Generic Antipodean comedy thread

[Urinal Cake]

Can't be doing with Fisk, I've tried and it's bloody awful. Constant use of "that voice" comedy, jokes about young people and their crazy ways, not funny enough... etc etc.

It's the best we have. That being said even the, 'Young people these days' jokes in Mother & Son seem more relevant observational comedy wise.

[13 schoolyards]

There was a long-ish stretch in Mick Molloy's career a decade or more ago after the movies and radio fizzled out where it looked like the salad days were definitely over (anyone else remember The Nation?). It happens to just about everyone who's not rock solid mainstream in Australian comedy; Shaun Micallef went through a similar patch before Newstopia and you could argue Tony Martin never came out of it after Get This, though he seems to be doing okay for himself now with Sizzletown and semi-regular appearances on HYBPA?

Anyway, like everyone else who gets out of their slump Molloy had to change tack and re-invent himself somewhat (imagine telling someone after Welcher & Welcher that Micallef would become the nation's top news satirist). I can't say I'm a regular viewer of The Front Bar - which must be a tidy earner for him - or a listener to Molloy's recent radio work, but when I do catch any of it he seems to be a notch above the usual blokey types and he's always good value on HYBPA?

Occasionally someone will try to lump him in with Dave Hughes and that's definitely crazy talk.

[Poison To The Mind]

Is he bad at roast-style comedy or does he actually dislike the other, funnier, comedians on HYBPA? He's always trying to stick the boot into Guy Montgomery, for example. He's fine most of the time, I suppose, but I think with a comedian of his style, likeability is important and I'm not sure he's that likeable.

Becoming extremely rich and having no new experiences has been extremely deleterious to Ed's sense of comedy - compare his inventiveness, and willingness to make himself the butt of a joke, as a share-house resident with three jobs on Get This, with his rapport with TM on TEAM Effort*. He's bringing more energy, but there's nothing behind it, just prodding funnier colleagues for thoughts and stories that they have.

(*NB: since switching to a $5-a-month-for-weekly-episodes model, this has released three episodes in seven months.)

The Australian series of international BezosTV format LOL is largely unbearable, but fascinating to watch Kavalee try to navigate. Premise is ten or so comedians are locked in a "house" and have to try to make each other laugh: if you laugh, you're out. (Helpfully, Rebel Wilson comes in periodically to set challenges to make it harder for anyone to build rapport or relax.) Ed

Spoiler alert

attempts to simply not talk to anyone or be in the same part of the room as anyone, and gets accurately called out, with Sam Simmons especially ridiculing him to his face for being a millionaire both desperate to take $10,000 prize money share-house residents with three jobs, and absurdly cowardly in his tactics to do so.

[close]

[Mr_Simnock]

Anti-pow-dee-an

or

Antipod-ian

[13 schoolyards]

Anti-pow-dee-an

or

Antipod-ian

An-tip-o-de-an. I guess? I don't think I've heard anyone here actually say it in a decade or two

[petril]

Antipod-ian

[Beloved of Jo]

Anti-pow-dee-an

or

Antipod-ian

ahn-tee-poe-dee-an

Not really a common word down this way though.

[samadriel]

How did Ed get "extremely rich"? I never heard about that. Was it just the ads? The morning radio? Is that why he and Dilruk don't do that "let's get rich" podcast anymore? (That's a shame, I liked that one.)

I don't have a problem with him on HYBPA, he doesn't seem especially churlish to other contestants (except perhaps if he's playing along with their self-deprecating shtick). I saw someone saying he was scowling and being ungracious when Lawrence Mooney was on the show,  so I put that episode on and that was flat out bullshit, he was perfectly fucking normal. If I cared more I'd be tearing my hair out trying to find anything to justify what people say about Ed. He definitely isn't as good as he was on Get This, but losing your edge is quite apart from supposedly being an arsehole.

[famethrowa]

It's radio money, these goons get a contract for a million+ a year to guffaw at each other's anecdotes about buying a coffee or the traffic report. If they run out of anecdotes, just spin Livin On A Prayer again. Piss easy money. I know a "personality" who signed a year contract to be part of the morning crew in a regional NSW town 5 hours from Sydney, earned half a million for 3 hours a day.

[13 schoolyards]

Yeah, I don't really get the Ed hate - I didn't mind him on Get This but I wasn't exactly falling over myself at his hilarious antics either, so to have him turn out to be a slightly above average breakfast radio chump seems like a win-win all around.

I don't begrudge him the radio money either as he seems like a reasonably smart guy so having to work with the parade of clowns he's been saddled with over the years must have been an ordeal. He seems to be seen as a safe pair of hands as well so he's usually playing second fiddle to some reality show dipshit or high profile screech machine who flames out after a year and they slot in the next good face for radio (ads).

As for him on HYBPA, there's been a few times where he's seemed a little out of sorts, but as a regular he's got a slightly tougher job than the guests as he has to try and lift proceedings when he's stuck next to someone who's just answering questions and not adding anything else. I don't think his efforts always work, but it's pretty clear what he's trying to do and it's not fuck things up for everyone else.

[Poison To The Mind]

Yeah, he's a good player on HYBPA from what I can see (3-4 eps a year)

[famethrowa]

I think our responses to Ed here sum up why I'm so OUTRAGRD that he even has a place in the comedy community.

"he's ok"
"I don't mind him"
"good I guess"
"not too bad"

farkin hell

[13 schoolyards]

The Australian mainstream comedy scene (such as it is) is pretty much just eager young up-and-comers who will either flame out or move overseas, a handful of knockabout Aussie blokes who all seem to be mates with Mick Molloy, and the remains of the 80s / 90s generation. It's why the revival of TGYH has been a bit meh - the contestants are all a bit too samey, there's no wild cards like Bob Franklin or Shaun Micallef who were naturally funny in a way that mixed things up.

In 2023 Ed stands out because he's been around for a while and is solid and reliable but isn't going for that "dad" approach that the older guys have. His real talent lies in being just bland enough to keep getting work in an industry that's actively hostile to people with talent - the way that Get This was the funniest thing on Australian radio this century but was actively crushed by the radio station and the least funny member of the team is the one with a successful career pretty much says it all.

[Famous Mortimer]

It's all in perception, and mine is that a few too many of Ed's bits on HYBPA? wander over the line from playful banter to unfunny digs. This is partly informed by his podcast work, where (when he's not prodding Ash Williams or Tony Martin for one of their stories) he's skating a line he's not quite good enough to be anywhere near. Like the most recent episode of "TEAM Effort" where his intro was all unfunny crap about gender and pronouns.

"The Cheap Seats" is great, though - Mel and Tim have fantastic comedy chemistry.

(Please bear in mind, as a Brit with no particular knowledge of Australia outside these comedy shows, my perceptions might be occasionally wonky. I don't think I've heard more than a few minutes of Australian radio, outside Martin & Molloy and Get This)

Anyway, like everyone else who gets out of their slump Molloy had to change tack and re-invent himself somewhat (imagine telling someone after Welcher & Welcher that Micallef would become the nation's top news satirist). I can't say I'm a regular viewer of The Front Bar - which must be a tidy earner for him - or a listener to Molloy's recent radio work, but when I do catch any of it he seems to be a notch above the usual blokey types and he's always good value on HYBPA?

Strong agree. I'll pop "The Front Bar" on (it's often on Youtube) for the introductory banter, and he's almost always excellent on HYBPA? He and Martin were a very good team, though. Also, he's a very good foil for Titus O'Reilly on "Sports Bizarre", which I assume everyone involved was hoping would have been picked up by a TV network by this point.

I haven't bothered with the new series of "Thank God You're Here" yet, after struggling with the first season of the old show. I think Celia is fantastic, though

[13 schoolyards]

Trying to pitch Sports Bizarre as a TV series makes a lot of sense - that kind of thing is constantly turning up as filler on sports channels, and you'd think Mick Molloy's production company would have a bit of clout thanks to The Front Bar. Maybe in 2024?

The Cheap Seats is a real highlight (even without Titus), which is even more impressive considering it's really just an hour of making fun of news clips. Mel and Tim are an amazing team, even though on first impression it's hard to nail down exactly why - they just work really well together. Even this week's desk interview with the Prime Minister (!), which is usually instant death, worked out well, though having Mel swear in front of the PM helped a bit there.

I feel like the problem with the current run of TGYH is that the central idea just isn't strong enough to work five times a week for weeks on end. The old version made it work for a while because they had a much larger pool of local talent to dip in to, so you'd usually get someone new each episode going off the rails - plus there was the novelty factor of seeing big or unusual names turn up. Now it just seems to be the same people almost every week (I'm sure they're already bringing guests back), which doesn't work on a show where the surprise of seeing how a contestant deals with the set-up is a lot of the fun.

[majava]

My main problem with TGYH is the way some of the ensemble cast stick 100% to the script. It's so awkward when they prompt the guest for a funny response, only to immediately correct them.

I do find it odd that they're only a few episodes in and already have repeat guests. I don't know if it's scheduling or if they're playing episodes out of filming order but it makes it seem as if there's not so many people willing to get involved.

Edit: Actually, it seems it wasn't much different back in the original run. According to wikipedia the first series of 10 episodes had Angus Sampson 6 times, Fifi Box 5 times, and Frank Woodley 4 times. Subsequent series had a much wider range of guests.

[13 schoolyards]

From what I remember of the press around the first run of TGYH, a lot of people weren't all that keen to get involved, but once the show took off there was a bit of peer pressure to get on board (plus it was good exposure). It's not really a surprise I guess that they haven't been able to pull in a bunch of people outside the Working Dog / Have You Been Paying Attention crowd yet, but constantly pulling from the same talent pool does make the show seem smaller.

What is more of a surprise it that it doesn't seem like anyone has really been a breakout star yet - that first series of TGYH really gave Angus Sampson a big career boost.

[Famous Mortimer]

Trying to pitch Sports Bizarre as a TV series makes a lot of sense - that kind of thing is constantly turning up as filler on sports channels, and you'd think Mick Molloy's production company would have a bit of clout thanks to The Front Bar. Maybe in 2024?

I hope so. There's a pay tier where you allegedly get an extra episode a week, but it's still just audio and I think it works better with pictures. All you really need to do is tell Titus to leave pauses in the story so Mick can leap in, and ask Mick to talk over Titus just a whisker less, and you'd have a winner. They work extremely well together.

The Cheap Seats is a real highlight (even without Titus), which is even more impressive considering it's really just an hour of making fun of news clips. Mel and Tim are an amazing team, even though on first impression it's hard to nail down exactly why - they just work really well together. Even this week's desk interview with the Prime Minister (!), which is usually instant death, worked out well, though having Mel swear in front of the PM helped a bit there.

I presume they worked on something, one of Working Dog saw them, and felt exactly the same way about their chemistry. It just works. I hope either Titus comes back next year or they get a strong new person - Adam Rozenbachs doesn't seem to work very well in the position, but perhaps he lives close to the studio or something as he seems to be the most regular of the replacements.

[j_u_d_a_s]

Been trying to find a way to watch full episodes of The Cheap Seats for a while because I love the clips they put up on YouTube. If anyone could help I'd be super grateful...

[13 schoolyards]

Full episodes of The Cheap Seats seem to be out there via torrent - which is interesting in itself, as Thank God You're Here largely isn't. Supposedly in the past Working Dog cracked down hard on sharing copies of their series (especially TGYH), though it's not like they'll be selling any copies on DVD these days. I guess old episodes of news comedy like The Cheap Seats and HYBPA aren't really something they expect to monetize.

I hope either Titus comes back next year or they get a strong new person - Adam Rozenbachs doesn't seem to work very well in the position, but perhaps he lives close to the studio or something as he seems to be the most regular of the replacements.

It was interesting that in the most recent episode they didn't even both with a sports reporter, they just did the segment themselves. I imagine it'd be hard to find a sports buff who fits in well with the show, as a lot of them seem to take themselves (or sport) a little too seriously for a show where a lot of the comedy comes from knowing nothing about the events and caring even less.

Plus it's not a show with big blokey energy, which rules out almost all the usual suspects (who are probably busy trying to get on The Front Bar anyway)

[Famous Mortimer]

The subreddit that shares Australian TV won't touch anything Working Dog, I presume from some legal threat. They appear to be using Youtube to upload edited versions of shows, old compilations, which I assume is their main method of monetization (outside whatever they get from Channel Ten). By the way, I wish these shows did merch.

But I do have a very good way of watching Cheap Seats, which I'll share via PM.

[Famous Mortimer]

Mick Molloy's video "Shonky Golf" appears to have lapsed into probably deserved obscurity. Doesn't seem to be on Youtube or any less reputable sites. Anyone know of a way I can get hold of it?

[13 schoolyards]

A quick check of various Australia-focused TV outlets has come up with nada - I suspect having to actually purchase it first (I'm pretty sure it was never shown on television) has prevented the usual uploaders from being on the case.

I don't know if any of these guys will ship to the UK, but it's not exactly scarce around these parts: https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=shonky+golf&_sacat=0

[Famous Mortimer]

I should have checked eBay, thanks @13 schoolyards . Hmmm...should I drop $30 on it? I need some Antipodean equivalent to Sendico, where you can buy multiple things and get them all posted at once.

[13 schoolyards]

I (very dimly) remember it being not bad, but it was clearly a bit thrown together - I think it was Mick's way of getting some extra cash to a bunch of the people who'd been working on The Mick Molloy Show when that got axed and they were suddenly left without work.

The must be forward shippers from Australia, surely? There'd be loads of Clarke & Dawe DVDs you could scoop up for cheap to bulk out the package and make it worth while

[majava]

RIP Cal Wilson. 53 is way too young.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-11/comedian-cal-wilson-dies-aged-53-following-illness/102962284

[samadriel]

Oh man, I loved the episode of Get This where she goes through her highschool diary. I'll miss her.

[Famous Mortimer]

RIP Cal Wilson. 53 is way too young.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-11/comedian-cal-wilson-dies-aged-53-following-illness/102962284

That sucks. She seemed like a pretty great person, and was funny as hell too. I'll miss her weird little videos with her two cats on Instagram as well.

[Famous Mortimer]

Last episode of "Have You Been Paying Attention?" of the year was fantastic. Great guests, packed with jokes.

What was "Thank God You're Here" like?

[13 schoolyards]

It was fine. I'm not a fan of the format - just do theatresports or make a proper sketch show instead of something where the set up is just "please finish off this line" - so I had my usual gripes about getting maybe three decent laughs out of an hour-long show. But three laughs is still pretty good for an Australian comedy show these days.

My big complaint about the current version is that it needed a bit more variety in the guests. It's probably a reflection of the current Australian comedy scene, but it's the kind of show that needs more big personalities going through the blue door and this season it often felt like each week three of the four contestants were just a variation on the same type of bland but likable stand up comedian. I guess not everyone can be Bob Franklin.

Each week they brought back an old contestant to be the judge, and it would have been a much stronger show if some of them had been on stage instead