Underbelly

Australia’s Got Talent, Seven, 7.30pm.

Back for its fifth year. Aussies of various shapes, sizes and levels of talent compete and perform their chosen talent in order to win the grand prize money. With celebrity judges Dannii Minogue, Kyle Sandilands and Brian McFadden.

The Story of Science: Can We Have Unlimited Power? SBS ONE, 8.30pm

As power bills go up, oil start to run out and cost more, where can we turn for more power? We are the most power-hungry generation that has ever lived. In this episode, Michael Mosley tells the story of how that power has been harnessed – from wind, steam and from inside the atom.

Parenthood, Seven, 10.00pm

For the most part, the second season just hasn’t been as captivating as the first. Add to that erratic schedule times, and gap weeks, and its no wonder some fans have lost touch with Parenthood. Now, some of that first season edge is back. Might be time to give the show a go again? Sarah and Adam have an important discussion with Haddie, who has to make a brave decision. Then, Crosby and Jasmine hit a rough patch in their relationship, and Drew gives his mum some surprising news.

At the Table With … SBS TWO, 6.30pm

Can’t get enough of cooking shows and shows about chefs? Here’s another one, worth a go. An all-access pass to the lives of the world’s superstar chefs. Gale Gand is a Chicago-based pastry chef, cookbook author, television personality and former host of the Food Network show Sweet Dreams. She has blogged for the Huffington Post and was a contestant on Iron Chef America.

Underbelly – The First Series. Victoria Only. Nine, 9.30pm.

Finally Victorians can see the first series of Underbelly, that played out in 2009 to all other states. Now that the court ban is lifted, Victorians can catch up.

Former Home and Away and Underbelly actor Dieter Brummer has been arrested following a late night incident at a Logies after-party.

The 34-year-old will face five charges after being ejected from the Channel Nine party around 2.30am following the awards ceremony.

The Herald Sun is reporting that witnesses saw the actor start an argument with security who were forced to restrain the him on the ground to control his outburst.

Victoria police have confirmed that a 34-year-old male from Bondi North had been charged with intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing injury, unlawful assault, behaving in a riotous manner and being drunk in a public place.

He will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on August 29.

Source: Herald Sun

Royal wedding popular in UK and US

The Royal Wedding on Friday drew big numbers in both the UK and US with around 24 million Brits tuning in during the day to watch the ceremony while 22.8 million Americans got up early to watch it.

Hurricane-themed episodes pulled

Three hurricane-themed episodes of Family Guy, American dad and The Cleveland Show have been pulled from American TV in the aftermath of the tornados that swept the southern US last week. Fox had planned to air three crossover episodes of the shows on Sunday but have decided against it.

Underbelly to screen in Victoria

Australians in Victoria will finally get to see the unedited version of the first Underbelly season for the first time due to the court case ending in the state. The series was screened in Victoria in a heavily edited form back in 2008 while the rest of Australia enjoyed the unedited version.

Bleu in talks for The X Factor US

High School Musical’s Corbin Bleu is reportedly in talks to co-host the US version of The X Factor alongside another female co-host. Nicole Scherzinger has also been linked to the hosting role on the upcoming series.

Lopez to perform on Idol

Jennifer Lopez will perform on this week’s results episode of American Idol. The judge will perform alongside Lady Antebellum who are also confirmed to appear.

Victorian viewers will finally be able to see the first series of Underbelly, after a court ban prevented it from airing in the state. Now that the court case has concluded, the ban has been lifted. It aired in other states back in 2008 with phenomenal ratings that gave rise to the Underbelly franchise we know it as today.

Underbelly will air on Tuesday nights on Nine, in double episodes, from next Tuesday May 3. Starting at 9.30pm, it bumps out Top Gear repeats and Kitchen Nightmares.

Tuesday May 3 – Victoria only

7.30 New Customs
8.00 New AFP
8.30 New Sea Patrol
9.30 Underbelly Season 1 Ep 1 & 2
11.30 Til Death
12.00 20/20
1.00 Entertainment Tonight

Tuesday May 10 – Victoria only

7.30 New Customs
8.00 New AFP
8.30 New Sea Patrol
9.30 Underbelly Season 1 ep 3 & 4
11.30 Nine News Budget Special
12.10 20/20
1.05 Entertainment Tonight

The first season of Underbelly may well screen unedited in Victoria following the Supreme Court’s lifting of a blackout on the reporting of drug kingpin Tony Mokbel’s criminal history.

Underbelly was banned from screening in the state in 2008 but now looks set to be screened unedited by Channel 9.

Robert Mammone, who played Mokbel in the series, says Screentime plans to expand the Mokbel story.

“Our information that we were working on, as it is been shown four years later, is Tony’s involvement was huge and we couldn’t tell that story,” Mammone said.

“They found Tony in Greece only days before I was due to fly to Melbourne to start filming, which threw a huge spanner in the works.

“I understood him to be flamboyant but loyal to his family and inner circle.”

“With the suppression orders lifted and Tony admitting to some of the charges, the chain of events, the truth of that can be revealed.

“Whether we need to revisit people being murdered, well I’m not sure if that is necessary.”

A Channel 9 source said the network was looking “seriously” at screening the series. 

Source: Herald Sun

Brummer heading to Ramsay Street

Former Home and Away actor Dieter Brummer has joined rival Aussie soap Neighbours for a guest role which will see him spend seven weeks playing a returned soldier. Recently, Brummer has worked on the likes of Underbelly, in which he featured across two seasons.

Survivor bails on Tonga

Survivor has pulled the pin on Tonga as a destination for the reality show after the country was unable to secure accommodation and other services needed to produce the show there. The decision is a blow to the country which was in need of the $8.1 million injection the show would have brought.

True Blood comic a best-seller

The hardcover True Blood graphic novel has proved popular upon release in the US, landing a spot on the New York Times Best-Seller list. The comic has claimed the number six spot on the list after one week on the shelves.

Ed Burns joins Entourage creator’s new pilot

Actor Ed Burns has signed up for the new HBO pilot ‘40’ from Entourage creator Doug Ellin. Burns, who has made cameo appearances on Entourage in the past, will play a banker in the pilot which focuses on a group of male friends in New York.

A US based production company involved with the next two seasons of Survivor has been buying up equipment in Australia for use on the show.

Today, they finalised a purchase of two Antari Fog Machines, available exclusively in Australia through Lightsounds. Lightsounds has also provided Antari products used in last year’s Underbelly: The Golden Mile series.

Art Department Coordinator for the production company Anthony revealed that the two machines would generally be used to add atmosphere to Tribal Council scenes. When asked about the location of season 23 and 24 of Survivor he said it was confidential.

A source on the internet, however, reveals that the next two seasons of Survivor will be shot at Caramoan, Philippines. According to this source, US TV network CBS chose that location as it had been used in many international versions of Survivor including the French, Israeli and Bulgarian versions so many of the props used for the challenges are already there.

The location choice may be controversial as a contestant died during filming of the Bulgarian version there.

Season 22 of Survivor, Survivor Redemption Island premiered in the US Feb 16. It is yet to be scheduled at any time by Nine on any of its channels. Season 23 will air in the US from September 2011, and season 24 will air from February 2012.

The Underbelly: files are three compelling telemovies that tell true-life crime stories, laying bare human behaviour at its best and worst.

The first of the new telemovies, Tell Them Lucifer Was Here, which tells the tragic story of Victoria Police officers Gary Silk and Rod Miller who were gunned down in the line of duty, premieres on Channel Nine on Monday, February 7, at 8.30pm.

The story centres on the investigation of the brutal murders under the direction of Detective Inspector Paul Sheridan and the Lorimer Taskforce. Tracking down the killers proved all but impossible and it was only through outstanding detective work, dogged persistence and sheer faith that the killers were brought to justice.

Tell Them Lucifer Was Here stars Brett Climo as Paul Sheridan and Todd Lasance as Detective Sgt Dean Thomas. They are backed up by a top-line support cast of Jane Allsop, Ditch Davey, Paul O’Brien, Annie Jones and Don Hany. The screenplay was written by longstanding Underbelly writer Peter Gawler and directed by Shawn Seet.

The second of the telemovies, Infiltration, will screen on Monday, February 14, at 8.30pm.

Infiltration recounts the story of Victorian detective Colin McLaren who posed as a shady art dealer and infiltrated the Australian branch of the Calabrian Mafia. It would prove to be the most dangerous, exhausting and confronting 18 months of his life. But it was also the most thrilling time he ever knew and resulted in the biggest win of his career – seeing 11 of Australia’s most villainous Mafiosi sent to prison.

Infiltration stars Sullivan Stapleton as Colin McLaren, with Jess Napier playing his undercover operative, Jude. It also features Tottie Goldsmith, Henry Nixon and Valentino del Toro.

The third telemovie, The Man Who Got Away, tells the amazing story of David McMillan, the only Westerner to escape from Bangkok’s notorious Klong Prem Prison.

Extremely intelligent and charming, McMillan came from a privileged background but chose a life of crime, which earned him a spot on Interpol’s Top Ten Most Wanted list. His partner in crime was also the love of his life – Clelia Vigano. Together McMillan and Vigano were an unstoppable force – or so they thought.

Toby Schmitz stars as McMillan, with Claire van der Boom in the role of Vigano. An all-star support cast includes Jeremy Sims, Aaron Jeffery, Josh Lawson, Nicholas Eadie, Brendan Cowell and Freya Stafford.

The Man Who Got Away premieres on Monday, February 21, at 8.30pm

The three new telemovies are a collaboration between the Nine Network and production company Screentime, produced by Peter Gawler and Elisa Argenzio with Executive Producers Des Monaghan, Jo Horsburgh and Screentime’s Head of Drama, Greg Haddrick.

UNDERBELLY: FILES

TELL THEM LUCIFER WAS HERE

PREMIERES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, AT 8.30PM ON NINE

INFILTRATION

PREMIERES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, AT 8.30PM ON NINE

THE MAN WHO GOT AWAY

PREMIERES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, AT 8.30PM ON NINE

Newton to be released from psychiatric facility 

Former Underbelly actor Matt Newton is likely to be released before Christmas from the psychiatric facility he has been in over the past three and a half months. Newton, who played Kiwi drug king Terry Clarke on Underbelly, was admitted to the clinic after a series of indiscretions involving alcohol and drugs, losing his hosting job on The X Factor along the way.

Jeremy Irons signs on for Law & Order: SVU guest spot

Veteran British actor Jeremy Irons has been confirmed for an appearance on drama series Law & Order: SVU. The Academy Award-winning actor will play a therapist in the episode which is due to begin filming next month.

Dora the Explorer voice actress drops lawsuit

The 14-year-old actress who lends her voice to Nickelodeon character Dora the Explorer has dropped her lawsuit against the network after initially suing them over unpaid work on the show. Caitlin Sanchez claims she was owed millions of dollars for her promotional work and guest appearances but has decided against pursuing the case in court.

Simpsons producers deny Fox rift

Producers of The Simpsons have denied that there is any serious feud between them and the show’s network Fox after taking a series of digs at Fox News in recent episodes. Slogans such as “Fox News: Not Racist, But #1 With Racists” appeared on Fox News helicopters sparking rumours that a rift had opened between the two parties.

Nine have released to the media their major new shows and significant returning titles for 2011.

The release focuses mainly on new and ongoing Australian productions but Nine favourites like The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men and The Mentalist all get a mention.

Here is the release:

Channel Nine announced today a number of new productions for 2011, adding to the already outstanding schedule from 2010 that won the network the ratings battle in all key demographics (16-39s, 25-54s, and 18-49s).

First up, the most anticipated new series from the producers of Australia’s number one drama, comes the gripping new instalment, UNDERBELLY RAZOR. Set during the roaring ‘20s in Sydney, when organised crime in Australia began. This is the story of the bloody battle between the era’s most feared vice queens – Tilly Devine and her rival Kate Leigh. It’s the most ambitious, daring UNDERBELLY yet.

Two of Australia’s great comedic talents, Tony Martin and Ed Kavalee, will be reunited on Nine in 2011 in The Joy Of Sets, giving viewers their unique take on television; the good, the bad and the fabulously misguided. From Zapruder’s Other Films (producers of The Gruen Transfer) The Joy Of Sets will take you to parts of the television universe you never knew existed.

Strengthening this line up of laughter, Nine welcomes international comedy icon BEN ELTON and his new creation, BEN ELTON LIVE FROM PLANET EARTH. A live comedy show jampacked with Ben’s unique take on pop culture, direct from Melbourne each week.

And, in anticipation of the 2012 London Olympics Games, Nine is delighted that John Clarke and Gina Riley will star in an all new series of the John Clarke/Ross Stevenson mockumentary, THE GAMES – London Calling.

Finally, Australia’s guru of lifestyle television, JAMIE DURIE returns home to Nine, hosting a massive new series, TOP DESIGN. Jamie will take viewers on a journey, searching the country to find people from all walks of life who are passionate about design and renovation. They will then be put to the test to create a masterpiece in this exciting new make over show.

These outstanding new productions join the strongest Nine schedule yet:

Nine, the Home of Drama: UNDERBELLY RAZOR, three major UNDERBELLY movie events – Tell Them Lucifer was Here, Infiltration and The Man Who Got Away, Rescue Special Ops – series 3 and Sea Patrol 5: Damage Control, The Mentalist and the CSI franchise.

Nine, the Home of Entertainment: All new Top Gear UK & Australia, Customs, RBT, RPA, Hot Property, This is Your Life, The Block, Getaway, The Farmer Wants a Wife and Millionaire Hot Seat.

Nine, the Home of Laughter: $#*! My Dad Says, Mike & Molly, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Hot in Cleveland, Mr Sunshine and Episodes.

Nine, the Home of the most respected News and Current Affairs: Nine News, A Current Affair, 60 Minutes and the Today Show.

Nine, the Home of Sport: The ASHES, the World Cup Cricket, the NRL and State of Origin series, the Rugby Union World Cup, and coming in 2012, London Olympic Games.