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Not much joy for Joy of Sets

On Tuesday night audiences kept networks guessing as they flocked to a handful of shows and stayed well clear of others.

If television programming is about the art of retention, last night audiences kept Programmers on their feet, cherry-picking their choices and sending numbers up and down all over the place.

The top show for the night was The X Factor. Moved from Monday to Tuesday due to the Brownlow count it pulled up 1.4m viewers. There were some pitchy performances amid some Eistedfodd production numbers (they are seriously upstaging the singers this year), but Reece Mastin, YMS, Audio Vixen and a surprising number from Johnny Ruffo were the better acts.

When the show ended, Seven plummeted to 553,000 for Dinner Date UK, luckily it was the final episode for now.

TEN managed second place in network shares, with a new NCIS on 1.07m as its best. NCIS: Los Angeles followed on 899,000. Earlier The Renovators had managed 803,000.

Nine’s Charlie’s Angels began with 815,000, but then numbers surged to 1.25m for Two And A Half Men. Although it lost some 1.1m curious viewers from last week it was still a good number, especially given the unusual X Factor competition. Can it keep those numbers every week?

But it was bad news for Tony Martin and Ed Kavalee’s Joy of Sets, dropping to a lowly 545,000 viewers. It’s a cheap and cheerful show but it does feel overly scripted rather than drawing upon their abilities to work live. That left Survivor: South Pacific to kick off with just 455,000. If it doesn’t rise next week it could be headed for GO! Nine slipped to third place in network shares.

At ABC1 the ABC News was 891,000 and 7.30 was 642,000. The decision to move United States of Tara to Tuesdays hasn’t worked, with 354,000 tuned in -a modest lift on last week.

The Meth Epidemic on SBS ONE was 285,000.

Neighbours topped multichannels with 370,000.

Seven won Tuesday night.

Week 40

53 Responses

  1. I hope that 9 gives JOS time to settle in. I agree that at the moment it is way too scripted, which is really unnecessary as the old “Get This” episodes relied on great Ad Libs and a fantastic rapport between Ed, Tony and Richard. I also agree that the camera work and editing leave a bit to be desired. I will keep watching as I think Tony and Ed are both very talented guys!

  2. I did like Joy of Sets last week, and wanted to watch it this week by X Factor was on, so wasn’t able to catch it. Hopefully it will stay around or Tony Martin can still be seen somehow!

  3. I love Tony and Ed, and I thought the first episode of “Joy Of Sets” was great fun (haven’t watched the new one yet, I really ought to hurry up and buy a new TV).

    But it’s inconsequential fluff. It has no real point except to laugh at TV’s absurdities. That doesn’t sound like a 9PM on Nine type of show to me, that sounds like something to put on 7Mate up against “20 To 1”.

    As soon as I first heard it was heading for Nine I thought it was doomed. Nine couldn’t program a schedule if its life depended on it. And oh, its life does depend on it.

  4. I enjoyed Joy of Sets but I did record it and watch it later. A 22 minute show needs to be heavily scripted and edited. It would work better on ABC. As for X-Factor…Christina, Reece, YMS & Three Wishez….the rest were pure Karaoke.

    1. Those X Factor mentors now need to take more control of the staging. Would Ronan have used a silly schoolroom scene for Boyzone? I suppose I should be relieved they didn’t dress Andrew Wishart up like Freddie Mercury for I Want to Break Free.

  5. JOS would be better suited on abc2 on a wednesday night. I watched it for the first time last night, and enjoyed it quite a lot. Yes, definitely feels scripted in parts, but what the hey – this may not feel as prominent after a few episodes.

  6. OMG Joy of Sets is surely one of the worst put together shows to hit Free to Air this year and by Free to Air Im including the community stations. The editing and switching of cameras is appalling. I have seen better editing on C31 shows which has 1/10th the budget of this show.

    Also I don’t get the point of the show…. The fact that Nine have sacrificed it against Packed to the Rafters, only shows what Nine think of it.

    Survivor belongs on GO!

  7. The 5 minutes of joy of sets I saw last night I saw was woeful, 5 ‘cock’ jokes in as many minutes… Kavalee & Martin are actually quite funny, surely they can do better than that?

  8. i was disappointed with the christos tsolkas intervew with jennifer byrne last night. christos gave nothing in the interview. a great writer he might be but in front of the camera comes across as really awkward. his answers were so drawn out with such uncertainties that jennifer had to answer it for him !! no insight into his early career or life in general. all we basically got was an answer about his partner and whether gay marriage should be legalised to which he had no hesitation in giving such a forthright answer !!

  9. I can’t believe people tune into the rubbish that is 2 and a half men which jumped the shark long ago and something genuinely funny (although heavily edited unfortunately) gets trashed! Perhaps they need a Red Dog on there?

  10. @Johnty Same with me with TBBT. Its way too hard to watch it on Nine. They kept moving it around like you said. I had no idea when it finished, with all the repeats.

    Those back up dancers on The X-Factor made me laugh. The YMS singing ACDC with the girl in the red skirt walking around the stage and behind the lockers. Its a bit too much.

    I tried watching JOS. It didn’t quite work for me. Maybe a short skit but not a full tv show about it.

  11. I love Joy of Sets but it does feel very rushed. Seems like they are condensing a 2hr live show into 30mins and the ad breaks really hurt it.

    I don’t want it to move to Go! but maybe we could get an extended 1hr version on there.

  12. Joy of sets is enjoyable, but you’re right David – it feels too scripted.

    Survivor was a good first episode for this season. Hopefully Channel 9 keeps it fast tracked through until the finale.

  13. Knew this problem would arise with Joy of Sets. The average Australian viewer won’t get their humour which will hurt it and will be a shame if it goes and is also the reason there is so much crap on primetime TV here.

  14. I love the Joy of Sets, hopefully more will watch it next week. I saw the ad for new Big Band Theory, I love that show, but not willing to watch it on Nine anymore, you watch it one week, the next you are watching a season one episode as they moved it to the night before meaning you have missed the episode and then they stop showing it for 3 weeks and then put it on another night, no thanks, i’ll be paying the $28 from JB HI FI and watch it all later on in the year.

  15. It’s the sort of show that should be on a digital channel.

    I have to admit, I forgot it was on again and I hope I had it series linked.

    It was entertaining. I mean it’s no where near as good as Charlie Brooker’s shows about TV, but it’s something.

  16. After one week a show could be dumped on GO! – and there David is the problem with our TV networks. Why should we bother watching when the shows will be moved, chopped and changed?

    1. DansDans: the problem also starts before that, by giving shows plenty of promotion time so audiences know they are on. Fastracking has to be matched by adequate promotion. I think 9:30 is the right slot for Survivor.

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