LETTER OF THE WEEK
Just not playing the Game
And the Tool of the Year award goes to Channel Ten for canning Before the Game. It was without a doubt the best football show on TV, where no one took themselves seriously. AFL in 2014 is just not the same.
David Francis, Ocean Grove
Call of duty
Louise Rugendyke, in her review of Call the Midwife (GG, 17/4) asks, ''How on earth does Jenny Lee (Jennifer Raine, right) manage to make house calls on a bike, sit up all night helping births, and keep her hair perfectly pinned? Louise, thems were the rules. And didn't we get a bollocking for untidy uniforms or hair and dirty shoes!
Anne Flanagan, Box Hill North
Masters strokes
Thank you, Foxtel, for successfully hosting the 2014 Masters golf. It was great to get the ''red button'' option to watch different groups and holes on-demand, even ad-free! Congratulations, Brett Ogle and co-host, on a memorable Masters.
Elisa Curry, Surrey Hills
Play the game
Unfortunately, the Federation Cup over the Easter weekend was only available on pay TV. It's time all the networks recruited some tennis commentators who could actually comment on the game, instead of continually suggesting what the players should have done or should do next. Do they think the players will learn from their comments? Wally Masur and Nicole Pratt are some of the worst offenders.
Helen Heggie, Hastings
All bets are off
No race meetings were scheduled for for Friday, April 18, yet Radio 3AW had an abundance of ads for various betting agencies on its morning breakfast program. It's bad enough that we have to endure the saturation of advertising promoting gambling via the electronic media. But on Good Friday, give us a break.
Frank Stipic, Mentone
Credit to Cameron
Peter Helliar's rude retort on Ten's The Project to Cameron Diaz about ''our Cate Blanchett - Oscar winner, you may have heard of her'', was unprovoked, embarrassing and put a dampener on what had been a funny exchange of views about whether beards on men are sexy. All credit to Ms Diaz for ignoring it.
Debra Le Nepveu, Beaumaris
Do your homework
So Stevie Nicholson from Hi-5 doesn't really know where Malta is (GG, 17/4). Maybe actually look it up and find out? I'm not sure I want someone that ignorant entertaining my kids.
Pierre Dimajo, Forest Hill
Mad about it
I'm not sure if Joseph Clark (Letters, 17/4) has confused Shaun Micallef with Shaun the Sheep. One is fiercely intelligent and utterly hilarious, the other is a woollen animal in a children's comedy. Mad as Hell is the best show on TV, bar none.
Brendan Johnson, Ballarat
Smarten up
I, like Joseph Clark (Letters, 17/4), am concerned about TV viewers becoming stupid. Of course, those who can't keep up with Shaun Micallef's quick and cutting-edge humour are free to tune into Play School.
Gavin Doherty, Beechworth
Script doctors
Susan LaBartlus (Letters, 10/4), presumed to label Doc Martin's condition as Asperger syndrome, based on, in season three, the assessment of a jumped-up psych lecturer - one who was duped by a real-estate agent and also sent his TB-infected son to school. Some judge! Once the Doc dismissed his critical father and toxic, thieving mother, he faced happier recovery prospects. The scriptwriters deserve more credit for the integrity of the characters in their fascinating scripts.
Mae McAndrew, Blackburn
Moore of the same
I agree with Bob Southby (Letters, 10/4). Ali Moore (774 ABC) is like a breath of fresh air for morning sessions. She is quick, intelligent, humorous, knowledgeable - an inspiration for the day. Can we have more of Moore, please?
Terry Bahat, Highett
Well-presented
What a pleasure it is to be able to listen to the morning show on 774 ABC and watch 7.30 on ABC1 again. With the change of presenters, quality has returned. Ali Moore and Sarah Ferguson are both erudite and extremely worthwhile presenters and a fresh presence.
Ted Heffernan, Geelong
Name and shame
I see I am not the only one picking up errors on the ABC (Letters, 17/4). Foreign names like Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Nguyen are quite beyond some presenters, and one news presenter has trouble with the accent in common words like ''carnivorous''.
Barry Blake, Essendon
Make it metric
It is bad enough that commercial-network sports commentators still use feet and inches, but for Margaret Paul (ABC News, 16/4) to refer to six-foot waves at Bells Beach reflects a complete lack of adherence to the high standards of ABC reporting. The Metric Conversion Act was passed in 1970 and all schools have taught the metric system since 1973. I would have thought all ABC staff would have some vague knowledge of the national measurement system that has been in place for 40 years.
Barry Peake, Malvern East
ABC asset
Weather presenter Vanessa O'Hanlon is a class act and a shining asset to ABC News 24. Refreshing, too, is that she pronounces kilometres correctly, rhyming with centimetres and millimetres.
Peter De Silva, Essendon
Heat on Hot Seat
I understand Millionaire Hot Seat on Nine would be expensive if contestants won serious money every night, but please don't treat the viewers as stupid by playing repeats, intermixed with new shows, all the time.
Gerry Danckert, Torquay
HAVE YOUR SAY
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