The Blog of Mike Beckham
Mike Beckham
Mike Beckham resides near Melbourne, Australia and has a dog named Lucy. He hosts a program called "The Ploy" which highlights the weeks news in a satirical fashion.
Homepage: http://mikebeckham.net
Posts by Mike Beckham
20 Years of the TAC
Dec 11th
It has been 20 years since the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) began advertising on television, the TAC is responsible for medical and non-medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident and for the majority of road safety advertisements in the state of Victoria.
It’s headquarters also happen to be in closest city to me, Geelong. The advertisements have been etched into our states history and memory since the first aired in 1989, the sometimes moving and even sometimes graphic ads aim to reduce the road toll by making us aware of things that can happen on our roads due to the effects of negligence, alcohol, drugs and plain stupidity.
This following advertisement highlights some of the TAC’s work over the last 10 years with the R.E.M. classic ‘Everybody Hurts’ as a poignant backing track.
For more information visit their website.
Mr. Rudd, Please pick a side
Nov 1st
I have always wondered whether or not you could change someones personal political preferences. I am Progressive/Liberal/Left Wing Nut and have been for a while. Before that, I was probably too young to do anything but echo my parents thoughts.
Political views seem to come naturally, for some reason you naturally feel them. Sometimes it comes down to how much compassion you have, how realistic you are, whether or not you feel we need make a difference as a collective or just how much you care about politics at all.
There are of course stereotypes, Conservatives are anti-taxes, anti-gay, anti-minorities. Liberals are gay abortion loving fiends who want to open our borders to anyone who would want to enter.
Neither are usually true, there are extremes on either side, but usually most people fall somewhere in between. Admittedly I don’t. I am closer to the extreme than I am to the center, but I understand most people are fairly ambivalent about politics. Usually to do with the tiresome partisan back and forth which seems to dominate.
“All politicians are crooks, they all lie, they are all disingenuous and will say anything to get elected and then turn their back on their principles as soon as they are elected to stay in power.” Is the prevailing wisdom.
Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd has been accused of that recently, when it comes to Asylum Seekers.
The left see him as John Howard 2.0. Who had a colourful track record of not being a friend of Asylum Seekers or even International Laws relating to them.
Now Rudd, who often spoke critically of Howard is following closely in his footsteps. His party denies this of course, but he is towing the line of ‘getting the balance right’ and wanting to be tough on the borders while being ‘humane’ to Asylum seekers.
That of course still means locking them up in what are called ‘detention centres’ but they closely mirror prisons more than a camp of any kind I have ever been to.
Now I am not saying we should open the borders and let anyone enter, I am supportive of making sure we do check those who come here, and if that means securing them to do so then it’s probably a good idea, but locking them up in a prison style camp is not my idea of ‘humane’. Especially to people who have suffered to escape from wars and the possibility of having themselves and their family killed.
Rudd can’t say he wants to be humane to Asylum seekers then send them to Christmas Island. Or send a boat load of people to Indonesia to experience far worse conditions, even if they were in Indonesian waters but were seeking refuge in Australia. That is disingenuous.
It seems Rudd is unable to pick a side. Howard could at least do that. You knew where he stood, while Rudd, well he has one foot on each side of the fence and before he knows it, he will be doing some very painful splits and will ultimately end up pleasing no one.
The Great Late Night Debate
Oct 14th
There are now more Late Night show hosts than justices on The Supreme Court, but who to watch?
I have long been a massive fan of the genre and with all the attention on Late Night shows and hosts over the last 12 months I thought I would put my two cents in.
THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O’BRIEN / 11.35pm Weeknights on NBC
The venerable franchise is now helmed by the tall red headed host who appeals to college kids and the younger demo, which NBC was willing to give up ratings giant Leno for.
His previous Late Night show (which he hosted for 16 years) was a hotbed of Masturbating Bears and Abe Vigodas, the new 11.30 Conan has calmed down, dropped the fancy dance at the start of the show but many of his off the wall comedy bits remain. Like Cornando where he attempts to appeal to the Latino audience by performing a telenovela where undoubtedly he ends up with a beautiful woman.
Repetitive, but none of the less very funny, even if its just to see Conan in faux mustache.
The addition of longtime sidekick (1993-2000) Andy Richter to announcer status has helped the program carve a fresh identity as a hipper alternative in Late Night, which I predict will reap longtime rewards for NBC even if that means a few years in the wilderness behind Letterman.
LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON / 12.35am Weeknights on NBC
The newest addition to Late Night, is Jimmy Fallon, Stepping in to Conan’s old stomping ground and the original late night home of David Letterman. Big shoes to fill and so far its a mixed bag. Fallon relies too heavily on Audience participtation games, which either shows he is trying to offer something different to the other Late Night shows, or laziness on the part of writers.
The segments are often rescued by his quick wit, but sometimes can drag on and become played out.
His announcer Steve Higgins has some nice one liners and the highlight is the band ‘The Roots’ which offer great opportunities for segments involving musical numbers.
Overall, there is room to grow and as soon as he becomes more relaxed and not rely on his notes so heavily he could do a Conan and slip into the role nicely.
LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN / 11.35pm Weeknights on CBS
The newly re-crowned King of Late Night is David Letterman, with soaring ratings post-Leno, he has become the new go to guy for Middle America, uncomfortable with Conan’s more off the wall comedy and longing for Leno to return to after 11pm.
His recent personal issues have plagued the longest serving host of the genre but he has weathered storms before, including 17 years of Jay Leno and switching networks. Whether there is any long term impact is literally a $30 Million question.
His ratings post-scandal have been some of his best at CBS, whether or not this could be his Hugh Grant moment that shot Leno to the top of the Late Night ratings is a question that will only be answered with the passing of time. These things are not won in weeks but years.
THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON / 12.35am Weeknights on CBS
The one Late Night show that Australia misses out on, which is a big shame as its one of the most engrossing. The Scottish born, newly naturalized American is a cheekier and more cheery younger Letterman. He does not seem to enjoy the fame but the fame loves him.
He has some of the most committed fans of all Late Night hosts, and for someone who only debuted in 2005 is quite an accomplishment.
He has garnered attention since CBS began uploading videos to YouTube, that saw his ratings rise to at times even outperforming Conan who was competing with him at the time.
He is now regularly outperforming Fallon in total viewers, but still a distance behind him in younger viewers. He is also currently benefiting from a much stronger lead-in from Letterman.
Unpredictable, Different and a show with a lot of promise. Craig Ferguson is a star in the making, but going by previous statements from the Scot, he may not want it.
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! / 12.00am Weeknights on ABC
The largely ignored but not to be underestimated Kimmel has been working away on his ABC Late Night show since 2003 and only in the last 2 or so years has it caught any attention largely thanks to 2 comedy music videos featuring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
The former Man Show co-host is a fine interviewer but sometimes struggles with his monologue, which elicits few laughs from the crowd. His personality doesn’t really suit the monologue, lacking much energy they often lead to no returns.
The lack of many comedy segments is off putting, often going straight from a monologue to lengthy guest interviews.
His most consistent segment ‘This Week in Unnecessary Censorship’ is one of the best things about the show, unfortunately it contains no effort from the writers or Kimmel himself, which says a lot about the show.
Needs Improvement, but by no means a poor attempt.
Cable and the Others
There are many other Late Night Shows…
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report (both on Comedy Central), Chelsea Lately (E!), Red Eye (Fox News), Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC) and various others that I have missed.
But none of them stick to the same Late Night format or in The Jay Leno Show’s case, not in a Late Night timeslot. So I have chosen to leave them out.
In Conclusion
Whether or not you want the bizarre antics of Conan O’Brien and his gang of unusual suspects, Letterman with his old school dangerous routine which gets ever so more mild with every passing year, Craig Ferguson’s improvisational, personal and sometimes emotional monologues, Kimmel and his brand of observational wit or Jimmy Fallon’s schoolboy charm and quick wit, there is something for everyone.
Unless you’re interested in a minority or female hosted show of course.
