Modesty Forbids

We often cop some flack when we mention the many and various foibles of Australian television critics. That’s partly because – unlike actual Australian comedians – some of them have active fanbases, and partly because some readers think we should stick to what we do best: incoherently slagging off sub-standard Australian comedy.

But the poor quality of Australian television critics is part of the problem. By consistently refusing to point out the obvious – that most Australian comedy is pretty arse – they contribute to an environment where half-baked ideas and haphazard execution reigns supreme. Often because they’re angling for jobs making the same kind of crap themselves.

So you night think then that Fairfax TV writer David Dale’s “Bogie” awards – which, in his words, “celebrate all that is tacky, annoying and manipulative about Australian television” – would be right up our alley. Sadly, no: presumably it’s being used ironically, but the mere presence of the word “celebrate” is the big giveaway. Even our own annual Australian Tumbleweed Awards know enough to know that shit shows deserve to be treated like shit. As for jokey awards about “bad” television? Into the bin.

To be fair to Dale, we detected enough venom here to at least keep reading through to the end, which with our short attention spans has to count as some kind of win. Though this bit about the Logies did interest us:

After complaints by this column (among others) that there was no category for Outstanding Comedy, they’ve included a comedy category this year

That’s because the version that went to print in our local rag ran more like this:

After complaints by this column that there was no category for Outstanding Comedy, they’ve included a comedy category this year

Oddly, the time and date on the online version reads “May 3, 2015 – 10:38AM”, which suggests to us that some tinkering may have taken place after the print edition was filed. Maybe someone in editorial realised that the heroic Dale wasn’t the sole voice complaining about the Logies lack of a comedy award?

Brilliant news today from TV Week that it has restored Most Outstanding Comedy to its 2015 Logie Awards.

The jury-voted category has been absent since 2009.

TV Week says the change has come about after consulting with the industry, as well as listening to feedback from readers, viewers and voters.

Even we had words on the topic:

Mad as Hell was beaten by The X Factor? All the comedy categories replaced by “Best Presenter” and “Best Light Entertainment”? It’s enough to make you think The TV Week Logie Awards are nothing more than a promotional tool for the comedy-free commercial networks.

Of course, re-instating the Comedy award is nothing to be proud of if it goes to a show that sucks. Here’s the 2015 nominations (oddly, Mad as Hell, The Chaser’s Media Circus and Hamish & Andy’s South American Gap Year are in “Entertainment” categories):

*Black Comedy (ABC)
*Legally Brown (SBS One)
*Please Like Me (ABC2)
*Upper Middle Bogan (ABC)
*Utopia (ABC)

They’re certainly representative of Australian comedy, we’ll give them that…