Language pushed too far?

After the widespread reporting of chef Gordon Ramsay's wild swearing out bursts on national television, a parilamentary commitee has been formed. We reported to you this week on how Ramsay managed to swear over a whopping 100 times in a 45 minute show, 80 of which were the f-word.

The inquiry has come after the opposition party accused the Government of not doing enough to monitor the content being shown on Australian television. There is to be a report compiled detailing a full review of the current Broadcasting Act and also a review on how complaints are handled and who is notified of the problems that arise.

Such swearing has now made some other shows more likely to swear. Just this week on Ten's So You Think You Can Dance judges swore but it was just brushed off. This has also happened on the Today show. Such swearing may be considered tolerable during the slot at which Ramsay's show is aired but for shows such as Today to be doing the same thing, crosses a big boundary.

What is your opinion of the Government's move on this one?

Seven's upset

It has been revealed that Channel Seven executives have read the riot act to many members of staff after the success of many shows it passed up. Channels Nine and Ten are experiencing great successes with Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and So You Think You Can Dance? respectively.

Seven was given the opportunity to have these shows on its network but were passed up. It is believed that the shows were seen as having no value and lack of an ability to draw an audience. How wrong they were, both these shows are now making big names for themselves and their networks as they continue to rate highly.

Wheeling and dealing

Channel Nine has been tipped to be bringing back the old favourite Wheel of Fortune. At this point in time Nine are dnying any knowledge of this. The secret was let out on Seven's Today Tonight.

Tim Campbell is set to be the host of this new show. When contacting his office however, a spokesman has told us that they have no knowledge of this. Bringing Campbell on board does appear to be strange considering the dislike for his hosting jobs amongst the Nine camp.

With this now set to be the new show to take one Seven's widely popular Deal or No Deal, it could also mean a turning point for Nine News. With Channel Nine's nightly news failing to rate as it once did with the late Packer at the helm, now could be the time for change.

As discussed in our other articles, this slot can be crucial and really can have a large impact on the news ratings.

R.I.P. HD DVD

It now appears more certain than ever that HD-DVD will cease to exist. With its major backers such as Toshiba, Paramount and Microsoft now backing out, the format has no chance to survive. US stores including Walmart have already begun removing HD-DVD players from the shelves and local retailer JB-HiFi have annoucned they will soon be doing the same.

This now opens the market to the Sony backed format, Bluray. Bluray is of a higher quality than the HD-DVD discs. The real winner for the Bluray format was Sony's incorporation of a Bluray player in its Playstation 3. This opened a whole new segment for the company. Microsoft attempted to combat this with the use of a HD-DVD addition to its XBOX360.

Were you an early adopter of HD-DVD? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Sea Patrol II: The Coup

Nine's largely popular show Sea Patrol is set return on the 31st of March with the second installment set to be bigger and better than the first. Sea Patrol depicts the lives of real men and women that serve to protect our borders.

This second season sees the crew boarding a brand new vessel, the HMAS Hammersley which will help bring them into very troubled waters. Some of the adventures we can reveal for season two are a jewel heist at sea, drug and reptile smugglers, some heroic rescues, a stolen arms racket, hostage taking, disastrous drink spiking, stowaways and sinister international intrigue.

Along with the encapsulating events, a love triangle is set to form and new friendships are made, some you would never expect to have occured! Your favourite original cast members including Lisa McCune, Ian Stenlake, Saskia Burmeister, John Batchelor Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Matthew Holmes are joined by Kirsty Lee Allan this season. She plays a no-nonsense country kid who has never been out to see.

Be sure to tune in on the 31st to catch the first episode of season two for Sea Patrol.

The Power of 10

Channel Nine is set to release its new game show The Power of Ten on the 31st of March. The show has been running in the USA for a long time now but is beginning to struggle. This is mainly due to CBS's decision to place it against the hugely popular Deal or No Deal. Could this be the plan for our local version? Yet another attempt to recapture the 5:30PM prime time slot would not come as a surprise to many viewers.

The show itself surveys viewers during the week leading up to the show. The responses are then collated and the most popular responses recorded. The contestant on the show is then asked the same questions the general public were surveyed with and they have to give the answer that received the most responses during the survey. For each correct guess the contestant earns money which can be up to $1 million for the Australian version.

As for hosts for the show, Eddie McGuire has been passed up on this one. Instead of going with Channel Nine's veteran of game shows, they have gone with the weatherman Steven Jacobs from the Today show. Many are shocked at this choice, including Jacobs who said "I don’t think it has sunk in, actually". While Jacobs admits that McGuire is the master of quiz shows, he isn't quick to dismiss the fact that he has been going to Eddie for advice.

Jacobs describes the show as being a lot more relaxed than other quiz shows. He says that "there is a good vibe about the show" and he is looking forward to being its host. "There is a bit more ad-libbing than usual".

Will this show be the next US export to find success on Australian television. If shown in the prime time slot, could this be the storm that unsettles the smooth run of Deal or No Deal?

Chopping Block: Chopping up the competition

Channel Nine's latest success is the Chopping Block. Two restaurants are pitted against one another and only one can survive. Contestants are given $5000 and 72 hours to turn themselves around to impress the world renowned food critic Daniel Grant.

At the end of the 72 hours each restaurant is visited by Grant to have his official opinion cast upon them. The winners receive a cool $20,000 to help build their business. The current contestants are The Olive Drum and Unwine.

To try your hand as a restauranteur and have a chance to spend $10,000 updating your own restaurant visit:

http://www.thechoppingblocktv.com/Challenge.aspx