At one time cable companies would monopolize an area and you could only get their service. Used to be we could only get Time Warner in the KC area but now there are quite a few other companies including the new Google Fiber. Was so happy when Google Fiber decided to use KC as it test market it really rocks!  Only drawback is they still have not been able to make a deal with AMC so not getting my fix of Walking Dead. Hopefully by next season they will make the deal.

We're light years behind USA in terms of cable, fibre, etc. One reason I moved to an American web host, data companies charge maybe 50-100 times as much for the lowest of the low packages. While there are a few phone services and ISPs, pretty much all media here is owned by Murdoch, the government or one or two 'smaller' outfits.

Funnily enough, our cable was 'installed' about a decade or more ago because my dad decided that the fiber optics would be the future of home entertainment/internet services. We never actually kept the cable channels. Last year they decided that we could get cheaper internet/phone if we also hooked into the telecom cable (a limited version of Foxtel, less channels, no recording ability) but then we moved over to a better package.

Haven't watched Walking Dead. It's on my list 'to do', some point after I finish watching all the movies I've been meaning to catch up on.

I know one of the contestants on the show!

I know one of the contestants on the show!

Cool! You'll have to see if you can get them to join us here after the shows air (pretty sure they can't talk about it before then) and lets know about their experience.

Pagestep...Thanks! Shawn - Trust me when I tell you, they probably got too much personality. LOL. Andr, which contestant is it? Seriously, can not wait for this to air!

We are setting up a watching parties in Seattle on our Meetup Group!

So I finally found that Syfy has their program up for March... and I don't see the show listed here. I do see 'Hollywood Treasures', which sounds vaguely interesting if you like reality TV/scavenging/memorabilia. But basically there doesn't seem to be anything else other than repeats of Doctor Who, ghost hunting shows and the like.



Maybe they'll show it after it airs in the USA.

Maybe they'll show it after it airs in the USA.

You mean six months later like every other USA TV show? When you already know what happens at the end and the internet is covered with spoilers?

You mean six months later like every other USA TV show? When you already know what happens at the end and the internet is covered with spoilers?

Actually, because of the increased use of internet watching (netflix, pirating, etc) TV shows are being programmed more and more as soon as they're aired in the US (and elsewhere). Most of the popular shows are within an hour, or within the day. Anyway, Foxtel has 'express from the US' which specifically shows a range of shows the day of airing in the US. http://www.foxtel.com.au/whats-on/express-from-the-us/default.htm

I didn't really expect this one to be one of them, since it's not going to be all that 'popular' and it's the first season. But one could only hope, considering it's the same basic channel - Syfy - and they don't really show much else other than repeats. Sad to say they'd rather program a new series of local ghost hunting or something about asteroids killing life on earth than show something with puppets.

I had been thinking of writing an email to Foxtel to see if they'll be showing it, or at least put in a comment/recommendation. Maybe I will now.

That's my problem... I don't have Foxtel.

On commercial TV things like Revenge are around a dozen episodes behind here in Australia then in USA and things like How I Met Your Mother start the season within a day of the US but end the season a month behind. I think NCIS was the only show being shown within a week of the USA that was worth watching (to me at least).

The problem that Syfy Australia have is that they have to broadcast a minimum amount of Australian Content by law (along with every other station). Which means that they're programming a local ghost hunting show because they have to and not necessarily because they want to.

Yeah, Foxtel is new in my house. I've been enjoying the movie channel while I can

I tend not to watch the commercial channels, but I am aware of at least some of the shows being on fairly soon after the US. I know for Doctor Who it's on pretty quickly, within a day or two. I've actually stopped watching TV on the TV now and tend to stick with iView and SBS On Demand, etc. There's so little I watch religiously that there's no point in using my TV for anything other than DVDs. Plus I don't read the news and don't pay attention to TV-gossip so I rarely notice if I miss a season. ... That reminds me, I missed the Doctor Who 50th and the last season of Breaking Bad.

As for Syfy programming Aussie content - that's true for all channels. It's something like 2%, not including news and current affairs, if I remember right. Although I have no idea if that includes cable... it wouldn't actually because that would make the all UK channel on Foxtel practically illegal.

I think perhaps though my comment was more that I'm annoyed at the programming of old shows rather than new content that's unique. Ghost shows are dime a dozen, Doctor Who repeats every few hours, reruns of Fringe or what have you... and there's actually 2 Syfy channels. But one show about puppet making can't be found. As usual the local producers couldn't give a crap about scheduling things that aren't mainstream. What they couldn't pull one episode of run-of-the-mill-US to exchange for unusual-US?

Plus, I was being a bit sarcastic about the ghost shows, which I think are ludicrous. Sure, they have to have Aussie content... but they've gone for the lowest common denominator (what's cheapest to make) instead of bothering to put in effort. It's one of the reasons I hate that 2% quota, it's so low none of the local producers - minus the government - attempt to create (lots of) good local TV.

We produced Farscape here for goodness sakes, that was shown on Syfy when it was running. So it's not unheard of for sci fi shows to be made here with some attempt at drama, inventiveness, actors and sets.

Anyway, I could rant on...  But I've just completed my allotment of hypocritical writing for the week. (Hmmm, just watched 2 films, one French, the other indie American... is that hypocritical?)

Note to self: stop using html as if it was BBcode.