David Tench Tonight | |
---|---|
Created by | Zapruder's Other Films |
Starring | Host David Tench |
Country of origin | Australia |
No. of episodes | 16 |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes per episode (inc. commercials) |
Original release | |
Network | Network Ten |
Release | 17 August – 25 December 2006 |
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]
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]
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.
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]
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.
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.
Ep# | Airdate | Guests |
---|---|---|
01 | 17 August 2006 | Patrick Rafter, Ella Hooper |
02 | 24 August 2006 | Nelly Furtado, Nick Lachey |
03 | 31 August 2006 | Claudia Karvan, Mark Holden |
04 | 7 September 2006 | Ronn Moss, Toni Collette |
05 | 14 September 2006 | Shannon Noll, Amanda Keller |
06 | 21 September 2006 | Jimmy Barnes, Daniel MacPherson |
07 | 28 September 2006 | Layne Beachley, Matthew Reilly, Meat Loaf |
08 | 5 October 2006 | Georgie Parker, Jason Stevens, Troy Cassar-Daley |
09 | 12 October 2006 | Mick Molloy, Tara Moss |
10 | 19 October 2006 | Anthony Field and Murray Cook (The Wiggles), Gia Carides |
11 | 26 October 2006 | Guy Sebastian, Kate Fischer, Matt Welsh |
12 | 2 November 2006 | Adam Gilchrist, Kate Ceberano |
13 | 9 November 2006 | Marcia Hines, Father Bob McGuire |
14 | 16 November 2006 | Ronan Keating, Liz Ellis, Angry Anderson |
15 | 23 November 2006 | Johnny Knoxville, Andrew Gaze, Julia Gillard |
16 | 25 December 2006 | This special Christmas episode featured all of David Tench's 35 past guests |
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