Rove LA - premieres on Fox8, September 19 at 8.30pm

On September 19 at 8.30pm - and exclusive to FOX8 - the Australian premiere of Rove LA finally hits screens after weeks of clever teaser ad campaigns.

Watch this fun clip:



And this one:




Multiple TV Week Gold Logie winner, Rove McManus, is returning to Australian television – and this time he’s gone all Hollywood-style. I must say, it suits him.

Rove LA will see Rove go back to where he seems most comfy – in comedy driven talk show in front of a live audience, chatting to celebrities. Incorporating the hottest guests as well as Rove’s take on the LA way of life, this exclusive one hour series seems the perfect vehicle to welcome Rove McManus back to the telly.

Shot at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, Rove LA will provide viewers with a weekly slice of Hollywood. Produced by Rove's company Roving Enterprises, Rove LA is executive produced by Craig Campbell, Rove's long-time creative partner and the driving force behind the 7PM Project.

Rove has a-US based production team, led by Todd Yasui, one-time Tonight Show booker and former head of Late Night at Fox Network in the US.

Rove said: “The time for lounging by the pool has gone on long enough. I feel recharged and excited about starting a new show in a new home but then again, it’s hard not to be when you’re one floor up from Drew Carey’s Price Is Right. So far it’s been a lot of fun putting the new show together and more than anything I’m looking forward to being back on Aussie screens on FOX8.”

Group Channel Manager, FOX8 Duane Hatherly said: “Rove is an icon of the industry and we are honoured that his comeback to Australian television is on FOX8. There is no doubt his humour and presence has been missed and this new series is a sensational addition to our already impressive Australian production slate. We can’t wait for the premiere on September 19!”

Either can I!

ROVE LA, Mondays at 8.30pm AEST, exclusive to FOX8 from September 19.

Photos: by John Russo, courtesy Fox8.

Britex: porn for your home

What do you think of this ad?



Is it a tad OTT?

Is the 1970s porn reference just a little... too much?

I first spotted this ad a few days ago, while on was on the phone, with the TV on mute. My jaw was... down here. I watched it again and was just... slightly weirded out.

Prudish? Me? Never! But just... ugh.

It IS very clever, though. I have indeed read all the studies and surveys and heard the anecdotes which say that seeing your man clean is a total aphrodisiac. Anyone who knows the husb and I knows that this kinda action happens nightly 'round here. I am not talking the porno music and bad clothes and no-storyline-crazy-sex-role-playing (well... ahem) but the obsessive cleaning and house-must-be-spotless. His thing. Not mine.

So, is it a turn-on? Well...

This TV ad is one in a series of 'Steam Up Your Carpet' from DIY steam cleaning company Britex, who have been hiring out steam cleaners at your local Woolies for yonks.

There's also this one:



This one:



And this one:



And lastly this one:



Thoughts? Does it, er, get you going...?

Everybody loves Joe Avati - including Phil Rosenthal

The faces are familiar, and if you're a true comedy fan, you'll already know who they are:

It's our Italo-Australian funny man Joe Avati and writer, creator and director of the long-running hit TV series, "Everybody Loves Raymond" Phil Rosenthal, the latter in Sydney as a special guest of the Sydney Film Festival, ahead of the screening of "Exporting Raymond".

Joe Avati is of course renowned as Aussie/Itie comedian and TV presenter, now a virtual household name after successfully touring his award-winning show Il Dago all around Australia since early 2007, as well as hosting SBS TV show “Food Investigators” (Joe is also a food scientist!) and building a very successful 20-year career based on his own over-bearing, very funny Italian relatives – just like Raymond's in his hit-show!

Phil is here for the Australian debut of his feature, “Exporting Raymond”, all about attempting to make a Russian version of "Everybody Loves Raymond", with hilarious results.

Phil asked Joe what would make a funny Australian version of the hit series. Joe says his own nonna would have to be a central character. She "can’t operate technology... dips a piece of bread into the oil after she uses the George Foreman Grill... and every day, she asks me when I’m getting married like a good Italian boy."

Joe has enjoyed huge success in North America, and one of his greatest fans happens to be Ray Romano’s wife - she even owns copies of Joe's DVDs and CDs.

Joe is currently touring Sydney with his Il Dago co-stars George Kapiniaris, Simon Palomares, and Jason Chong in their final season of the award-winning sell-out show Il Dago II: Now With Noodles.

For more info on Il Dago, go here: http://www.joeavati.com/ildago/

For more on Exporting Raymond, go here: http://sff.org.au/films-container/exporting-raymond/

(Photo credit, Phil and Joe: Andrew Siwak)

To see the trailer of this flick, go here: