Nine's NRL Footy Show
May 31, 2007 12:00am
WINTER tomorrow. What a joke. Also a joke: The Footy Show.
Look, if you happen to be one of the few people in captivity who love and adore this program, might I suggest you watch it tonight? Record it, even? Cut it out and press it between tissue paper and store it in a safe place?
Because it's looking increasingly likely that it's not going to go the distance. Not the state it's in right now.
You'd have to assume Nine would have some sort of Footy Show presence somewhere but the one they've got needs to be put out of our misery. And soon. Ideally before the next State Of Origin match.
It's doing a huge disservice to the game.
And I say that as someone who hardly cares about the prognosis of rugby league.
But last week, after State Of Origin pulled its traditional enormous audience – and a game which Queensland won I believe – The Footy Show managed to beat only The Eagle on SBS ("Michael finds an email on Benjamin's computer to Le Mabe who is wanted in connection to war crimes", in Danish, English, Swedish). Law and Order: Criminal Intent on Ten, Lost and Amazing Race on Seven and Crude, a documentary about oil on the ABC all flogged it.
Although admittedly Crude finished at 10 and The Footy Show did in fact beat the programs that followed, Catalyst Extra and Lateline. Yes, tremendous effort Footy Show, getting up over Lateline in Origin week. Well done.
It's the hosts. They're the problem. I was talking about this pressing issue to someone in the television industry, bit of an old hand, and they were of the view that The Footy Show needs a comedian.
The AFL version has Trevor Marmalade, as well as the former players, and that pretty much works. Compare and contrast the league one, which just has the old players.
Some of them can be witty but it's not really their job. Of course, next week there'll be Ralph TV to stay up for . . . nothing much to say about that I'm afraid.
Except maybe this: it'll be funny if it does all right and becomes the catalyst for major work on The Footy Show. Not that Nine would have any hopes for it, it's on so late nobody cares.
Until someone gets turkey slapped or something, then they'll care.
You'll all be tuning in to Inspector Rex tonight though won't you, in case three people suddenly decide to have sex with each other.
And you thought the dog was the big attraction . . .
