The funniest thing about Have You Been Paying Attention? is – okay, there’s a lot of funniest things about HYBPA? and we’ve covered just about all of them a whole bunch of times. Australia isn’t great at comedy quiz shows or comedy panel shows, so it’s a blessed relief to have this one around for... Read More »
In case you missed SBS’s Privatise Now: The Feed’s End of Year Special, here’s all you need to know: it was a showcase for Mark Humphries. You know Mark Humphries, right? He came out of nowhere to be one of the smug guys on WTF!, then became one of the smug guys on The Roast,... Read More »
Ever since Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper – it’s like a regular newspaper, only shitter – took over sponsorship of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival we’ve been extremely appreciative of the opportunity to run the exact same story every single year: oh look, they’ve got people who know nothing about comedy reviewing comedy and they’ve stuffed... Read More »
It’s safe to say we haven’t been in tune with the critical consensus around Please Like Me from the start. Critics love it; we’re left scratching our heads. But the antics of the last few weeks have gone at least some of the way towards explaining this gap, because as we’ve read report after report... Read More »
Two weeks in and the verdict on Working Dog’s new animated comedy series Pacific Heat is… well, it’s not positive. And fair enough too: for 2016, it’s a great example of 1980s comedy. It’s not news that Working Dog’s sense of humour hasn’t been cutting edge since around the mid-90s, but in animation – where... Read More »
“I’ve got a text message here – why does the ABC bother making shows like this that nobody watches?” – Jon Faine. “Can I just say, thank goodness the ABC is making shows like this” – Debi Enker. Yes, it’s time to talk about Please Like Me – well, it was time to talk about... Read More »
Okay, so over the weekend this happened: COMEDIAN Lawrence Mooney has launched an extraordinary tirade against a journalist after an unfavourable review for his show in the Adelaide Fringe. In a foul-mouthed rant that went on for several hours on Twitter last night, Mooney attacked The Advertiser’s Isabella Fowler, calling her a “deads**t”, “amateur,” and... Read More »
In the lead up to Here Come the Habibs, the first Australian sitcom Channel Nine has made in the 21st Century, it’s been hard to know what’s worse – the articles stirring up outrage: Because most people don’t realise I am of Lebanese descent, I have sat around many tables where friends of friends have... Read More »
For a show that’s just jam-packed with bubbly hipster fun like wandering through mazes, or running down a well-manicured suburban street with a stolen trolley, or cracking jokes in cool inner-city eateries, or putting a chicken on your head, the one word that comes to mind when thinking about Josh Thomas’ sitcom Please Like Me... Read More »
Ahh, memories: There’s something reassuring about seeing Gina Riley, Marg Downey, Jane Turner and Magda Szubanski on telly on Sunday nights. The women of our collective sketch comedy consciousness get better with age, and they never disappoint. Presumably Ruth Ritchie never saw Madga’s Funny Bits. Still, there’s no denying that – going by the collective... Read More »