Poles Apart No Longer, But All Roads Lead To A Romp '
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday September 27, 2006
TALES FROM A SUITCASE 2pm, SBS: Meitek Swat arrived in Australia as a refugee from communist Poland and thought he had landed in the pits. He hated Australia and the mercurial mature of its idiosyncrasies: apathy and tolerance, she'll be right mate and no worries versus a willingness to get the job done when necessity beckoned. But at least he could come of his own free will and exercise his displeasure. Who gives a bugger about a truculent Pole, anyway? Swat reckoned unions were the stepping stone to a Stalinist society. Then Lech Walesa and his Solidarity mates at Gdansk gave the Jaruzelski regime the broom in Poland and Swat started mingling with immigrant compatriots who arrived here eager to grab any chance they could to enjoy a fair crack of the whip. Meitek began to realise being Australian was not such a bad thing. There was no knowledge test then. He had what he needed to know and it was about himself - not Don Bradman's batting average.
THE DEADLYS 2006 10pm, SBS: Nothing like an awards ceremony to dull the senses. They are the dregs of television - from the Oscars to the Emmies, the Grammies, the BAFTAs, the Logies, the Walkleys, the Country Music Awards, the Brownlow, Churchill and Border medals, the Dally Ms, Vogels, Miles Franklins, Archibalds, Bookers, Mos, Sammies, the MTV awards, the hairdressers of the year, the fabulous fragrance thrash for people in the scent industry, bankers' bashes, insurance brokers' backslapping ... 30 awards in four years - what does that tell you? Nothing - least of all who makes these awards. The Deadlys, hosted at the Opera House last week by Ernie Dingo, comprise 22 honours for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in music, sport entertainment and community affairs. Terrifically worthy and not to be undervalued but as television, like all such programs,all too boring. ROME 9.30pm, Nine: Rome wasn't built in a day. Damned unions! Mark Antony has been appointed people's tribune by Caesar and returns triumphant to Rome with Octavian's liberators, Vorenus and Pullo. Titus Berlusconi and his fellow arbitrators on the judging panel for the Caesars make note of their contribution to the empire and the procession into the eternal city is a signal for everyone with a decadent disposition to rip off their clothes and engage in the congress of the stoat. It is also a signal to viewers who are drawn to this extravagant drama series (not nearly enough according to the ratings figures), that Nine is going to give it the shove and slot Survivor Cook Islands into the schedule in its place next week. Where will Rome end up? Your guess is as good as mine but given all roads lead to Rome, it should be a timeslot where nudity and epic vulgarity (or V & S as they are deemed for classification purposes) are considered acceptable. THE IT CROWD 9pm, ABC: The writing credentials are enticing: Graham Linehan who had a hand in the scripts for Black Books and Father Ted, is behind this six-part comedy about social misfits working in the technical support unit of Reynholm Industries. The geeky morlocks who do the actual problem solving - languishing in the bowels of the company's HQ while their flashy superiors, the managerial bods, enjoy the glamour and fast-lane status of the technology scene. Close but no cigar.
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald