It's Not My Fault They Print Them by Catherine Deveny

Author:Catherine Deveny [CATHERINE DEVENY]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd
Published: 2011-08-17T00:00:00+00:00

Thank God You’re Here

The bad news is I’m not here to talk about myself. Hey, it’s OK. Deep breath. Let it go. The good news is that I am here to talk about those born-to-rule private-school princes from Working Dog and their latest sacrifice to the unwashed masses. The suburban herds they probably wouldn’t cross the road to spit on if they were on fire. But let’s be honest here, who would?

If you haven’t checked out Thank God You’re Here on Channel Ten, Wednesday nights at ., tune in, chill out and watch the most un-Australian concept on Australian television: an Australian concept. It’s quality family entertainment, which is a welcome change from the usual family entertainment at our place, which generally consists of stapling my children’s lips together.

Basically, the show’s format is: a performer enters a room and has to bluff through a situation they know nothing about. On paper it sounds like a day in the life of Alexander Downer, but you’ll be relieved to know it’s not as excruciating as that. It’s a format that showcases the skill of performers in the gentle art of bullshitting. The words “reality television” have been thrown around to describe TGYH but it doesn’t really fit. I have created another genre. Ready? Improtainment. It’s the words improvisation and entertainment fused. You don’t need to tell me – I know, I’m a genius.

You can’t go that wrong when you have Shane Bourne as your host. Shane is a talented performer and a generous host, plus he has the number-one quality that Australians admire: he is not up himself. This man is above and beyond television and comedy aristocracy. He represents everything this industry should be about: irreverence, intelligence and well-placed dick jokes. We loved him in MDA as much as we loved him on Hey Hey, sitting next to Maurie Fields doing: “Two women. One man. Big problem. Lights go out. Bigger problem.” He has won AFIs, has been around since the Datsun Stanza and still manages to look like he loves what he does and enjoys the audience.

The first show’s line-up was Frank Woods, Peter Rowsthorn, Angus Sampson and Fifi Box. Now, I’m not proud of it, but I must admit that when I saw Fifi in the ensemble I, like every other overweight suburban mother with stretch marks and issues with anger thought: “Where’s Andrea Powell, Rebecca De Unamuno, Julia Zemiro or Roz Hammond? Why another cute blonde with a bubbly disposition?” and couldn’t wait to rip into her. But I must admit, I was very surprised. Frank went for the big laughs, Pete was solid, but Fifi was very strong and came across as the person who most played the game.

Last week’s show was just as entertaining: Angus really hit the mark and Shaun Micallef did what he does best – bumble around like a hapless academic shooting out perfectly crafted lines. Bert’s son Mathew Newton was a lovely addition and Fifi proved the first show wasn’t a fluke.

She has what it takes to succeed in television: the ability to talk under wet cement.

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