View Full Version : Micallef Tonight axed
red+black
6 Aug 2003, 02:32
Can't say I ever really watched it, so can't comment on whether it was any good.
http://theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/05/1060064182208.html
The Nine Network has axed Micallef Tonight, citing poor audiences for the Monday night live variety show.
The news shocked host Shaun Micallef and producer Todd Abbott when they learned of the decision late yesterday afternoon.
It was a different message just a month ago when Nine extended the show to the end of the year. Guests have been booked through to November.
Nine's Melbourne programmer, Len Downs, said yesterday the show failed to attract the audience it needed to sustain it.
"We believe Shaun Micallef is a great talent," Mr Downs said. "We are disappointed that the program did not reach our ratings expectations."
The show got off to a shaky start this year, its launch delayed by network executives reportedly worried that Micallef's offbeat humour would not work with Nine's conservative audience.
The show's format was fine-tuned and Nine launched the show three months ago, proclaiming it a return to the network's glory days of live variety television.
But it faced stiff competition in the 9.30pm Monday timeslot from the ABC's heavily promoted Enough Rope, hosted by Micallef's friend Andrew Denton.
Competition for guests was tough and Micallef Tonight was criticised for stacking its line-up with Nine Network stars. The quality of Micallef's interviews also drew fire from the critics.
For the past few weeks Enough Rope has consistently rated higher and this week only 293,624 viewers tuned in to watch Micallef interview singer Ricky Martin in Melbourne, compared with 359,790 for Denton chatting to singer Kate Ceberano on the ABC.
The figures were similar nationally, with 821,192 for Micallef and 1,119,758 for Denton.
Mr. Snrub
6 Aug 2003, 09:29
I think where they went wrong with Micallef Tonight is in making it to a standard interview/variety show format and trying to make Shaun Micallef into the new Letterman - Shaun Micallef basically cannot interview. I watched it pretty regularly, but only to catch the gems of comic genius buried among the tedious interviews and jokes that didn't work. When Micallef's stuff works it's the funniest stuff on TV, and he keeps coming up with these fantastic lines, but I guess the Nine programmers wanted more consistency and more mainstream appeal. Going head to head against Denton's interview show on ABC probably didn't help either.
Blues_Girl
6 Aug 2003, 09:36
Well I predicted it'd last two months. Done well by lasting three :D
Mainstream Australia was not ready for his brand of humour - my favourite parts were the jokes that didn't work, and how he never took himself seriously, unlike all other presenters on "humourous" shows.
The interviews I thought were send ups of the whole chat show interview fraud which are usually excuses to promote the guests book/movie/concerts - witness Ricky Martin doing the rounds last week.
I guess Australians are happy with Rove and his "safe" entertainment.
TheBloods
6 Aug 2003, 10:10
Micallef should stick to sketch comedy - he does that really well. However, interacting with guests really doesn't work.
I think Nine should look at someone like Richard Stubbs who can both be funny and interview people. He was better than Vizard when he used to do Tonight Live on Fridays.
Mr. Snrub
6 Aug 2003, 10:51
Originally posted by Steve76
Mainstream Australia was not ready for his brand of humour - my favourite parts were the jokes that didn't work, and how he never took himself seriously, unlike all other presenters on "humourous" shows.
The interviews I thought were send ups of the whole chat show interview fraud which are usually excuses to promote the guests book/movie/concerts - witness Ricky Martin doing the rounds last week.
I guess Australians are happy with Rove and his "safe" entertainment.
See, I think those interviews weren't really meant to be sendups - that Micallef was supposed to have crazy/wacky interviews to contrast with Rove, but to still show off the new albums, have the guests perform etc etc. The price of working on commercial TV, I suspect. I really do think Nine wanted Micallef to be the new Letterman (or the new Steve Vizard, if you prefer) to take on the bland/safe Rove juggernaut, but the Nine audience just didn't get his brand of humour or his manner, and his interviewees didn't really respond either. Maybe Nine likes its stars to take themselves seriously...?
I would have thought the problem was that enough Rope was such a bloody good show that he was always going to struggle
Put him on a Tuesday night against Rove and I think he would havve won as he is genuinely funny himself.
Enough Rope is great. Interviews are just so intresting and amusing.
Denton's interview of Chopper was absoribing.
ps Kate Cebrano is a flake
Channel Nine's programming department:
"OK, we need a comedian to host a late night interview show. Everyone else is doing it, so we should give it a try, I suppose."
"Well, okay, but aren't they all a bunch of slovenly, drunken reprobates? That doesn't exactly fit with Channel Nine's desired image."
"Hmm, true. Hang on, what about this Micallef fellow? He's wearing a suit."
"Really? Perfect!"
I don't think it was a show that was ever going to work on the station its on.
Damn the "mainstream audience". Although not as good as his abc efforts it was still a very good show and I definitely caught it each week.
Hopefully he gets back to Channel 2 and gets something going fairly soon.
Mr Eagle
6 Aug 2003, 14:36
Originally posted by Mr. Snrub
but only to catch the gems of comic genius buried among the tedious interviews and jokes that didn't work. Someone give this man a prize for reading my mind!
Originally posted by Steve76
Mainstream Australia was not ready for his brand of humour
yes, it is true....
mainstream australia has more taste. It will never respond to this crap
Channel 9 is a graveyard for that sort of thing...
They already axed Mick Molloy and Rove... now Shaun Micallef.
bluechampion
6 Aug 2003, 15:22
It was a good show. Massively inconsistent and not to everyone's taste, but hilarious at its best. At least they tried to make it a little different. Another victory to the conservative hive-mind.
I'm amazed at how many "personalities" are poached from the ABC by the commercial networks, told to do their thing, then told it doesn't work, and then told to p|ss off!!
Seriously, I'm starting to think it is actually a method by which the commercial networks kill of successful shows on the ABC.
Just watch for Tony Squires to bob up on Channel 7 with his Fat ripoff and then disappear after 5 weeks when it "doesn't rate"!
The Fat gets killed off and Channel 7 have Squires locked up in a contract not being able to work anywhere else!!
Cheers
Gonzo
I think the biggest problem is that all of a sudden we've got all these chat shows. Micaleff Tonight, Rove Live, Denton, The Fat, Glasshouse, The Panel that one is going to fall by the wayside. Rove live appeals to the younger age group and Denton is very very good with his interviews. Micaleff Tonight was just average.
I must admit, I'm sick of seeing the same celebrities answering the same questions on different shows.
Originally posted by Mr Eagle
Someone give this man a prize for reading my mind!
You're supposed to say;
"I like the Snrub thinks!"
hans moleman
6 Aug 2003, 18:00
i agree with what snrub had to say as well...at times the show was hilarious, at other times (usually during the interviews) it was downright boring.
i found the studio crowd weren't as reactive to jokes as they could've been, making for a pretty dead atmosphere.
anyways, disappointed to see it go - hopefully micallef can go somewhere where he can do his own thing without tv exec's on his back all the time.
Leaping Lindner
6 Aug 2003, 23:40
Originally posted by otaku
yes, it is true....
mainstream australia has more taste. It will never respond to this crap
Thank you so much I was in need of a laugh.
"Mainstream Australia has more taste"
THAT is THE funniest I have EVER read on Big Footy.
The_Flying_Egg
7 Aug 2003, 00:47
It is a blight on this country that Rove is winning Gold Logies, while Micallef is axed. Micallef was one of the best things on tellie, unlike Rove he is actually a funny person, and he made his show different
His high horse was sensational. Channel 9 blow
Mr. Snrub
7 Aug 2003, 11:17
Originally posted by FIGJAM
You're supposed to say;
"I like the Snrub thinks!"
That's right! Good to see another fan of the monorail episode out there...
markstaners
7 Aug 2003, 11:51
Although they tried to make it like Letterman it was nothing like it half of what you listened too was pathetic at best he tried to churn out so many jokes it was just lame. He always spoke in that painstakingly annoying voice. Unlike letterman he gave the feeling he wasn't in control, he seemed on edge all the time compared with the relatively laid back letterman. He was always standing up and tried to get about 4 laughs out of every bloody sentence i found it absoloutley pathetic.
goaldrush
7 Aug 2003, 18:20
Argh bugger!
I liked that show. Let's hope that they don't put any more reality programs on because they are so boring
The show replacing it is The Bachelor 3 . :o
I didn't think all that much of it. I only saw it once, so it isn't much to judge off.
Although during the Ricky Martin interview he answered the phone and it was his mother telling him not to swear.
:rolleyes:
Reminded me of Hey Hey Its Saturday! :confused: :confused:
wagstaff
9 Aug 2003, 11:59
The downfall of the show was always going to be the interviews - Micallef never seemed sure whether he could be serious or mocking during these interviews, and never found his rhythm. It was almost as if he was told by the Ch. 9 honchos not to really let rip into the guests and Micallef didn't have the confidence of self-beleif to do a straight interview.
The end result was an awkward tease, and it killed the show. The surrounding material was too erratic to cover up these fundamental flaws.
Anja_Nees
9 Aug 2003, 15:08
The decision to axe Micallef Tonight is a disgrace. Shaun Micallef is a great talent and is (was) the funniest person on TV at his best. It was clear from the first episode that Channel 9 had forced him to tone down his sense of humour to suit their sensibilities, which was an obvious mistake. All the same, I found it entertaining and it was certainly better than the smarmy Denton or Rove.
I don't want to take too much away from Rove or Denton. The are both talented, but Denton's fake laughs and patronising style in Enough Rope gets annoying, and while Rove can be funny in his own right, his show is painfully 'safe'. This was most evident in his treatment of the Big Brother housemates this year. He carried Channel 10's line all the way through. Let's face it, there was nothing special about Reggie's honesty. She was just too stupid to say anything else. And when he attacked Ben for being a hypocrite I had to stop watching.
For crap's sake, the guy was a guest on his show, and he agreed with most of what Rove said, yet Rove conducted a blatant character assassination on live TV to pander to the audience. Then Avril Lavigne came on, and despite the fact she was rude and insolent to her fans, and gave a sh|thouse performance, he treated her like a princess.
I can only hope that Micallef can get a gig elsewhere. Maybe it would be best for him to return to the ABC, where ratings matter less and he can strut his stuff without being hindered by incompetent executives.
As for Rove, I can only hope his show sinks. Rove, Peter Helliar,and Corrine Grant are all funny, but the show has turned into an absolute turkey and it would be an immense injustice to have it continue after Micallef has just bitten the dust like this.
Originally posted by TheMase
Although during the Ricky Martin interview he answered the phone and it was his mother telling him not to swear.
:rolleyes:
Reminded me of Hey Hey Its Saturday! :confused: :confused:
That was a pi$s-take as he'd just dropped the magic.
I can't really think of any reason to even tune channel 7 into my TV now.
Sniper26
10 Aug 2003, 11:48
Originally posted by Mr. Snrub
That's right! Good to see another fan of the monorail episode out there...
LOL
Sniper26
10 Aug 2003, 11:50
Originally posted by dyertribe
Channel 9 is a graveyard for that sort of thing...
They already axed Mick Molloy and Rove... now Shaun Micallef.
Ah the Mick Molloy Show, all i remember from that was the cucumber sandwiches and Bob Franklyn saying
"MMMM HOW DELIGHTFUL":D
Originally posted by Sniper26
Ah the Mick Molloy Show, all i remember from that was the cucumber sandwiches and Bob Franklyn saying
"MMMM HOW DELIGHTFUL":D
Funny you mention Mick Molloys show.
I saw a bit of Micallef's show 2 weeks ago when Tony Martin was on.They crossed to a restaurant and did a sketch with a dwarf.Tony Martin said to Shuan "You know we used that same dwarf in Mick Molloy's show and we were axed the following week".
Originally posted by Mr. Snrub
That's right! Good to see another fan of the monorail episode out there...
I call the big one Bitey...
Sniper26
10 Aug 2003, 15:49
WooHoo!! Look at that pavement fly!!
Mr. Snrub
11 Aug 2003, 08:59
"Do you want to change your name to Homer Junior? The kids can call you Ho-Ju"
Fantastic episode...
Monorail!, Monorail!, Monorail!.......Mono...D'OH
Mr. Snrub
11 Aug 2003, 10:31
And, of course...
"Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?"
Truer words were never spoken.
noodnuts
11 Aug 2003, 12:43
micallef was a talentless no hoper, who thought he was so funny because he could twist words and phrases into kwirky meanings. he's just another one of a long line of socialist comedians from the ABC that got a easy way into show biz because of his politics not his 'talent'.
just like so many other socialist comedians he has been found out in the cruel world of commercial tv. now he can go back and do what he knows best.......driving cabs!!!!
daicos4ever
11 Aug 2003, 13:55
Originally posted by noodnuts
micallef was a talentless no hoper, who thought he was so funny because he could twist words and phrases into kwirky meanings. he's just another one of a long line of socialist comedians from the ABC that got a easy way into show biz because of his politics not his 'talent'.
Have you ever heard of Full Frontal?
Leaping Lindner
11 Aug 2003, 19:26
Originally posted by noodnuts
micallef was a talentless no hoper, who thought he was so funny because he could twist words and phrases into kwirky meanings. he's just another one of a long line of socialist comedians from the ABC that got a easy way into show biz because of his politics not his 'talent'.
just like so many other socialist comedians he has been found out in the cruel world of commercial tv. now he can go back and do what he knows best.......driving cabs!!!!
Did those big words and clever phrases hurt your little head.
Oh baby. Uncle Kerry make it better by putting on a show that doesn't make you think too much.
Juddyzthebest
12 Aug 2003, 15:57
on micallef getting axed.. is there anybody who can seriously say they didnt see that coming????? No-body can come close to Rove at da moment
Sniper26
12 Aug 2003, 16:11
Originally posted by daicos4ever
Have you ever heard of Full Frontal?
Who hasn't? I remember Eric bana walking the streets as a guy with a big black mullet called "Joe" going up to people saying, so ah, what do ya reckon?, funny ****. the A Current affair take off was classic too... That plastic Ray Martin hair piece was sometimes up to half a foot high :D!!
I think Micallef was the boxer, Milo Kerigan LOL!!
Originally posted by Sniper26
I think Micallef was the boxer, Milo Kerigan LOL!!
And David McGhan... "aye-eee!" :D
Mr Eagle
12 Aug 2003, 18:05
Originally posted by daicos4ever
Have you ever heard of Full Frontal? I wish I hadn't.
PrideofSA
12 Aug 2003, 23:32
Comedic genuis....unfortunately not everyone was smart enough to understand and can interract more with Rove, which is a safer more mainstream type of comedy..
Shame really, coz I watched it every week and loved it.
Lenny29
13 Aug 2003, 18:04
Originally posted by dyertribe
And David McGhan... "aye-eee!" :D
And Fabio, the most beautiful man in the cosmos, saying these things.. TOOOOOOOOOOOO.. you!