The Front Fell Off (Clarke and Dawe)

September 13, 2023 11:56 PM

The Front Fell Off (Clarke and Dawe). This is a comedy skit based on an actual incident and an actual interview.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (29 comments total)

Got any links to the actual incident and actual interview?
posted by ryanrs at 12:11 AM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Oh, this explains a joke from the Prigozhin thread that I didn't get.
posted by Horkus at 12:14 AM on September 14, 2023 [4 favorites]

https://www.amsa.gov.au/marine-environment/incidents-and-exercises/kirki-21-july-1991

If you want the report on the actual incident.

John Clarke - sorely missed
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 12:16 AM on September 14, 2023 [5 favorites]

Got any links to the actual incident and actual interview?

"The Kirki was a 210-metre-long Greek-registered oil tanker which caught fire in the early morning of 21 July 1991, 30 km west of the fishing town of Cervantes, Western Australia, causing what at the time was the worst oil spill to have occurred in Australian waters. The ship encountered severe weather and rough seas, which caused leaks and a buildup of water in the ship's ballast, creating unanticipated strain on the structure. This eventually resulted in the ship's bow tearing off, rupturing the forward storage tanks and causing an oil spill estimated at 17,700 tons, or 5.2 million gallons. The oil then caught fire, ignited by damaged electrical cables that were short-circuiting on the severed part of the bow."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirki_(tanker)
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 12:19 AM on September 14, 2023 [6 favorites]

Ho Ho. MetaPrev2010 with links to other Clarke & Dawe material - much link-rot, tho.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:31 AM on September 14, 2023

This classic sketch enjoyed a brief resurgence after an unfortunate incident at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (video).
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 12:53 AM on September 14, 2023 [5 favorites]

As an engineer, I use this sketch to explain the concept of design to new graduates, as it's not something that's really communicated during one's education in my fields. In process systems, such as the ones I work with, you have pipe networks, valves, steam/water flow etc., and a lot of one's coursework is based around simulating / estimating / modeling the physical properties and how they change over time after a given change to the system.

What doesn't get communicated is the reasoning that went into actually designing the system: You have a goal (generate e.g. 40 MWt of steam at 8,0 MPa) and you have a boiler code consisting of regulations. You divide your system into sections with a maximum ("design") parameter for temperature / pressure -- kind of like a warranty limit -- with a safety margin from your regulations on top of the normal, expected conditions. You select pipes and valves that can manage these design parameters. You install safety valves which release steam/water if the pressure exceeds these design parameters, allowing you to assume it will not happen, as long as the safety valves function.

Then The front fell off comes in... What happens if safety valve X has to be locked closed for maintenance? Has the designer installed enough of them on that pipe system to guarantee their credited function? If not, then our assumption isn't valid anymore, and the pipe system has to be taken out of service. These assumptions stacked on assumptions (design) are the foundation of engineering, and everything from taking a steam turbine out of service to hanging and Out-of-Order sign on an elevator can be consequence of identifying an assumption that for the time being can't be maintained.
posted by groda at 12:58 AM on September 14, 2023 [33 favorites]

While John Clarke is no longer with us, you can see all of his extensive series of political comedy sketches with Brian Dawe on YouTube. Context not strictly required. They were one of Australia’s finest comedy duos.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 12:59 AM on September 14, 2023 [7 favorites]

Quantitative Easing is a work of art
posted by chavenet at 1:02 AM on September 14, 2023 [9 favorites]

I will forever hold on to my DVD copy of The Full Catastrophe, that no play store retirement or digital library sunset can take from me.
posted by krisjohn at 1:15 AM on September 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I still wish I'd actually sent him this letter.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 2:28 AM on September 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

When the front fell off our hearts:
John Clarke (established New Zealand, 1948)
posted by zamboni at 2:47 AM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

I've watched "The Games," an ABC Australia series starring Clarke and Dawe, several times. it aired before the 2000 Olympics, and was about the (fictional) Olympic organizing team, and all of its very funny missteps. Very much like the U.S. version of "The Office" but with higher stakes -- also filmed in documentary style.

I'd say it was a pathbreaking program, but unfortunately most of the world has never seen it. When I got it on DVD, it was in a non-US format, and since I live in the U.S., I had to watch on my computer, because I could tell it to recognize such a DVD. Also, it has never streamed, as far as I could tell. This is one of the many great scenes ... The 100 Metres Track.

The scene about organizing the opening ceremonies is also great.
posted by young_simba at 3:30 AM on September 14, 2023 [10 favorites]

Horse vs. Sheep is also a good short bit.
posted by young_simba at 3:35 AM on September 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

The Games got some airplay on PBS in the early 2000s. I'm kind of amazed it originally aired in Australia during the lead-up to the actual Sydney Olympics. I really doubt something as critical of the Olympics and the local organizing committee would ever again even make it to production, let alone air on a major television network.

There's literally an episode where an international con-artist visits under the guise of being a member of the IOC and the joke after he's found out (long after he's left having indulged in as much hospitality as he could) is that he was way more competent and dedicated than anyone from the actual IOC.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:07 AM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

All Birds are Cats had me in stitches.
posted by swift at 8:27 AM on September 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

Honestly one of New Zealand's greatest exports.

He went too early, though passing away on a bush walk seemed like the sort of way he would like to go (given he was quite a private person).

I mean I guess it was that, or having a catastrophic personal mishap while deplaning while returning from the world Farnarkeling championship with his mate, the axiomatic Dave Sorenson.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 8:42 AM on September 14, 2023 [5 favorites]

Also, it has never streamed, as far as I could tell.

it has streamed briefly, but only in Australia, which I acknowledge is not helpful to you.

I'm kind of amazed it originally aired in Australia during the lead-up to the actual Sydney Olympics. I really doubt something as critical of the Olympics and the local organizing committee would ever again even make it to production, let alone air on a major television network.

The official broadcaster of the Sydney Olympics broadcast a comedy show called The Dream with Roy and H.G., which took the piss out of the Games while it was going on. It ended up being hugely popular.
posted by Merus at 8:53 AM on September 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

just a reminder that no engineering standards improvements have been mandated for offshore oil drilling in the United States since the BP Disaster. companies had to have third-party review of their blowout preventers for a while, but then that was lifted.

cardboard indeed
posted by eustatic at 9:20 AM on September 14, 2023 [4 favorites]

Footage from bridge of a ship when the front falls off most of the crew survived, except for 7 crew who were below deck and unable to escape.
posted by interogative mood at 10:59 AM on September 14, 2023

"Outside the environment" is a beautiful, inspired phrase.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:07 AM on September 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

"Outside the environment" is a beautiful, inspired phrase.

It's actually how most of the environmental laws in the US are written, as they all have surprisingly tight boundaries - here's an article by Daniel Herriges that's a bit ranty, but basically makes the same point.

I actually thought this was a bit too on-the-nose, which made it perfect.

It perfectly mimics CEO-speak, without all the buzzwords, and meant to be comedy not tragedy: the assurances that most ships are safe, the engineering is good - it's just this one situation that everything fell apart. That they moved the environmental disaster to another location so that particular location is fine now.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:34 PM on September 14, 2023

John Clarke was involved with an organisation I used to work for. I only spoke with him a few times but he was always incredibly courteous, helpful, intelligent and kind. And of course, fucking funny. Much missed.
posted by andraste at 2:04 PM on September 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

I read about disasters (for ... fun?), sometimes, and honestly one of the more flat-out horrifying incidents I've read about is William Langewiesche's piece about the sinking of the M/S Estonia ferry (previously on the blue), which could be approximately described as "the front fell off". I suppose more technically, the front fell open, but, close enough I think.
posted by rmd1023 at 3:29 PM on September 14, 2023

The BP Deep Water Horizon accident resulted in a number of regulatory changes. Some were removed during the Trump administration.
posted by interogative mood at 3:57 PM on September 14, 2023

I've watched "The Games," an ABC Australia series starring Clarke and Dawe, several times. it aired before the 2000 Olympics, and was about the (fictional) Olympic organizing team, and all of its very funny missteps. Very much like the U.S. version of "The Office" but with higher stakes -- also filmed in documentary style.

There's a bit of an interview where he talks about how it was written as a satire, shot as a documentary and acted as a drama; as it turns out, this is a winning combination. It was not the first single-camera laugh-track-free comedy I'd seen (The Larry Sanders Show was my gateway drug) but it is still my favourite.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:19 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

My friend Lorin has just published a memoir about growing up with John Clarke (her dad). It’s good, you should read it.
posted by robcorr at 7:32 PM on September 14, 2023 [7 favorites]

"Outside the environment" is a beautiful, inspired phrase.

Or, as podcaster and mefite Merlin Mann likes to say, "When you throw something away, where is Away?"
posted by neuron at 9:15 AM on September 15, 2023 [4 favorites]

As much as a Fred Dagg / John Clarke fanboy as I am - I really wish he had never written/recorded “The Phone Call”. It did not age well at all - and even the live version got very awkward laughs at the time for a 80’s NZ audience. It made me cringe when I relistened to it recently - and I guess I have a blind spot to it as someone who knows the Wainuiomata hill and has driven slightly unsafe cars on it…
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:37 AM on September 18, 2023