Axed - tales of comedy ventures that never saw the light of day...

[kichigai]

Went along to the comedy festival to see Axed featuring Bob Franklin, Scott Brennan, Dave Rath (US producer), Tim Smith, Andrew Weldon, Cal Wilson and hosted by Tim Ferguson (Ughh!). Show was about various television, radio and movie comedy that never made it past the pitch stage. Some titbits from today.

A MICK MOLLOY SHOW SPINOFF!!! (In a way) Bob Franklin spoke about a sketch show called Street Life pitched to the ABC. The pilot featured sketches from TMMS (Stephen (sp?) Curry, Bob, Marty Sheargold and a little Mick (as opposed to mini mick). It was made by princess pictures (We Can Be Heroes, Summer Heights High). The show was knocked back by the ABC because the cast were TOO OLD!!! It was passed over on initial pitching but Sean Micallef brought it up a couple of years later and they had another crack at it but the ABC at first said it needed a narrative and then later after revisions were made were told it had too much narrative.

Bob didn't talk about Slippers (which I really wanted him too). This was a show pitched to networks in the mid nineties featuring him, Marty Sheargold and Glenn Robbins. I saw the stage version and found it hilarious. Basic premise was 3 guys living in a flat together...or something or other.

Speaking about Get This, Bob said something along the lines that executives let a power trip get in the way of the excellent ratings that GT was getting.

Cal Wilson spoke about a New Zealand sitcom she made called Flatmates, which was a NZ version of Friends (GENIUS!). She also spoke about another show that did make it to air in NZ featuring her and Alan Brough which she said was terrible. Cal showed a clip from a special she made in New Zealand that never made it to air. It featured Flight of the Conchords (whom have, from what i've seen, a great series on HBO in the states, which i read is coming later in the year to Channel 10)

Cal Wilson and Scott Brennan showed a couple of sketches that didn't get up on Skithouse. One featuring them playing an old showbiz couple was very funny and not like the usual tripe presented on that particular program.

The real standout and suprise packet was cartoonist Andrew Weldon. Cartoonist for the Age, Big Issue and Chaser. Some of his cartoons were brilliant. My favourite the image of a man's hand covered in blood, with another man whose arse was bleeding with the caption I'm sorry little man i thought you were a puppet (works much better having seen the cartoon. I promise).

Tim Smith, whom i haven't seen anything of on television since his small appearance in an episode of Frontline, has a litany of failed projects to his name, and appears quite bitter about it too. Mainly spoke about a film project he'd been trying to get up. The premise sounded pretty Aussie (a female footy player trying to make it in the big league) but well written and conceived. He spoke about repetitive meetings with numerous dick's in management positions. He also spoke about the cock's in commercial radio and their obsession with contests that demean and degrade their listeners.

Finally Tim Smith touched on the ABC sketch comedy show Eagle and Evans. While he said that the finished product was ordinary, he said that the way that the ABC interfered was criminal. Anyone know anything more about the background on this?

Tim Ferguson was MC. Nothing more needs to be said about him, but i will. What a dick!

For someone who has been on this forum for so long, that has to have been as long as all other posts I've written put together!

[Bean Is A Carrot]

Thanks for the write-up. I read a preview article about this show which made it sound a bit crap, but I guess that proves you shouldn't base a show on the preview article.

[menagers]

Was really great and absolutely fascinating. The Bob section was all too brief, and the Street Life video packaged together like that (80% what was on TMMS but some extra added Policemen dancing moments that had me in hysterics) was just so good, it really does defy comprehension how it was given the arse. The narrative that he had to add sounded funny and bizarre. It involved a female hotelier ghost who was haunting a hotel. I have no idea if I've got that right!

Scott Brennan and Cal Wilson were interesting and I almost feel like giving Skithouse a genuine go, almost. They did show some self-indulgent stuff that I felt was rightly 'Axed', but that's just me. Maybe Cal had no idea that her naughty child character 'Wendy' was well and truly covered by Mayanne Fahey 20+ years ago.

Tim Smith did seem justifiably bitter. He is a strange man, who it seems has successfully split his personalities. The radio 'Timbo' is vastly different from the 'real' Tim Smith. He sure has many, many battle scars from dealing with entertainment executives. When he finally decides to give up the pitching and write the industry expose, it will be the most fascinating read ever.

Andrew Weldan was the real comedy hit of the show, he had us all rolling around the aisles. Although my take on that cartoon kichigai was that the hand was covered in shit! Who's to know?! :)

David Rath (Arj Barker/ Janeanne Garafulo's manager) was interesting too. Pointing out that sometimes someone isn't picked up because they're too risky, too outspoken, too much of a loose canon. He also revealed for those of you who are fans of HBO that the two guys who have been there for 15 years and produced so much gold, have just been let go. Oh.

And although Tim F's gags are a bit too literal and pun-ny and are still pitched at the 15 year old I once was, I still love him, but then I am very loyal.

All-in-all, this was the only show of the festival containing the beloved 'old skool', and for me it was the absolute hit. Even if it did make you feel sad and sick knowing what our great talents have to go through in getting something made. The only solution as far as I can see is for them to become the Directors of ABC Comedy themselves, why not?

And full marks plus honours for Bob's comments about the axing of Get This. The terms 'psycho' and 'fucked' were used (and not in reference to Tony Martin). Onya Bob.

[13 schoolyards]

Andrew Wheldon is really good - he's got a couple of book collections out that're well worthwhile. He got a cartoon in The New Yorker last year too, which is pretty impressive (though the cartoon itself wasn't one of his best).

I know Eagle & Evans got screwed around timeslot wise - bumped back to midnight Fridays after a couple of weeks, and even before that it was pretty much thrown to the wolves. Another victim of that early 00s ABC period where they had no freakin' idea what comedy was.

Bean has kindly returned to me my teeny-tiny audio cassette containing all the interviews I (and some other journos) did for Boytown, in which Bob (and Wayne Hope) talk a fair bit about having had a gutful of the TV biz and their failed pilots. I'll try and transcribe the relevant bits over the next few weeks, if anyone wants to know.

There was also a short story Bob wrote for The Big Issue about a disused factory where the creators of failed pilots and reality show contestants got their ghastly revenge on TV execs... kinda revealing really, especially as he says in it that his TV show ideas were passed over because he's too old for sketch comedy (which he also said in the interview I did - sketch TV is seen by TV execs as being for school kids, and if you're over 30 they don't want to know)

[menagers]

The absolutely INSANE thing is school kids would freaking love Street Life, then, now and tomorrow, absolutely no question. I simply don't understand why they don't test screen these things. Pop round to my old high school and bung it on, see if the kids go ape shit Late Show style. Anyway, you can bang your head on the brick wall till it bleeds I suppose. Or you can send it off at an excellent Festival presentation to a crowd of sympathetic fans. R.I.P.

I am salivating thinking of such interview transcripts 13. Yes please, that would be wonderful indeed.

[Pete the Clown]

I went along on Saturday as well just caused the topic is interesting enough in itself and Bob Franklin and Cal Wilson wre invovled. Anyway I hung around way to long at the end to get Cal and Bob's autograph on my Bag Eggs DVD and got to speak to Bob outside the Town Hall and said that it's a pity that Boytown Confidential will never see the light off day and Bob painfully agreed and that he thought it was brilliant for what it was and was better than the process of making Boytown and I said that BTC would have helped DVD sales so he agreed and that's itsa shame the public won't get to see it and it is Mick side that owns/has the rights to the footage and Tony has nothing. I did ask Bob how Tony was going and that he was taking a rest after a terrible 2007 with was has been mention before and he was writing a second book and even if RRR picked Tony up to do a show it would be good so he wouldn't have to deal with network politics (compared to MMM). All the time Bob was talking I sensed the pain on his face to what the fallout of Boytown Confidential has been to Tony and him.
I was happy that Bob did speak about Get This (I was one of about 3 people in the room who cheers when he said Get This) and who (not it name) caused the end of the show despite High ratings

I did like Cal Friends-like comedy story in how the show was scripted for 25 mins and in the making the new director cut out the estbilshing 2 mins of the show to show the mains characters and ended making the show fir 23 mins and when it went to air in NZ it was so bad that Cal couldn't believe how bad it was and said that the show did go the 25 mins on air but that 23 mins of story so that took the slowest takes to edit it up to 25 mins of air time. Ouch.

"I've been drinking out of someone elses coffee mug."

[menagers]

Hi Pete, was looking forward to your post as I spotted you chatting with the celebs. Thank goodness someone amongst us is brave enough to do so. (But really what am I going to say to Ferguson? "So do you remember walking past a group of 16 year olds at the taping of DK2 and saying the word c*nt 47 times? 'Cos that was like, me. And although I laughed like a drain at the time, if my daughter ever cops that from a comic in her future, I'm going to go freaking supernova. No? Alrightee then, away with you.)

It's funny, even though I didn't (and wouldn't ever in 3 million years, let's be clear) attempt conversation with anyone of my hereos (although I was this close to dashing up to Roz and pleading with her to get Bob to shave. It only makes him look 65 years old. Keep walking, just keep walking), I did feel the vibe that poor Tony must be down in the dumps. And a vague sense that it must be incredibly hard for him to even step out his door, because all and sundry would be wanting to ask him what he's up to etc. Oh, if only we could help him in some way.

And yes, that Cal story of the lost 2 mins and the resulting Chekovian horror nightmare that was 'Flatmates' was a brilliant tale. In fact all of Cal's bit was excellent, a non-broadcast special with Flight of the Conchords! Insanity! And I love her Natalia character. I did make it sound like I was a bit under-whelmed before, not true.

[Pete the Clown]

With speaking to the persons there performing on Saturday I waited around to the end to get the best chance to get them so not to disrupt them during the break and that some were there with friends as I did see Bob with Roz Hammomd and knew she was but I didn't want to met her (i mean her name wasn't in the ad for the show so it is to me private time for her). Bob facial hair was weird to see up and close as it was grey around the edges and did have that aged look about it. And the thing about meeting them also is that I'm worried as well but have the "this could be the only time I get to met them so just do it approach". I've been like that a few time when attempting to get people autographs (more recently Anjuna Ranatunga I got in a similar way).

And like myself did you have the thought of when they were showing Cal with the Flight of the Conchords footage from 2001 "What is with your dyed blonde hair back then?" But I did get Cal autograph at the end because of her times/efforts on Get This and TGYH.

"I'm drinking out of someone elses coffee mug."

[menagers]

Yes! I thought she looked like Yazz.

*is that obscure?

[Bean Is A Carrot]

It's really horrible to think of Tony Martin moping around his house feeling depressed. Think of the support rallys, Tone. The people want you even if a bunch of tossbag execs don't.

So, Bob and Roz are a couple...?

[13 schoolyards]

Yeah, the Bob & Roz couple angle got a bit of air time back during The Librarians (as they were both in it).

Maybe we should march around Camberwell with "we love you Tone" signs in case he's hanging around the local JB HiFi? If he wants to work at The Big Issue I can get him a hassle-free gig there. Tho maybe not...*


*(cue those "which corner do you stand on" jokes that were so funny back in 1999)

[Pete the Clown]

O'k. Cause Bob was with Roz and Paula Gardner (from Comedy Company fame) two so I was guessing it was a comedy entourage with Bob or he was going out with one of them. Cal Wilson with a Yazz isn't obscure at all cause that's what I thinking looking at the footage instead of the Kylie Minogue haircut comment that came out soon after.

"I'm drinking out of someone elses coffee mug."

[menagers]

Thankyou for saying Paula Gardner, I was a total blank on her name.