I've forsaken American television.

[DGMacphee]

I don't watch too much TV, but I surf the internet a heap -- I have a theory that I'm substituting TV viewing for net surfing mainly because I hate most of the crap on TV.

Avoiding TV leads to a lot of free time -- Thus, I net surf.

[MrColossal]

i'm the same as DG

i've just substituted but there's still a lot of crap on the internet




however there's more porn than tv

[Scid]

Doesn't anyone watch never mind the buzzcocks? The host, Mark Lamarr, is the funniest person I know. I think it's still running on one of the two BBC's, but I don't know for sure, since I haven't had the chance to watch a lot of television lately.

One thing I don't like about american television is how it always has to be so formal. Why does Drew Carrey have to mention about ten times every episode (that improv show) that the points don't matter. It annoys me, because frankly, anybody who doesn't get that should blame himself and start using his brain. In british television, they never cater to the lowest common denominator. They always do things the best way, which is never the way of least resistance.

Belgian television, fortunately, is more like the BBC. Which reminds me - that guy who said that the USA invented reality tv should check his facts. Two belgian guys pioneered it in the show "The mole", and a dutch guy commercialised it the next year with the first Big Brother.

[AGA]

Yeah, Buzzcocks was/is great, but I'm not sure that Mark Lamaar's humour is actually his own, or if he has a great writing team, combined with good timing... Oh, and it was on BBC 2.

[DGMacphee]

On a side note, one of the most popular Australian comedy series at the moment is called 'Kath and Kim'.

Has anyone seen it?

If so, what do you think?

[Timosity]

Yeah, I've seen it, I can laugh at it, but I don't really like the characters much. My parents watch it, but that's only cause the ABC is the only station they watch. Glen Robbins spoils it for me a bit cause his charcters in general suck, although he pulls them off well, I just can't stand him, I think it's psychological since Uncle Arthur. If I watched it more I would probably enjoy it and grow to like Kath and Kim, I do like the style of the typical dry aussie humor, but it doesn't draw me in enough.

I did enjoy CNNNN

[DGMacphee]

I'm not a big fan either, but my mum and girlfriend are a-gaga for it.

However, I do like Kel's character.

I also loved CNNNN, but being a journo student I'm a-gaga for shows like that (Backburner, MediaWatch, etc, etc)

I also loved John Safran's Music Jamboree -- did you see that too, Timmy?

Back on Kath and Kim, what I actually meant (and forgot to include in my previous post) was if any non-Australians have seen Kath and Kim?

[Las Naranjas]

What about "Hey, Dad"?

[Matt Brown]

how would we pick up kat and kim? would that air on bbc or something? I know for at least the states, the only channels we can get outside the US (and only if we buy expensive packages) that I know of are bbc and telemundo....with the odd european soccer match on some english sport channel.

[Timosity]

I also loved John Safran's Music Jamboree -- did you see that too, Timmy?

No, I didn't see that, I haven't seen much of John Safran since 'Race around the world' where he showed how to break into Disney Land without a ticket, atleast I think that was him, He had some clip a few years ago, but haven't seen any of his recent work (that I know he was involved with)

What's with Aussie sitcoms, they're pretty few and far between, and usually pretty crap, I can't remember the last successful one, Hey Dad was ok. I think what it takes for Aussies to actually like stuff is for it to be popular overseas first. Eg. Russell Crow (Even though he's from NZ) including his fucked up band, Steve Irwin. It's all pretty sad really.

I doubt many Aussie shows are played on free to air TV overseas, especially in America, there's a few crap ones that get played in the UK like 'Neighbours' & 'Home & Away' They're more popular there than here, which probably keeps them going. You hear of shows being exported but never hear about if they're successful.

There's probably a bit of sport shown on Fox, and a couple of other networks but probably not much and at strange times. England would get Cricket, Union & League on pay tv, probably Sky or something.

There's not as much TV of anysort made anywhere compared to America, I can't believe there are actors out of work over there, they're just not trying hard enough.
That's why there's heaps of crappy shows, just too many with a few good ones hidden in amongst them.

Does anyone get any Aussie shows?
Has "The Secret Life of Us" made it to the UK yet?

Edit: There was one cool (extreemely bad but cool) soap/drama/comedy? a few years back called "Pacific Drive" It was an absolute classic, it was sort of like Melrose place but more sex & set on the Gold Coast QLD, Here's a few examples of character from it:

A Canadian & Kiwi who were both Male prostitutes,
One  successful business women slut who slept her way through everything
A real estate guy who was a sex addict which came from an affair he had with his step mother at 14
A Lesbian that was Married to the Canadian prostitute
A couple of insane people & plots that were so bad, it was the funniest show on TV.
It was played overseas, and was more popular somewhere in Europe but it was axed after a year or so.

[Shattered Sponge]

Does anyone get any Aussie shows?
Has "The Secret Life of Us" made it to the UK yet?

Yarr; I think either the third or fourth series just finished - it has a late-night slot on a free-to-air channel (not the BBC).  I've never watched it myself, but I'd guess it would have to be reasonably popular for them to continue screening it.

We do get quite a few Aussie kid's shows, oddly; 'Round the Twist' springs to mind (I remember it being really popular in the early 90s), as does 'Mission:  Top Secret' (which was nowhere near as popular, but I liked it depite it's inherent cheesiness); I think that there was also one set in an under sea lab or something, with a mermaid or alien who could communicate with whales; I forget what it was called, but I'm pretty sure it was from Oz.  These were all a good few years ago, of course - I don't watch kid's TV too often, now.  And of course, Neighbours' primary audience is kids just home from school - it's on straight after the children's segment on the BBC.

Interesting how it seems that TV execs think that kids can handle foreign accents in TV shows, but adults won't be able to.

[Pumaman]

Neighbours and Fosters are Australia's two great exports - if either of them was to stop, the UK would collapse in on itself in an orgy of violence and destruction.

[Simple]

Orgy--violence--destruction.  Three of my favorite words!  Well, orgy, anyway.  Whatever follows it is alright by me.

What time are you thinking?  Should I bring the wine?

[LordHart]

Neighbours and Fosters are Australia's two great exports - if either of them was to stop, the UK would collapse in on itself in an orgy of violence and destruction.

If we stopped exporting Fosters, then Australia would be overrun by it since nobody here drinks it... except for sad people.

I also loved John Safran's Music Jamboree

Up the back, on the left (was that the answer? haven't seen it for ages). John Saffran rocks. I really liked the episode where he strapped a video-camera on his dog, sent him to the beach and then made a music video clip out of it, and sent it in to Rage.

I really hate Kath and Kim, the characters just get really annoying, and to be quite frank, I hate Victorian accents.

I think that there was also one set in an under sea lab or something, with a mermaid or alien who could communicate with whales; I forget what it was called, but I'm pretty sure it was from Oz.

You're talking about the really crap Ocean Girl. Sadly, it was from Oz.

What about "Hey, Dad"?

NUDGE!!! Do any Aussies remember My Secret Valley? Also, has anybody overseas seen anything by the D Generation, like the Late Show or Frontline?

[Las Naranjas]

I hear that heartbreak high was relatively popular in the Netherlands, is there confirmation here on that?

[AGA]

I remember seeing that a few times, although I didn't watch it much. It was on the late-afternoon kids' hours on BBC, iirc.

[DGMacphee]

I loved Hey Dad till they replaced Nudge with Arthur McArthur -- stupid little fat kid!

I also loved Mother and Son, but there's no chance of a reunion now that Ruth Cracknell is dead and Garry McDonald has had several breakdowns.

But I also loved All Together Now, mainly cause of Bruno Lucida (I think that's his name -- the guy who played the Jon English's agent).

And I'm a huge Late Show fan, especially Shitscared.

I bought the Champange Edition DVD of the Late Show recently for $50 -- best money I ever spent as it's got over 6 hours of footage plus audio commentary from all the gang, plus special guest commentary from Pete Smith, Bud Tingwell (GRAMPS!) and ex-Victorian premier Joan Kirner (For non-Aussies, she dressed up in full rock gear like leather jacket and so forth and sang Joan Jett's "I love Rock 'n' Roll", while her Health Minister David White played guitar).

I'll try and copy a clip from the DVD for non-Aussies.

[Las Naranjas]

Beaten only by Roy and HG getting Charlie Perkins to sing "I'm wishing for a white christmas".

And I agree that Mother and Son was sublime.


[Don't worry everyone, we're just doing our version of talking about Best Buy]

[DGMacphee]

Beaten only by Roy and HG getting Charlie Perkins to sing "I'm wishing for a white christmas".

I still have a soft spot for Pete Smith singing "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)"

[Timosity]

Roy and HG are great, I love when they have international guests, they have no idea how to interpret their humour, or even know whether it is humour or not. Although Dave Groll has been a guest a few times and is an exception to the rule.

Did anyone catch 'The Cream' during the Rugby World Cup, there was this old mens choir that sang some really funny DIRTY songs, it was classic. (but the show in general was lame, compared to The Dream, or State of Origin, or Changi, woops that was John Doyle, no relation to Mr Slaven)



note the logo


Mother and Son is one of my all time favourites, I'm not a big fan of Garry MacDonald (although he's a great actor) but Ruth Cracknell was brilliant, she used to live up the road from me. RIP

The other day My mum showed me her Old Girls School Newsletter cause she was mentioned in it and on the same page there were also articles on Ruth Cracknell, and Nicole Kidman, (none of them were there at the same time but all successfull graduates)

[Sorry to keep up country specific shit, but you can get the DVD at Spud McFuks]

Mother & Son was probably shown on the BBC years ago, and Didn't Roy & HG recently (coupla years ago maybe) host a show in England?