A comedy game show pitched as “A show where we attempt to find out why we do the weird things that we do” is doomed to fail. Digging down into people’s weird behaviour is a great way to find comedy. A game show is, nine times out of ten, not. And so it proves to... Read More »
You may have noticed we’re three weeks into the second season of The Family Law and we still haven’t managed to review it. But more likely you haven’t: while even high profile Australian television struggles to get attention these days, The Family Law, AKA the only Australian comedy SBS will be broadcasting this year, has... Read More »
Sometimes, a good thing should be left well alone. Sammy J’s Playground Politics was a razor-sharp series of five-minute sketches satirising federal politics via the medium of a Play School parody. It was also really funny. Then it came back a month ago as part of a series of 15-minute shows, Sammy J’s Democratic Party.... Read More »
Okay, so Mad as Hell is back and it’s as brilliant as ever. What more do you need to know? The first episode back seemed slightly more desk-focused than previously – it felt like around ten minutes of Shaun talking before they cut to something else – but when the material’s this good who cares?... Read More »
So last week’s episode of The Weekly opened with Charlie Pickering sitting behind his desk solemnly informing us that yes, while terrorism had cast a dark cloud over the week’s events the only correct way for us to move forward as a nation was to move forward as a nation or some such. “It’s been... Read More »
The stand-out pilot in last year’s Comedy Showcase was undoubtedly Ronny Chieng International Student, in which first-year Malaysian law student Ronny falls in with a group of fellow Asian students and local girl Asher, and together they try to navigate their way through a minefield of crazy lecturers, equally crazy students, and Aussie traditions they... Read More »
Since the untimely death of John Clarke just over two months ago, it’s been nice to see many of his classic sketches again thanks to Clarke & Dawe From the Archives. But it’s also sad to remember that there’s now only so much John Clarke out there to enjoy, and very little unseen Clarke to... Read More »
“Did you miss me?” “Like an STD.” “I love those cars!” Oh, comedy on Channel Nine, how we’ve missed you. Okay, maybe we’ve really just missed the idea of comedy on Channel Nine – the thrilling possibility of humour that’s as broad as the side of a bus and yet also somehow maybe mildly funny.... Read More »
Remember Playground Politics? Sammy J’s 2016 election satire in the style of Play School? It’s back (on ABC on Wednesdays, as well as iView and Facebook), as part of a new short-form sketch show Sammy J’s Democratic Party. Set in a secret bunker under Parliament House, Democratic Party offers a sneaky peek into the backroom... Read More »
It’s taken us an extra week to get around to the return of Have You Been Paying Attention, because quite frankly we were shocked. Shocked! Ok, maybe just shocked. Who would have thought that Australia’s most steadfast and reliable laugh-delivery-machine – well, once they fine-tuned the shift from half-hour to hour episodes at least –... Read More »