be possible, but as it is not a high rating show, they may leave until summer.

3. On Tuesday September 8, at 7.30pm, a special called World Food Spectacular with Jennifer Hawkins will air.

Jennifer Hawkins takes a Queensland island resort Masterclass to create a seafood feast and Tom Williams explores a foodie heaven on the Victorian/ New South Wales border. Visit a regional farmer’s market for the freshest food on offer. Learn the secrets to making the best curry at home. Like to try the world’s weirdest food? Australia’s peanut capital where even the ice cream tastes nutty.

4. And on Monday Sept 7, 7.30 sees another animal documentary. This one called

Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo. A fascinating and spectacular insight into a unique pride of lions living in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, the largest freshwater wetland in Africa. Through rare and thrilling footage witness lion behaviour as previously unseen, capturing these huge cats swimming skilfully in swamps to stalk water buffalo, executing dangerous nocturnal forays and tactically preparing for each hunt. Narrated by JEREMY IRONS

Finally – noticed all the sneak peaks for Flash Forward? The show will be fast tracked to 7 late September on a yet to be announced night and time slot.

Information sourced from Media Spy and Tv Tonight.

It is really getting out of hand again. Last night, Packed to the Rafters on channel 7 did not start until 8.40, after a combination of Surf Patrol finishing about 5 minutes late and a 3 minute sneak peek for Flash Forward – a new show coming to 7 next month in which everyone in the world blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds only to awake to a world of chaos.

Channel 10 pushed Talkin’ ‘Bout Your generation out to a finishing time closer to 8.45. Both Packed to the rafters and Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation are typically the two highest ratings shows on a Tuesday night.

But one finishes 10 minutes late no doubt in an attempt to hold people on channel 10 as long as possible, while the other starts late – in an attempt to make sure that viewers coming over from channel 10 do not miss out on any of Packed to the Rafters.

While channel 10 do update their EPG (Electronic program guide) to reflect correct starting and finishing times – usually to the minute – they still use the start time of 8.30pm for NCIS even in ads during Talkin’ knowing full well that the show is not starting until after 8.40 or so. At least on Sunday nights they use 8.40 as the time they promote. Its just that on Sunday nights, 8.40 becomes 8.45 or later. Channel 7 and 9 do not update their EPGs so 8.30 still shows as the start or finish times. And according to my TV, SC10, 10’s regional affiliate also does not update start and finish times while channel 10 itself does.

At our house, we nearly gave up on Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation last night. With the EPG updating the finishing time to 8.41, and knowing we were already recording two shows after 8.30, our IQ2 rejected being able to record Talkin’ due to the fact there was a conflict after 8.30 where the IQ2 would have to record 3 shows at once for the first 10 minutes or so. It can only do two at once although can handle 3 or even 4 during overlaps – what I mean here, is that if you record two shows at 7.30 that are supposed to finish at 8.30 by the EPG, the programmed overrun of say 5 minutes will double up with the first 5 minutes of the two 8.30 shows being recorded so for a brief period the IQ2 appears to record 4 shows at once. Usually, though, one of the ends will get cut off. We don’t even watch the last 10 minutes of Talkin’ in any case.

All that aside, had I have not checked what was happening on the IQ2 just after 7.30, I would not have seen that Talkin’ ‘Bout Yr Gen had been kicked off being able to be recorded due to its late finish. We ended up watching the show live, changing channels at 8.30 at the ad break prior to the show going into its “end game”. Even when recorded, we usually don’t watch the end game. The aim here was to watch Packed to the Rafters live straight after it, but as Surf Patrol was running so late, we left Rafters to record (that was once of the two shows set to record at 8.30) and watched another recording before coming back to Rafters later.

And while I enjoyed the extended sneak peek of Flash Forward, I do not think sneak peeks should be used before shows to delay their start, especially when they are already running late. Luckily, after starting 10 minutes late, Rafters only just fit into the 10 minute overrun I had allowed on the IQ2.

It is really about time that this strategy is put to rest once and for all. Sure channel 10 does well with Talkin’, but, as was once seen in the past, if you put it against Packed to the Rafters, you’ll find that Rafters will be unaffected by Talkin’. Why start Rafters late? Why not set the example and start it on time? No doubt the growing length of Talkin’ will return back to a normal – more watchable 60 minute shows as opposed to being 70 minutes or more. Rafters is the most watched show in the country so people will be tuning in anyway. Why put two and a half million viewers (total viewers cities and regional combined) through having to wait like this?

And while it is fantastic that 10 update their EPG to show real start and finish times, what good is that to the 60% of the population who do not yet have digital or subscription TV and have to rely on printed or standard internet TV guides? On guides that say 8.30? When 8.30 is really 8.40 or so?

The networks have to start respecting their viewers by providing accurate program start and finish times and then adhering to them. All three of the commercial networks are guilty. Usually channel 9 is the worst. Back when Underbelly and the Mentalist were on earlier this year, an 8.45 start time was almost typical for these two shows which were advertised as 8.30 starts.

While I don’t watch any channel 9 on Tuesday nights to accurately comment on what happens with their Tuesday night line up I can say that I noticed that Kitchen Nightmares started more than 10 minutes late, and then the news after it was at least 5 minutes late as well. So it looks like channel 9 is running to the same sort of times as 7 and 10 are.

Finally – now that 7 are back to starting Packed to the rafters so late, I think it would be in 10’s interest to finish Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation on time. That way, there is the chance they will hold onto some of the viewers that can’t wait the 10 minutes for the next show. Conversely, with Rafters being the top rating show of the week all the time, 7 can pretty well do what they want with it and everyone will still watch, so why not just start on time? Or, if they cannot fit shows in on time because there are more ads or whatever the reason is, why not advertise the start time as 8.40?

Maybe when the code of practise is reviewed for free to air TV there will be an industry guide line for show times.