Happy 60th birthday to Shaun!
Category: General
General info, mainly website related
The endurance of Milo
If Shaun is known for one thing from his long canon of work, it is the “brownish bomber”, his character Milo Kerrigan.
Milo is of course an ex-boxer with a speech impediment and a clumsy but earnest demeaner – you can see some of his work on YouTube.
Created by Shaun and Gary McCaffrie for Full Frontal in the mid 1990’s, Milo was often used as a bit of a “time filler” for a comedy show that had 42 minutes (an hour less ads) of content to fill – by smashing up the set and generally being non-sensical. This mayhem and Shaun’s portrayal of the character did endear him to the audience, making him much beloved. He appeared many times over many episodes, in his boxing training room, as a weatherman or teaching viewers how he hosts a dinner party.
Although Shaun has shown mixed feelings to bringing Milo back over the years, Milo has endured and has appeared in most of Shaun’s projects. Most recently, after holding out for 11 seasons, Shaun has unleashed Milo twice on Mad As Hell – as a barber and then as a spokesperson for Craig Kelly, surprisingly being interviewed “live” by Shaun.
Other appearances include
- Micallef Program: Appeared just one time as a substitute for Chris Corrigan, who was a prominent figure in the news around 1998 due to the wharf dispute
- Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation: On the Channel 10 incarnation, doing movie quotes for a round
- Shaun Micallef’s New Year’s Rave: in this 2009 special, there was a special segment covering Milo’s boxing roots
(From memory there was no Newstopia appearance….)
Have you enjoyed seeing Milo pop back on the screens?
Ten years!
It’s been ten years since this very website first appeared on the Internet, and wow hasn’t time flown!
At the time, Shaun was between seasons on Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation (the Channel 10 years) … Mad As Hell was still a few years away. I’m so grateful to Shaun and all the fellow fans for making this website what it is over the last 10 years; Shaun’s someone who’s always got something new on the boil, and it’s been enjoyable to help share them. (He’s also a really nice person.)
But I must apologise, as I feel like I’ve dropped the ball on this website, having been so long since the last update. With Mad As Hell continuing it’s path of excellence (renewed for another season later this year), using Twitter to share breaking information and Shaun himself being on Twitter, there’s not much extra news to share. It’s mostly been sit back and enjoy the Micallef time. Also, I’m excellent at procrastination, so there’s that too. I’ll try to post some new things over the next few weeks 🙂
Here’s to another ten years of Shaun brilliance, and this website sticking around to discuss it.
End of an Era
With tonight being the penultimate episode of Series 7, that means there’s only one more episode (next week) of Mad As Hell for this year!
Coincidentally, by all accounts, next week’s taping of Mad As Hell will be the last thing to be recorded at the ABC Elsternwick studios, which have been the ABC’s main television facilities in Melbourne since 1956.
The studios have been the home of Countdown, The Big Gig, The Late Show, Recovery, countless others, and of course – The Micallef P(r)ogram(me), Newstopia and Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell.
Next year, the show will tape in new studios at the ABC Southbank site in Melbourne, where all ABC operations in Victoria have been consolidated. The move was anticipated earlier in the year, but the new studios have not been ready.
Speaking to some of the cast and crew, there is a feeling of melancholy over leaving the studios in Gordon Street, with the history (along with asbestos) being ingrained in the walls, and many people of the people still there having had worked in the building for over 30 years. Even for the Mad As Hell team, it’s been six years alone.
It’s a fitting thing that Shaun and his team, who currently carry the satirical torch for the ABC, should give it the final on-air send off.
You can read more about the studios in this news article.
You say it’s your birthday?
Happy Birthday to Shaun, who never looks a year older…
I guess we get the gift though, since tonight’s a shooting night for Mad As Hell – and we get to enjoy the result tomorrow!
Happy Birthday Mr M!
It’s Shaun’s birthday today, and to help him celebrate, we sent him some European cake spoilers (only $3.96 from a certain hardware chain).
He’s only 54, but if you’re wondering how long he’s had his silvery-locks, he told us he went completely grey in his 30’s, soon after the birth of his first child (completely coincidental, btw)
Merry Christmas!
It’s been a bit post-less here recently (due to other life matters), but there is news to share, so stay tuned. You can be guaranteed it will be another good Shaun year in 2016.
In the meantime, enjoy the festive season.
Happy Birthday to Shaun
Cake as Hell, he’s fifty three today!
(Cake by Epic Cakes)
Five Years!
It’s hard to believe it has been five years since this website first came online, simply as a way to keep myself and fellow fans up-to-date on Shaun’s where-abouts. Now we have a Twitter, a Facebook, and a Lion Park*.
Luckily, we’ve not been disappointed – Shaun has been busy and hilarious, and always generous with his time in keeping me (and therefore you) informed. Here’s to the next 5!
Stay tuned, because next week we’ll have an exclusive interview with Shaun about the future of Mad As Hell and what we might expect in The Ex-PM (his upcoming sitcom).
* This is a lie.
Got a question to ask?
If you’ve got a question for one of the Mad as Hell cast or crew, this may be your opportunity!
Who is Veronica’s favourite character to play? Did Michael write the Kraken character for himself? Add it to the comments below and we’ll do our best to ask it. There’s of course no guarantee that anyone will be able to answer any of them, but there’s only one way to find out!
(Your question can also be for Shaun, obviously)