Between the Lines
Between the Lines felt like it had borrowed from the Spicks "How To" book.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under Programming, Reviews
Adam Hills recently told TV Tonight that when Spicks and Specks premiered, the ABC built the show from nothing: “600,000 viewers in the first week, which hilariously is good numbers these days.”
Now a former Spicks producer has helped put together Between the Lines, a Southern Star production for Nine.
The “sports-theme” panel show is trying very hard to be Spicks without the music. A bit like The Trophy Room was doing with Peter Helliar over summer.
As everyone working on the show no doubt realises, the key to making it work is in the chemistry of the teams. It has to feel like good company, and appeal to those who don’t like sport.
Host Eddie McGuire is very good at working off the cuff and getting the job done in minimum production time. But Nine seems blind to his growing lack of appeal outside Melbourne and seemingly exacerbates it rather than addressing it.
Team captain Mick Molloy works well with McGuire, given their joint radio show on Triple M. His opponent ‘Fitzy’ can even throw in a worthwhile gag. It’s surprising that the network has drawn upon on two Before the Game faces, but you have to admire that they went beyond their own stable to try and get it right.
However, collectively these three are very blokey. One female to five men is a bit of a worry. Collectively they are also very AFL-leaning. Why did Nine not choose a resident NRL representative?
In the first episode Ed Kavalee was the star performer: spontaneous, self-deprecating, charming (bring on The Joy of Sets please!). The games felt like they had borrowed from the Spicks “How To” book -one game based on truth vs lies even resembled a Hey Hey segment.
A segment with sailor Jesse Martin clumsily edited out his all-important answer.
But the biggest problem is one of length. Commercial networks are too quick to build a show from the ground up and have the guts to keep it short and sweet. Why must they always opt for the long-form? At one hour a bit more interaction with the audience wouldn’t go astray.
Nine has cleverly scheduled this before The Footy Show and while the genre is deceptively hard to get right if it shows the patience ABC demonstrated to Spicks it may yet find its feet.
But then, this is Channel Nine….
Between the Lines airs 8:30pm Thursdays on Nine.
35 Responses
Is there anybody out there who hasn’t had a gut full of Eddie Mcguire??
@ Nicky, this show got 696,000 in the ratings– where as last week VD only rated 87,000.
If you simply look at those figures, I think viewers are more interested in watching the “crap” Eddie McGuire over stupid vampires.
As stated in the top of this article, Spicks & Specks started with only 600,000 and built into the popular show that it is today and if Nine stick with this for a few months, I believe this could turn into a 1-million+ viewer program on a weekly basis, if it removes it’s AFL-bias and uses a regular rotation of comedians and celebrites so they get used to the format and it’d be a hit.
Its gonna float like a lead balloon
I hate Eddie McGuire this crap was shown and Vampire Diaries was turned off.
Note to channel 9 – the public doesn’t like Eddie. Do you get it, yet?
There is also an encore tonight, after the NRL in Sydney and Brisbane.
As with any show, the real telling will be the ratings next week and the week after. Last nights figures weren’t anything that Nine should be high fiving each other over.
@Graeme
9 is run by an ex AFL employee now and Eddie probably gets some say too.
I didn’t watch after I saw it was stacked with AFL personalities. Seems Sydney and Brisbane viewers are over 9 trying to shove AFL down peoples throats looking at the ratings.
Why they keep promoting AFL when they don’t have the rights has me confused. They have more AFL shows than NRL ones.
Saw Eddie as the Host and Switched off. When will Channel Nine learn, a major percentage of the Nation can’t stand Eddie. New Talent is required!
i was in a pilot audiance for a pannel show for CH 9 done by the people who do TAYG, it was based on intelligence but physical mental emotional, this seemed quite similar to that but with a sport slant
Oh how it stunk!
I agree with Matthew, the sudden ending to the Jesse Martin story and without, it seems, anyone finding out the answer was poor. The same thing happened at the end of the first segment. Surely in a show thats basis is asking questions then having them answered, not letting the viewers know the answers is a bit of a problem. The editors should get a kick up the arse for letting the finished product air as it was. Apart from that, I didn’t mind the show and would probably watch it again.
The show was a complete mess. The editing during the Jesse Martin part was unforgivable and the whole thing felt like it just dragged. Also, the set seemed unnecessarily big (compared to Spicks n Specks) which gave the show a cold feel and also meant that, frequently, panellists would talk over each other.
You could see Eddie trying his hardest to make it work but I think it’s destined for a very short life.
@ ‘David @ Green Point’ :
Haha….you actually did comment though, to say that you can’t comment… 😉
I watched between the lines last night
I found it terrible. Especially with the Jessie Martin segment ending abruptly.
It reminded me alot of TAYG
matt
Ed Kavalee and Fitzy were the only things that kept me watching the whole show.
I will say that I did like it better than The Trophy Room.
@Straight Shooter – as soon as I saw the Line Up segment, I thought “well, now they’re shamelessly ripping of NMtB!”.
I only managed to last about 5 minutes.
Eddie’s schtik has become old, an hour of Ryan Fitzgerald is about 50 minutes too long (he’s great in small doses) and as much as i love sport, i don’t want to sit around answering inane sports questions for an hour.
Too long
Too blokey
Sets are too far away
Games are unimaginative
The questions were crappy
Ed Kavalee must be the male version of Jackie o….except he is amazing. Hope joy of sets does well!
It certainly felt like “spicks and specks”.
The i saw Eddie was the host and switched off.
I’m not sure how this will go outside Victoria…
Another failure for Eddie. 696,000 and can only see it dropping. Not sure how long it will take Nine to realise the public don’t like Eddie.
I also don’t understand why the AFL has a stronger presence – they have alienated Sydney and Brisbane viewers straight away.
I don’t want to suggest Nine are dumb……..but these are dumb decisions….
So do we know if what Jesse said was truth or fiction.?
Never Mind The Buzzcocks? 12th November, 1996 Premiere on BBC2
There is only 7 original story lines – all used up by the end of Socrates’s time in Ancient Greece.
Everything else since then simply a derivative.
Can’t comment as I didn’t see it.
And I never will…
I watched with extremely low expectations but found it OK. Like everything Eddie does, it is way to drawn out due to his constant talking to keep his head on TV.