GenQ

Some of these may have been seen before in different arenas or have just been pulled out of relative obscurity, but sure as the sun rises in the east, some of these new faces will become household names

February always brings a time for excitement in TV land as the big networks bring back their old favourite shows, all the new highly anticipated programs from the US and of course the brand new locally made shows ready to temp you into becoming emotionally involved for the year ahead.

It’s also a great time of the year to take some educated guesses as to what programs and celebrities will survive to the end of the month let alone the end of the year.

The networks are planning on throwing more than 30 brand new programs at us in the early stages of 2008. Due to the writers strike in the US, many of the well known American shows have had their seasons cut from up to 24 episodes back to not even half that number so the holes that will appear in the Australian schedules will be made up by more Australian drama, documentary and reality programming.

The most exciting aspect of the start of this year and in fact any year on television is the new faces that shine on the small screen. Some of these may have been seen before in different arenas or have just been pulled out of relative obscurity, but sure as the sun rises in the east, some of these new faces will become household names.

One of the biggest launch programs in February is the Australian version of "So you think you can dance". The US version, about to go into its third year, only managed a cult following here in the 2006 but in 2007 grew a steady audience to be one of the standouts and regularly achieved ratings of more than 1.2million people nationally for Ten.

Who can forget the blonde haired sleek bodied Neil Haskell who turned the competition on its head last year, by not only being the hottest competitor in the looks stakes but performed in the most beautiful, touching performance with Lacey Schwimmer called "Time" which was announced as the best dance ever seen on television by the judges.

Or can you imagine anyone topping American judge Mary Murphy who had this thing called the "Hot Tamale Train" which she announced to contestants when they performed above expectations. Mary provided the laughs and also the emotional moments and will be hard to beat by any of our Australian judges.

The host of the Australian version is well known to our drama screens but can she host a show which has to engage the viewer from start to finish.

As the lead singer and face of Australian electrorock act the Rogue Traders and former Ramsay Street femme fatale Izzy Hoyland on Neighbours, Natalie Bassingthwaighte has firmly established herself as an international success. In 2006 following her exit from Neighbours, Natalie dedicated herself to The Rogue Traders. Natalie also recently finished filming her first lead role in the US feature film 'Prey'.

But can she host. Can she do what the US host, UK Cat Deeley, does in dealing with the judges, contestants and the emotion and excitement of the moment. Sure Nat is gorgeous and a face we don’t forget too quickly but will she be able to bring this massive exercise together?

This show is sensationally packaged and has slick production values in the states. It certainly needs to be done on a scale such as idol, even better considering the massive stuff-ups they achieved in last years final show. Time will tell.

The other hot new star in this show is one of the judges, 27 year old Matt Lee. Now Matt's no Mary Murphy, but just by looking at the previews he is going to command just as much presence on the small screen as he does on the stage.

Matt obviously has the credentials to be a judge. He is a dance teacher and choreographer and has even worked on some of the biggest projects in this country including Miss Saigon, Boy from Oz, We will rock you and Hot Shoe Shuffle. His movie credits include Bootmen and a major part in Happy Feet. But it looks as if his best work is about to happen.

Once you get past the hot sexy look and intriguing accent, this guy knows his stuff and it wouldn’t surprise me if he becomes the true star of the show this year.

Time will tell. So you think you can dance starts from Feb 3 on Ten across the country.

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Just a note about one new star who you should keep your eye on.

Many who are home in the late afternoon would know Danny Clayton's work on Foxtel's Channel V but some of those that rise early may also have seen him bob up during January on Seven's Sunrise. Apart from being very easy on the eye, this 21 year old has a screen presence most in the industry only dream of and his quit wittedness and improvisation have already taken him ahead of most of his much older colleagues at both channels.

His work particularly interviewing every queen he could find in Martin Place in Sydney on the day Kylie Minogue was interviewed on Sunrise showed his adaptability and versatility.

If they haven’t already worked it out, anyone at Seven (Particularly Adam Boland) should grab this kid, give him his own show and don’t let him go, he will be a star.

The Watcher :)

Tags: australia, dance, danny clayton, matt lee, natalie bassingthwaght, nine, seven, television, ten