Programming note: News channel France 24 starts a series of debates entitled European Encounters, kicking off with Poland today.

Paris flash! (sorry. Couldn't resist.) The Paris-based 24 hour English news channel France 24 (TopTV 402) is launching a series of TV debates starting today, entitled France 24 European Encounters.

France 24 has decided to host a series of debates from several European cities with France 24 European Encounters that will be recorded in cities such as Warsaw, Madrid, Rome, London, Berlin and Istanbul.

France 24 European Encounters kick off today in Poland (it was recorded yesterday with the title ''Poland: A new model for Europe?'') at 18:15 (South African time). France 24 European Encounters will be presented by France 24 journalists and will consist of 40 minute debates on the social, political and economic issues shaping each country and its position in Europe today.

''From the prolonged global economic crisis to the revolts in the Arab world just outside Europe's borders, international events are changing the traditional world order and we felt it was important to go and meet our European viewers,'' says Alain de Pouzilhac, CEO of France 24. ''By provoking debates, through confrontation of viewpoints and diversity of opinions, France 24 wishes to find out more about European perceptions on national identity and shaping Europe.''

A NEW KIND OF AUTOTUNE. The shy mechanic Jean-Pierre Zeelie is now Polokwane's big new singing hope in M-Net's Idols.

Cobus Bodenstein/M-Net

There's already Mike & the Mechanics but can Jean-Pierre Zeelie (25) be the mechanic that has what it takes to make it in the 7th season of Idols on M-Net?

The somewhat shy guy Jean-Pierre Zeelie who work on cars made it through the Polokwane audition round of Idols to get a place in the Theatre round of the reality show. Going from knowing his way around tune ups on automobiles, he'll now have to be better than autotune to get a place in one of the top spots in the show. Jean-Pierre Zeelie will have to prove to the judges that he has what it takes, as well as the staying power, to earn a top spot.

Idols is currently in the nationwide audition process on M-Net on Sundays at 17:30 that will conclude with the Johannesburg episodes this Sunday on the pay broadcaster. ''I haven't entered Idols before because I'm a bit of a shy guy,'' says Jean-Pierre Zeelie. ''It's actually a big leap for me doing this but I think it's time.''

Jean-Pierre Zeelie and his brothers have a (no pun intended) garage band called Sweet November that's been playing together for the past three years. In the late eighties Jean-Pierre Zeelie's dad Neels Zeelie was a country musician and actually recorded two albums, From the Heart and Neels Zeelie Living Thru.

''I think I'm the next South African Idol because music runs in the family,'' says Jean-Pierre Zeelie. ''I've been waiting really long for this. I've been practising. It's time to get out of the cage, I believe. It will be cool to have someone from out of a small little dorpie being the next South African Idol.''

OPINION. From Nonhle to ... notorious? How the once darling TV talent is fast tarnishing her image with erratic, ego-destructive behaviour.

It used to be that Nonhle Thema was it. As in the ''It'' girl: beautiful, friendly, telegenic and on her way up. She was dark and lovely.

Now, after a disastrous attempt at a laughable reality show that had critics pounce on her badly produced attempt to try and make it in Hollywood, Nonhle Thema - who oddly refers to herself as a ''reality TV star'' - seems to have taken it very personally. It would seem that she's damaged where it matters most: on the inside.

How else to explain Nonhle Thema's sudden ego-filled rants that has industry insiders not just sniggering, but many now openly wondering whether she's deliberately trying to destroy her brand so carefully built up over years. Is the presenter of V Entertainment on Vuzu (DStv 123) on weekdays at 18:00 even self-aware enough to realize that's she's now pro-actively starting to damage her likeability factor - and in fact sabotaging her career? What on earth, are people wondering, is going on with the former nice girl Nonhle Thema ...

The South African television and entertainment industry is agog over what appears to be Nonhle Thema's friendly-face self-destruction. In a frenzied, ongoing flurry of relentless, and often scathing remarks on social media - most notably her Twitter feed - Nonhle Thema has been lashing out daily at seemingly everybody and everything, even attacking traditional media.

Nonhle Thema's self-delusional rants and raves range from first person delusions of grandeur (''all my twitter antics have made me powerful'' / ''I'm the greatest'' / ''I'm a power freak'' / ''I made over 10 million rands as the face of Dark and Lovely'' / ''Nonhle Thema brand is worth a fortune'') to the embarrassingly grandiose (''When I'm on TV doing what God has created for me it's like walking on water'') to the vapid and blatantly vain (''I'm rich, young and black. I hope the press will use my good pics'') - and even the downright ominously sad (''I feed off your negative energy. It make my ego grow bigger'' / ''The more hate you give me the more power you give me'').

What is causing and motivating Nonhle Thema to behave this way as a public personality and risking her reputation by self-trashing her image on Twitter? ''I've always found her tweets embarrassing,'' whispers a longtime independent entertainment journalist, ''but this is all a whole other level''.

Is Nonhle Thema's Twitter madness a desperate cry for love?
In odd, self-referential tweets from her such as ''The most hated TV star is actually the most loved'' Nonhle Thema seems to take pity on herself while she frames herself as some kind of victim. An impervious victim, but a victim no less - a melancholy star who has to endure the trappings of fame and a world that doesn't understand or truly appreciate her. This is a new role that Nonhle Thema now seems to craft out of her daily puerile Twitter tirades against all the ''haters'' - anyone and anything who dare to oppose her view.

It's not too late however for Nonhle Thema to change Twitter tact and undo the recent damage. One wonders whether the people around her, like an agent, or people close to her, are really aware of the infusion of negativity and dislike that Nonhle Thema is building under (former?) fans; how the Twitter behaviour is not scaring as much as making many people in the industry suddenly nervous about possibly working with her.

Come on Nonhle. You say you can walk on water. Stop the Twitter trash talk and focus your energy and attention on being the great girl that we as viewers fell in love with when you first burst on the scene with Channel O. Behind the inexplicable Twitter craziness there's a girl who's dark yet delightful. And lovely.


[I've asked Vuzu whether the TV channel has any comment on Nonhle Thema, specifically her out-of-character social media behaviour. ''What Nonhle Thema tweets at her personal capacity on the social medium (Twitter) are her views and the comments expressed there do not represent those of the channel (Vuzu),'' says Vuzu.]

BREAKING. Kwêla on kykNET reworking its show for a special Zack du Plessis TV tribute Wednesday; his wife Magda set to share memories.

You're reading it here first.

I immediately asked last week, kept on it, and I can now exclusively break the news that Kwêla on kykNET (DStv 111) is fast-changing their planned line-up and will definitely have a special tribute with exclusive guests in tomorrow night's episode at 19:30 dedicated to actor Zack du Plessis who passed away last week.

I can exclusively reveal that the weekly Afrikaans magazine show Kwêla with Coenie de Villiers on kykNET (Wednesdays, 19:30) is feverishly working on a Zack du Plessis special tribute that I'm told will include key interviews with close people in the public, professional, and personal spheres of the veteran actor and comedian's life, as well as must-see archive material mined from his long and prolific TV and movie career.

Zack du Plessis wife Magda van Biljon - beloved by million of South Africans who grew up with her as ''tannie Magda'' from the popular TV1 Wielie-Walie children's show - and colleagues from the highly-popular Afrikaans sitcom Orkney Snork Nie such as Willie Esterhuizen and Frank Opperman as well as Helene Truter from Vetkoekpaleis will personally share their memories and heartfelt tributes on television in this must-watch show tomorrow evening.

BREAKING. The hot new drama Teen Wolf set to grow hairy palms for South African viewers from 1 August at 21:30 on Vuzu.

You're reading it here first.

I can exclusively break the news that the brand-new and hot werewolf drama Teen Wolf is coming to South African viewers from August and is set to start on Vuzu (DStv 123) on Monday 1 August at 21:30.

Vuzu just confirmed when I asked about Teen Wolf and admitted the show is set for August. MTV also exclusively confirmed to me earlier today (I asked at the beginning of the month already) that the hot lycanthropic TV show will definitely be shown in South Africa and Africa on MTV a bit later as well.

My spies at MTV Networks Africa that runs MTV (DStv 321) and MTV Base (DStv 322) told me earlier today that the great new series that just started in America will definitely be coming to South Africa soon, but just couldn't give me a starting date yet for MTV. Then I discovered that the hairraising Teen Wolf will actually be on Vuzu before it's even on MTV in South Africa itself (which owns the series).

Teen Wolf is based on the 1980s movie with Michael J. Fox but gets a whole new spin similar to the way Smallville was based on the teenage years of the Superman mythology. The high school outcast Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) gets bitten in the dark woods by a thing (a werewolf). Of course he soon starts to change: super hearing, super sight, super strength - and some unwanted body hair.  Then there's the little issue of the actual pack of werewolves who secretly live among us. And what happens if the school bully (spoiler alert!) turns out the be the werewolf actually supposed to instruct and help you?

If you like Smallville, Kyle XY, Buffy The Vampire Slayer or The Vampire Diaries you'll like Teen Wolf.

BREAKING. If negotiations work out MultiChoice wants to add the new Trace Sports exclusively to its DStv platform in South Africa and Africa.

I can exclusively reveal that Trace Sports, the new sports lifestyle channel from Trace TV that just launched globally last week, has a very high likelihood of coming to South Africa and the rest of the continent with MultiChoice that wants to carry Trace Sports exclusively, permitting negotiations work out as well as satellite capacity becoming available.

ALSO READ: Might the new Trace Sports HD channel be coming to South Africa anytime soon?
ALSO READ: Trace Sports has a pre-launch party in Johannesburg during the Soccer World Cup.

Trace Sports, a sports lifestyle channel focusing and covering sport stars similar to how E! Entertainment (DStv 124) profiles the personalities from the entertainment world launched 15 June and has started talks with MultiChoice. Trace Sports has been made available to all pay TV operators from the Eurobird 9 satellite (transponder 51) and more than 30 operators have confirmed that they will carry the channel, including CanalSat for all French speaking African countries. I'm now reliably told that MultiChoice wants to carry Trace Sports ''on an exclusive basis on all their South African and African platforms''.

I asked Trace Sports about South Africa who says ''discussions with DStv are not finalized yet''. ''The launch date for each platform will depend on satellite capacity,'' Olivier Laouchez, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Trace TV tells me. He will be visiting South Africa and MultiChoice again in mid-July I'm told.

I asked MultiChoice about my understanding that DStv wants Trace Sports exclusively, how MultiChoice feels about Trace Sports as a channel and when the pay TV plaform might envision it launching in South Africa. ''We are always looking for the opportunity to add more value to our DStv service for our subscribers,'' says MultiChoice in response, ''and that includes being on the look-out for new channels. When we are ready to announce the addition of channels, we will do so.''

How SABC2 is dropping the ball on Colour TV, their new upcoming variety and comedy show with Joey Rasdien starting 8 July.

SABC2 is dropping the ball on correctly, and in time, telling viewers and communicating with them directly, and through the press, about the channel's new upcoming Colour TV. But hey, what do you really expect from ''the funeral channel''?

Confused viewers and readers have been asking me for weeks: What is Colour TV? They're wondering whether it means a new TV station is coming from the SABC (no). Others think the lousy 10 second TV ad running on SABC2 and SABC3 that simply says ''Colour is coming'' has to do with TopTV's marketing campaign (no). Some are thinking it might be the launch of a 3rd party pay TV channel (no).

I have asked SABC2's publicity department multiple times over the course of three months for more information about Colour TV (yesterday I asked again and said it was the last time that I'll bother - and of course still nothing) which is actually a new variety comedy show starting on SABC2 with Joey Rasdien on Friday 8 July at 19:30. (Also not to be confused with the languishing SABC2 sitcom TV project of Joey Rasdien). Colour TV will try to delight the SABC2 audience with ''iconic coloured humour'' and coloured characters whatever that purports to be.

SABC2 acting channel head Pulane Tshabalala told me at the advertisers upfront presentation the channel has added the show to specifically target ''coloured'' viewers and that it's not Joey Rasdien's sitcom but that he's one of several coloured stars who will do skits similar to Saturday Night Live. ''Colour TV will target viewers who say there's not enough for them on our channel.''

Meanwhile SABC2 has done a big hallabaloo about nothing as it fails to actively tell viewers what Colour TV is, and has so far failed miserably in being upfront with the press or engaging entertainment journalists about the show that is supposed to start in a mere three weeks. If viewers think your failed clip campaign is about the SABC going digital, another pay TV channel or TopTV, I would venture to suggest you have a problem, SABC2. Of course no monthly magazines for July will have anything about Colour TV since they've already closed on those issues, those biweeklies are finishing off and the daily newspapers with their culled entertainment staffs can't care less unless they probably get a press release the evening before the show is set to start.

HERE BE DRAGONS. There's an image from a final scene from an epic new TV show I don't want to reveal; but you can decide.

There's something I want to show. But can't.

There's a magnificent TV show on television, not yet in South Africa - which is beautiful visual art as well as extraordinary storytelling for this medium. To show an image, would give away three plot twist, part of the ongoing plot development, spoil a major surprise that in hindsight is set up in the first episode already. The image is just such an amazing precursor to what is coming in the second season and a clear indicator of the delicious story awesomeness of what is still to come.

So I don't want to show it. And yet, it's a beautiful image. Beautiful because of what it means.

I'm not going to identify the TV show. I'm not going to say anything, except to strongly warn that it's the image from the final scene, from the final episode, from the just concluded first season of an amazing new TV show. If you see it, and you haven't watched the show, it will amaze you, but it will spoil some of what you will then know is coming. It will take away some of the unexpected phoenix magic that awaits.

If you click on READ MORE below, you're going to get the full photo of which the bit above is taken. Readers who have a high emotional intelligence (EQ), will just continue on. But at least you get a choice.

You've been warned. Here's be dragons.

BREAKING. Steven Spielberg's new Falling Skies drama series starting on Fox Entertainment on 4 July is an immediate out-the-box TV hit.

The new highly anticipated Steven Spielberg drama Falling Skies starting in South Africa on Fox Entertainment (TopTV 180) on Monday 4 July at 20:15 is an out-the-box TV hit in America where the first two hour premiere Sunday had a record viewership.

Falling Skies had 5,9 million viewers Sunday night in America which makes it the most-watched start of any TV show this year on a pay TV channel in America, and even beating the popular The Walking Dead that was shown last year on TopTV Fox FX channel and started with 5,3 million viewers in America.

ALSO READ: Falling Skies starting in South Africa on 4 July at 20:15 will be launching in 75 countries simultaneously.
ALSO READ: Fox Entertainment grabs the broadcasting rights to the hot new Steven Spielberg drama Falling Skies.
ALSO READ: Watch the first trailer for Falling Skies.

In Falling Skies Noah Wyle plays a dad Tom Mason in Boston who leads a group of resistance fighters after aliens have attacked and invaded Earth while he's looking for his one son who has been ''altered'' by the aliens looking for teenagers. South African viewers will only be three episodes behind America with Falling Skies that will have a definite full first season of 10 episodes.