The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 33

I fri (4 t-f 1 V- Green Guida Thursday 18 February Mai mi iBJwam RATINGS REPORT iar when its aews trounced Seven's by 13 points, but the gap between the two news services closed significantly for the rest of the week. Second bad sign for Nine? Sale et the Cewtary was beaten by Bmm aad Away on all five Bights (although two were extremely close). Hiack, too. beat the quiz show on two jiights. The muck-awaited return of The Noraua Gaastoa Shew 30) provided a major boost for Seven, more than doubling FRDS (13.

and looking in a very precarious position) and Street (14). Nine is not the only one with problems. It's difficult to see Ten's Jeea-ardy lasting the year if it does not lift above its current modest average of 10. But a big winner for Ten was MM Maliba Road, which peaked at 26, finished oa 23 and won the 8.30 slot for Ten on all three nights. Seven's A astral it's Meat Waated (20), third to Tea and Nine, still increased Seven's audience share significantly.

The show it replaced, Beyoee 2tt (18). held its own fairly well oa Saturday night The highest-rating movie of the week was Silence the Lambs (39), but only just The psychological thriller just edged out the rather less demanding antics cf Mr Muscles Schwarzenegger in Kiadergar-tea Cap (38). WELCOME to the 1993 ratings race. And isn't it looking Interesting already! Beginning the year the way it ended the last. Seven won the first A.

Nielsen prime-time survey (7 to 13 February) jusL Its 29.4 per cent was followed by Nine. 29.1; Ten, 25.6: Two, 14.2; and SBS 1.7. National Niae News (peak of 33) and A Correal Affair (30), clear winners (as usual) all week, were the difference between close or distant second for Nine, because Seven showed impressive across-the-board strength, including its new shows. Ten must also have been pleased with its best start for longer than it cares to remember. The first sign of trouble for Nine came on Sunday night when its normally unassailable Miautes (19) was beaten by Seven's new Geldea Palace (24) and Ten's Beverly Hills M21t (21) in the first half-hour, and was pipped by Hills In the second.

Monday looked more famil Hugo Weaving i a pathetic, grieving widower in 'Lust', the first in the 'Seven Deadly Sine' aerie (Two, 9.30pm, Tuesday). from an inebriated source is considerable. Lust suffers from basic credibility flaws. First, tbese people tend to have intimate conversations and passionate encounters in rooms and doorways where they would surely be overheard or sprung. Second, the array of "friends" invited to this dinner party are an astonishingly uninteresting, unappealing, unlikeable collection of sourpusses.

Third, there is some silly plot nonsense involving a crocodile that makes Return to Eden look like Henry V. It seems to sublim-inally tell the audience: "You haven't been taking any of this pulp seriously, have you?" Fortunately, the last 12 minutes or so of Lust is spiced by some genuinely sharp, nasty dialogue. The problem is that it's taken too long to get there and, once there, the tension dissipates too quickly, chiefly because of a stupid fight between two male characters whose IQs are lower than their shoe size. PRIDF: The dea of peop'e living their real lives out in performances is not a new one, so the concept of Pride (Wednesday night) was behind the eight-ball from the start Fortunately, that's not where it stays. Colin Friels and Elizabeth Alexander play a husband-and-wife team who work together in the theatre.

They are having marital trouble and wouldn't you know it? they are working on a theatre piece about marital trouble. In the middle of a hectic schedule, they hold a workshop for a group of drama students. They go through the motions until experiments with the techniques of improvisation begin to reveal what they are actually feeling, whereupon the theatre turns into an open-air confessional, the exercise into open-air therapy. Like a dentist inspecting an aching cavity, the couple begin probing each other's personalities, frailties, motives and indiscretions. Attempts are sometimes made to escape certain discoveries and fears, but neither lets the other off the hook.

The watch- of how even a half-hearted desire to change can just be too much effort Or, to put it more simply: once a slob, always a slob. Fun and marriage Newlyweds Channel 7, 8pm MARK LAWRENCE ing students are appropriately hooked. The performances are powerful, the direction by Gale Edwards Intense, busy and punchy. 53-minute running-time does become a bit of a worry, but just when the piece is in danger of turning into a wordiest, it takes a sharp left turn for the better. SLOTH: In this piece (Thursday), Elliot McLaren (Frank Gal-lacher) is forced by bis young new wife to go to a health farm, but finds his haggard old wife in attendance.

Unwilling to give up his vices (smoking, drinking, being a pain in the proverbial), he rubs everyone up the wrong way until he discovers how his outward sloppiness reflects a deeper, inner sloppiness. More a diverting comedy-drama essay than a piercing look at the dangers of laziness, this pleasant often funny and occasionally pungent piece (see If you can remember anyone with as poisonous a snarl as Robyn Nevin's) makes the important point (Sandy Gore), is a pill-popping neurotic, and sister Jules (Cathy God-bold) is a conceited little tart who (quite understandably) is terrified of being left alone to look after mum. Relative newcomer Gabardi is a pleasant surprise in his first series lead role. He has good timing and clearly relishes his opportunity; Jones is a perfect match and projects equal enthusiasm. Sandy Gore is wonderful.

Her character is so over-the-top. but she has the skills to get away with it beautifully. If one must single out a star in this series, it's her. Such is the presence she creates. Newlyweds is a good union: of actors new and old.

and of the production talents of Crawford Productions and Media Arts. We're up to episode two, but the plot is simple enough to pick up easily: boy Peter Roberts (Christopher Gabardi) meets girl Allie Carter (Annie Jones); they're from opposite sides of the tracks; both have relatives and or friends whom they think will not be able to cope with their decision to wed. Peter's family is, welt basic. Father Ross (Denis Moore) eats Vegemite straight from the jar and uses a billiard cue as the TV remote control; Mother Bev (Valentina Levkowicz) must have been modelled on Dawn Lake's cleaning lady. Allie's family, on the other hand, is, well, stuck-up with the exception of Allie, of course, who is pretty, sweet and.

oh. so in love. Her mother. Irene SORRY. In that frantic first week of ratings where new shows were (how would Steve Vizard put it?) coming out our ears, this one slipped past us.

Pity, because of all the recent locally produced sitcoms this has begun most promisingly. The brainchild of Ian McFadyen, whose Bingles crashed badly, Newlyweds has a bright prognosis. Miesoleader 127-9995 I Specials I WITH YOUR TRADE-IN AND GET OUR V.I.P CARD M3MSX-U2MBRAM $13M M3MOX-40 4MB RAM 12tK Cache tWM t04MSX-2f4MBRAM $17M M4MOX-33 4MB RAM 2MK Cache S24M S041SDX240 4MB RAM t4K Cache I2S4S YOU RECEIVE UP TO 10 OFF ALL OTHER PURCHASES AND MORE I I Ft I kvJi tttiTt) I IN STOCK ALL SYSTEMS MCLUOE THE FOUOWMG KMb Har Osk. I.44M or 1 2 Floppy Omv 91 2K SuperVGA CAW). UT tusarVOA colour VUt 2Sanat 1 Palatal B9 1 Joyttefc Port.

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