When the Cheshire emerges...

So with Channel Nine bombarding us with ads for their new program schedule during the Olympics, my interest was taken. Although half have started, I thought I'd weigh in on how they might fare.

Big Brother

Well you all know where I stand with the return of the reality TV king, returning for the first series since I came of age. I don't think Nine have great production value overall but so far it's looking OK.

Underbelly: Badness



This has started already - and while I was excited for a new Underbelly series and also to see how Jonathan LaPaglia would fare as a bad-ass, I've decided to give it a miss. Just have too much going on right now. Plus LaPaglia doesn't look great on the ads (purely because of his character) - if I want to watch him I might as well watch The Slap again where he looked reeeeeally good.

Anger Management



Not a fan of Charlie Sheen or a watcher of Two and a Half Men, but really appreciated the first teaser ad where he took the mickey out of himself. He DID make the channel what it is (whatever that means for Nine), and he's clearly not losing (so that means he's wi..., geddit?) if he's back being paid a shitload for every episode of this show. I won't be watching.

House Husbands



I wouldn't mind giving this one a look actually, it sounds like a good concept. Great Australian cast and something of a dramedy that's making me think of the dads in What To Expect When You're Expecting.

Dallas



This is the one that intrigues me the most. I thought it was in vein of the remakes of 90210 and Melrose Place where they've just rehashed the same characters and stories. This will no doubt rehash some things too, but it's a continuation to focus on the descendants. I like that idea, and I like that Jesse Metcalfe's in it (the other guy's creepy looking, if he's not the really evil one that would weird a lot of people out).

I latched onto the other big event of the early 80s, Dynasty, for a time but never got onto the episodes of old from JR and the gang. I know about the whole 'who shot JR?' thing and how HUGE that was, and it turns out my parents were big fans and fully into it when that went down. Hilarious. Very curious to see how it'll rate, whether people will tune in to see where it goes.

***

Have you seen the American offerings in advance? Will you be watching or leaving Nine in the dumps?