and the gold logie goes to......

When was the last time you saw a great Australian film or TV show?  If I were to peruse the guide for tonight's viewing, I would find a plethora of "reality" shows (which in my opinion are the death of television, the epitome of the dumbing down of society), a number of American sitcoms (more a guide on how to be part of the "sheeple" brigade), a couple of documentaries (for those of us still in existence that crave knowledge) and Dr Who (old school brilliance).

Is it really better to import programs/ film and does it actually matter?
No and Yes!
Local programming is relevant to the province. We can smell, touch, believe and embrace a local production. We can live it. Imported programming is unfamiliar but gives us an insight to how other regions view society, the world and each other.

It all began in 1950 when the Menzies government ok the ABC to broadcast in Sydney & Melbourne (plus one commercial station each).  It took until late 1956 that we actually saw our first television service! There were some iconic productions that started pretty early in the piece. We had "Homicide", "Skippy" and "Here's Humphrey" in the 60's. The 70's welcomed the birth of classic programming such as "Young Talent Time", "Hey Hey It's Saturday!", the cult classic "Prisoner", the legendary "Countdown" and the controversial "Number 96".  Aussie drama hit us in the 80's with "A Country Practice", "Sons and Daughters" and one cannot ignore the phenomenon that is  "Neighbours" (long time fans will remember it being dropped from network 7 but quickly picked up by network 10).  The 90's recession brought us "The Simpsons" and both Ray Martin of "60 minutes" and TV drama "Blue Heelers" dominated the Logies in this decade. The naughties delivered digital reception (bonus!) and reality shows.

Australian film started much earlier.
Twas in 1906 that the very first feature length film was made. Guess where? Australia!  What was this film? It was "The Story of the Kelly Gang".  Since then, Australia has produced timeless classics such as "Picnic at Hanging Rock", "Mad Max", "Crocodile Dundee", "BMX Bandits" (showcasing the uber famous Nicole Kidman PRE "not having had" botox!), "Romper Stomper" (introducing Russell Crowe), "Muriel's Wedding" (featuring the delightful Toni Collette), "Moulin Rouge", "Animal Kingdom" and who could forget one of my all time favourite Aussie flicks, "The adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" starring one of my favourite Australian actors, Hugo Weaving and old Neighbours heartthrob Guy Pearce.

So, what's your take on Australian production?
For me, I've always been a great supporter of local talent.  Australian TV and Film has an edge, it gives me something that those big budget concoctions fail to deliver. The industry must remain alive for it encourages the Australian creative flamboyance, spirit, diversity and humour. Do we all really associate with the US drama series? the old school UK comedy? Is the imported program cheaper or easier than producing local shows? Is it a part of social conditioning?  I remember growing up on home grown talents, will your kids? (or the kids you know)......