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Spicks & Specks gets “tick of approval” on social media

Twitter gives Josh Earl, Adam Richard and Ella Hooper some pretty good news.

2014-01-15_0107If Twitter was any indication last night (and we say that with some caution) then the new-look Spicks and Specks got the thumbs up in its first outing.

The show featured Josh Earl, Adam Richard and Ella Hooper appearing two years after the series ended on ABC1.

Without doubt there’s a lot riding on this for the public broadcaster, and it’s a tall order to replace such a beloved team in Adam, Alan and Myf.

But there were plenty of positive, if surprised, tweets last night. If there was any criticism it was largely that Josh Earl’s delivery was fast and loud (both of which I noted in my review). Fingers crossed that once he relaxes into the role so will his performance.

Even Adam Hills wished the team well:

 

 

 

 

 

But there were others still clinging to their memories:

 

 

 

 

18 Responses

  1. I loved the old one, liked the new one. Good move to have Ella and Adam as new captains given how much they were a part of the old show. Sure their knowledge was not on par with Myf and Allan… But they’ll find their feet.

  2. I’m going to keep going. I’m sure feedback about Josh Earl’s delivery will filter through to him, and he’ll dial it back. I’m sure everyone was pretty keyed up with the first episode, and things will start to ease once first night jitters fade. People keep saying here how appalled they are when networks leap and take shows off when they’re only a few episodes into a season, and here I see people are appalled how Spicks ‘n’ Specks isn’t like the show they knew way back when, and dismissing it one episode into the season.

  3. Old S&S got tired. I’m happy to give new S&S a go. David, do you have a link for the review of the first ever S&S? It took a long time to find its feet from memory.

  4. It was good to the show back, but I couldnt help but think Adam, Myf and Allan may have done it better,

    I look forward to seeing if Josh, Ella and Adam can make it there own.

  5. Really? I know a lot of dedicated S&S viewers and they all thought it was somewhere between tedious and plain terrible. The new host is too yappy and excitable, he simply doesn’t have the sense of timing, delivery and gravitas that Adam had.

    There’s little or no attempt made to engage the audience, in fact I fell asleep about 15 minutes in. The team captains are affable enough, but don’t have the depth of knowledge to carry the game. Even the games themselves seemed more *hurried* and dumbed-down.

    As others have noted, it may be an attempt to pitch to a younger audience, or one that likes lighter entertainment.Either way, good luck to them, I don’t think I’ll bother watching again myself.

  6. The appeal, for me, was that the original S&S team knew just about everything about music. These new team captains do not seem to know much. And agree the kid presenting it: slow down, repeat the answers after everyone has stopped shouting and trying to be funny – so that the viewers at home can participate.

  7. I think the ABC is right to try and pitch it younger. It needs that audience as a lead in to it’s later comedies.Time will tell if that audience is even watching tv anymore. I would leave the ratings discussions to a time when it’s not up against the cricket and MKR.
    If this was a new show (which it sort of is) that ratings would be okay given the competition. When Spicks and Specks first started I watched ABC wednesdays every week. It was the only night of tv where I watched more than an hour in a row. Now there’s too much content on DVD or online to watch unless it’s something I’m really interested in. The Moody’s will bomb I suspect. Like Wednesday Night Fever it’s a show for Bogans on a network that doesn’t have a bogan audience.

  8. I thought it was terrible!
    Don’t like the new host
    (he needs to calm down & stop shouting)
    and Ella seemed like she was trying too hard.
    I don’t like Adam Richard at all.
    It’s a poor substitute for a sensational original!

    I will give it one more week
    (I almost turned off after 5 minutes last night)
    But, it’s back to the repeats on ABC2 weeknights
    (if they stop putting Ella, Adam & Josh episodes on)

  9. Watched it last night and it is really too try hard and too shrill. How can a new ABC show get 598,000 viewers when a repeat of QI gets 669,000? I think the answer is that the ABC’s strategy to cast a younger panel is one of the problems. The ABC1 demographic is getting much older and this show just doesn’t cater to it. Contrast the ratings for The Broken Shore on Sunday where the vast bulk of its 900,000plus viewers were over 55 and Phyrnne Fisher where they seem to be over 75! Perhaps ABC1 should admit defeat with the younger demographic and clearly rebadge and reprogram ABC2 as the youth network and devote to it meaningful money for program development and production. Isn’t this the great benefit of multiple digital channels?

  10. I Agree that Josh’s delivery was a little too fast and a little too “Shrill” – But i think as they settle into the roles it’ll become a much better show.
    I noticed they also banged through the games a lot quicker than they do on old Spicks, maybe just calm it down a bit?

    I loved it though…

  11. If they could just keep the camera on a level plane it maybe OK, and his delivery was too fast, I turned off after 5 minutes. Maybe I am not such a fan I thought I was. It just annoyed me.
    The original was losing its feet later on, in the years.

  12. It wasn’t bad but it just didn’t feel right to me. I never missed an episode of the original series but I can’t see myself making this appointment viewing each week. Me watching it will be determined on the guests they have on each week.

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