Welcome to Week 9, and now we start to hit interesting territory. The Networks are starting to respond to the scheduling of their shows with movement and/or support based on the first two weeks of ratings, and people are responding in droves with their remotes (Ch7 had 8 to the Top10 shows of Week 8). There’s just so much to see, and allegedly so much of it is on Ch7. I respectfully disagree.

CAN’T MISS

  • Sunday Night – Sun 6:30pm, Ch7
  • Biggest Loser Australia: Families – Sun 6:30pm; Wed/Thu/Fri 7:30pm, Ch10
  • 60 Minutes – Sun 7:30pm, Ch9
  • Modern Family – Sun 7:30pm, Ch10
  • Bondi Rescue – Sun 8pm, Ch10
  • Hawaii Five-O – Sun 8:30pm, Ch10
  • Glee – Mon 7:30pm, Ch10
  • Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away – Mon 8:30pm, Ch9
  • Southland – Mon 11:30pm, GEM
  • The Office (US) – Tue 8:30pm/9pm, Eleven
  • Top Gear – Tue 8:00pm, Ch9
  • Conviction Kitchen – Tue 9:30pm, Ch7
  • Californication – Tue 10:05pm, Eleven
  • Adam Hills In Gordon St Tonight – Wed 8:30pm, ABC1
  • Blue Bloods (double ep) – Wed 9pm, Ch10
  • Laid – Wed 9:30pm, ABC1
  • Fringe (double ep) – Wed 9:30pm, GO!
  • Zumbo – Thu 7:30pm, SBS one
  • Party Down – Thu 8:30pm, ABC2
  • Chopper Rescue (final) – Fri 8pm, ABC1

BURIED TREASURE

  • The Love Boat – Daily 11am & 2am, Eleven
  • Compass (Matt Preston) – Sun 10pm, ABC1
  • Boston Legal (rpt) – Sun 10:40pm, 7mate
  • Black Books (rpt) – Tue 8pm, ABC2
  • Hoarders – Tue 8:30pm, GEM
  • Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares Revisits – 10:30pm, Ch9
  • Bob’s Burgers – Wed 8:30pm, Eleven
  • Megastructures – Thu 8:30pm, 7mate
  • The Golden Girls – Thu 8:30pm, GEM
  • Cops – Various days and always after 11:30pm, Ch10

SECRET TV PLEASURES

  • NZ’s Next Top Model – Sun 7:30pm, Eleven
  • The Mentalist – Sun 8:30pm, Ch9
  • 6pm with George Negus – Weeknights 6pm, Ch10
  • The 7pm Project – Weeknights 7pm, Ch10
  • $#*! My Dad Says – Mon 8pm, Ch9
  • Q and A – Mon 8:35pm ABC News 24; 9:35pm ABC1
  • Media Watch – Mon 9:15pm, ABC1
  • Good Game – Tue 8:30pm, ABC2
  • Mike and Molly – Wed 8pm, Ch9
  • V – Wed 8:30pm, GO!
  • CSI – Thu 8:30pm, Ch9
  • Undercover Boss (USA) – Fri 8:30pm, Ch10
  • Movie: Naked Gun 33 & 1/3 – Sat 9:30pm, Eleven

AT YOUR OWN RISK

  • Dexter – Mon 9:30pm, Eleven
  • Packed To The Rafters – Tue 8:30pm, Ch7

LAST CHANCE(S)

  • My Kitchen Rules – Mon/Tue/Wed 7:30pm, Ch7
  • Ben Elton: Live From Planet Earth – Tue 9:30pm, Ch9
  • The Late Session – Tue 10:05pm, SBS1
  • Farmer Wants A Root Wife – Wed 8:30pm, Ch9

DO. NOT. BOTHER.

  • Cougar Town – Tue 10:30pm, Ch7
  • Hellcats – Wed 7:30pm, GO!
  • Deperate Housewives – Thu 9:30pm, Ch7
  • 30 Rock – Thu 11:30pm, Ch7

Ben Elton: Live From Planet Earth is, unfortunately, not long for this world. Two weeks in and the ratings have dropped lower than the proverbial bride’s knickers – and despite Ch9’s bravery/conviction/stupidity to stick with it the vultures are circling to pick the flesh from the carcass of the show. It is sad, as while it’s not great it did improve from week 1, and needs more time than the rumoured 4 eps it will get to establish and develop the characters. To make it’s future a whole lot more grim, Ch7 are launching Conviction Kitchen after hiding it away from us from the start of ratings. I suspect the Tuesday night launch is to rub salt into Ch9’s wounds and then the show will settle into a Monday night timeslot from next week.

Both Blue Bloods on Ch10 and Fringe on GO! getting double eps this week helping progress those series for fans. My Kitchen Rules and Biggest Loser: Families delivering 90 minute eps on Wednesday to keep their respective competitions healthy (the latter responding with an extended ep only after the former announced it would have a special ep to eliminate the first team after all 12 instant restaurants were completed).

The thing to remember with programming – the more things change, the more they stay the same…