And now the end is near

And so they faced
Their final curtain.

From the moment the show went on air, I thought The Catch Up would be yet another huge embarrassment for Australian television. Their last show is airing today. I see they were even beaten by another network's rerun of Anne of Green Gables (damn! how did I miss that??? bugger!)

I tell you, it's been rubbernecking at its best. Last time I tuned in, they had a scrolling text bar across the bottom showing latest "news"..... it displayed chintzy, cringe-worthy gossip stories as the panel chatted, things like what was happening in J.Lo's neck of the woods and what colour dog collar Paris Hilton had bought for her pet pooch. Glad they got rid of that, at least. Worst of all, I was just left with a horrid taste in my mouth - that of being sold out again if this was what was being served up as "fresh and new and intelligent" for mums at home during the day. What do they think we are? Makes me fume that they pitched it at a lower than average intelligence level, it was actually rather a disgrace in that regard. And yet, so typical of the station it aired on - the Boys' Club with flagships such as Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire and The Footy Show. Blergh, really. A phrase often heard in this house is "typical bloody channel 9" and this daytime show was no exception.

The show has been a mess since it first aired in February this year. I'd hurriedly flick past it if I happened to have the telly on at that time. It's certainly not must-see tv for me (though my bar has been raised, it's true, such is the small screening time I give new shows these days due to my heavy reduction of me-time).

I went from vowing I'd watch the final one right through, to considering just having it on in the background, and now I'm itching to change the channel altogether. I can't watch it. Yet I can't look away. At any rate, after 1 o'clock today, it won't bother me either way will it!

It was always doomed, wasn't it? I mean really. Libby Gore, Mary Moody (who I only know as the mum from Kingswood Country), David Oldfield's wife Lisa (of Pauline Hanson-related fame) and Zoe Sherridan.... whoever she is. I am possibly showing disgusting ignorance, but I just don't know how they (at that station) thought it would work. Was it because they were trying too hard to be a poorman's version of The View (in itself a bit of a joke but certainly more palatable on the whole)? Was it because they were a panel of women on a testosterone-charged station?

Whatever, I won't miss it because I never watched it. Apologies to anyone who might have found it entertaining. I'd rather watch a shoe.