Bec For The Gold

[Andy]

While the Gold Logie officially goes to the `most popular TV personality', this year it could be renamed the Gold Logie for the TV Personality Who Can Attract The Most Publicity by Becoming Engaged To An Australian Tennis Hero.

Bec for the gold

The Gold Coast Bulletin

14 April 2005

YEP folks, it's that time of year again . . . it's the Logies.

Although the awards sound like they're named after a disease, as an hysterical Sally Struthers once told Norman Gunston, the Logies are Australian television's night of nights, when the who's who of the industry don their glad rags and strut their stuff.

So with less than a fortnight to go, with TV Week's boffins no doubt working until all hours to process the flood of entries, Square Eyes thought it was time to look at how the night might unfold.

While coverage of the event belongs to Channel Nine, shows from all the networks will be represented by special guest stars.

Reports suggest Nicolette Sheridan, star of Channel Seven's Desperate Housewives is on the way to sex things up. If the rumours are true, joining her will be Kirstie Alley, star of Fat Actress, soon to air on Channel Ten, and hometown hero Julian McMahon, one of the stars of Nine's Nip/Tuck.

While there have been parochial mutterings about these overseas imports in the past, there is no doubt they add a touch of glamour, even if most of them hit the stage looking a tad bewildered, like they've stumbled into the wrong wedding reception and have to play it cool until they can figure the quickest and least embarrassing way out.

Also mixing things up this year is the fact that the event will be hosted by three people instead of one.

The omnipotent Eddie McGuire is one of them (of course) but he'll share the limelight with Rove McManus and Deal or No Deal's Andrew O'Keefe.

Judging by previous performances, the Logies isn't the easiest gig in town, but - hopefully - with three hosts on hand, at least one will hit the right note.

There are no huge surprises in the nominations this year, with three of the five contenders for the Gold Logie going to usual suspects.

First mention must go to John Wood - the veteran Blue Heelers star who has been nominated a whopping nine times and never been called to the podium. He and his people are now surely scratching their heads and asking that age-old TV question: Is it really better to have been nominated for nine Gold Logies and lost than to have never been nominated at all?

It's been a tough year for his character Tom Croydon, but Blue Heelers isn't the powerhouse it once was and it's unlikely his stint on Dancing with the Stars will be enough to give him the edge.

Rove McManus and Georgie Parker are multiple Gold Logie winners and you couldn't rule them out. In fact, Australia's leading ongoing television poll, the Hottest on TV Official Rankings, predicts another win for McManus.

But I'm going out on a limb to suggest this might be the year for some fresh blood on the Logies dais.

Given the popularity of McLeod's Daughters Bridie Carter - who recently gave birth to her first child in the Gold Coast's John Flynn Hospital - is a strong contender, but for my money, Bec Cartwright looks the goods.

Of course, the Home and Away and Dancing with the Stars cutie could be this year's Delta Goodrem - she was hot fave to win last year but missed out to McManus. Delta had the Scud; Cartwright has the Lleyton factor.

While the Gold Logie officially goes to the `most popular TV personality', this year it could be renamed the Gold Logie for the TV Personality Who Can Attract The Most Publicity by Becoming Engaged To An Australian Tennis Hero.

The popular drama category is pretty standard fare, with TV Week readers voting for All Saints (7), Blue Heelers (7), Home and Away (7), Neighbours (10) and McLeod's Daughters (9).

If you don't watch Neighbours and Home and Away, the new talent nominees will remain largely a mystery to you, with half of the male and female nominees coming from those shows.

The peer-voted categories, however, are more diverse, with recognition for pay-TV drama Love My Way and its stars, including co-creator Claudia Karvan.

Of course, if the Logies inexplicably fail to excite you, you can always lodge your vote for satirical alternative, the Fuglies.

Started as a joke by a disenchanted Brisbane square eyes, the awards have taken on a life of their own with 20,000-plus entries pouring in last year.

Apart from seeking consensus on the worst show and male and female personalities, the Fuglies delve deeper, looking for things like the stupidest innovation in sports broadcasting, the nastiest reality TV judge and the most annoying programming tactic.

This last category should be a cinch for those of us who have just suffered through the latest non-ratings period when our favourite shows disappeared from TV for a couple of weeks.

Of course, this was a mere shadow of the contempt Channel Nine showed viewers last year when fans of Friends and Sex and the City waited, and waited, and waited, for the final episodes to air while the network waited out the Olympics and milked every last bit of sentiment out of the final series.

The Fuglies also award the not-so-coveted Eddie Award for most over-exposed TV personality.

The Eddie is of course named after . . . well . . . THE Eddie - Eddie McGuire - who won the award three years in a row and is now excluded from nominations.

But that's OK, because reports that he's been approached to enter politics means he's obviously got bigger fish to fry.

I reckon he should go for it - all the way to the Lodge if that's what he wants.

He'd probably still insist on calling the footy but - even if he was PM - there's a chance we'd see less of him on TV. And that could never be a bad thing.

Square Eyes tips

Bec Cartwright for the Gold Logie (left) and The Eddie inspiration, EddieMaguire, with Catriona Rowntree (pictured below)

[Di]

All Saints (7), Home and Away (7),Hand bag's at dawn my two fav dramas petty i can't watch All Saint's better i miss it .Neighbours (10) well i'm shocked i don't think it will do so good?.