Television

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GUEST OBSERVATION
In Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, caretaker Jud Crandall warns against burying bodies in the old Indian burial ground. “They don’t come back the same,” the old man drawls, with a mix of desperation and horror in his voice.
If only television executives heeded this same advice.
Around the globe, recent reboots of some long loved, long dead, television programs highlight the unimaginative strategies studios are employing to out-manoeuvre each other in the race for higher ratings. Hitting our screens again of late have been the exhumed corpses of Beverly Hills 90210, Twin Peaks, Arrested Development, X-Files, Will &amp; Grace and Roseanne, among others.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291409/original/file-20190909-175682-18cj1qf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
The revival of Beverly Hills 90210has nothing on the original’s hair styles. (Source: Fox)
I’ve dubbed this “Zombie TV”. It’s the type that could have only been created by television programmers adhering to The Simpsons adage: “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOTyUfOHgas" target="_blank">We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas</a>”.
Zombie reboots are old shows with the same cast and same locations. It’s like we’ve all just hitched a ride in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Doc Brown’s DeLorean</a> and teleported 20 years into the future. The latest Australian example is the beloved Seachange.
Not much of a sea change
Originally on the ABC but now switched to Nine, this raising from the dead takes place 20 years after the original – but things don’t seem to have developed much for our characters in the years since.
Laura Gibson (Sigrid Thornton) is still dispensing her own brand of justice, Bob Jelly (John Howard) is still on the scrounge, and Heather Jelly (Kerry Armstrong) is still off with the pixies.
The underlying problem here is that a Channel Nine audience is very different to an ABC one – not least of all in age. The <a href="https://tvtonight.com.au/2016/11/the-average-age-of-tv-viewers" target="_blank">average age</a> of an ABC viewer is 66; the average age of the Nine viewer is a sprightly 50.
Watching this reboot, it feels like writer Deb Cox has reacted to this audience change by writing in a much more light and flippant (if that’s possible) tone.
The comic aspects are at the fore while the drama (or melodrama) has been downplayed. Every scene has a comedic touch to it, so much so that the characters are more caricatures of their former selves. The brooding and at times poignant scenes of the original, such as Laura’s romances with Diver Dan (David Wenham) and Max Connors (William McInnes) have little place at Pearl Bay now – unless each ends with slapstick.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291417/original/file-20190909-175710-zsef9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Photo: Nine
But the main issue is that what was fresh and relevant in 1998 isn’t in 2019.
Times have changed
Twenty years ago, many dreamed of escaping the city commute and chaos for the peaceful surrounds of a small town by the water. But high unemployment, sky-rocketing ocean view house prices, limited educational opportunities and reduced entertainment options have <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6016548/city-congestion-and-rural-population-decline/?cs=14246" target="_blank">taken the gloss off small-town living.</a>
Many of those who made the change previously <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/when-a-sea-change-goes-wrong-20071129-gdrpci" target="_blank">are now returning</a> to the cities for these exact reasons.
So what is the place of a Seachange reboot after the zeitgeist has passed?
Seachange always hooked itself on the one premise that life away from the cities was so much better. Everything else in it was pretty much (beloved) stock standard melodrama, and the reboot hasn’t shifted to reflect current societal issues. Without that hook is the attraction of the show just another nostalgia kick?
Mass grave robbery
Seachange, so far, seems unlikely to achieve the ratings success it is chasing. It premiered as the highest rating drama of 2019 with <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/seachange-reboot-premieres-to-787000-metro-viewers-to-become-highest-rating-drama-of-the-year-592470" target="_blank">787,000 metro viewers</a>. By week two, <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/seachange-dips-to-533000-metro-viewers-for-second-outing-fails-to-bring-nine-a-tuesday-night-win-593436" target="_blank">a third</a> of those viewers had been lost.
But it could still lead to mass grave robbery of Australian television programming. For television executives Zombie TV is a very enticing prospect. Australian networks need to abide by <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/fact-finders/television/industry-trends/content-regulation" target="_blank">strict quotas on new drama</a>, and original TV drama is risky – if it doesn’t work, heads can roll.
Bringing back an old, popular show, carries less risk – people tune in for nostalgia’s sake, at the very least. And, if it fails after that? Then the execs can claim, “It was huge 20 years ago, who knew it wouldn’t be now?” The failure is disowned.
Zombies have their origins in the <a href="https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/08/the-mysterious-real-zombies-of-haiti/" target="_blank">voodoo religion of Haiti</a>, where corpses were believed to be revived by black magic, becoming mindless creatures, or for slave labour or to carry out curses tormenting the living.
Maybe TV executives need to keep that in mind, too.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123162/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Daryl Sparkes, Senior Lecturer (Media Studies and Production), University of Southern Queensland.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-seachange-is-a-sad-case-of-zombie-tv-when-your-favourite-programs-come-back-from-the-dead-123162" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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The new Seachange is a sad case of Zombie TV: when your favourite programs come back from the dead: Daryl Sparkes

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More than 20 years after renovation show Changing Rooms first aired on TV, Channel 10 have commissioned a new series.
Natalie Bassingthwaighte (below) will reboot Changing Rooms as its host.
The renovation show will launch on television screens on February 13.
She holds a degree in interior design.
"Our new show will capture the essence and appeal of the original format and re-energise it, with strong storylines and more kitchen and bathroom reveals, which are proven favourites with Australian viewers," the network's chief content officer, Beverley McGarvey, said. 
Their new designers are Tim Leveson, Jane Thomson, Naomi Findlay and Chris Carroll.
Carroll is the director at Melbourne-based TLC Interiors, an interior design studio and home style blog.
Carroll helps clients and readers create amazing spaces regardless of budget. 
"Y'all ready for some amazing design on a tight budget?" Carroll said, adding that that's what he's been doing for years.
"I'm absolutely pumped to show it to you on the big screen," Carroll said.
The show begins on February 13.
"For ages I've been wishing a TV network would produce a series that shows everyday Aussies how to make their homes amazing without spending a fortune, and Channel 10 went and did it," Carroll said.
"The added bonus, of course, is that they cast me on the show to work my styling magic. No fights, (almost) no drama, but plenty of chipped nails and paint-covered hands (give me a manicure stat!)."
Caroll said that a personal level, a TV gig like this "is a dream come true for me," adding that he can't wait to show people you can have a designer home without the designer price tag. 
 
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Natalie Bassingthwaighte to reboot Changing Rooms

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A Place To Call Home is back on our television screens, and a colouring book has been released to commemorate the occasion.
The book, available for all age ranges, shows the textures and patterns of everyday life in 1954 rural Australia. The 1880s house on the front cover.
It's filled full of old-timey dresses, antiques and pictures from yesteryear.
It's not just children who colour in now either.
Count Andy Faber-Castell told news.com.au that pencils have gone up 300 percent in sales in one year alone for their adult range.
<img src="/images/2016/09/09/Colouring%20book%20JPEG.jpg" alt="" width="234" height="312">
After Channel 7 decided to axe the show, A Place To Call Home fans were relieved when Foxtel picked the Sunday night drama series up for a third and fourth season.
The original cast with Marta Dusseldorp, Noni Hazlehurst and Brett Climo were reassembled, with shooting around the Camelot, Wollondilly shire and Southern Highlands region.
The Camelot property near Camden on Sydney outskirts was the star of the show.
Set among rolling green pastures with well-established cottage-style gardens, and a winding, tree-lined drive, the historic Narellan mansion was built in 1888 for the White pastoralist family.
James White built it having cashed up from his winnings from Chester, his racehorse which had 19 wins - including the 1877 Melbourne Cup.
It comes with the romantic silhouette of turrets and chimney stacks and gables, the backdrop to many a wedding photo session.
The John Horbury Hunt-designed three-storey house is known as Ash Park in the series.
The 55-room fairytale-liked Camelot and its garden have been stunningly restored by the owners, Brendan and Rachel Power.
The property has actually only had four owners with it last selling in 1999 for $2.6 million.
Above pic courtesy of Foxtel.
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A Place to Call Home embraces the colouring in book trend

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The latest renovation series House Rules debuted last night with a 718,000 metro audience, finishing the night in 10th most watch show.
The new season of House Rules has a lot of heart, says host Johanna Griggs.
The fourth series of the reality renovation show features five sets of parents hoping to secure a better future for their children to wipe their mortgage. 
Each week, the six teams must renovate the interiors of each other's homes.
The home owners aren't allowed to work on their own properties, and instead must leave their set of house design rules for their competitors to carry out.
With little to no previous renovation or interior design experience, the House Rules teams have a steep learning curve, she said. 
House Rules on Channel 7 continues tonight with first up the renovation of the house of Fil and Joe from Melbourne, with their five design rules below.
The finale of Nine’s controversial dating show Married at First Sight was watched by 1.048 million metro viewers, airing from 7:30pm to 9:30pm, up on its season launch which drew 771,000 metro viewers, but down on last year’s finale, which attracted 1.290m metro viewers.
The season-ender is the only episode during season two which broke the 1m audience mark, mumbrella reported.
 
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