in Victoria: upon announcement of the second lockdown, a fight breaks out at the local Woolworths over the last remaining pack of toilet paper. Upon realizing that they have run out of toilet paper, a young family go on a scavenger hunt around Melbourne in an attempt to purchase some for their household, but they ultimately fail. After returning home, the family is surprised to find the same pack of toilet paper, which was revealed to be the last one, at their door.
in Western Australia, premier Mark McGowan (Grant Bowler) dispatches hundreds of builders to the stateās border where they are instructed with building a āhard borderā, designed to stop people from other states from entering his state. McGowan visits them to see how they are āprogressingā.
in Victoria, hundreds pack the CBD close to midnight on a balmy night in October, with fireworks going off to signify the end of the stateās long lockdown. The crowd start to chant, āwe are free againā.
a fiery national cabinet where state leaders argue over border closures and their responses to the pandemic.
a scene which follows the story of a young man who escapes Melbourneās lockdown, spends a fortnight in quarantine in Darwin before flying to Brisbane to see his AFL side play in the Grand Final.
Then this happened
Then this happened
Then this happened
Then this happened.
Youāre better off focusing on one element or person from the Lockdown - be they real or fictional (a family separated by borders or the true story behind Scott Morrisonās decision to shut the borders or whatever). Movies that simply list off events donāt get madeā¦thereās not a lot for viewers to be interested in there apart from recreations of scenes that most people saw at the time.
Not sure recreated media conferences are what the silver screen was made for or the TV screen.
I have an idea for a new reality TV show, a band competition āThe Gigā in which bands send a video recording of their performance, and the best 50 from each state will be picked for an audition. After that the top 25 will be picked for the next round of judging, the people and judges will help decide on the top 10. Then itās on to do some challenges such as: busking in a capital city, writing a rock song, organizing and promoting a gig, covering other rock bands, among others. Each week one band is eliminated. Then the top three play off for the grand final prize which is a headline national tour playing at major venues such as the Espy in Melbourne, all expenses paid, plus a record deal with a major label, and high rotation on Triple M. Bands must have at least three members and must have guitar (acoustic or electric), bass and drums in it. Judges would be well known rock musicians, promoters and band bookers. Iām sure it will be a success for the network that will go ahead with it.
Although it wouldnāt overly surprise me if one of the networks were to actually commission a major telemovie or mini-series based on a pandemic (Perhaps a āWhat if 2020 happened in 2000, just as Australia was gearing up for the Sydney Olympics?ā scenario) at some point in the future.
the mini-series Cyclone Tracy is a good (though somewhat fanciful) telling of a fictional story around a real-life event. No recaps of press conferences and meetings (and there would have been plenty at the time!) and it did intertwine real-life footage into the storytelling to fully demonstrate the graphic nature of what occurred. And being about a cyclone it had a lot of special effects action in it as well. With covid there would just be lots of people in PPE wheeling bodies around hospitals or scenes of people belting each other over toilet paper
I donāt really see much appeal in seeing simulated text message conversations between Premiers etc
I propose a revival of Nightline, though this time on a different network (Seven, who may have to acquire naming rights), and another point of difference would be that there is less news and more variety.
The show would air Monday to Friday, ideally from 9:00pm-10:00pm (or beginning immediately after Sevenās reality offering finishes), or immediately after the AFL in AFL states on Thursday and Friday nights.
In a nutshell, the show would start with a news update, and there would be another news update halfway through at 9:30pm. The rest of the time is filled with comedy, celebrity interviews, games, trivia and music.
Hosted by Larry Emdur, supported by Jessica Rowe and Denise Scott. News Updates with Angela Cox or Michael Usher (whoever is presenting The Latest, or in the case of Fridays, one of them stays back after Sydney 6pm news).
I think some live variety, featuring news, comedy, entertainment, trivia, music, sport etc. is just what we need at the moment, especially whilst a lot of the country is in lockdown, and may boost viewership numbers at 9pm, but each to their own.
Remember When Seven Network Sundays, 8:30pm-9:30pm
Remember When is a nostalgia TV program airing on Seven, Sundays from 8:30pm-9:30pm, straight after Sevenās reality program. It is solely based off the radio show on 3AW on Sunday nights, so is unlikely to ever eventuate on Seven because 3AW is owned by Nine.
I thought the program would be good now, because of the recent success of Hey Hey Itās 50 Years.
The program is hosted by Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies and is presented live out of Sevenās Martin Place Studios.
Segments include:
Ann Sandersā TV Time Tunnel. Ann presents a segment looking back at a moment in television news from the past, presenting an in-depth report on a certain news story.
Showbiz with Peter Ford. Pete takes viewers back to some of the best Showbiz stories from the past, from all things Royals to American celebrities.
Larry and Kylie take live calls. Viewers can ring up Larry and Kylie live in the studio and ask them a question about anything, preferably something to do with the past.
Music with Jess Mauboy. Jess sings a cover of an old song from the past.
A couple of ideas for dramas. Not exactly new in the world arena but could work in Australia:
24 Hours - Follow the fictional National Intelligence Agency and its investigators who have 24 hours to resolve and diffuse threats posed to National Security.
Harbour Franchise (our answer to the Chicago franchise on NBC)
Harbour P.D - New drama based in Sydney Harbour and follows the life of the Sydney Harbour Police Department and their mission to maintain civil order by the harbour. Companion Drama to Harbour Medical.
Harbour Medical - New drama based in a Sydney Harbour hospital and follows the life of doctors and nurses working in the Emergency ward. Companion drama to Harbour P.D.
Back in my home country, I have a few ideas for drama series and serials. Not exactly new in the international arena but could work in New Zealand:
Deadline - A new drama set in a national newspaper and based around the trials and tribulations of its staff and the stories they cover.
Law & Order: NZ - Set in Wellington, the New Zealand version of the US TV drama that tells the stories of two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.
The Mount - A new drama set around characters living and working in Mount Maunganui, a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of the Tauranga metropolitan area.
As mentioned by me earlier, I described The Mount as āa new drama set around characters living and working in Mount Maunganui, a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of the Tauranga metropolitan areaā.
From my point of view The Mount will be described as a New Zealand equivalent of the Australian soap āPacific Driveā (which had aired on the Nine Network from 1995-97 and ran for 390 half hour episodes) and aimed at the audience for the glossy āMelrose Placeā and the US daytime glossy soap operas. What do you think? @turdall
An idea for a slight refresh of Sunrise. Kochie and Nat remain as hosts, with Eddy on news and Sam Mac on weather. The sports presenting role is made redundant so Beretts leaves Sunrise and moves to Seven News Sydney. A new segment āSports Talkā will have sport journalists from major Sydney newspapers come into the studio and discuss sports news with Kochie/Nat, in addition to Eddy reading the sport stories each half hour in her news bulletins. Also, Nelson Aspen and Shaun White + consumer stories would be dropped.
Rundown would be something like this:
5.30am
Extended news with Eddy, crosses to reporters
Weather with Sam Mac
Kochie speaks to a reporter/expert on a developing story
