Rove Live 

As pretty much the only variety talk show on a commercial channel Rove consistently gets good guests. Notable segments include 'flick the switch' and just generally getting people to do things for money. That said, there are many things about this show which simply call for criticism.

Firstly, the humor lacks wit and sophistication, as well as poor delivery. Now its fine when a comedian screws up his monologue, and we will never hold that against them. However, when monologues are neither topical nor really that bold to make a joke (usually at someones expense), that's when we hit our heads and wonder how this guy ended up with a television show.

In Australia, talk shows are not a big thing like they are in the US. Most Australians have never seen the likes of Conan or Leno (cable TV gets it something like 2 weeks late). These are just 2 shows which air 4-5 times a week consistently coming up with better material than Rove's once a week show.

There is a very good reason for this. These shows target totally different age groups and audiences. There is much more political content in Leno and Conan and thus,the smug wit about it. Rove's show is generally very general humor shown at a family timeslot and therefore never is allowed to make(not necessarily dirty) jokes that really lampoon the day's events.

I'm fine with Rove's show and do watch bits of it occasionally. I just think we should be accepting that it appeals to the lower intelligent side to us. I see it as only a notch or 2 above hey hey its Saturday. That summarises most of Australian production of television really. We just can't produce a smart show AND have it popular. I just think we as Australians think we're better informed than the rest of the world (USA esp.). Well to think that we should act that too and not say "i want to watch something brainless", because that would be hypocritical of us.