Did you see Shaun’s cameo on the season finale of 31 Questions? Hosted by David M Green, who has been writing with the Mad As Hell team since season 3, it’s a very clever show with a bit of micallefesque humour. Watch and enjoy!
If you think shows like this should continue to exist, don’t forget to support Community TV in Australia.
The show that really reminded the mainstream audience on how good Shaun really is might be in the rear-view mirror, but that doesn’t mean it’s forgotten. Seasons 2 to 4 of Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation are available to purchase through iTunes (albeit at a cost of AU$136 for all 54 episodes).
Also on iTunes is Mad As Hell Season 1 and Season 3 (but not Season 2) and Shaun’s Who Do You Think You Are episode. His ‘Quiet Word’ with Tony Martin is also noticeably absent.
As many will already know, Mad As Hell is back from next week, the same time slot as last season – Wednesday 8pm on ABC1 (plus repeated throughout the week).
The cast and crew have already been back in the studio filming some sketches, which hopefully we’ll get to see throughout the season.
The ABC have also launched a new website for the show, although it seems like it’s more to suit their new style, as there’s actually less content on this one (so far).
In the meantime, strap yourself in for the Micallef train!
The word is that the third season of Mad As Hell will be hitting our screens “sometime before March”, but we’re waiting on official confirmation from the ABC on the exact date (or even day of the week: will it stay on Wednesdays?!)
With the season starting so early in the year – could we expect a double-hit this year? I don’t know, I’m asking you!
As part of the ABC “New Years Eve 2013” broadcast, month-by-month highlights of 2013, separated into 4 parts, were scattered throughout the broadcast. And they were all voiced by Shaun, in his usual style, and were some of the funniest moments from the whole show.
You can watch the broadcast on iView until the 14th, the packages are placed: at the start, 41min, 1hr 16min and 2hr 15min.
Shaun also sent his personal New Years greetings whilst on his Mykonos holiday with Tony Jones.
The ABC series “Shock Horror Aunty” has aired over the last few weeks, looking at ABC TV’s most shocking moments.
The last episode concentrated on those who dared take on society’s sacred cows, and the Micallef P(r)ogram(me) was noted for two sketches: Wayne’s character’s statue of the horrors of war, complete with erections; and the documentary of Weary Dunlop: Transexual. The ironic part about the Weary Dunlop sketch is that it was never aired because of the media backlash over the very thought of it, however the sketch itself actually only went for 10 seconds before it was designed to cut away to a complaints desk – mocking the exact scenario that actually happened!
It’s a Date has been an eight part comedy series on the ABC focusing on couples and the rules of dating. Each episode has featured 2 couples, and revolved around topics such as “How Important Is Honesty On A First Date?”. It featured an all star cast, including Asher Keddie, Lisa McCune, Shane Jacobson and Ross Noble, and was created and primarily written by Peter Hellier.
In the last episode, “Does Age Matter?”, one of the stories focused on Michael and Alison, two med students who may be about to move to the next stage of their relationship, if it doesn’t all fall apart. And it was written by Shaun! Check out the episode on iView (for the next 2 weeks) – so I won’t spoil it here, but I will post in the comments…
The day after the 13th episode of Micallef Tonight, 10 years ago today, Shaun’s Channel 9 variety show was axed. The show itself had started to gather some momentum with its irreverent humor, and had been extended from the original 12 week run by 20 weeks. So it came as a complete shock to the whole production team, especially Shaun, when it was cancelled – never to return to our screens.
At the time, it probably created a low point in Shaun’s career, and it wasn’t until Thank God You’re Here, three years later, that Shaun was again making regular TV appearances, leading of course to Newstopia in 2007.
Shaun himself had a little nod to the show in the fifth episode of Mr and Mrs Murder, “Lost Soul”, with Charlie whistling the theme tune while he worked.
The Expurgated Micallef Tonight DVD was released a few years later, with the 13 episodes condensed down into eight.
Adam Hills almost didn’t make it back from London in time to host his tonight show, but Shaun still took the liberty of taking over the hosting duties – until Adam intervened and took control back. You can watch it here and see some behind the scenes footage here.
It wasn’t the first time, as when Shaun appeared as a guest at the end of Season 2, he pretty much took over then too!
Stephen Hall is one of the writers on Mad As Hell, not to mention a number of Shaun’s other shows, an actor, and really nice guy. Last year, he gave me some of his time in the hallways of the ABC for a chat.
Before we began, Stephen indulged me in a “nerd-off” on the topic of James Bond – he being one half of the team behind Bond-A-Rama. We came to agreement that “The Man with the Golden Gun” had one of the worst theme songs. When that was done, the questions began!
Me: I was going to ask if the writers ever get to say any lines, as previously you’ve appeared twice [in Mad As Hell], but tonight’s episode (Episode 9) that was proved wrong!
Stephen: That character is called Lionel.
He was carrying a lot of toilet paper around.
You noticed that did you?
It got more and more (in the shot pieces) – was that me?
No, I think that was Lionel.
The people in Glenhuntly Road (where the vox pops are shot) must think there’s some strange characters around.
We got looks, and people stood around. I’d be more worried if there weren’t looks – it’s not New York, it’s Elsternwick ladies and gentlement. I didn’t know what voice to do, because I didn’t think he was ever going speak. Shaun said make it counter to what we think it’s going to be. So I made it after Noel Coward or Lionel Barrymore. Named after Lionel Barrymore actually.
So they named him before the voice?
He was always called Lionel. He always had a caftan. Always had a WW1 flying helmet. That was Shaun writing that for me to do – as a mark of respect.
How does the writing process work? There’s five of you…?
Yes, there’s Shaun, Gary Mcaffrie, Michael Ward, Tony Moclair and me. Gary and Michael are on five days a week, Tony and I are on three days a week. Tony, Gary, Michael and I share an office, and we sit at our computers and write. We read the news everyday, and watch the news everyday and try to think of funny stuff that’s happening, in the various formats of sketches for the show. We email them to Shaun, print it out and put it in the script box at the same time, and he has the final say on them.
You were involved in [the writing of] TAYG as well, and Newstopia too?
Yes. Gary and Michael have written with Shaun a lot longer than I have; Gary and Shaun have known each other since they were teenagers.
[Gary] was the foot in the door [to the industry] for Shaun I believe.
I first met Shaun in 1996 on Full Frontal, where Wardy and I both started in Melbourne professional comedy writing. Wardy had been in Canberra before that, doing breakfast radio. Canberra’s 92.3 Kook and the Bambino in the Morning – I just made that up.
It sounds like something it would be. How is writing for TAYG different to Mad As Hell? Were you involved in the questions, or monologues?
It’s a different beast. There was [writing for] intros and outros, and bits where we had other people coming in and fanciful conversations with Hello Kitty. And the end game envelope delivery, ideas for those. We alternated – Wardy would write the script one week, and I the next and send it through to Shaun. As on this, he was the final arbitor. The content of the games was largely dictated by the producers of the show, and if we had ideas we could slot them in, but everyones ideas were listened to. It was a group beast. Our brief was to write the gags for Shaun, within the structure of the show. Trying to say the same thing different ways, hundreds of times.
Do you find the process of writing for TAYG different to Mad As Hell?
It’s the same people, which is really nice, and a lot of the production team are the same. It’s very different content, it’s much more challenging as it changes every day, and there are days when we look through the newpaper and say “for goodness sake, can’t something usable happen in the world.” And, it’s difficult to make jokes about death and destruction, so we shy away from those things. [If they’re] absurd, pompous and basic wankery – there’s always a good time. Tony Abbott’s hair net tour is a case in point.
Other people would be familiar with you in your acting, such as in The King or on stage as well, and you do a lot of writing. Do you have a preference?
I’ve had a lot more work writing than acting, acting is tougher, and as I have a certain look which people don’t always think of me [for roles]. With writing, it doesn’t matter as much. Things lead to other things, as much of you do something and do an OK job, and people think for you for the next thing and they contact you.
But acting not so much, in my experience there’s no such thing as a big break. You think “this will lead to other things”, but it hasn’t happened so much. For me, and my particular “journey”, I’ve had a lot more work writing than acting. But having said that, acting’s much more fun. Ideally it’s great to do stuff you’ve written, which is why Bond-o-rama is fantastic, because Wardy and I wrote it together, we gave me the really plum roles. How else am I going to get cast as Sean Connery?
Thanks for your time Stephen – we look forward to seeing your appearances during Season 2.