Come on, feel the format
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday March 7, 2011
IN TELEVISION, more than just about any other industry, everything old is new again. Not only are many ideas derivative, entire programs are frequently remade, rebooted and reinvented.The Guide's cover story this week deals with television remakes - the ones that worked, the ones that didn't, and why. The focus is on scripted programs that have been refashioned to suit different sensibilities but the remake business is part of a broader tapestry of so-called formats.The format business is huge and shows such as Big Brother, Survivor and The Amazing Race are churned out around the world as if on a production line; others, such as This is Your Life, are more boutique in nature.The Australian version screened on Channel Seven from 1975 to 1980 and was revived by Channel Nine in 1995. It was rebooted in 2008 and has now been given yet another facelift, refashioned into a large-scale arena program, shifted from its small studio in Sydney to a much larger showroom at Melbourne's Crown casino, changing hands from the traditional journalist-newscaster host (Mike Willesee, Roger Climpson, Mike Munro) to Eddie McGuire, who, despite a background in journalism, is largely known to Sydney viewers as the host of TV game shows.Despite the belief that bigger is better, the show doesn't benefit from the change. Its first outing, a profile of actress Deborra-Lee Furness, came with all the trimmings, including Hollywood actors and foreign royalty, but the showroom format sapped the intimacy from the show. If you understand anything about the nature of a format like This is Your Life, intimacy is its greatest asset.Formats are too often rebuilt by copying the tangible: sets, hosts, props and scenery. But the most successful programs depend on the intangible: how they make you feel, the subtle signals they send. This is Your Life isn't a Broadway musical; it's a lullaby sung in soft notes. Television producers would do well to think less about what they see and more about how they feel.
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald
