TV's Report Card for 2011

At the end of 2010 I discussed a list of things that TV needs to do in 2011 in order to generally be better than what it was. The idea of that post was to go back and discuss whether these points were addressed, which is what I'm about to do. In a few days time I'll discuss what TV needs to do in 2012, and perhaps even just give a general run down of the good and bad of TV and cinema in 2011.

We'll judge each point in turn and determine whether it got it right for the most part ("Success"), got the general idea right but needs improvement ("Passed"), or failed ("Failed").


Stop Moving Shows About on a Whim

Verdict: Failed.

If anything this actually got worse than it did in 2010. Shows got shifted, and just as many shows that got shifted got axed in the face. The Top Gear franchise never had a steady time-slot for the first half of its run on Channel 9, and only two or so weeks ago Warehouse 13 got shifted back two hours (admittedly not the most brain-stimulating show out there, but still fun). It's been virtually impossible to determine not only when a show is on, but whether that show is actually still being run by the networks. Is it in a new time-slot? Is it being "rested" for a week or two while some idiot network programmers decide to run something else?

Give a show a time and stick with it!


Stop Trying to Win the Ratings Game With The Secondary Digital Channels

Verdict: Passed.

As far as I can tell, programming on the digital channels is a bit more consistent these days. This is partly because aggregate ratings (combining all the ratings of primary and secondary channels into one figure) are becoming the Next Big Thing. It's also partly because those ratings winners on secondary channels are being moved to prime time on the primary channel (Big Bang Theory and Channel 9, I'm looking at you). Either way, it's a trend that could turn into something wonderful in the multichannel digital landscape. It's not a total success, but it's a start.


But Don't Think We Don't Watch Those Channels

Verdict: Success.

You know what? I think for the most part they got this bit of digital programming right. We're getting a dose of nostalgia and seeing old episodes of Mythbusters on 7Mate and old episodes of Top Gear on Go. Quirky shows like The Middle (which has been promoted to primary channel status for at least the summer) sat around in time-slots that perfectly suited the mood you needed to be in to watch it (i.e. between about 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.). ABC2 became almost as much about giving viewers a second chance to catch up on a show as it did about delivering its own quality programming (such as Good Game). Hell, even SBS2 was running Iron Chef on weeknights.


Fill The Quota for Australian Content With Stuff That's Worth Watching

Verdict: Failed.

I'll admit that this is going to be a controversial decision, so let me explain. I'm not saying there was no good Australian content on the TV this year. There was. There was a lot of it, and it all deserved the critical praise it received. But the problem is that none of it was really worth watching.

The new series of Underbelly just gave us the same old Underbelly stuff. The Slap was an incredibly well made drama, but it was also an incredibly typical Indie miniseries drama that to me looked like all the other Indie miniseries dramas we've seen in the past. There was a whole bunch of crime-related reality TV on the Seven and Nine networks that was all stretching a bit thin (if I didn't know any better I'd swear they have a series that follows drug sniffer dogs at airports). Even the Chaser's new project, The Hamster Wheel lacked the stinging bite that War on Everything had.

In order to pass this point we need new, refreshing stuff, not a rehash of things we've seen before that we know people will tune in to.


Don't Play Promos or Adverts Over The End Credits

Verdict: Failed.

They still do it. It's still horribly jarring.

Stop it.