Ray, Ray, Ray…..
- Published by David Knox
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Ray Martin lands new hosting role.
Ray Martin walks away from Nine.
Ray Martin to interview Irwins.
Ray left fuming after Nine’s worm silenced.
Nine veteran Ray Martin vows to stay.
Ray Martin confirms leaving Nine.
Ray of hope for Martin.
Ray lays down the law.
Just a few of the headlines we’ve been subjected to in recent times. Is he coming or is he going? Who knows. Even he doesn’t sound like he knows.
In case you hadn’t heard, Ray wants a chat show.
Talking up the idea only a week ago he told the Herald-Sun “I’m certainly not playing for a contract (in saying this) . . . I’ve never played for a contract in the 30 years I’ve been here,” Martin said.
Really? It didn’t sound like it this week. He again told Darren Devlyn at the HSun, “I think I need my own program.
“I’ve been there so long and have five tarnished Logies on the shelf and about 25 other awards and I’ve done everything from the Logies to the Great Debates and I don’t know why I don’t have a program.”
Maybe he said that before Who Killed Harold Holt? attracted 934,000 viewers this week. Maybe he hadn’t looked at the ratings for Sunday lately?
In an extraordinarily grand stream of consciousness, Martin likened himself to Robert Redford, said he and Bert had been around forever, that prior to Enough Rope he ‘owned’ the chat genre, and that, “the result of 40-years plus for me is there is literally nobody in Australia who won’t talk to me.”
Not playing for a contract? Could have fooled me.
It’s an oddly public ultimatum that puts Nine, and particularly Gyngell, in an awkward position.
To be fair, Martin does have excellent credentials, and is a trusted journo to send in for the big interviews. But you can usually count those on one hand in any given year. He would even be watchable with a Parkinson style show on a Saturday night.
But Martin is also identified with the old guard of Nine too. If you’ve seen him on Sunday you’ll have noticed he can’t sit still, fidgeting about without the security of a desk.
Statements like these only reinforce an arrogance the network needs to badly shake off if it is to have any shot at 2008.
Ray doesn’t demonstrate the humility that Andrew Denton has in spades on Enough Rope. It is his great capacity to listen and relax his guests that elicits such deeply personal stories.
After years of introducing ACA foot-in-door stories, wasn’t Martin the one who ran to ABC Executives to moan about John Safran badgering him?
So sure, let’s give Ray his own chat show and let John Safran be his first guest.
That’d be great telly, Mr Gyngell.
4 Responses
Show him the door,not give him a show,he’s past it by about 10 years !!
What’s the point of spending so much money (something Nine dosnt really have loads of) on sum HD-filmed show for a Saturday night?
they need to focus on their dismal Mondays & Tuesdays and continue to build a better audience on Sunday’s
Ray is good for waht he does, but i wouldnt really been intrested in a chat show with him…rove fills that younger audience whilst Andrew Denton fills that older demo (well actually its a good watch for anybody)
No offence Ray but your a bit past it for us
If people at Channel Nine actually knew anything about TV, now is the perfect time to be giving Ray his own Chat show. Put the show on Saturday night with a bent towards the older demographic as Parky has finished and that audience will be looking for something to watch – Its not like they are going to be going out.
While Nine is at it, how about a revised version of This is Your Life with Bert hosting it. A revised format which is a cross between Talking Heads (a great show on the ABC) and This is Your Life.
Once again, a great Saturday night show.
Film them both in HD and repeat them on 9HD at other times – maybe during the day.
I think Ray actually deserves a chat show whether he will be as great as Denton is to watch will have to be seen but I think after all he has done and achieved he should at least get the chance.