13 schoolyards, Author at Australian Tumbleweeds - Page 4 of 105

Mother and Son 2: Charnel House

There’s a certain kind of cheap thrill you get when something you had low expectations for somehow manages to be even worse. Good news: being a hater sometimes pays off. And while nobody was expecting the Mother and Son reboot to be anything more than exactly what the words “Mother and Son reboot” promise, the... Read More »

Tonight Ain’t Your Night, Bro

A few people today have noticed something we picked up on yesterday: Channel Ten’s pulled the plug on tonight’s comedy line-up. No Thank God You’re Here, no The Inspired Unemployed. And why? The sudden realisation that Australian comedy is in a death spiral and they were only prolonging the agony? Worse: they don’t want it... Read More »

Gainfully Unemployed

Pranks! They’re the lowest form of comedy and we all know it. They’re the kind of thing your unfunny mate tries to get you to watch during half time at the footy, and you’ve only got yourself to blame because what are you doing at the footy in the first place. But we’ve laughed at... Read More »

Thank God You’re Back

As probably the only Australian comedy format of the 21st century with any nostalgic value attached to it (can’t wait for the Randling revival), we shouldn’t have been surprised that Thank God You’re Here finally made a comeback. But did the magic return with it? Well, that depends: was there ever any magic there in... Read More »

Vale Utopia 2023

Utopia has come to an end, as we knew it would. But is this goodbye, or merely “I’ll be back”? Yeah, an 80s movie reference feels pretty on brand for Utopia. Despite being stocked with young comedic talent, this last season has been a firm reminder that the oldies haven’t retired yet and if this... Read More »

Waste Not, Want Not

Five years ago War on Waste was yet another of the ABC’s attempts to make consumer affairs television entertaining. Now it’s back, and it’s not even trying to be funny. So why are we mentioning it? We’re all used to the ABC’s endless efforts to cash in on nostalgia for things we didn’t even realise... Read More »

Get Your Back Side Trackside (again)

Hey look, The Back Side of Television is back, and it’s so good we actually watched every episode before coming here to tell you about it. Yeah yeah, we’ll get around to watching those other episodes of Gold Diggers later – it’s just nice to be watching an Australian comedy where you come away thinking... Read More »

The Oldies Are Not Goodies

Press release time! TikTok stars! A main character who possibly has dementia! Re-created by Matt Okine! It’s not the future we were promised, but it’s the one we... Read More »

Pan(ning) For Gold Diggers

Okay, so our expectations weren’t all that high for Gold Diggers. Australia’s proud history of proud historical sitcoms doesn’t quite begin and end with Bligh, but good luck topping the “big tits, small dicks” scene from The Olden Days. And both those examples are old enough to be historical comedies in their own right. Why... Read More »

Win Big With Gruen

Gambling ads have been in the news recently, what with an exciting new proposal to ban them because they’re pure fucking evil. “Gambling advertising and simulated gambling through video games is grooming children and young people to gamble and encourages riskier behaviour,” she said. “The torrent of advertising is inescapable. It is manipulating an impressionable... Read More »