and another thing ...

Nine's digital channel GO! is airing the two Hey Hey it's Saturday specials back to back tonight (-some form of strange and unusual torture?) and I just switched over to find Daryl throwing to a break with a performance from New Zealand singer Ricky May with a song he wrote "especially for this program".

Now correct me if I'm wrong but that kind of insinuates that Ricky wrote the song for the reunion program ... except that Ricky died of a heart attack in 1988.

In the first special there was the awkward Maurie Fields moment (excerpt from previous post);

The "Great Aussie Joke" segment was a jaw-dropping affair. It seems the folk at channel 9 decided to bring Maurie Fields (who died in 1995) back from the dead without advising the viewers. It was an awkward moment of father/son joke telling with Maurie's son Marty sitting beside his father thanks to some fancy graphics. It might have actually been a good segment were it not for the fact that Maurie passed away so very long ago and many viewers nowadays (watching for the first time) would have no idea who he was.

Again Daryl has nonchalantly thrown to a dead person without mentioning he's deceased - and Ricky died years before Maurie so there's even less chance that the Facebook fanatics that rallied for the return of the program would be likely to know who he was.

Interestingly the controversial Red Faces performance was edited out of the replay. The twitterati weren't happy with their 'Aussie humour' being censored - they probably wanted to revel in their 'win' over those 'pc-pariahs' one more time. Public opinion has shown that a whole lot of Australians think the skit was completely acceptable - as Todd Sampson said on Q&A on Thursday;

I think we have stuffed our heads up our butts if we don't think racism is an issue in Australia (...) I've lived in four continents, I've lived in six different countries and I have to say, not everyone, because it would be a sweeping generalisation, but racism is definitely and firmly an issue in Australia.

Other notably horrific moments from the second Hey Hey program were;

• The young man who decided to get a tattoo of Plucka Duck on his chest. People tell you that you'll regret your tattoos when your older - I think it's safe to say this guy will be holding a hot iron to his chest within a few years.

• Darly Somers.

• Jo Beth Taylor's dress - or lack thereof. Did someone tell her that she would be sitting on a stool and not behind a desk? Thankfully it was on later in the evening so the Sharon Stone moment didn't breach any broadcasting laws.

• Daryl Somers.

• Jackie McDonalds plastic surgery and wig. What happened to ageing gracefully?

• Did I mention Daryl Somers?

I could only handle the second show in pieces so I missed a whole lot of it. I'm pretty sure Daryl mentioned that it was the last show EVER around seventeen hundred times. Will he be proved a liar?

Hey Hey it's Racist

Well, well, well, the second installment of Hey Hey the reunion aired tonight and what do you know? Just like when it was on the air way back when, I lost interest and changed the channel (I'm a fickle little thing).

However, my interest was recaptured when I decided to check how Twitter was traveling with the #heyhey tag (number 1 trending topic as suspected) to find this;

So what happened? From what I can piece together, there was a Red Faces act that was a send-up of the Jackson Five that included a 'blackface' routine - classy, I know. Harry Connick Jnr was a judge and was suitably horrified, stating "If I were home it'd be 'Hey Hey No More Show'."

I particularly liked this response;
Daryl apologised to Harry Connick Jnr at the end of the show and Harry spoke about the struggle of black people in America and how representing them as buffoons is not acceptable. Harry also said that if he'd known the act would be on the show he would not have appeared. Interestingly, Daryl said something along the lines of "we realised that this sort of act might be offensive to your countrymen" - sorry? They're not the only people it's offensive to Daryl - you may have noticed it's not 1950.

I look forward to seeing the reviews tomorrow.

Nostalgic Nine

In times of crisis, the world turns to nostalgia. The idea is that when things are going badly, remembering when things were going well is a nice escape from reality. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks there was a spike in nostalgia tv and programs like Better Homes and Gardens gained a new audience of viewers that wanted to forget about the 'bad' out there and focus on creating a 'good' home environment.

The world is currently in the midst of a Global Financial Crisis - and who better to deliver some heartwarming nostalgia than good old channel 9 - which is suffering its very own crisis after a string of bad program choices (Australia's Perfect Couple anyone?).

To kick things off we have Television's Best of the Best on Sunday night at 6:30pm. The website describes it as;

A host of Channel Nine's biggest stars look back at Australian television's very best performers and programs. From groundbreaking dramas to our most brilliant comedians, this special event features some of television's most memorable moments.

You'll never have guessed it, but yes, Jules Lund is involved - and one would also assume that the majority (if not all) of Australian television's greatest moments happened on channel 9 of course.

Then we have The Very Best of the Paul Hogan Show on Tuesday the 22nd at 8:30pm. The website tells us we will;

Relive the laughs of the hugely successful Paul Hogan Show with a collection of his favourite moments from the show that changed comic television in Australia.

And I don't mean to alarm you, but it will be hosted by none other than Paul Hogan himself. I wonder if he'll be throwing any shrimps on the barbie? *

But of course the one we've all been waiting for is Hey Hey it's Saturday - The Reunion, airing at 7:30pm on WEDNESDAY the 30th of September with part 2 the following week. As the website says "it's a quirky timeslot for a quirky show" - way to get around that hairy question Nine execs!

And what can we look forward to?

Hey Hey It’s Saturday is bursting back onto your screens ‘LIVE’ with 2 reunion specials featuring the original gang and many of your all-time favourite segments.

Each two hour show will be jam-packed with a kaleidoscope of guests both new and old plus the fabulous Hey Hey ‘live’ Band. And it wouldn’t be Hey Hey without RED FACES, PLUCKA DUCK, CELEBRITY HEAD and many other classic bits.

I must say, the promos for the Hey Hey special definitely had me remembering good times sitting on the living room floor with my siblings on a Saturday night watching Red Faces - but that's the problem isn't it? - these Hey Hey special's aren't going to show us the old clips, they're going to bring something back from the dead that has well and truly decomposed, and I think we've all watched enough zombie movies to know how that turns out.

Either way, it's time to make yourself a vegemite sandwich, drape the Australian flag around your shoulders and get into the spirit of some nostalgic nationalism with channel 9.

* note: if Paul Hogan, in his hosting duties, actually does put a shrimp, or any shrimp-related crustacean, on a barbeque I will eat my own hat ... if I'm wearing one ... and if I haven't already had dinner.

Hey Hey it's a Slow News Day

A young friend of mine joined a Facebook group last week titled "Bring back Hey Hey it's Saturday" and I thought; I'll leave the gorgeous dear alone, after all, she's 16 and couldn't possibly know the pain and trauma an act like that might reckon on the world.

Cut to this morning when another friend sent me a link to this article - and I can be silent no more!

Hey Hey it's Saturday was an evening variety show featuring comedy, music and celeb interviews. Here's an idea: replace Rove McManus with Daryl Somers, Dave Hughes with Dicky Knee and Pete Hellier with Ozzie Ostrich. Put Ryan Shelton in a duck suit and have him throw raw chickens at the audience and you've pretty much hit the nail on the head. The "Red Faces" segment is basically Australia's Got Talent (including Red Symons) and you can "spin and win" on Mornings with Kerri-Anne.

Hey Hey it's Saturday did showcase Australian music talent ... as does Rockwiz ... and it did give young comedians a chance to strut their stuff ... as does Thank God You're Here ...

So we've got it all covered, ok?! No need to bring Daryl back. I think comment 70 summed it up;
Where's the "Bring back Enough Rope" Facebook group or the "Give Brian Nankervis his own Show" Facebook group? Surely these are more worthy causes.

The whole 'group' and 'fan' thing on Facebook is altogether annoying. It distresses me that the article is suggesting the people who join these Facebook groups are actually conscientious supporters of whatever the stupid thing is that they're clicking on. Most people would have joined the Hey Hey group as a laugh - if we locked them in a room for four hours and made them watch reruns I think the outcome would most likely involve a violent rampage, horse tranquilizers and damaged property.

And another thing ...

If the article is about the power of social media, why didn't the author elaborate on the mention of the campaign to bring back the "chips"? Could it be because it wasn't Facebook - it was that old-fashioned medium of radio that succeeded in the reintroduction of the savoury snack Toobs. Hamish and Andy had a segment on their drive time show on Fox where they asked people what product they would like to see return - there was an overwhelming response about Toobs - so they helped lobby Smiths Snackfood Company and Toobs were reintroduced to supermarket shelves.

It seems bored consumers had the power to lobby organisations and make change before the wonders of Facebook.

Shocking, but true.