Trouble In Paradise

GEM have reacted to almost being beaten in ratings by ONE HD last night by rescheduling their Wednesday nights.

Next Wednesday, March 23, Trouble in Paradise will be replaced with The Closer. And, instead of a movie at 9.30, two episodes of classic Law & Order will play.

The line up will be the same for March 30, with The Closer at 8.30, followed by two Law & Orders from 9.30. Conan at 11.30.

The Closer episodes at 9.30 Tuesday nights are from season 5, while the Wednesday night episodes will be from season 1.

Meanwhile, Gordon’s Great Escapes will air Monday nights at 8.30, from March 21.

Its time for more amazing decisions from the channel 9 programming department! Decisions that they hope will make their network number 1 again. Well, no. Not likely.

For a start – a new show on 9 is more likely to be axed then even make it through half of its first season. We see this time and time again, and this week, another example has emerged.

Trouble in Paradise which was airing on Thursday nights at 8.30 has been dumped, after performing poorly in the ratings last Thursday. Ratings were not that bad for the show for its first two weeks, but last Thursday the audience was down to around 800,000. That prompted 9 to axe it.

Ratings were of course going to be lower for Trouble in Paradise because it was against the Ashes on SBS and the second last airing of the current season of Grey Anatomy and Ghost Whisperer on 7. 7’s Thursday night combined with the Ashes literally sucked viewers out of ch 9.

If 9 had any sense they would realise these facts an not jump on the axe button as soon as a show falls below 1 million. It seems they are not aware of the reasons why Trouble rated so low last Thursday, and have absolutely no concept of letting a show build audience. While it is not to everyones’ taste, if it was left on for a few more weeks, the audience would have most lily stabilised at the same figures 20-1 was doing – just over a million.

Now there are new shows starting on channel 9 from the week starting July 19. Why should anyone give any new show a go on 9 when the show will be most likely axed after a few weeks? And given that we are all aware of this, the ratings will be low, and this is the most likely outcome for pretty well all new shows on 9 except ones they make themselves which have to be left on to keep up their local content commitment.

Erratic programming and knee jerk reactions to ratings, last minute changes and show just not starting on time are driving 9’s viewer share down and the figures are reflecting this fact. Surely they cannot be happy about being 3^rd most of the time now?

And – guess what replaces Trouble in Paradise.

Yep, 20-1.

So now, unless they change that as well, 20-1 will be on twice a week.

Thursday, July 9 at 8.30pm on Channel Nine

This week on Trouble in Paradise a sightseeing tour in Turkey and the promise of a holiday job leads two girls towards rape and a forced marriage, while in Colombia a young backpacker is kidnapped by heavily armed guerrillas and held for ransom.

Melbourne woman Alexandra, 22, was having the time of her life on her overseas adventure. Living and working in London, she and her Italian friend, Sara, made the most of their chance to travel to other countries when they could.

On a 20-day trip to Turkey they were befriended by a tour guide who promised them work at a new hotel when it opened in a few months time.

They returned to Turkey, excited by the job opportunity at a luxury hotel in an exotic part of the world. But instead they were greeted by an unfinished hotel and unwanted advances from two treacherous Turkish men.

Their fairytale job quickly turned into a nightmare when they were told they’d have to get married – or be killed. Escaping from their attackers was their only hope.

Meanwhile in Colombia, 24-year-old gardener Tom’s dream holiday also turned into disaster.

After backpacking around the world for two years, and just weeks away from returning home, Tom was kidnapped by heavily armed guerrillas on the Colombian border and held hostage in their jungle hideout for nine months. He was told he would be killed unless a multi-million-dollar ransom was paid. 

Find out how Alexandra, Sara and Tom escape from their terrifying ordeals and make it home alive.

Trouble in Paradise is narrated by 60 Minutes reporter Liam Bartlett and actor Brooke Satchwell, who experienced her own holiday hell when terrorists attacked the hotel she was staying at in the Indian city of Mumbai last year.

Trouble in Paradise, Thursday, July 9 at 8.30pm on Nine

Premieres Thursday, June 25 at 8.30pm on Channel Nine

Trouble in Paradise is a gripping new docu-drama series that tells the stories of Australian travellers who have been subjected to terrifying experiences while on holidays in different parts of the world before escaping with their lives.

These are ordinary people, simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and what makes this series so enthralling is that their nightmares could happen to anyone.

Each one-hour episode contains two compelling stories told first-hand through interviews with the travellers and re-enactments to provide as much realistic detail as possible.

The production team for the series travelled back to exact locations in countries all over the world to recreate harrowing ordeals such as murder in Mexico, kidnappings in Peru, suicide bombers in China, police corruption in Poland and terror in a Thai jail, to name just a few.

Trouble in Paradise is narrated by 60 Minutes reporter Liam Bartlett and actress Brooke Satchwell, who experienced her own holiday hell when terrorists attacked the hotel she was staying at in the Indian city of Mumbai last year.

Episode one begins with what was supposed to be the surfing trip of a lifetime for Peter “Buzz” Buswell and Warren “Ed” Poulter, two Aussie surfers from Sydney’s northern beaches. But their holiday in Mexico turns into a nightmare when their camp by the beach is stormed by armed police, the Federales. Dragged away, held at gunpoint and beaten, they witness the cold-blooded murder of a Mexican man and are convinced they are about to be shot too.

Also in episode one, a sightseeing tour of China turns to terror when a suicide bomber holds a group of Australians hostage. Ten Australian women are on a travel agents’ familiarisation tour of the city of Xian when a Chinese man steps onto their bus with a bomb strapped to his chest, taking all onboard hostage. As the bomber waves the detonator trigger in the faces of the terrified passengers, making the demands he has been planning for the past three years, any attempt to negotiate with him could end in disaster.

Trouble in Paradise, a riveting new series about the hidden dangers that can lurk in any foreign trip, premieres Thursday, June 25 at 8.30pm on Nine

Trouble in Paradise is a gripping new docu-drama series that tells the stories of Australian travellers who have been subjected to terrifying experiences while on holidays in different parts of the world before escaping with their lives.

These are ordinary people, simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and what makes this series so enthralling is that their nightmares could happen to anyone.

Each one-hour episode contains two compelling stories told first-hand through interviews with the travellers and re-enactments to provide as much realistic detail as possible.

The production team for the series travelled back to exact locations in countries all over the world to recreate harrowing ordeals such as murder in Mexico, kidnappings in Peru, suicide bombers in China, police corruption in Poland and terror in a Thai jail, to name just a few.

Trouble in Paradise is narrated by 60 Minutes reporter Liam Bartlett and actress Brooke Satchwell, who experienced her own holiday hell when terrorists attacked the hotel she was staying at in the Indian city of Mumbai last year.

Episode one begins with what was supposed to be the surfing trip of a lifetime for Peter “Buzz” Buswell and Warren “Ed” Poulter, two Aussie surfers from Sydney’s northern beaches. But their holiday in Mexico turns into a nightmare when their camp by the beach is stormed by armed police, the Federales. Dragged away, held at gunpoint and beaten, they witness the cold-blooded murder of a Mexican man and are convinced they are about to be shot too.

Also in episode one, a sightseeing tour of China turns to terror when a suicide bomber holds a group of Australians hostage. Ten Australian women are on a travel agents’ familiarisation tour of the city of Xian when a Chinese man steps onto their bus with a bomb strapped to his chest, taking all onboard hostage. As the bomber waves the detonator trigger in the faces of the terrified passengers, making the demands he has been planning for the past three years, any attempt to negotiate with him could end in disaster.

Trouble in Paradise, a riveting new series about the hidden dangers that can lurk in
any foreign trip, premieres Thursday, June 25 at 8.30pm on Nine

You may have seen promos on ch 9 for a show called Trouble In Paradise.

Trouble in Paradise will debut on ch 9 Thursday June 25 at 8.30pm, replacing 20 to 1. Yes – that’s right – replacing 20 to 1 which has held that time slot for a long time and also usually wins at that time.

Trouble in Paradise is a travel based show promising “

incredible stories of travellers who’ve been subjected to terrifying experiences while on holidays in different parts of the world. They escaped with their lives, but it could easily happen to any one of us.”

Getaway will still air at 7.30 Thursdays, making it a great lead in for Trouble in Paradise.