George is still soft

You all know it's true. But while we wait eagerly for his second post, we should steel ourselves for the months ahead.

I wouldn't disagree that Adelaide's a pretty sleepy town for the majority of the year. But every now and then, massive heavenly bodies align, planets composed entirely of culture. Their pull cannot be resisted; the only way to survive is to submit and hope you wake up in April with a slight headache and a considerable hole in your savings account.

These orbs of which I speak - The Adelaide Fringe, Womadelaide, The Adelaide Film Festival, ringed with moons - the Whitlams, Dan Kelly and the ASO - are gathering even as you read this. I've compiled the beginnings of a list -

Dan Kelly with Holly Throsby - 23 Feb

The Whitlams - 3 March

Rod Quantock - The John and Janette Howard Story - 8-18 March

Late Night comedy @ The Rhino Room - 8-31 March

Womadelaide - 11 March

Jazz at Fringe - 16 March

Tripod - 16-18 March

Ardal O'Hanlon (aka Father Dougal) - 27-31 March

Dylan Moran (aka Bernard Black) - 29 March

- and I haven't even had a chance to decipher the theatre section of the Fringe Guide yet.

For Julian:

I present my review of Heroes. It's a show that I really should like - all the elements are exactly where they should be - a winning formula by any assessment. And I think that's the problem.

After watching the first five episodes, I get the distinct impression that I'm being manipulated. Heroes comes across not so much as a hip, semi-cultish labour of love, but a precision strike at the heart of the 18-35 audience demographic. I have visions of a boardroom in California: old men sit around a table while a recent university graduate with a stylish but non-threatening haircut pitches the next sure-fire hit. "It'll be huge. We've done extensive testing. People want a show with a cheerleader, a stripper, and a couple of caricatured Japanese office workers. We'll chuck in a bit of quasi-philosophical tripe and some bad science, and get an Indian guy to narrate it. But don't worry: he won't be too Indian."

I'm going to stick with it for a few more eps, despite its tedious pacing and shameless product placement. It's lucky that advertising has no effect on me.

P.S: Did anyone else wake up today with a burning desire to buy a stylish new Nissan Versa?

Andrew's final thoughts: George, blog!!