It’s already become established wisdom that the failure of Live From Planet Earth comes down to one man: Ben Elton. (ok, and twitter, but let’s come back to that later) LFPE stunk on ice not because of Elton’s actual stand-up – generally acknowledged to be the best thing about the show and the only thing... Read More »
Now that the chorus of voices calling for Live From Planet Earth have faded, their unholy bloodlust sated, a new round of voices can be heard. “They pulled it too soon”, these voices say, “They didn’t give it a chance to find its feet”. And who’s to say they don’t have a point? Well, us... Read More »
It was probably inevitable that we'd never find out how Girl Flat ended, nor indeed did many want to, but to axe a show that was improving (if not in ratings then certainly in quality) because it didn't bring huge audiences after it was bumped at the last minute into a late-night slot to allow Nine to cover the Christchurch Earthquake seems a little unfair. What happened to all that “give it a chance” stuff Nine were pushing after that disastrous first... Read More »
So Live From Planet Earth returned last night, and while the changes made were for the best it wasn’t like there was a whole lot of them. More Elton stand-up and less shoddy sketches was a good move, but it still felt like tinkering around the edges of a now-proven dud. What, they thought last... Read More »
Yesterday TV Tonight published an exclusive interview with Ben Elton, in which Elton defended the first episode of Live From Planet Earth: "Apparently the principal criticism is that it was too smutty, and to be honest I actually put my hand up to that. I do think we got the mix... Read More »
Nobody seriously expected anything startlingly original from Nine’s first proper stab at prime time “all-new” comedy in almost a decade. Once the cast details for Live From Planet Earth eaked out – name after name from Comedy inc is never a good sign – expectations for anything fresher than the contents of Elvis’ colon evaporated.... Read More »
You probably saw the story in the Herald Sun the other day that Hamish & Andy are “close” to finalising a deal with Nine. This came as a bit of a surprise to those of us who expected them to sign with Ten (who screened their radio spin-off TV shows), but apparently what swung it was that Hamish & Andy “like that Nine is backing comedy”. And who can blame them? 2011 looks like being one hell of a year of comedy on... Read More »
While there hasn’t yet been an official announcement – and who knows, the way things work these days there may never be one – it seems increasingly likely that we have, finally, seen the last of Hey Hey it’s Saturday. It’s a result that should surprise no-one capable of rational thought: for all the cheering... Read More »