In recent times there has been quite a bit of grumbling about the quality and quantity of locally produced comedic programs shown on Australian television, particularly from the commercial networks. I thought it was time to have a look at the offerings of Melbourne’s community broadcaster C31 to see if the television viewing public’s hunger for laughs can be satisfied.
A long time flagship program of C31’s comedy line up is Champagne Comedy. It has recently been retitled Comics Lounge Live and continues to provide a weekly half hour of stand up action, showcasing a wide range of local talent. Lou Stomm and his team present a warts and all portrayal of the stand up sets, showing them exactly as they were performed to the live audience. There is no editing room tricks to make the performer look better than they actually are, so the talent always pulls out their best material for their time in front of the camera. It provides valuable exposure for many up and coming comedians and received a well deserved “Outstanding Contribution to Community Television” award at this years’ Antenna Awards. Comics Lounge Live screens at 11pm on Wednesdays and 10:30pm on Saturdays.
The Comic Box was usually an eccentric show where Rachel Parkinson and CJ Jenkins interview (or often ignore) local comedians. In addition to the irreverent chatter, a live set is shown of the guest in action as well as the bizarrely irrelevant Wheel of Stupidity segment. Currently The Comic Box is showing Vintage Champagne Comedy, trawling the CC vaults for classic sets from both it’s Comics Lounge and Armadale Hotel eras. It’s an interesting nostalgia trip that gives you the chance to see how far various comics have progressed with their material over the years. The Comic Box hits the C31 airwaves at 11pm on Friday.
The Australian television industry has produced it’s fair share of sketch shows and C31 is no exception. The multiple Antenna Award winning show The Ugly Stick is the current sketch offering and delivers the laughs. Each episode consists of various sketches without a logical connection between them but usually one scene is returned to several times over the course of the show. They don’t rely on many recurring characters, however the ones that they do use only exist for a single series. Like the better shows of this genre, the writers are the same people who perform on screen. The humour of The Ugly Stick is largely of a surrealist nature and features a retro video game title sequence, a cast decked out in a uniform of matching red overalls, numerous plugs for their website and bizarre interpretive dancing over the closing credits. The Ugly Stick can be seen at 10:30pm on Wednesdays.
When searching for laughs on television, quiz shows cannot be looked past. With a lower budget than the commercial networks, the prize stakes are rather low on these shows so they can comfortably play exclusively for laughs. A quiz show currently on offer at C31 is Hot Dog With The Lot where as the title suggests, contestants play for the prize of a hot dog. The HDWTL Caravan travels to various Melbourne pubs and parks itself in the car park. Using a modified Who Wants To Be A Millionaire format, two punters are plucked from the venue to battle for nourishment for themselves as well as all their friends back at the bar. The banter between host Erin Klein, the wonderfully gruff Tuffy on the grill and the contestants is always a great source of entertainment. Wacky Vox Pops with various punters in the venue add to the fun of the show. Catch Hot Dog With The Lot at 12:30am on Wednesday and 10pm on Saturday. Have a look at the website for plenty of processed meat entertainment.
A relatively new addition to the C31 comedy line up is The Foosy Show. Possibly the only television show in existence that is dedicated to the sport of Foosball (Table Soccer), George Kapiniaris and Simon Palomares host each episode that features one singles and one doubles match. The competition leads up to a series final where the winner earns a Foosball Table as the grand prize. George and Simon provide humorous commentary for the matches, John Burgos acts as referee and a guest comedian performs the half time entertainment. It is a show that appeals to everyone, regardless of their interest in sport. The Foosy Show screens at 3:30pm on Mondays and 10pm on Wednesdays. Have a look at their website for more information.
Even the more serious programming on the station finds ways of injecting a bit of humour to liven up their shows. We have Vasili joking around in between providing the viewers with handy gardening tips on Vasili’s Garden (Tuesday at 8:30pm and Friday at 7:30pm).
Without big spending advertisers forcing programmers to worry about ratings, the creators of C31’s wide range of shows can take risks to produce unique shows and be able to cater for niche audiences. If you haven’t tuned in to the station before, have a twiddle on the rabbit ears and experience what C31 has to offer. Who knows, you may be watching the next Rove McManus (who happened to start his TV career hosting RMITV’s Under Melbourne Tonight).
For more information on programs check out the C31 website