Thu 24 May 2012 | 
Eurovision 2009: Sam Pang rallies for Eurovision underdogs
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Enlarge textSam Pang loves the underdogs in Eurovision, even though he knows they will never get over the line.
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"I love to keep an eye on the Semi
Finals, just so I know what to expect at the Finals and see who I might
support. And then I usually just vote for Portugal," says Sam Pang.
"They've never won so I have a soft spot for them.
"This year Portugal has a song called 'Todas As Ruas Do Amor' by
Flor-de-lis and it's one of those songs that will require translation.
So my initial thoughts were it's probably not going to win this year
either."
Indeed, since joining ESC in 1964 the highest position ever reached by Portugal was #6 in 1996.
RRR Broadcaster Sam Pang is readying to commentate the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest alongside RocKwiz host Julia Zemiro.
Sam, who will be seen hosting the upcoming history panel show AD / BC
for SBS, concedes commentating the 2009 contest is a big ask,
especially following from the retirement of Terry Wogan.
"I know the camp was a bit divided on Terry, but I loved him and
I'll miss him. But Julia and I are not trying to be him, we'll just be
ourselves. And hopefully provide an Aussie perspective on this amazing
European event. It's the acts that make it required viewing, not us.
"But Terry Wogan didn't commentate the Semi Finals so that's the model
we'll be using, where others were commentating. I remember watching
them and they were great.
"Over the postcards is when Julia and I will talk about what we've just
seen and give a little bit of brief info about what's coming up," he
said.
Sam says it's not surprising Norway's Alexander Rybak is the front runner with 'Fairytale.'
"He's very handsome. But I did enjoy one of the lyrics from his song
which was 'Years ago when I was younger' and I thought 'wow, that can't
have been that long ago, you look like a child.'
"There's plenty of string instruments this year too," he said.
"But I'm also looking forward to the Greek entry, 'This is our Night.'
It could be his year, and the Aussie connection would be great."
Both Sam and Julia will also film video diaries designed to give a sense of the Moscow atmosphere and the hoopla surround the event.
"I'll be heading down the Red Square, and enjoying some of the customs.
I think I'm going to a Russian bathhouse, which is apparently part spa,
part social club. I'll be exposed to the extremes of hot and cold!
Julia will visit the amazing architecture of Metro Station.
"And of course we'll try to talk to some of the artists in rehearsals, the fans and the backstage action."
He's also cautiously guarded about the return of juries to ESC this
year. Will it finally break up the widely-criticised bloc voting?
"I'm looking forward to the change to the voting system. The juries are
back in with 50% of the vote and 50% televoting. I've always enjoyed
the neighbourly voting system but this year it might actually be more
about the art."
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Comments (170)
Previous 10 |
14 May 2011 14:20 AEST
From: Carnegie
Dying a little bit inside...
Calling Lithuanian performer "bit Piaff'y" said it all...SBS commentators (esp. female) are incompetent and know next to nothing about 1.music 2.tradition of music in Europe. The whole contest, apart from being blown out artificiality to the threshold of pain, everyone (esp. spokespeople) seems to be drugged or hyperventilated... I sob quietly thinking that some people really believe Eurovision represent European culture in any way /facepalm ... BTW: I'm European
26 May 2009 12:18 AEST
From:
Eurovision
Julia and Sam were sh%t. I would offer a more elaborate and articulate analysis bit 'sh%t' covers it
22 May 2009 21:43 AEST
From: Gosford
Sam and Julia
I was so disappointed by their hosting. Please can we have Graham Norton next year.
22 May 2009 7:56 AEST
From:
about the eurovision contest
Dear SBS, I think no one is reading anymore but I hope you are. Most of my friends here came from Europe. None of them enjoyed Eurovision this year and a few were feeling insulted by the australian presenters. I think you have to be very professional and have great skill to make that job look easy and that you are being casual is only because you are so good at the job. SBS presenters could not do that. On tv they looked and sounded without experience and more like they were in Moscow to watch the show in the audience and somebody asked by accident if they would broadcast back to Australia. We love SBS and that you broadcast the big shows from Europe. We are thinking that Mike Tomilaris is so good at le Tour de France we can also have a presenter become our face at Eurovision. If the face was Sam or Julia, my friends liked Sam more. Julia said some stupid things and was rude to some people and made them angry, but Sam was funny sometimes and knew more about the show. Thank you
21 May 2009 9:56 AEST
From:
do you speak french
I'm one of the people who did not appreciate Julia Zemiro having a little chat in french and then saying in english to her australian audience "and who could disagree with that?" I cringed so many times during this year's Eurovision, often because of her bias, almost to the point of racism. So hey Julia, "on y soit qui mal y pense" ('the one who thinks badly of others is usually the worst of all)
20 May 2009 20:48 AEST
From:
Please come out of retirement Terry!!!!!!
What a horrendous waste of $ sending Julia & Sam to Russia. The idea is not to yap incessantly.
20 May 2009 18:27 AEST
From:
Blathering Platitudes
It might come as a shock, many of us watch ESC for ESC, not for some idiotic joke-fest. Save that for the comedy shows. What sort of comments are "there she is" and "look at the flags wave" anyway? Thought I was watching gymastics and someone just landed a triple twisting vault. Even while singers were on the last note, there were these puerile interjections. Why did a Romanian dancer slipping a few inches in the final pose deserve Julia's hysterics like plutonium was plutonium? We were told twice Tallinn was the capital of Estonia, yet nothing for other countries (hint: France is Paris). Look, they could say anything they like. I'm grateful SBS bringing it. Just one golden rule: DO NOT TALK OVER THE SONGS... EVER!!!!!!! That was Wogan's big failing. Allow a few seconds at the start and at the end of each song, then blather away.
20 May 2009 18:19 AEST
From:
Roy & H G would have been a better pick
Very disappointed in Julia and Sam's commentary during Eurovision. Did someone actually fund them to go over there, because if so, they should get a REFUND !!! I expected heaps more from Julia, I know you have to be diplomatic, but come on, I'm sure most people were watching it because of the humour from the previous years. I know it was her first go, but what a huge disappointment... I don't think I laughed more than 10 times throughout the whole thing. I reckon Roy & H G or Merrick & Rosso could have done 100 times better. Please give them some training, if you are thinking of sending them to Norway next year - or make them sit through (at least) 5 previous Eurovision's to see what the viewers expect.
20 May 2009 9:51 AEST
From:
GO Sam and Julia!
What a great show! Sam and Julia were funny and informative and I am a guaranteed viewer next year if you bring them back. I disagree strongly with the comments about going with the BBC commentary. All of my friends (and I would assume most of the people in this country) who tune in, do so to have a bit of a laugh and watch the show from an Aussie perspective. Irreverence is a strong part of our culture. It would be a shame to lose this in a world gone mad with political correctness. Well done SBS- bring them back next year.
20 May 2009 7:12 AEST
From:
lots of room for improvement
We're big Eurovision fans at my house and my teenage children have made an astute point - sending Sam and Julia to Eurovision was like sending Top Gear's Steve Pizzati to Europe next week and expecting him to be able to replace Mike Tomilaris at the Tour de France. These are huge events with long histories. You have to live with the beast for a year to gain any knowledge of it at all. And as my daughter pointed out, learning the names of the countries involved would be a very basic start. So, nice idea SBS, but a lot more work is required. It was pretty amateurish and did not reflect well on you.
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About this Blog
Join David Knox as he reports on the build-up to Eurovision 2011. Who will capture the imagination of an entire continent? Knox is a media commentator with an unhealthy addiction to television and pop culture. His coverage of Eurovision is an annual fixture at SBS and
he blogs at TV Tonight.To this day, he still thinks Gina G was robbed at the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest.
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