MetaFilter posts tagged with Australia and television

Upside down! Upside down!

Effigy2000 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:28:41 -0800

Mr Squiggle, the Man from 93 Crater Crescent, the Moon, turns 50 today. Created by cartoonist and puppeteer Norman Hetherington, who would take children's scribbles and then craft it into a drawing, Mr Squiggle, along with friends Gus the Snail, Bill the Steam Shovel and the ever grumpy Blackboard (whom Mr Squiggle would use as an easel, being told to "Hu-rry u-p, hu-rry u-p" as he did) has been something of an institution for generations of Australian kids. Relive some of the magic...

20 Years Of Supercilious Gits

Fiasco da Gama — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:59:17 -0800

Twenty years old this year, fifteen-minute long Australian television programme Media Watch criticises television and print journalism. (Previously).

Not with a bang but with a televised political satire

sdodd — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:07:41 -0800

"We don't vote for them, we don't even know their names and we're not quite sure what they do. But they wield enormous influence. They are the power behind the power. They are The Hollowmen." You can watch the Australian Broadcasting Company's new political satire The Hollowmen [warning: sound] on the web. Or you can find it via Bittorrent. (Or if you live down under I suppose you could watch it on ABC 1 Wednesdays at 9pm or ABC 2 Thursdays at 8:30pm.) It's worth a look because it may be the funniest new satire on any English-language network. "I tell you, they become prime minister and they start thinking they can do what they want." The Hollowmen follows the Australian Prime Minister's fictional Central Policy Unit, charged with crafting the PM's public policy whilst battling the civil service and the press. Sound familiar? Episode two of the first series could be a "Yes, Minister" episode almost unchanged. But there's a lot less swearing than "The Thick of It." The Working Dog Productions show was picked up for a second 6-episode "series" (AKA "season") before the first episode even aired. Having settled into second place in its time slot, I suspect we'll be seeing more of it in the future. Thanks to this show I now know the national capital of Australia and the definition of "ANZAC."

Australia’s audiovisual heritage online

tellurian — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:17:01 -0800

australianscreen launched today. You can view clips from Australian feature films, documentaries, TV programs, shorts, home movies, newsreels, advertisements, other historical footage, and sponsored films produced over the last 100 years, with curators’ notes and other information about each title. [via Margaret and David]

Enough Rope with Andrew Denton

sjvilla79 — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 14:39:15 -0800

Oodles of past and current interviews with both living and dead celebrities and interesting nobodies over at the support website for Andrew Denton's Australian television show Enough Rope. You will find video excerpts, some full interviews as audio downloads (the more recent ones), and lots of transcripts.

I'll rip yer bloody arms off...

chrisgregory — Thu, 30 Jan 2003 05:02:13 -0800

The greatest TV show you will probably never see: Aunty Jack, a ten-foot tall, boxing-glove wearing, motor-cycling, moustached cross-dresser, was the star of The Aunty Jack Show, which ran for thirteen episodes in 1972-73 on the Australian Broadcasting Commission TV network (and was the first show broadcast on Australian TV in colour). Many of the original episodes have been lost (but records of them exist). Re-release on video or DVD of the remaining episodes is tangled up in copyright issues. The 1974 album Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong was re-released on CD, and still seems to be available. It includes such classics as 'Fish Milkshakes' and 'Teenage Butcher' and the song 'Farewell Aunty Jack', which was a number 1 hit in Australia. Some samples can be found here. There were spinoffs from Aunty Jack, most notably the Norman Gunston Show, with Norman playing the prototypical terrrible interviewer and inspiring the much later Ali G, Dennis Pennis and many others. I was two years old when the series aired: Aunty Jack's threat at the end of each episode, that: 'If you don't watch next week, I'll rip your bloody arm off!' meant that I never, ever, missed it.

I'd like to report some suspicious behaviour

chrisgregory — Mon, 13 Jan 2003 03:20:13 -0800

I'd like to report some suspicious behaviour ...a series of recent television commercials running on Australian TV promoting a toll free phone number to call if the viewer happens to see anything suspicious. Suspicious, you say? Don't be alarmed, it's all part of the Let's Look Out For Australia Campaign, whose motto is: 'Be alert, but not alarmed'. Then it says: 'Australians are friendly, decent, democratic people, and we're going to stay that way.' I feel alarmed, but not for the same reason. I'm alarmed that everything I once valued about my country, a humane welfare system that provided free healthcare and free education (including free university study) and an admirable and enlightened approach to multiculturalism, have been substantially compromised over the past decade. I feel so betrayed that I can no longer say with confidence that I love my country. Things have reached the point where I want to move somewhere else: anyone have any suggestions?

dg — Mon, 14 Oct 2002 17:06:12 -0800

Can biaised TV coverage of motorsports events be bought? The Aussport Post says it can. According to the linked article, Ford Australia signed a deal with Network 10, which has exclusive rights to telecast the V8 Supercars series, ensuring that other car manufacturers would be unable to advertise during telecasts of the series, in addition to guarantees of a certain amount of coverage of their cars during the series. Ironically, the car that lead the first 30 laps of the biggest race of the year, the Bathurst 1000, did not carry any Ford signage.