Fast-tracked TV

So cable and satellite TV and all that other fancy stuff isn’t nearly as common as it is in the US. This leaves most people with 5 standard “free-to-air” channels. The shows are divided between those produced in Australia and those produced internationally (generally in the US, but some in the UK & elsewhere).

Of the Aussie shows, the soap operas (e.g. Neighbours, Here and Away) tend to do really well (although we haven’t seen them, yet). The crime shows don’t do very well, and based on what we’ve seen (a few minutes of The Strip), we understand why. If you thought the acting on CSI Miami was lame, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. There are also lots of Aussie adaptations of US and British shows (e.g. Australian Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Thank God You’re Here, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader).

Among the “imported” TV shows, there are 3 categories:
1) Re-runs (e.g., The Simpsons, Two and a Half Men, The Iron Chef (which has great voice-overs!), Friends)

2) “Fast-tracked” shows, which means the episode will air here a couple of months after it aired in the US (e.g., most of the US crime shows, So You Think You Can Dance, Amazing Race)

3) “Seriously Fast-tracked” shows, which means they air here a few weeks later (e.g., the new 90210, Fringe). This is a major advertising point, and it cracks me up when they use the dramatic deep voice to announce that a show is going to be “seriously fast-tracked from the US.”

Our absolute favourite are 2 comedy/political humour shows: Rove and Good News Week. I think you should be able to check out bits and pieces at the following links:
http://www.rovedaily.com.au
http://ten.com.au/gnw-video.html