Week 1: 2-2

Is Underbelly the show of 2008?

After four nights of television ratings its Channel Seven 2, Channel Nine 2. Nine won Sunday night with thanks to the cricket and Wednesday night with Underbelly despite the series not being screened in Victoria.

Nine was also helped by the impressive launch of Channel Ten's two new sitcoms, Back To You and Rules of Engagement plus the return of House.

Seven also experienced very low numbers for It Takes Two which is not surprising because there celebrity line-up is weak much like the ridiculous height difference between the hosts.

Having watched a few of the new shows and returning shows this week, these are my thoughts:

Brothers and Sisters - was not a very good return episode and did not have the same strength as the first series. It has however set up some interesting story lines for the season with the Iraq War, US Presidency and a trans-continental relationship. Overall, it has lost some of its momentum.

Desperate Housewives - again the first episode did not entice the audience as the show was defeated by CSI which would have really hurt Seven.

Good News Week - been and done and no different to The Glass House or the first Good News Week. It is a shame because Paul McDermott and Mikey Robins are very clever and very funny. There should be a space for Good News Week, perhaps a different time, like Thursday night at 8:30 where there are not too many good shows on right now...

Dirty Sexy Money - I was really disappointed with this and thought the storyline would be completely different. I didn't know the show would be about revenge and the storyline about a lawyer helping a wealthy family with all their affairs... I think there could be something else worth watching.

Monster House - surprisingly different to what the advertising campaign predicted. I thought it was just a reality show about a 'weird' family, not a 'gag', hidden camera show. Was actually better than I thought it would be but not enough to make me want to watch it.

All Saints - second best show of the week to date. Such a strong Australian cast, massively underrated and quality. We do not have the high budgets or effects that American dramas have but we do have good quality acting. The story line may have been a little too far fetched but I was impressed to see the show.

The NightCap - was to say the least disappointing. The mixed chat, talk, news had so many genres it appeared at times like a morph between a kids show, a chat show, the news and that Friday Night Download show as all the content appeared to be taken from Wikipedia and YouTube. I suppose there is only one way up when your second segment is about fart jokes and then the anchor Matt White slaps Paul Murray for comedy.... Add in Jessica Rowe who appears to be the newsreader doing her job lightly, her laugh, a bloke is a corset and a weather girl turned panel member, Monique Wright and the show reminded me of The Catch Up. Enough said? Almost... let’s stop talking about Corey Delaney, Heather Mills sex stamina and look beyond Wiki and YouTube for content.

Underbelly - nothing short of brilliant. Vince Colissimo was an excellent and scary gangster. He played his role perfectly and was very believable. Another strong Australian cast which is also unearthing a brood of new talent. A debut of 1.3 million (despite not having Melbourne) is a win for Nine and would have been 2 million had Victoria been able to screen it. The show of the week and possibly the year.

Foxtel IQ is great as I have watched all these and still yet to see Women's Murder Club, Back To You and Rules of Engagement which all look worthy of a screening.

Thank heavens the ratings season has started again but has all the good content been wasted on the first half of the week?

At 2-2, Nine should take tonight, Thursday with Getaway and RPA and tomorrow Friday with the Cricket. Have Nine all ready won week 1?