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Denton says Logies are stuck in the past

Bert and Graham were great says Andrew Denton, but when is Aussie TV going to pass the torch?

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Former Logies and Enough Rope presenter Andrew Denton has labelled the Logie Awards as continually living in the past.

Denton told media and marketing website Mumbrella, “With due respect to the late and the living, Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton, I’m sick to f***ing death of hearing them eulogised every Logies.

“They were 30 years ago. They were great. We’ve said they were great every year for 30 years. We’ve had so much fantastic talent since then. When are we going to pass the torch?”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA4NCWrq8mc[/youtube]

34 Responses

  1. Agree totally with what Denton says. Yes we know GK and BN are TV legends (for whatever reason, their comedy does nothing for me, but I know it was seen as funny back in the day), but their time has been and gone. You don’t see the Emmys grandstand Johnny Carson or Bob Hope every year.

    1. I feel Andrew Denton’s comments were more about the tone of the event than a host per se. After all, he’s not suggesting Graham Kennedy has been host. It’s about having a more contemporary outlook.

  3. I’ve been a fan of the Logies for years now, but am also losing patience with the awards. There is way too much emphasis is on the ‘popular’ awards rather than the ‘industry’ awards. I suggest the Logies to lose the public votes slowly (cut 1 – 2 awards a year), and just leave the Gold.

    We also dont have many descent presenters to host the logies, except for Denton and Micaleff, who both were great when the hosted em 10 years ago

  4. I agree with Ronnie, really well said. 7 & 9 are 30 years behind the time and so Aussie T.V. is losing all their best talent to America. For example, I don’t know whether you could really call Chris Lilley’s new show Australian because it was mainly funded by the BBC and HBO, plus was filmed equally in Britain, U.S.A and Australia. If the networks aren’t giving the younger talented people what they want then they’re going to go overseas and Australia loses out. I respect Bert Newton and am too young to know who Graham Kennedy was – but as Denton said, it really is time to pass the baton and for 7 & 9 to stop being so risk adverse.

  6. @ Ronnie – I agree wholeheartedly. It’s symbolic of a wider issue with Nine and Seven in particular that sees them too often hark back to the perceived safety net of a bygone era. The only thing they do better than indulge in anachronisms is continually dumb down commercial television to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Still, it’s all about the ratings isn’t it.

  8. Couldn’t agree more. Denton and and Micallef were brilliant. The next generation would include former AFI Awards hosts Stephen Curry, Julian Zemiro and Josh Lawson. They were all fantastic and would do the job at the Logies just as well.

  10. I asked my teenage son if he knew who Grahame Kennedy and Bert Newton are. He had no clue who Grahame Kennedy was and of Bert Newton he said “yeah isn’t he that old guy who hosts that crap countdown show on tv?”

    Of course, he also had no idea who Andrew Denton is either, so… yeah. ; )

  11. I can suggest two people who could host the Logies with their hands behind their backs. Andrew Denton for one and Adam Hills for another. This shouldn’t be restricted to females but my mind escapes me; although I know there are females in the business who’d also be good their names won’t come to the fore.

  12. Gil – yes, we do, but Nine is far too conservative to give them any freedom. Perhaps if they were broadcast on ABC or even Ten to an extent, you’d be able to have someone do some jokes that are actually funny, instead of safe, lame, and therefore tedious.

  13. We need an awards ceremony for television’s best shows and talent. This guy’s just jealous because he’e been stuck on the ABC for so long and has never won the gold.

  15. The worst time was when ch9 were celebrating 50yrs of television – how many times did we see the dog taking a pee on the graham kennedy show? Yes, you look at the Emmys last Monday and that great opening number with Jimmy Fallon and then look at the logies. Do we have local talent (on air and writers) that could do something similar….probably not.

  16. I think the Logies should take notice of the American awards shows, they know how to have fun, for instance take a look at Emmys they had a good opening performance and a good host.

  18. Yep, what Ronnie said.

    Hit the nail on the head for me. These major channels need to update.

    There is simply zero risk-taking with programs and programming these days.

    Get risky! Get edgy! Not everything will work, but the things that will, will have major impact.

  19. There is something hopelessly anachronistic about Seven and Nine right now – and I think Denton has really put his finger on it – they are 30 years behind the times – stuck in a 1980s timewarp. It’s fundamentally destroying both networks and their inner sanctum of management don’t see it. I think Bert Newton and Sam Newman are grotesque – and yet they form the backbone of Nine’s entertainment offering. The revival of Hey Hey was excruciating. Livinia Nixon sitting there laughing at Daryl’s jokes insults everyone’s intelligence. Nine’s old fashioned approach to drama is totally stuck in the 80/90s, at least with 3 identical series (SP,RSO,LAC) and not an “ethnic” to be found. What freaking country are they broadcasting to? Who is their audience? 65+ WASPs? Is that an advertiser friendly demo? If common sense can’t pull them into the 21st century what about a few commercial imperatives? 7Mate for heavensakes! How many female execs in the room for that?

  20. As long as the Logies remains a “most popular” vote there will always be this exact situation, especially given the population is getting older and the older viewers think the heyday of TV were these old TV programs, personalities and celebrities.

    The logies is a nonsense that has long since passed its use-by date.

  24. Absolutely agree. Doubly more so for me because I’m under fifty and have my own views about Bert and Graham anyway. Bert’s recent performance on ACA hammered it down forever I hope.

  25. I agree. We need new hosts as well….put someone fresh and exciting…no not grettle killen but someone who australia loves and has a natural hosting ability

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