First Review: SBS in 2007

SBS may have had another year of anti-Bush documentaries and global-warming lessons, but let’s face it, their year was dominated by one issue: Mary Kostakidis quitting the broadcaster after 21 years.

To have an ambassador in such a public spat was an unforgivable state of affairs, overshadowing all achievements for the network.

It began, ominously, when World News Australia relaunched as a one hour, dual-driven service with Stan Grant by Kostakidis’ side. His style of earnest, grandstanding interviews was an ill fit beside the respected Kostakidis and she knew it. As early as mid-January rumours of friction seeped out.

By April she took sudden leave for 6 weeks, which all parties still maintain was for family reasons. In July she walked, amid directives for her to return as soon as she had recovered from ‘sick leave.’ Instead the newsreader launched legal action, claiming Stan Grant, Paul Cutler and Shaun Brown subjected her to “contempt and bullying tactics”. Before the case could be heard the parties reached an out of court settlement and subsequently wished each other well with no more to say on the matter.

But the damage had been done. In a sour footnote, Stan Grant would announce his departure before the year was out for a role outside media.

SBS also dropped its viewer-feedback interstitial of 17 years, Hotline. Presenter Electra Manikakis lamented its demise, said to facilitate more drama funding at the network.

And the once-glorious Movie Show was “revamped” after 21 years as a ten-minute, largely online format, losing any remaining profile in the process.

The network continued to cop viewer flak for commercial breaks, now well and truly embedded mid-programme. Brown seemed annoyed the ABC had escaped the same trial.

The troubles were enough to motivate former presenter, the matriarchal Margaret Pomeranz, to publicly rate the network, “a dud.”

But there were successes.

Better reception awaited new comedy series Wilfred. The Tropfest-inspired talking-dog by actor / writers Adam Zwar and Jason Gann was unlike anything else on the box. On the back of industry acclaim it won an AFI award as Best Comedy.

The acerbic Shaun Micaleff’s Newstopia satire has had a quiet, late-night season away from more-competitive choices, allowing it the freedom to find its feet. It will return in 2008.

There was a second series of FremantleMedia’s Nerds FC, more RocKwiz (also an AFI winner) and a new travel series Bluelist Australia fronted by Sam Johnson (thankfully before he got into tabloid trouble for a casino brawl). SBS also gave Channel 31 discovery Vasili his own cooking / gardening series.

Stepping uncharacteristically into game show territory, SBS launched a children’s spelling bee, Hot Spell, well before TEN’s upstaging Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

Sensing it was now safe to air a controversial “Steve Irwin” episode of South Park, SBS set its sights on April, only to find he was to enter the Logies’ Hall of Fame the night before. SBS quickly bumped it by a week. It still hasn’t aired the ‘Bloody Mary’ episode.

There were three locally made dramas of note this year.

The first, Kick, was a rose-coloured look at inner-Melbourne by producer Esben Storm. Shot beautifully by the late Will Gibson its tone was light, embracing though ultimately, stylistically not so far from children’s television, Storm’s familiar stomping-ground.

Outback indigenous drama The Circuit, had no such shortcomings, tackling everything from alcoholism and incest at a time, coincidentally, that the Howard Government actioned its Aboriginal Intervention. What an ironic free kick for publicity. The series tops most critics’ choice as the year’s best drama.

Lastly, East West 101 took a Wildside-approach to the streets of multicultural Sydney. Urban warfare, cultural clashes and crime made for gritty, streetwise storytelling.

International dramas included the polygamous Big Love, the dysfunctional Shameless, Danish drama Unit One and the ever-popular Austrian Inspector Rex. SBS was forced to apologise for an episode of the detective dog in which a man was murdered during a sexual encounter.

SBS also turned to several themes this year: the Future (2057: the World in 50 years, New Cyberworlds), global warming (Eco House Challenge, Is Your House Killing You, Five Ways to Save the Planet) and Democracy (Please Vote for Me, Iron Ladies of Liberia and Dinner with the President).

When it comes to Aussie docos, nobody beats SBS: My Brother Vinnie, Footy: The La Perouse Way, Footprints in the Sand, Junction House Blues, 4, In Search of Bony, The Glamour Game, Unfolding Florence – they just keep on coming.

SBS signed a deal with Seven to air excess Olympic sports events for 2008.

Top Gear boomed in 2007, even pipping the Nine Network on some occasions. SBS later announced a new, locally made spin-off would air in 2008 –the first of its kind anywhere in the world. But the price tag has many disgruntled.

Mythbusters kept up SBS’ Monday profile. SBS has also started production on a local series of the UK genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? Real Top Guns took to the skies. Serbia won Eurovision.

As the year drew to a close SBSi Exec Debbie Lee indicated she was moving across to the ABC, tackily announced by the ABC before Lee or SBS had done so. Who now to commission more of those hot new projects? The same day Stan Grant announced he would go. There was talk management were pressuring staff to sign AWAs before the new Rudd Government erased them. After year of staff discontent, a loss of faith was everywhere.

2008 will be a year for SBS to show it is a ‘kindler, gentler nation,’ and that its many multi-cultures can indeed co-exist. At least the only way is up.

Monday: Foxtel in 2007

TEN in 2007
Nine in 2007
Seven in 2007
The ABC in 2007