Good comedy is a fragile thing, and there’s no better way to nip it in the bud than with bad editing. Just take a look at the sketch Tony Martin did on last Friday’s 7pm Project (they’re doing sketches now? But more on that later) with the extended version available here on the show’s website.... Read More »
Maybe it's because to my generation Don Lane was a guy who'd clearly been famous once, but for what we weren't sure. His appearance on The Late Show was fun, and he presented American football on the ABC and turned up in the odd special, but that was it: he was just some old has-been in embarrassing trousers. So why am I about to launch into a heartfelt tribute to the Lanky Yank? Because, to paraphrase his theme song, he made it so... Read More »
Reaction to the Hey Hey blackface incident keeps coming - and not just on this blog. Hungry Beast gave us Blackface for Beginners last night, a two and a half minute history of the genre, which is probably the best thing they've done so far, so kudos for that. Monday night's Media Watch also delivered an interesting insight or two; first they helpfully pointed out which part of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice you might like to mention in your letter of complaint to Channel 9, and secondly they explained why it has to be a letter. Meanwhile, on Wikipedia, the entry for Hey Hey It's Saturday has been edited and re-edited by users wishing to make sure their view on the incident was known, with mixed... Read More »
This week sees the last episode of Channel Seven’s sketch series Double Take. Unlike its former stablemate, the Ed Kavalee-hosted TV Burp, there are no calls for a second... Read More »
So farewell then The Chaser's War on Everything, whether it was the pointless and repetitive pranks, the seeming plagiarism, or the press and industry reaction - both the wowserish condemnation and slave-like devotion - it's sure given us something to talk about for the past three and a half years. If I were to sum up my feelings on the series I'd say that it was deeply disappointing and one of the great lost opportunities in Australian TV comedy history, but admittedly, there aren't that many who agree with... Read More »
Our love of The Mick Molloy Show isn’t exactly a secret – as the closest thing to an One True Successor to the genius of The Late Show, its demise at the hands of the tabloid press remains a true tragedy. So it was interesting to hear from a friend of a friend’s friend recently the following... Read More »
A recent article which appeared in the Herald-Sun and various other Murdoch-owned newspapers and websites argued that The Chaser had “gone soft”, “looked tentative” and was now taking “aim at some easy targets”. It's hard to not ask where Vickery and Horan were during the first two series of The Chaser's War on Everything, or even the first two episodes of the current... Read More »