Australian musicians generally struggle when it comes to opportunities to perform on Aussie television, an issue that’s been exacerbated in particular since the disappearance of a certain music quiz-based TV show from ABC’s airwaves.
Lovers of wholesome fun, music trivia, and witty hosts have been getting their fix with RockWiz, but there’s no denying that Spicks and Specks, which delivered its final broadcast in November 2011 before embarking on a brief live tour, has been sorely missed.
A year on, good news arrived and was welcomed, when confirmation first slipped that Spicks And Specks would be returning to the telly in 2013, and not in the form of re-runs, but in fact a brand new series with a fresh makeover. “Australia’s favourite music quiz show [will] be back in 2013 with a new host, new team captains and new games!” ran a quote from the show’s long-dormant Twitter account last November.
Unfortunately however, fans are going to have be a patient for a little longer, with news that Spicks And Specks‘ return to the screen has been delayed for another year while ABC focuses on the production of other shows, as mUmBRELLA reports.
The delay in production appears to chiefly be to kickstart into a new year of programming and to finalise the all-important hosts and faces for its return. “Casting for the new team will begin later this year,” says Jennifer Collins, head of ABC Entertainment, confirming a new season of Spicks and Specks for an early 2014 unveiling; “It’s an exciting way to launch next year.” “Casting for the new team will begin later this year. We plan to welcome back some of your favourites as well as testing the musical knowledge of some new and surprising guests.” – Jennifer Collins, ABC Entertainment
“We plan to welcome back some of your favourites as well as testing the musical knowledge of some new and surprising guests,” she added.
It’s still unconfirmed whether former host Adam Hills or regular team captains Myf Warhust and Alan Brough will have any involvement in the new version of Spicks… and considering that retiring the show was partly due to them all looking to pursue other avenues in their respective careers, it may not be case of getting the band back together.
The eight-part season, which focuses on comedic and celebrity guests playing for questions based on archival footage, has gone into pre-production for a second series despite underwhelming ratings figures that dipped below 400,000 for some weeks.
Say what you will about Tractor Monkeys popularity (or lack thereof) but a return from Spicks and Specks would surely be welcomed by musicians who have a severe lack of performance opportunities among Australian television programs, sometimes grabbing at whatever chance available, no matter how musically irrelevant the show may be – as particularly seen in the case of political debate show Q&A, which has seen an increase in musical guests of late.
Luckily, more opportunities are appearing on the horizon with new music television shows in the pipeline. This July, Foxtel’s SBS-run subscription channel, STUDIO, will be premiering a new Tim Rogers-hosted series focussing on cabaret, burlesque, and circus performance with a range of A-list musical guests, including Tex Perkins and Kaki King, filmed live on location at St. Kilda’s new arts hub, The Memo.
The music TV roster also expands with The Bump, a televised expansion of Sydney radio station 2Day FM’s program of the same name. The new program channels the spirit of clip shows like Video Hits, reviving the tradition on Saturday morning screenings, with three hours of music from 10am each week.
