Rove (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rove | |
|---|---|
 The 2007 title screen of Rove |
|
| Format | Talk show / Comedy |
| Developed by | Roving Enterprises |
| Starring | Current Rove McManus Peter Helliar Hamish Blake (2007-) Andy Lee (2007-) Dave Hughes (2007-) Ryan Shelton (2007-) Carrie Bickmore (2006-) Former Corinne Grant (1999-2005) Dave Callan (1999-2000) Ron Steward (2005-2006) Meshel Laurie (2006) |
| Country of origin |  Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 250 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Craig Campbell |
| Running time | Approximately 60 minutes (inc. commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel Nine (1999) Network Ten (2000 - ) |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Original run | October 9, 2000 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Rove (formerly Rove Live) is a Logie Award winning Australian weekly television talk show hosted by and named after Perth-born comedian Rove McManus.
History
A very similar show featured initially on the Nine Network in 1999, also named Rove, ran for 10 episodes. However, Nine decided not to renew the program and the cast moved to Network Ten the following year to produce Rove Live. The show reverted to the original title of "Rove" in 2007.
In 2004, the show began broadcasting on TV3 in New Zealand at a late night time slot, However the show gained an audience and popularity quickly and was given a Friday prime time slot. Though previously carrying the name Rove Live, it is not broadcast live in New Zealand but is generally aired the same week as the Australian broadcast.
As part of the 2006 re-format a new logo was released. The show is sometimes known as Rove [Live] or Rove (Live), possibly owing to the use of (square) brackets around the word 'Live' in an earlier logo. In November 2006 Rove Live was suspended until further notice due to the death of McManus' wife Belinda Emmett. Rove wrote a personal message on the Rove Live website, saying that it "is a very difficult period for all of us and some time away is the best thing for me right now".[1]
Current Status
Rove returned to Network Ten on April 1, 2007. Roving Enterprises has appointed a new series producer, Todd Abbott, to relaunch the variety show for 2007. It now occupies the premium timeslot of 8:30pm on Sunday nights. The show at the beginning of 2007 moved production from the Global Television facility in Nunawading to the old Seven Network studios in South Melbourne on Dorcas Street. Each year, the show's set changes in some way from the previous. In a previous year, the set was changed to be less like a "Late Night" show, comparable to Jay Leno's or Dave Letterman's shows and to seem more like a variety show, such as Hey Hey It's Saturday. In 2007, the show's set was reconfigured back into a more "Late Night" show again, even going so far as having a view of the Melbourne cityscape in the background.
In March 2007, Network Ten began a series of advertisements with the tagline "ROVE IS BACK ON TEN." In the advertisements Rove was seen walking down a runway and either ends up stepping in a bucket, or being blocked by a microphone. In both ads, he would say "It's good to be back", to which the voiceover says "Good to have you back." As of mid-march, Ten had not produced any advertisements stating particulars of the show. Peter Helliar returned to Rove's side, however in addition to this, Carrie Bickmore, who had previously only been the news presenter, had her part increased to be a more important part of the show. Along with this, following the cancellation of his show The Glass House, Dave Hughes joined Rove as a permanent member of the show. And finally, the comedy duo Hamish & Andy, who had previously collaborated with Roving Enterprises with their television show Real Stories, have also joined the show.
In July 2007, a special show was filmed at Times Square in New York City. Both Rove, Pete and Adam Hills attended and a live Australian audience was present. This was the first special location show of the newly formatted series. In late July a second special was filmed in Los Angeles in a similar manner.
Recurring Sketches
Current
Celebrity interviews
Like many shows with a similar format, Rove includes interviews with several celebrities. McManus has gained a reputation for being a very relaxed and non-confrontational interviewer. He asks fun questions, which do not make the guest feel intimidated or need to think. This has put Rove in the position of recruiting guests that may have never seen the show before, via word of mouth from previous guests. Rove has interviewed a variety of guests including actors, musicians, politicians and even Muppets.
20 bucks in 20 seconds
As of 2007, McManus ends each interview with a segment called "20 Bucks In 20 Seconds", whereby he asks the guest celebrity a series of quick questions (often with intent to get an amusing answer) in 20 seconds and gives them a $20 note if he likes their answers. During 2007, he would end the segment with "Who would you turn gay for?" (changing it to "Who would you turn straight for?" if the celebrity was homosexual).
The Plug
Despite not being a proper segment, "The Plug" appears in words on the screen as Rove mentions any appearances that the celebrity will make in public, or he will announce the release date of the celebrity's latest movie, or the release date for their album if they are releasing an album.
Carrie at the News Desk
A fresh take on world and local news with a quirky twist, presented by Carrie Bickmore. This segment is similar to Saturday Night Live's long-running Weekend Update. When Carrie left on maternity leave, she was filled in by some famous faces such as Jane Hall and Meshel Laurie.
Band performances / House Band
At the end of every show there is a live band performance. The bands vary in style and level of fame, including Evanescence, David Bowie, Delta Goodrem, Grinspoon, Simple Plan, John Farnham, Craig David, Ben Folds, The Cat Empire, Eskimo Joe, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Jet, Moby, Wolfmother, The White Stripes, Ben Harper, Rihanna, The Veronicas, John Butler, Nelly Furtado, Nick Lachey, Sonic Youth, Gomez, The Living End, The Vines, Shania Twain, blink-182, Silverchair, The Grates, Queens of the Stone Age, Regina Spektor, Ben Lee, Good Charlotte Mika and many others.
Starting in 2005 the band performs before the closing credits. In previous years the credits would roll while the band performed.
Australian band The Living End hold the record for the most musical performances by any artist in the history of the show, with five appearances.
In 2006 a house band played live music when returning from ad breaks and Rove will have a small discussion with the band. This is usually an Australian band of much smaller stature than the main act. In one episode, The Wiggles were the house band. This has been discontinued in 2007.
peteSpace
A parody of MySpace, this segment was introduced in 2007. Peter Helliar talks about celebrities that are in his top 8 in the week. The celebrities who have appeared in Pete's Top 8 the most times are John Howard, Britney Spears, Kevin Rudd, Vladimir Putin and Chris Crocker.
Hamish and Andy
Comedians Hamish Blake and Andy Lee set out during the week doing various random skits which they present on the show.
Help me, Hughesy!
This segment replaced Dave Hughes's Hughesy Loses It! segment from 2007. This segment involves Hughes answering letters submitted by fans, requesting his help on a certain issue or issues. It relates to the original Help Desk segment from 2004.
Investigationing with Ryan Shelton
This segment shows Ryan Shelton investigating various issues that are "important" to society. In his first segment, for example, Shelton investigated the advantages of high-definition television.
These Things We Love
The cast of Rove and the celebrities in the studio all discuss the things that they love, with a humorous twist to it.
Kevin Rudd: PM
This is a weekly segment where clips of Kevin Rudd are put together and made into a small mini series about the Prime Minister's adventures around the world.
Former
Hughesy Loses It
Another segment introduced in 2007, where Dave Hughes complains about recent topics - though, these topics tend more to be the ones that Dave is interested in rather than everyone else is, with predictably humorous results. This is similar to what Hughes did during the start of his previous show, The Glass House.
The format is as follows - Hughsey gets going on a subject, and needs to do a good strong tirade without stopping at any point for laughing at himself (not always well), and often using the catchphrase 'Seriously!'
Ryan Shelton's Rydeas
Comedian Ryan Shelton presents a new invention or idea he has come up with, which he calls a "Rydea", often using puns on the "Ry" part of his name.
Hot Topic
A vox-pop-style segment where random people are asked about a certain topic and are asked to give their opinion on the topic. These answers are evidently not legitimate, and many of their responses include references to Network Ten shows.
Rove's Audience's got Talent
Parody of Australia's Got Talent where Rove plucks out a member from the audience and puts them in in an unknown talent (thats performed by actors). Peter Helliar, Dave Hughes and a celebrity guest play the judges. This segment has only occurred twice since the first episode in 2007.
It Takes You
Parody of It Takes Two where Rove picks a member from the audience and makes them perform a song with a celebrity. This segment first appeared on June 3, 2007. The professional was Dean Geyer. This segment has not been seen since.
So Rove's Audience Thinks They Can Dance
Parody of So You Think You Can Dance where Rove picks a member from an audience, dresses him or her in an unusual costume, and forces him/her to dance. Like It Takes You, this segment has only appeared once.
Hang Up, Don't Hang Up
Rove calls a live listener from a different time zone, so the show isn't on the air there, and tries to make a relaxed conversation. However, during the call Peter Helliar will pull random cards off an oversized novelty phone (Of which the cards are the numbers)(The letters on key 7 are in the wrong order). These cards indicate something Rove must do (e.g. Sing your words, make the live-lister say the word 'Bucket'). However, if Peter pulls out 'Hang Up', Rove must hang up and end the call without saying goodbye or even finishing the sentence.
Song Parodies
Rove does parody of a recent music video that just came out except he does it more humorously. There's only been two parodies so far. The first one was Shannon Noll's new song then What About Me and the other one was Missy Higgins's new song then Scar. It has never been done since.ide
correction- rove did several parodies including the hard to find "oops i did it again" britney spears- perhaps his most hilarious and hauntingly accurate of all.
Sketches
Rove, Peter Helliar and Corinne Grant does a sketch that is really funny. They've only done 3 sketches. First one was a sleepover sketch, second one the wheelchair rugby sketch and the third horse racing.
Guides
Rove, Pete and Corinne does a number of (humorous) guides to help people. The guides they did was:
- Guide To Having A Baby
- Guide To Driving
- Guide To Breaking Up
- Guide To House Hunting
- Guide To Job Interview
I Want My Stuff Back
In this segment, Rove helps a 'Live Lister' receive back property that they have lent to someone. This ranges from televisions, to articles of clothing, to long lost pornographic dvds, to long lost children.
Live List
Viewers can register their name, address and various other details on the show's website to join the Live List. A broadcast team will occasionally visit a viewer (the first the viewer knows about it is when they see the front of their house live on television). What happens from then on varies greatly—from performing a quick two-minute interview live from their house, to being sent away to perform a certain task (usually to win a prize), sometimes being sent as far away as Fiji, New York City or the United Kingdom.
The Pentagon Of Probable Embarrassment
Rove gets an audience member to spin a wheel with a one in five chances of making $5000, although the other four in five chances are repelling. Other "prizes" included "Breakfast in your pants", "Kiss Pete's Grandma", "Soup on your head", "Eat a Fish Eye", "Mega-Wedgie".
What's Hot, What's Not
Rove would go through what is hot (popular) at the moment (eg. music, television shows etc) and comparing it with something which is not (eg. What's Hot - Lamborghinis. What's Not - Lamb Bikinis. What's Hot - Desperate Housewives. "What's Not" - Dentist Archives). Most times the What's Not part would rhyme or have a link to the What's Hot part.
Sex Office
Sex Office is the name of the latest ongoing sketch in the form of a drama/sitcom style television show where everyone is having sex except one. This was introduced explaining that Big Brother wasn't the first program that had controversial discussion about sex. Sex Office is set retrospectively in the 1970s.
Petesclusive
Peter Helliar will chat to a 'guest' (celebrity or world figures) who has recently been involved in a famous story or scandal. Helliar's guests are no more than a simple photograph of the famous person with their mouth edited over, so it appears that the person is speaking (this is done by Rove, off screen, who is not seen fully again until the conclusion of the segment). This is taken from a bit on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Guests have included Pope John Paul II, Michael Jackson, Sean Connery and Saddam Hussein.
Roving with Rove
A pre-recorded Jaywalking-esque segment in which Rove McManus asks people in street for their thoughts regarding particular topics. See also: Vox pops
What the...?
This segment is included in every show. Rove receives viewer submissions of objects that might make one say "what the...?" The submissions can range from newspaper clippings, DVD boxes, photos of odd signs or animals doing inappropriate things to each other. Many are mistakes of translation from foreign languages or other unintentional humor. This segment was abandoned in 2007.
Variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday had a similar segment, named Phunny Fotos.
Ron's Review
78-year-old Ron Steward reviews a movie that is about to premiere or has just premiered and gives his comments as well as a rating out of 5 stars. Ron's Review is not a weekly segment and happens around every 3 weeks. Peter Helliar also reviews the same movie with Ron. The main humorous appeal of this segment is the fact that Ron is quite an elderly man which has led to a variety of jokes regarding Ron's age, which although many are at his own expense he appears to take in good humor. Another humorous part of the segment is Ron's ever recurring rating of 3 and a half stars (out of 5). In 2006 Rove conducted a semi-humorous campaign to have Ron nominated for the best newcomer Logie award.
Not So Frequently Asked Questions
NSFAQ as quoted on the Rove Live website is a fairly recent segment (2004) where Rove, Peter and Corinne are asked questions that aren't asked very often. This usually ends up with a video-skit that was pre-recorded.
Joke credits
At the end of every episode there were fake credits shown with the real credits. There was a common theme for the credits each week, and that theme varied from week to week.
Two Minutes at Your House
In addition to being chosen to participate in stunts and contests, "Live List-ers", as they are referred to, may be visited by the shows camera crew for a live crossover to their house lasting about two minutes. In reality, these segments are often well beyond the suggested two minutes, as the timer doesn't commence counting down until the person has been verified to be at home, and Rove tells the clock to start. If a particular story isn't finished, pet not shown, or talent not displayed, the segment will often continue even if the timer has expired. Recent segments have hinted at prior planning of the segment, by contact friends and/or family of the Live Lister to ensure they are where the camera crew will show up.
Flick Your Switch
Another feature of the show is a live video shot of an area of an Australian city. Rove then gets the residents of the area to flick the lights of their houses on and off, often in answers to questions.
This segment started in 2004 when Rove pointed a camera at Kirribilli House and asked the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, to flick his light switch if he was willing to be interviewed on the show. When the desired result was not achieved, Rove then asked the neighbours to flick their switch if they would try to help get Howard on the show. In a recent show (19 April 2005), Rove succeeded in his goal of getting Kirribilli house to flick its switch. A special ferry filled with participants in a dress-up competition for the show, stopped on the Sydney Harbour outside Kirribilli House, the passengers chanting "Flick your switch". Rove and viewers were surprised to see the lights flick. It was neither Mr. or Mrs. Howard as they were both on an international visit at the time, but it is believed it was one of Howard's children or an aide.
The show Don't Forget Your Toothbrush had a similar feature of the second season involved the audience flashing their house lights on and off at a prescribed moment. A camera in a mystery location would search for someone taking part, thus selecting them to play a game involving throwing things out of their windows.
My Charader
A variation of the game charades, the title being a play on the song "My Sharona" by The Knack. The game is run by Rove and involves two teams. Formerly Peter Helliar and a guest would play on one team, and Corinne Grant and a guest on the other team. Each player takes a turn guessing the charades of their teammate and must correctly guess as many as possible within the time limit. The team with the most correct guesses wins.
Tell Us Where To Go
At a viewer's request, Corrine Grant is sent on location somewhere in Australia to witness a local event, local landmark or local personality. With the attractions being of varying notoriety, the segment is often played up for laughs. The segment is prefilmed and presented by Grant and McManus in front of a large map of Australia (without Tasmania) lowered onto the stage. At the end of the segment, Grant gives Rove a present from adventures, something sexual or inappropriate (or both) if possible, and a magnet is placed on the drop-down map approximately where the location was. Due to Australia being very closely populated on the eastern coast, and southeastern corner in particular, the "approximate" placement of the magnets has been evermore loosely interpreted. This segment was dropped in 2006, with the departure of Grant in 2005.
Amazing Talents
Viewers with "amazing" (or just plain bizarre) "talents" are brought to the studio and given a few minutes to display their skills. These can range from feats of skill, such as balancing lawn furniture, or natural freakishness, such as nailing a fork into each nostril. This is comparable to the "Stupid Human Tricks" segment on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Who's in the Swivel Chair?
This segment consisted of a celebrity personality being pushed around the studio on a swivel chair. Each week the name of the celebrity was announced by Bruce Mansfield. “Who’s in the Swivel Chair?” was brought to an end when tragedy struck one of the celebrities as Rove remembered it in a flashback.
Words that sound better when said by Dave
Dave Callan recites random words and names. The sketch was abandoned when Callan left after the first series in 2000. Some of Callan's famous words include: trousers, haberdashery, archbishop desmond tutu and man-boob.
Ratings
Before the 2007 series, the show had not had more than a million (Australian) viewers for months[citation needed]. The final show of 2005 was broadcast on 22 November. The show gave away six cars, and had media heavyweights Bert Newton, Jerry Seinfeld and Kath & Kim as guests. The show rated 19th for the day, with 797,000 viewers nationwide.[citation needed] On 16 May 2006 the ratings peaked over a million for the first time since 2002 where it attracted 1,110,000 viewers nationwide.[citation needed] The final episode for 2006 attracted 700,000 viewers nationally.[2] This wasn't the intended final episode, but eventuated as the result of the death of McManus's wife Belinda Emmett.
The first episode of new series, which began April 1, 2007, attracted 1,693,000 viewers nationwide, and was the highest rating program for the day.[citation needed]. For the second episode of the season which aired on April 8, viewership fell to 999,000.[citation needed]. The third episode was shown on April 22 achieved around 1,073,000 viewers. [3] Since then, the show has consistently rated above 1,000,000 viewers nationally.
Rove's final show for 2007, which featured Australian Leader of the Opposition (later Prime Minister) Kevin Rudd, as well as Australian Greens leader Bob Brown, comedian Jerry Seinfeld and actor Jason Donovan, was watched by 1.368 million viewers. [4]
The season premiere for 2008, broadcast on March 30, only attracted 777,000 viewers. [5]
Rove Live related
Rove Live Radio
Rove, Peter and Corinne hosted a radio program originating from FOX FM in Melbourne for Austereo's Today Network, and selected regional stations up until 2004. Prior to being called Rove Live Radio, this show was known as "Saturday Morning Rove".
Soundtracks
Two soundtracks have been released featuring performances on the show, as well as a compilation of Rove's "What The?" calls, and a rap song about Home and Away character Alf.
