Inside The Box

Sun Herald

Sunday December 28, 2008

Scott Ellis

Survivor: Brazil is going to be very different from Gabon. A lot of likeable people and a very differently played game.Survivor host Jeff Probst alludes to something anyone watching the current season would know... they're not a nice bunch.Melrose comeback?

* THE upcoming Melrose Place revival moved a step closer to reality last week with news One Tree Hill creator Mark Schwann is in talks with US network CBS Paramount to develop the show. No news yet on the rumour Desperate Housewife Marcia Cross will make an appearance.

* THEY were the first to (convincingly) win the 16- to 39-year-old market and now it would seem Channel Ten is setting its sights even younger. Announced for 2009 is a "kids block" of programming, with C-, G- and preschool-rated shows airing for two hours each weekday, three on Saturday and one on Sunday.

* SIMON BAKER'S future looks secure with news his drama The Mentalist is officially the number one-rated new show in the US for 2008 (reports Nielsen ratings) and the number one-rated scripted show overall - beating powerhouse CSI.uAFTER a brief stint on free-to-air television, the Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras will return to Foxtel for 2009, screening on the pay-per-view channel Main Event on March 7. The broadcast will show both the parade and the "extravaganza surrounding it".

* SHE'S a new mum, the star of the latest Campari Calendar and now former Dark Angel star Jessica Alba is to guest-star in The Office. Alba will appear in the series' guest-heavy, post-Superbowl episode, along with Jack Black and Cloris Leachman.

Three of the best . . .

The Story of 1, New Year's Day, 8.30pm, ABC1

One is not the loneliest number as this quirky documentary from former Monty Python member Terry Jones reveals.

Top Gear, Monday, 7.30pm, SBS

It's goodbye to Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May as they pull over to the kerb for the final episode of this series.

New Year's Eve, from 8.30pm, Ten

If you're not keen on joining the throngs on Sydney Harbour, Ten's live telecast may well be the next best thing and it's considerably more comfortable.

. . . and the worst

The Secret Millionaire, New Year's Day, 9.30pm, Nine

People with lots of money go and live with people who don't have much money, then they give them a bit. The phrase "token effort" springs to mind.

Whatever happened to . . .

Robert Carlyle

He's played a junkie in Trainspotting, a Bond villain in The World Is Not Enough and now Robert Carlyle, best known to TV fans as the laconic detective Hamish MacBeth is returning to the small screen with a turn in the newest Stargate spin-off, Stargate: Universe. Echoing Dr Smith of Lost In Space, Carlyle will play a doctor trapped on a lost spaceship who has a secret agenda.

FAST FACT: Almost 25 hours of footage is edited into one single episode of 24.

© 2008 Sun Herald

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