This may well be the definitive Channel Nine-related news item of all time, in the context of Channel Nine having the annus horribilis to end all annuses horribilis: the network is considering picking up the dead-in-the-water Big Brother franchise!

Yes, in the television business equivalent of eating roadkill or taking a corpse to your school formal hoping to get lucky, Nine is eyeing the cancelled reality show as a possible revamp candidate for Nine's 2009 line-up.

"It's run its race in its present form," Nine chief executive David Gyngell said yesterday, The Australian reports.

"I still think it has some life in it in another form. Channel Nine will be looking at it."

The eight-year-old reality show ends on the Ten Network on Monday night.

Nine will hold talks with owners Endemol Southern Star about an overhaul.

"Big Brother was a very good show at its height and it is useful for the economic benefit it brings," Mr Gyngell said.

He is the only network chief interested in picking up the format. The Seven Network and Foxtel declined.

See that, Gyngell? Declined - no one else wants it for a reason! It's stale! Finished! Kaput! Irrelevant!

Actually, I think I've just hit the nail on the head - that makes it perfect for Channel Nine! Carry on, then.

Either Jon Voight dined alone before attending this week's Dirty Harry DVD re-release event, or his date hates him. We can think of no other explanation for the unfortunate tooth-bound leftovers caught by paparazzi outside the theatre, whose reckless pursuit of tabloid infamy has nothing on the ever-elusive "Incisor Salad" shot — a celebrity catch ranking somewhere between "drunken mug shot" and "B-list baby" (e.g. spawn of Alba, Richards, Richie, etc.). We salute the classy shutterbug who nabbed the close-up you'll find after the jump; moreover, besides the live plant jutting from his grill, we have got admit Voight is looking terrific these days.

Read More »