Soooo…

I’ve clearly lost interest in Australian Idol. No more recaps, but maybe I’ll do a final summarative post after the finale. All the weirdos and hotties and freaks are gone, and we’re left with a few guys whose personality has been totally stripped from them over the course of the comp and I just can’t be bothered with it anymore.

Having said that, my bothered-ness has been shifted to greener pastures. Namely, Survivor Gabon, ANTM 11 and Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Survivor Gabon has turned out to be fantastically interesting, and holds up well when compared to last season (which was blindside-riffic and pretty damn entertaining). The onion alliance looked like it was going to hold strong, but twists and turns of the game kept things interesting. There are some great characters, from Randy the asshole to Crystal the… I dont even know how to label her, to Kenny the gamer, to Sugar the innocent yet potentially game-winning pinup model. I’ve enjoyed the shenanigans so far, although I was sad to see Ace go so early. And so many fake elephants!

ANTM has been… well, fairly typical. The good models get sent home due to technicalities, and the Covergirl and Seventeen-worthy, hyper-commercial girls are kept around. Those with issues make it to around final 5 but are sent packing soon after, and the sweet, all-american girl eventually rises to the top thanks to continued psychological warfare against and for all parties. Tyra gets more and more insane with every cycle. Seriously, she’s like Oprah with an inferiority complex. She has to consistently reinforce and shore up her ego, which is like a patched but huge zeppelin. And if history has taught us anything, it’s taught us this; zeppelins eventually go down in a blaze of horrific proportions. And I can’t fucking wait.

Never Mind The Buzzcocks has lost a couple of things. Firstly, Simon’s hair. Secondof-ly, Bill Bailey. And it’s success in this 22nd season has relied on the quality of the guest captains. Stephen Fry and Mark Ronson were entertaining and different, but a few – such as the less well known British comedians – have fallen a bit flat. Russell Brand did an episode but it hasn’t yet been aired, likely due to his whole, “quitting the BBC” thing*. The show remains a must-watch for me, but the quality has dropped significantly from last season. Fingers crossed for a high quality permanent new team captain, or the return of Bill.

*Speaking of which: Fuck! His radio show was brilliant, and I listened with glee, fear, and amusement every week. I missed Matt Morgan, but his various co-hosts (Noel Fielding, Simon Amstell, Noel Gallagher, Jonathon Ross) were great and his irreverent interview style was a breath of fresh air. Bloody media bloody crucifying him! Anyway, if you – like me – miss his show, I recommend podcasting the Australian radio duo Hamish & Andy‘s show, via iTunes. It’s great. Seriously.