David Tench Tonight

Last updated

David Tench Tonight
David Tench Tonight.svg
Created by Zapruder's Other Films
StarringHost
David Tench
Country of originAustralia
No. of episodes16
Production
Running time30 minutes per episode (inc. commercials)
Original release
Network Network Ten
Release17 August (2006-08-17) 
25 December 2006 (2006-12-25)

David Tench Tonight was a short-lived television talk show created for Network Ten in Australia. The series featured David Tench, an animated fictional character, as host. The name "Tench" is a partial anagram created from the name Channel Ten. [1] The actor behind the digital Tench was Australian actor Drew Forsythe. [2]

Contents

Tench conducted interviews with various "celebrities" including Jimmy Barnes, Meat Loaf, Toni Collette, Nelly Furtado, Johnny Knoxville and future Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The 2006 season finale (episode 15) was shown on 23 November 2006. A Christmas special aired on 25 December 2006 at 10:30pm. On 5 April 2007, the show was axed. [3]

Tenchnology

Tench was rendered and animated in real-time using motion capture technology. The guests were therefore able to see him and respond to him in real-time. [4]

Radio host Mick Molloy, who was a guest on the 11 October 2006 episode, clarified on his radio show Tough Love that the David Tench desk had no-one behind it and the guest spoke to a television setup behind the desk to "interact" with Tench.

The character of Tench was conceived by Andrew Denton and technically designed by Australian visual effects company Animal Logic. [4] [5] Animal Logic used the VICON MX40 technology to create David Tench.

The concept of an animated talk show host was not entirely new. Hand-drawn animation was used to bring Space Ghost to life in the 1994 talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast . An earlier similar gimmick was used in the British talk and music video show The Max Talking Headroom Show, featuring Max Headroom. Max, however, was not computer-generated but was realised by a clever mixture of prosthetic costuming and video effects, and was also able to interact with his guests.

Viral marketing

Before the program's airing, Network Ten used viral marketing to create publicity for the then unestablished show and character. Publicity included small-spot television advertisements with David Tench quotes written for the show, accompanied by the simple tagline, "finally, someone real on television."

A large amount of general interest was generated with seemingly minimal effort. However, this method of marketing was criticised by some as a cheap stunt to fool people's better judgement. [1]

Revelation and premiere

During the finale of Big Brother 2006 on 31 July 2006, Network Ten had revealed Tench as an animated talk show host with an "American accent". However, he often had a cultivated Australian accent that vacillated into a transatlantic accent.

The 30-minute premiere episode aired on Thursday, 17 August 2006 at 8.30pm (AEST). [6]

The studio audience was made up of the general public who attended the show's taping.

Public opinion and media regarding David Tench

Cancellation

Andrew Denton was interviewed by the Daily Telegraph on 5 April 2007 and confirmed that David Tench Tonight was axed by Network Ten. [3]

The program's website is no longer online.

Segments

Episode list and guests

Ep#AirdateGuests
0117 August 2006 Patrick Rafter, Ella Hooper
0224 August 2006 Nelly Furtado, Nick Lachey
0331 August 2006 Claudia Karvan, Mark Holden
047 September 2006 Ronn Moss, Toni Collette
0514 September 2006 Shannon Noll, Amanda Keller
0621 September 2006 Jimmy Barnes, Daniel MacPherson
0728 September 2006 Layne Beachley, Matthew Reilly, Meat Loaf
085 October 2006 Georgie Parker, Jason Stevens, Troy Cassar-Daley
0912 October 2006 Mick Molloy, Tara Moss
1019 October 2006 Anthony Field and Murray Cook (The Wiggles), Gia Carides
1126 October 2006 Guy Sebastian, Kate Fischer, Matt Welsh
122 November 2006 Adam Gilchrist, Kate Ceberano
139 November 2006 Marcia Hines, Father Bob McGuire
1416 November 2006 Ronan Keating, Liz Ellis, Angry Anderson
1523 November 2006 Johnny Knoxville, Andrew Gaze, Julia Gillard
1625 December 2006This special Christmas episode featured all of David Tench's 35 past guests

See also

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References

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