The Sideshow
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| The Sideshow | |
|---|---|
| Format | Sideshow / Comedy |
| Created by | Ted Robinson |
| Written by | Ian Simmons, Simon Dodd, Dave Bloustien, Bruce Griffiths, Warwick Holt, Mat Blackwell |
| Directed by | Martin Coombes |
| Presented by | Paul McDermott |
| Starring | Paul McDermott Claire Hooper Flacco The Umbilical Brothers Tripod |
| Country of origin |  Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Megan Harding - ABC TV Ted Robinson - GNWTV |
| Producer(s) | Pam Swain |
| Running time | Approximately 57 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC TV |
| Original run | 21 April 2007 – 1 December 2007 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
The Sideshow was an Australian television programme that premiered on ABC TV on 2007-04-21. The show was a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketches, live music, circus stunts, cabaret and burlesque. The hour long show was hosted by Paul McDermott.[1] It reused the multiple-stage presentation style of the short-lived ABC show The 10:30 Slot, and remnants of the set of former GNW series The Glass House.
The show began its life as a family variety show, airing at 7:30 pm on Saturday evenings. After 10 episodes beginning in April 2007, it took a few months off. Returning in August at the later time of 9:25 pm allowed the show to move from a PG to an M rating, and include a more adult-oriented humour. Similar to other shows produced by GNW TV, it had a cult following, and was regularly watched by 300,000 to 400,000 viewers. The series finale aired on 2007-12-01.
The show was shot in a very loose style and it was not uncommon for cameras and crew members to be seen in a shot. All floor cameras and the two Jimmy Jibs had oversized Christmas lights attached to them, and become part of the scenery rather than something never to be seen.
The series was created by Ted Robinson and was a GNW TV Production. It was a recreation of a show that Robinson was a part of in the early 90's called the Big Gig and would quite often recycle the stars from that show as "guests". It was pre-recorded in Studio 22 at the ABC's Ultimo studios in Sydney on Thursday nights for air on Saturdays.
Contents |
[edit] Regular Segments
The show begins with an intro by The Threatening Bears, hand puppets 'wrangled' by The Umbilical Brothers. As a parody of commercials that appear before programmes on commercial television, the sketch will usually begin with one bear saying by 'The Sideshow is brought to you by....The Threatening Bears'. The ensuing sketch normally involves one bear hurting the other, or being disgusted by the other's actions.
This flows into the opening credits, during which time musical director Cameron Bruce (formerly of GUD) and house band "The Bearded Ladies" play the show's theme song. For a short period during the second half of 2007, Clayton Doley stood in as musical director, and the band was known as "The Sideshow Misfits". As well as the opening and closing themes, the house band play walk-on music for guests, riffs between segments, and sometimes accompany guests, musical or otherwise, as they perform.
After the opening graphics, the crane camera begins to spin around the studio three times while 3D text flies by. It lists the guests coming up on the show, concluding with "Cameron Bruce", "and", "The Bearded Ladies". As this line disappears, the camera flies up towards a balcony where Paul appears from behind a door. As he descends the stairs, "Paul McDermott" spins in to the bottom of the screen. This text effect is repeated for each guest at the beginning of their appearance on the show.
While the camera flies like a parakeet on speed around the studio, the four stages can be seen, as well as both the seated and standing members of the audience. As the 2007 season progressed, The Umbilical Brothers began mucking around on the stand-up stage, doing something different each time the camera flies by.
This is followed by Paul's monologue, which consists of jokes about the week in news, politics and celebrities. Paul often suggests ridiculous solutions to the world's problems.
Immediately following this, Paul introduces a musical act. During the first ten episodes, this was the musical guest for the week. Guests have included Evermore (Pilot episode), Thirsty Merc, Sneaky Sound System, Sarah Blasko, Kisschasy, The Cat Empire, Kate Miller-Heidke, Dappled Cities Fly, Expatriate, Kid Confucious, Something for Kate, Dog Trumpet, Tim Rogers, Clare Bowditch, Watussi, Colin Hay, Operator Please, The Hands, Butterfingers and Jimmy Barnes. All musical guests on The Sideshow have been Australian.
In the second half of the season, however, it has become more common for musical comedy act Tripod to perform here. They usually perform on the band stage with just one guitar, however they occasionally use the house band as back-up.
Following the musical performance, Paul normally performs a secondary monologue in the form of fake apologies from well-known people who couldn't be on the show that night.
The stand-up guest is next. Past guests have included Denise Scott, Tom Gleeson, Dave Hughes, Wil Anderson, Tommy Dean, Eddie Ifft, Josh Thomas, Frank Woodley, Ed Byrne, Kitty Flanagan, Danny Bhoy, Tom Rhodes, Arj Barker, Justin Hamilton, Gary Eck, Fiona O'Loughlin, Charlie Pickering and Greg Fleet. Many of the stand-up guests come from other countries than Australia.
Followed by another quip from Paul, the special guest for the week appears. Occasionally, these have been musical guests, such as an interview with Colin Hay from Australian band Men at Work, or a performance from Dein Perry and the Tap Dogs. Mostly, however, these are performers from the circus, burlesque, magician or cabaret industries. Past guests have included Mr. Fish, Shep Huntly, Imogen Kelly, Matt Hollywood, The Space Cowboy, Bobbi, Azaria Universe, Legs on the Wall, Paul Capsis and The Wau Wau Sisters. Paul is often involved in their skits, playing the role of the 'guinea pig'.
Comedian Flacco normally appears next. He mostly plays the role of 'Private Dick', and does a stand-up routine in the format of a pulp novel, often beginning with "Tuesday. 2am." instead of say "Wednesday lunchtime." This is followed by a series of clever puns, non sequiters and double entendres. Sometimes he tests out the season's new wines (eg. the 2007 John Howard, which can be purchased at all good wineries), or plays a fortune teller. He addresses the television audience rather than the studio audience, through the crane camera that flies in close to his face, he tried swatting it away, but it is persistent. His segment always ends with the words "It's a cruel world," and him pointing at a swirl on his bald head.
On three occasions he has been joined by long-time friend Steve Abbott as "The Sandman". On his first appearance, they sung a song entitled 'I Still Call the ABC Home', which parodied personalities who had switched to commercial television. The song was somewhat ironic, considered their last TV programme Good News Week left the ABC for Network Ten. Sandman's second appearance had the two hosting a game of "Sideshow Bingo", a parody of Seven's new programme National Bingo Night. The two appeared together once again in the series finale, testing out a new range of ABC wines. They commented that the "2007 Sideshow" needed a little more time.
Comedienne Claire Hooper then joins Paul atop the bar for a humorous chat. Claire emerges from the same doors Paul did at the top of the show, as the band plays a lounge version of the theme song. The segment has become like a show and tell, with Claire telling a story about an event that has happened in her life, which usually embarrasses herself or Paul, or her giving advice with how to deal with a particular situation. It initially started with Paul McDermott trying to interview Claire and ask her 32 questions. However, this idea deteriorated and fell by the wayside as she became a permanent fixture on the show.
She is normally followed by The Umbilical Brothers, who showcase their unique brand of sound effects and mime. Occasionally, they utilise the band as part of their routine. They perform on the stand-up stage.
This is followed by Paul's closing monologue, based on "what's coming up this week on the small screen sideshow".
The show always concludes with a musical performance. Most weeks, Paul will sing, sometimes backed by Tripod. If musical comedians Tim Minchin or Eddie Perfect are on, they will perform here. The week that Colin Hay appeared on the show, he sang a version of the Men at Work hit "Down Under", with Tripod singing the first verse, and backed by the house band. The Kransky Sisters have also appeared here.
The conclusion of this song is immediately followed by an 'all-in' version of the theme song, led by Tripod, Paul and the house band, to accompany the closing credits. The lyrics of the theme song are normally changed each week during the closing rendition. The normal verse reads:
"TV, Better than science or philosophy, Better than religion or charity, Better than being there."
One such variation by Tripod went as follows:
"TV, Better than sunnies or a canopy, Better than Warhammer or D&D, Better than being there."
As the song's refrain continues, the show's regulars and guests appear on the balcony to sing and dance along with the song. They normally appear with a crazy prop such as a bubble machine. During the instrumental part of the song, the burlesque or circus performer appears and repeats their trick to the music. The final repetitions of the line "Sideshow-oh-oh, woah-oh-oh-oh" are sung by all members of the cast, even those not holding a microphone. This is accompanied by frenetic camera work, flashing lights and a cheering and clapping crowd.
Once the song finishes, Paul normally does an ad for how viewers can become a member of the studio audience. This is finished by a quick one-liner and a final riff from the band as the GNW and ABC production ender is displayed over a wide crane shot of the studio.
This is followed by a final skit from The Threatening Bears, normally involving a reference to an earlier segment of the show.
[edit] Bumpers / Video insert segments
These are series of short video sketches that divide up the live-to-tape studio segments.
New Moods in Intelligent Design This sketch features a voiceover from Paul with accompanying text on screen explaining "Why God Didn't Design:" <insert crazy type of disfunctional animal here>. This is followed by an animation giving evidence as to why God didn't design that animal. It finishes with the words of screen "ERGO: God is smart."
The Company of Strangers Presents This sketch, written by Flacco's alter-ego Paul Livingston, normally shows a short animation with a cleverly punned subtitle. The animation often involves a sad, lonely individual performing a menial task.
The Threatening Bears In addition to their regular spots at the beginning and end of the show, the Threatening Bears and the comparatively innoncent Koala appear a number of times throughout. They often recreate stunts or segments from the show. Sometimes each sketch within an episode depicts the bears' various attempts at doing something, as opposed to the sketches where the bears don't attempt to do anything. Not even entertain.
The Umbilical Brothers In addition to their in-person appearances, a pre-recorded sketch involving visual humour is shot against a plain white background and appears in most episodes, a reusing of the same type of visual gags that the Breaker Bros (otherwise known as the Empty Pockets) used to use on the Big Gig, one of Robinsons previous projects. These generally are no longer than twenty or thirty seconds, and have a very simple storyline.
[edit] References
- ^ The Sideshow With Paul McDermott. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
