Comedy TV

Bridging The Gap Between Radio & Television

We’re now halfway through the current series of Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year, and it’s hard not to be a little disappointed in the way the show’s developed. Not because it’s a let-down, but because it’s been exactly what we expected going in: week after week of minor variations on their series of specials on... Read More »

No DVD? Unbelievable

What does and doesn't get released on DVD in this country is often a bit of a mystery when you look at archive TV – that many people want to buy E Street? Really? – but things seem pretty cut and dry when you look at new shows: if it's an ABC comedy it gets a DVD... Read More »

The Host With The Most

Showing the hard-nosed journalistic skills that have put them in the fore-front of “who’s wearing what at fashion launches” coverage, today the Melbourne Herald-Sun‘s “Confidential” put two and two together then wheeled out a giant multicoloured symbol that just might be a four. Or a squiggle: SHAUN Micallef’s bid for a variety show on Channel... Read More »

S&S Music Factory

Swift & Shift Couriers returns to our screens tonight after a long absence. A long, looong absence. In fact, if various rumours are true, the only reason we’re even seeing it now is because someone very high up in the SBS scheme of things left the network earlier this year. To be even more blunt:... Read More »

Satiricalpolitik

Satire in this country has historically been mostly piss-poor, and neither the upcoming revamp of Good News Week, called Good News World, or upcoming sitcom At Home with Julia, which explores the personal and professional lives of Julia Gillard and Tim Mathieson, look set to change... Read More »

Whoever Wins, We Lose (again)

Perhaps sensing weakness in the ABC’s long-running stranglehold on Wednesday night comedy, Ten has decided to once again shift Talkin’ ‘bout Your Generation to an “all-new” timeslot – Wednesday nights at 8.30pm. The later time – made necessary thanks to Ten clogging up the 7.30 / 8pm slots with ratings straggler The Renovators and its... Read More »

Laid 2: Money Never Sleeps

Sorry folks, while we were supposed to have been paying attention to the massive (okay, going from 1.45 to 1.06 million viewers isn’t that bad considering all the pre-show hype) drop in ratings for Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year, we were instead off staring into the heart of the sun. Or the comedy equivalent, which... Read More »

Gruen All Over The Carpet

So The Gruen Transfer returned last night. We should have been paying attention, but we were too busy getting some actual laughs from this: THE producer of hit series The Gruen Transfer, which returns to the ABC this week, has engaged lawyers over what appears to be another plagiarism case featuring a British broadcaster. British... Read More »

Repeat viewing

In one of our semi-regular trawls for Australian comedy online we recently came across the web series Lights, Camera, Maction! made by and starring Perth radio personality Sam Mac. Episode 1 wasn't too bad for a deliberately shonky series aimed at the YouTube... Read More »

Words and Pictures: Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year

So after all the mystery around Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year… it’s a talk show. Not that that’s automatically a bad thing, especially when you’re bringing out wacky diagrams drawn on cue cards. Still, it turned out that the cue cards were pretty much the only way that H&A – best known for radio success,... Read More »