Richard Drew
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Posts by Richard Drew
Cool Clip: Thor Star Chris Hemsworth ‘Dancing With The Stars’
Jun 6th
Well I guess everyone has to pay their dues!
Check out Thor star Chris Hemsworth back in 2006 when he was a contestant on the Australian version of Dancing With The Stars!
At the time Chris was an up and coming actor with one major credit to his name – long running Aussie soap opera Home And Away (which used to be huge back when I was a kid in the UK). Chris played Kim Hyde on the soap and obviously took on DWTS as a way to expand his brand, before he left the show in 2007.
How did he fare? Well in the end Chris came 6th, beaten out by an Olympic runner, a basketball player and a CHESS CHAMPION!
Oh well – Hemsworth ended up having the last laugh, landing the part of Kirk’s dad in the JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot just two years later. And then of course there was Thor – which I have to admit I enjoyed mightily for a whole host of reasons – not least of which was Chris himself!
Check Chris out in action below…. (more…)
Hall Of Fame: Melrose Place
Jun 6th
It’s been a while since we last inducted a classic TV show into our Remote Patrolled Hall Of Fame, so I thought it was time to select another honoree – and this time around it’s one of my favorite slices of soap opera silliness, Melrose Place!
I am of course referring to the ORIGINAL Melrose Place, which ran from 1992 – 1999 on Fox, NOT the dreadful CW remake from last year. Boy, was that a misfire in every way. Shot like a music video with a non-stop soundtrack and with a far too young cast, Melrose 2.0 was everything the original wasn’t – charmless, over-calculated and bland.
But oh how I loved the original Melrose. At the time I was still living in England when the show hit and had to catch episodes on Sky One in the UK, a minimally watched cable network which insured that Melrose never really took off in Britain the way it did overseas. I think I was one of the few people following the show, so I couldn’t exactly discuss the plotlines around the watercooler! And of course this was in the pre-internet age…
Ratings Roundup: 4th June 2011
Jun 4th
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT: What a great Tuesday night it was for NBC this week, as the network pulled out its veteran summer smash to terrific results!
The Season 6 premiere of AGT – though light on talent in my opinion – scored amazing numbers for the network, with 15.28 million viewers tuning in and a 4.3 18-49 share. That was up 17% on last year’s premiere and the show’s best youth demo figures in almost 4 years. Let’s call it the Jackie Evancho effect!
Meanwhile America’s Got Talent also gave music competition newbie The Voice a big old boost, rocketing the figures from last week’s low to 14.41 million and a 4.9 18-49 share. Those are seriously great figures for the show – and with The Voice in an earlier time slot and running for 2 hours from now on, I think NBC are going to have a lot to smile about in the weeks to come…
101 Ways To Make TV Better: No More Paris Hilton Shows
Jun 2nd
Hey everyone! Hope you’re all good – and ready for the summer TV season.
Today we’re starting a new strand at Remote Patrolled called 101 Ways To Make TV Better, in which I’ll be weighing in on some of the changes I would make if I could take control of the entire TV industry (insert evil laugh!)
For our opener, where else to start but with Paris Hilton, the scourge of the reality TV scene! Sure she’s an easy target – but let’s be honest, wouldn’t the industry just be better off without her?
As you may have seen Oxygen has just launched The World According To Paris, a deliciously vacuous slice of Paris’s life, following the heiress as she performs her ‘work’ and travels the world. Sounds fascinating doesn’t it. And so current. If this were 2007.
Look, I’ll be honest, when The Simple Life premiered years ago on Fox I was a fan of Paris for the first few episodes. Initially the show didn’t seem too contrived and had a goofy, slapstick quality that was actually quite funny. But as the series rolled along the producers’ hand grew heavier and before you knew it The Simple Life had become a semi-scripted – and not More >
Quick Take: America’s Got Talent – Season 6 Kicks Off!
Jun 1st
Okay everyone – summer is officially here at last! Yep, that’s right – America’s Got Talent is back on our screens…
There’s just one problem… where’s the talent?
If you were watching last night’s premiere episode of the long running NBC hit you might be asking yourself the same question. Because last night’s opening installment from LA and Atlanta was definitely not a vintage episode of the show, no matter how much the judges, in the final fleeting moments of the show, might try to tell us otherwise.
Here’s the problem. We’re now into Season 6 of America’s Got Talent so it’s hard not to compare this year’s acts with last season’s contenders – and indeed performers from years past. And many of last night’s contenders didn’t stack up well against the Season 5 crop.
Take Ryan Andreas, IT administrator by day, budding singer by night, who came out very nervous and had to be reminded to talk into his mic. But when Ryan started to sing he revealed a Joe Cocker like rasp and had the audience eating out of his hand. I liked Ryan but for me it was a good – not a great – performance. And can you really see him More >
America’s Got Talent: A Personal Plea To the Judges!
May 30th
It’s that time of the year again. Time for another onslaught of dance troupes, shock magicians, child singers and the just plain indescribable. Yep America’s Got Talent is back for another summer season.
Last year AGT brought Howie Mandel on board as a replacement for the increasingly tiresome David Hasselhoff and also discovered the show’s second genuine star – child opera singer Jackie Evancho. Plus the season finale ended on record highs.
But while AGT did a lot right last season it was pretty infuriating at times too. So as Sharon, Piers and Howie settle down for another year of judging duties here’s my advice to them – and the show’s producers.
Here we go:
Ratings Roundup: 28th May 2011
May 28th
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
AMERICAN IDOL: Well here’s a surprise…
On Tuesday and Wednesday the 10th season of American Idol came to a close, the first sans Simon Cowell. Tuesday’s performance episode featuring Scotty and Lauren facing off pulled in 20.57 million viewers and a 6.4 18-49 share. Impressive – but still down 7% on last year’s equivalent episode – and a whole percentage point down on last week’s Wednesday episode. Did moving the performance show from a Wednesday to a Tuesday really hurt the ratings that much? (The decision was made to fit within the broadcast TV season which ended on Wednesday) In fact, Idol was even beaten by Dancing With The Stars!
But Idol roared back to life on Wednesday night with the usual star-studded 2-hour results shows (always one of my favorite episodes). Scotty’s coronation scored a whopping 29.29 million viewers and a scorching 9.2 18-49 rating. Most impressive of all is that fact that that figure is up 21% in total viewership from last year – the first time an Idol finale has risen on the previous year in 5 seasons! For a show in it’s 10th year that’s pretty astounding…
More >
Coming Soon: Platinum Hit
May 26th
When Does It Start: Monday 30th May at 10pm EST on Bravo
In A Nutshell: Bravo enters the music competition world courtesy of singer Jewel and songwriter – and former American Idol Judge – Kara DioGuardi.
What’s It About: Platinum Hit is the music competition show that’s all about songwriting. 12 competitors will face off against one another and must each week write and perform a different song in a different genre e.g. country, love songs, rock. At stake is a $100,000 cash prize and a publishing and recording deal.
Hosting (and judging) the show is 90’s star Jewel, while ex-Idol judge Kara DioGuardi heads up the judges table, alongside an RCA exec and a rotating celebrity. Sound familiar? It’s the standard reality competition template perfected by the network back in their Project Runway days. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
Quick Take: Glee ‘New York’
May 25th
And so we come to the end…
After 22 weeks of fluctuating quality, a Superbowl special, Fleetwood Mac, Gwyneth Paltrow and a few original songs, Glee finally bowed out last night as the McKinley High gang headed to the bright lights and big city of New York for Nationals.
Last night’s episode featured no Sue Sylvester (yay), no Dave Karofsky and precious little Blaine or Emma. What we did get was a big helping of Rachel and Finn, a chilly cameo from Broadway legend Patti Lupone and a fun new original song (which the show’s makers would have us believe was written in a hotel room hours prior to Nationals!)
The first half of last night’s Glee finale felt like an extended advert for New York as the cast danced around famous Manhattan landmarks to the tune of Madonna’s I Love New York (a slight song whose dopey lyrics don’t improve over time). That said I’ve lived in New York for the last 6 years so it’s easy for me to forget how magical the city must seem for first time visitors. I thought it was quite sweet seeing how excited the Glee kids were by their trip and Kurt’s confession at the More >
American Idol: 10 Reasons Why Season 10 Sucked!
May 24th
So here we are again – the end of another season of American Idol!
This time last year I was bemoaning Idol’s Season 9 – nicknamed the Season of Suck – and suggesting how the show could be improved next time around.
Well here we are and unfortunately Idol didn’t get better this year. In fact it got WORSE! A lot worse. And with competition from The Voice and Fox’s own X Factor in the Fall I think the Idol production team have dug themselves a big old hole this season…
So here’s my take of what went wrong…
