Stephen has just launched what is arguably the most comprehensive website about The Late Show to date. Featuring episode synopses, copiuous screen grabs and a wonderful D-Generation history page, it’s highly recommended. You can also read a biography of how the original D-Generation came to be and what they’ve done ever since those early law revues at read Richard Miles’ excellent resource, with contributions from Tony Martin himself!

A short history follows here:

A Law Revue. That’s how The D-Generation started; when Rob Sitch, Tom Gleisner and Santo Cilauro, as well as several other soon-to-be-rather-well-known university students, were sitting around at a party in 1983 just before the Melbourne University Law Revue.

A talent scout had plucked them from obscurity during their enormously successful two-week stint on the student stage. Almost immediately they began work at the ABC.

In 1985 a one hour pilot for the ABC called ‘The D-Generation’ starred Rob, Tom and Santo as well as Marg Downey, John Harrison and Nick Bufalo (who later left to go to A Country Practice … didn’t he play a vet?) In 1986, the ABC commissioned extra episodes and Magda Szubanski and Michael Veitch (who were also involved in the Melbourne Uni revues) were called in to replace Nick. During the second year of the D-Generation, Rob went on to complete his medical degree, and was largely absent during this period.

From 1987 to 1992, the D-Gen got their start in radio hosting a Melbourne breakfast radio show on MMM. Jane Kennedy was the newsreader at the time, and was roped into the proceedings after continually giggling during serious news stories. In 1988, Michael, Marg and Magda moved to Fast Forward, and Jason and Mick joined the radio show during its later years.

Tired of the 4AM starts, the remaining D-Gen team decided to return to television in April 1992 with The Late Show; and thankfully so. Although at this time they were already in their late 20s, the D-Gen attracted a largely teenage audience, and seemed to reflect the cynical voice of a generation. A craving for late-night humour drew the under-40s to the normally conventional and conservative Channel Two. People began to stay in during Saturday nights, preferring to savour the live antics of the D-Gen, laughing at their mistakes, cracking up at their satire, their irony and their perfect impersonations…

We’re thankful that Santo, Jason and Tom, who’d been studying law, decided to continue with comedy. Although they completed their law degrees and Rob is a qualified doctor; they instincively felt that comedy was to be the career path suitable for them. Hooray!

So successful was their first series, that the next year they did another 20 one-hour episodes of The Late Show. Their 1993 efforts brought them a TV Week Logie Award—hey, it’s not an Emmy, but at least they beat Hey Hey It’s Saturday. Just as we were wondering what they were going to do next, Funky Squad and Frontline came along in 1994, bringing Rob, Jane, Santo and Tom in the spotlight once more. Tony and Mick spent several years fronting Martin/Molloy on the Austereo network and Mick’s been involved in hit and miss movie, television and radio endeavours. Judith Lucy (below), who joined The Late Show during their second series, has been doing standup comedy and radio work as well. As for Jason, he’s been doing some acclaimed directing work.

Three original D-Gen members, Rob, Santo and Tom, formed Working Dog Productions, which made the aforementioned Funky Squad and Frontline as well as the internationally successful movies The Castle and The Dish. They’ve produced a raft of other successful TV shows including topical discussion show The Panel and even an acclaimed series of satirical travel books, Molvania and Phaic Tan. But their most famous endeavour is undoubtedly Thank God You’re Here, an improvisational comedy show.

Tony Martin, meanwhile, has been fronting a successful radio show called Get This on MMM which was recently axed for not fitting nicely with MMM’s strategy—despite its healthy ratings.

Despite the D-Gen’s apparent ‘split’, you’ll find alumni always incestuously cropping up in each others’ projects (Tony appears regularly on Thank God You’re Here, while Jane will crop up on Tony’s radio show). Someone should do some sort of chart which pretty much shows how ALL Australian comedy can link to a D-Gen member in three steps or less! (‘I… challenge… you…’ – John Hewson) Who knows, maybe The Late Show will return to our screens once more!

For more obscure references, visit the Internet Movie Database. And, as I mentioned, Stephen’s The Late Show page should be a must-see for any TLS fan.

Any inaccuracies or pedantic comments? Then let me know via the forum and I’ll fix it as soon as I can.

By Kim Gilmour.