Good News Week

Last updated

Good News Week
Goodnewsweek2009.jpg
Good News Week logo
Genre
Written by
Directed byMartin Coombes
Presented by Paul McDermott (1996–2000, 2008–2012)
Starring
Opening theme"It's Good News Week" by Hedgehoppers Anonymous
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons9
No. of episodes217 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer Ted Robinson
ProducerJordan Robinson
Running time30–90 minutes
Original release
Network
Release19 April 1996 (1996-04-19) –
28 April 2012 (2012-04-28)
Related
Good News Weekend
GNW Night Lite
Good News World

Good News Week is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten in 1999. The show was revived for its second run when the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike caused many of Network Ten's imported US programs to cease production.

Contents

Good News Week drew its comedy and satire from recent news stories, political figures, media organisations, and often, aspects of the show itself. The show opened with a monologue by McDermott relating to recent headlines, after which two teams of three panellists competed in recurring segments to gain points.

The show has spawned three short-lived spin-off series, the ABC's Good News Weekend (1998), Ten's GNW Night Lite (1999) and Ten's skit-based Good News World (2011).

Format

Good News Week's format is based on that of the British program Have I Got News For You , although host Paul McDermott says that the idea behind the show, "of looking at the news in a satirical way, the week's events, 'this is the week that was', goes back to early radio programs." [1] Executive producer Ted Robinson has said that the show's humour is usually less genteel than Have I Got News For You as the British series is aimed at an older, over-fifty audience whereas Good News Week is most popular among the 18 to 39 age group. "We are at the rabid mongrel end of the market," he says. [2]

Monologue

McDermott opens each show with a scripted monologue in which he dissects newsworthy events in a humorous manner. He concludes by declaring, "and that's the good news!" and throwing his newspaper clippings in the air, after which an air cannon expels more newspaper clippings all over the stage. The episode's six panellists, divided into two teams, are then introduced. Teams are captained by the two regular panellists, radio comedian Mikey Robins and stand-up comedian Claire Hooper, who replaced stand-up comedian Julie McCrossin in the second run. The four guest panellists consist of a combination of comedians, media personalities and occasionally politicians.

Recurring segments

The monologue is followed by a number of recurring segments. Over a series of rounds, the competing teams attempt to score points by participating in games relating to the news of the week. However, McDermott often allocates additional points such as for flattery, particularly witty comments, creative incorrect answers or to orchestrate the defeat of Robins' team. Similarly, he may confiscate them such as for heckling, misbehaviour or poor, "dad joke" type humour. Each segment is concluded with a short monologue by McDermott about the news story of game, and the whole show concluded by a monologue discussing "the good news for the week ahead". Other than McDermott's monologues, the show is entirely unscripted although some parts of the show require rehearsal when using certain types of props. [3] Each episode usually features four to six different games in addition to the regular segment "Strange But True".

History

Initial run (1996–2000)

Paul McDermott hosting an episode during the show's initial run on the ABC Paul McDermott GNW.jpg
Paul McDermott hosting an episode during the show's initial run on the ABC

The series premiered on the ABC on 12 April 1996, with an initial order of 50 episodes. [4] [5] The ABC was initially apprehensive about executive producer Ted Robinson's choice of Paul McDermott for host. He had dreadlocks at the time, and was best known for the crude, aggressive "bad boy" character he had played in the Doug Anthony All Stars. In addition, it was doubted that he was capable of ad libbing and speaking well, as in past interviews he had usually allowed his fellow band members to do most of the talking. McDermott cut off his dreadlocks for the show and succeeded in broadening his appeal by showing a gentler, more charming side as host. [6] He has said that although he feels there are still elements of his more aggressive character in Good News Week, they are "toned down... I've got to be the generous host now, spin-the-wheel sort of thing. I'm basing myself on Mike Brady now. I'm the disciplinarian." [7] Mikey Robins was a part of the series from its beginning as one of the team captains. Both Amanda Keller and Anthony Ackroyd briefly participated as the second team captain before Julie McCrossin took on the role.

The show initially struggled to gain a following, and McDermott admits that the early shows were "a little wobbly" and that he was not quite sure of the role he was supposed to be playing. "After only six episodes the critics said we were goners," says Robins. "In fact, the first publicity we got said we were axed." [8] In late 1996, while facing budget cuts, the ABC announced the cancellation of Good News Week, but later reversed the decision. [9] The series grew in popularity and by 1997 was attracting an average of 750,000 viewers nationally, occasionally beating commercial stations in the ratings. [10]

The show was filmed at the ABC Studios in Gore Hill for its 1996–1999 seasons, then production moved to its old home at Global Television Studios in North Ryde, for its 1999–2000 seasons.

In 1999, Network Ten purchased the rights to Good News Week in a reported $6 million deal after outbidding the Seven Network, the Nine Network and the ABC. [11] The show's move to commercial television sparked outrage among some fans, who felt that this was a 'sell-out', but the show's staff expressed optimism about the change, describing it as a new challenge and a chance to reinvent themselves. Robins has described ABC as a channel that allows new talent to find their feet, and argued that as Good News Week had achieved this it was time to move on and make way for other performers. He added that Ten had allowed the writers great artistic freedom, perhaps even more than the ABC had permitted. "We can be even crueller about the Government without getting messages from on high," he said. [12] The show retained all of its stars and the majority of writers and technical staff after the transition. [13]

Among the show's guest panellists were Adam Spencer, Margaret Scott, Peter Berner, Amanda Keller, Tanya Bulmer, Anthony Morgan, Rod Quantock, Rove McManus, Johanna Griggs and Hugh Jackman, as well as several political figures such as Democrat senator Natasha Stott Despoja, then-Minister for Justice and Customs Amanda Vanstone and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia Tim Fischer. [1] Amanda Keller, a frequent panellist, advised guests of the show to "talk, no matter what... Err on the side of verbal diarrhoea because they can always cut things out." [3]

Ten cancelled the series in 2000, but early in 2001 announced that it had struck a deal for a limited series of Good News Week specials and debates. [14]

Second run (2008–2012)

Claire Hooper replaced Julie McCrossin as a team captain. Claire Hooper and Bob Brown - GNW backstage cropped.jpg
Claire Hooper replaced Julie McCrossin as a team captain.

While Network Ten had initially intended only to bring back Good News Week as a one-off special, the short supply of US shows resulting from the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike caused the network to take an interest in developing more local programs and the show returned as a weekly series. The revived series premiered on 11 February 2008 with McDermott reprising his role as host. Robins returned as a team captain and comedian Claire Hooper replaced McCrossin as the opposing captain. [15]

Many segments from the show's initial run, such as "What's the Story?", "Strange But True", "Magazine Mastermind", "Buzzers of Death" and "Warren", were largely unchanged, while others were updated or renamed such as "So You Think You Can Mime?" (formerly "Bad Street Theatre") and "Blow Up Your Pants" (formerly "Scattergories"). New segments included "Couch Potato" and "Dirty Sexy Fast Money", the show's weekly final challenge. The original theme, "It's Good News Week" by Hedgehoppers Anonymous, was also updated with a cover version performed by McDermott.

Online presence was another new aspect of the show, with full episodes, extended monologues, behind-the-scenes footage and video blogs by McDermott made viewable on the Ten website. Viewers were also able to vote online for the GNW Awards, special season finale shows offering awards for newsmakers during the year in fields such as sport, entertainment, politics and religion. [16]

The show's return was well received, maintaining steady ratings in a competitive time slot and often being extended from 60 to 90 minutes of run time (including commercials). [16] [17] McDermott was also nominated for a Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television in 2010. [18]

The show returned to its former home, at ABC Studios in Ultimo, for its 2008–2010 seasons. In 2011, production moved to Fox Studios in Sydney.

In 2011, the show was placed on hiatus following various programming changes by Network Ten. [19] A skit-based spin-off named Good News World starring McDermott, Robins, Hooper and several regular Good News Week guests, was produced for the later half of 2011. [20] Neither show was renewed for 2012, [21] however a finale special for Good News Week was filmed at the 2012 Melbourne International Comedy Festival and televised on 28 April. [22]

Spin-offs

Good News Weekend (1998)

In 1998, a ten-week series entitled Good News Weekend aired on the ABC in the Saturday night time slot usually occupied by Roy and HG, who were away working in Britain at the time. The show was hosted by McDermott and featured regular team captains Robins and McCrossin. Unlike the weekly show, Good News Weekend was focussed more strongly on popular culture than the news and frequently featured musical guests and stand-up performers. The shows were broadcast live, with the exception of a few prerecorded sketches. [23]

GNW Night Lite (1999)

During 1999, a second spin-off was created for Network Ten. GNW Night Lite featured the regular cast, in addition to Flacco and The Sandman. Like Good News Weekend, it was focussed on music and variety and games tended to relate to popular culture rather than current events. There would also generally be a musical act and Flacco and The Sandman would perform humorous monologues and dialogues between segments. [1] McDermott describes the show as having been "a fairly radical departure" and says that they initially struggled with it, but by 2000 had found a combination with which they were comfortable. [4]

Good News World (2011)

In 2011, Network Ten announced they would be resting the Good News Week panel format and introducing a skit-based spin-off titled Good News World. McDermott, Robins and Hooper returned as regular cast members, along with Good News Week regulars Tom Gleeson, Akmal Saleh, Cal Wilson, Sammy J and Randy. The show was poorly received, with criticisms centring on its scripted nature and lack of spontaneity in comparison to the original Good News Week format. [24]

Other media

Several items of merchandise were available from ABC stores including

Reception

Logie Awards

In 1999 and 2000, Good News Week was nominated for two Logie Awards in the categories of Most Popular Comedy Program and Most Outstanding Comedy Program. Host, Paul McDermott was nominated for the Gold Logie award in 2010 for his role on this show.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
1998 Unplugged Good News Week Tapes Volume 1 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release Won [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Tonight Show with Jay Leno</i> American talk show hosted by Jay Leno (1992–2009 & 2010–14)

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of The Tonight Show. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, replacing The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and was replaced by The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. The show returned from March 1, 2010 to February 6, 2014, replacing The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and was replaced by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Network 10</span> Australian television network

Network 10 is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division. As one of five national free-to-air networks, 10's owned-and-operated stations can be found in the state capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth while affiliates extend the network to regional areas of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul McDermott</span> Australian comedian, singer and television presenter

Paul Anthony Michael McDermott is an Australian entertainer, best known both for Good News Week and for his role as a member of the musical comedy group the Doug Anthony All Stars. He has frequently appeared at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and taken part in its two major televised productions, the Comedy Festival Gala and the Great Debate. McDermott has also performed and written numerous shows as a solo performer and authored children’s books and newspaper articles and directed short animated films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rove McManus</span> Australian comedian and television host

John Henry Michael "Rove" McManus is an Australian triple Gold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the eponymous variety show Rove and was also the host of the comedy talk show Rove LA. He is the co-owner of the production company Roving Enterprises with business partner Craig Campbell. He hosts Whovians on the ABC.

<i>The Jay Leno Show</i> American late-night talk show (2009–2010)

The Jay Leno Show is an American prime time talk show hosted by Jay Leno that was broadcast by NBC from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010. The series was a spiritual successor to his previous late-night talk show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and used a similar format consisting of a comedic monologue, followed by celebrity interviews and other comedy segments.

<i>The Sideshow</i> (TV series) Australian television series

The Sideshow was a one-hour Australian television comedy/variety series that was broadcast on ABC TV in 2007. The show was a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketches, live music, circus acts, cabaret and burlesque. Hosted by Paul McDermott, The Sideshow regularly featured performances and sketches by Claire Hooper, Flacco, The Umbilical Brothers, and Tripod.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Hooper</span> Australian stand-up comedian and writer

Claire Hooper is an Australian stand-up comedian, television and radio presenter and writer. Hooper is co-hosting The Great Australian Bake Off alongside Mel Buttle.

<i>The Farmer Wants a Wife</i> (Australian TV series) Australian television series

The Farmer Wants a Wife is an Australian reality television series based on the British reality show Farmer Wants a Wife. The first eight seasons, hosted by Natalie Gruzlewski, aired on the Nine Network between 2007 and 2012, with a ninth season, hosted by Sam McClymont broadcast in 2016. A tenth season aired on the Seven Network when the series was revived for the second time in 2020.

<i>Sea Patrol</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the Australian drama series Sea Patrol premiered on Nine Network on 5 July 2007. The 13-episode season concluded on 4 October 2007. Set aboard HMAS Hammersley, an old Royal Australian Navy (RAN) patrol boat, the series follows the ship's company as they are seen investigating the deaths of several people who are linked by a web of intrigue.

Gruen is an Australian television program focusing on advertising, which debuted on the ABC on 28 May 2008. The program is hosted by Wil Anderson and produced by Andrew Denton's production company, Zapruder's Other Films, now part of CJZ. Anderson is accompanied by a panel of advertising industry experts including Russel Howcroft and Todd Sampson. The title refers to the Gruen transfer, the response to designed disorientation cues in retail environments.

Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation is an Australian game show produced by Granada Productions which premiered on Network Ten on 5 May 2009. The show was originally hosted by Shaun Micallef.

The Project is an Australian news-current affairs and talk show television panel program, airing weeknights and Sunday across Australia on Network 10, produced by Roving Enterprises. The show is hosted by Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, Georgie Tunny, Hamish Macdonald, Rove McManus, Sam Taunton and Michael Hing with rotating daily panellists usually appearing once a week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikey Robins</span> Australian broadcaster and comedian

Mikel Mason "Mikey" Robins is an Australian media personality, comedian and writer. He is best known for the satirical game show Good News Week, which ran on the ABC and Network Ten between 1996 and 2000, and returned again when the series was resurrected in February 2008.

<i>The Masked Singer</i> (Australian TV series) Australian reality television show

The Masked Singer Australia is an Australian reality television singing competition show which was hosted by Osher Günsberg, that premiered on Network 10 on 23 September 2019. It is based on the international music game show franchise format Masked Singer which originated from the South Korean television program King of Mask Singer. The show was recorded at Disney Studios Australia, formerly called Fox Studios Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Yes, Prime Minister". Sunday Telegraph . 12 March 2000. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  2. ↑ McLean, Sandra (8 September 1997). "News Hounds". The Mercury. Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  3. 1 2 Tabakoff, Jenny (15 September 1999). "Off the Cuff and on the Air". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  4. 1 2 Molitorisz, Sascha (6 April 2000). "Looking for the Good News". The Age . Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  5. ↑ "[No title given]". Herald Sun . 10 April 1996. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  6. ↑ Cossar, Lynne (9 October 1997). "The News is Good for This Allstar". The Age . Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  7. ↑ Schembri, Jim (26 March 1998). "Now for the News". The Age . Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  8. ↑ Johnston, Tony (21 March 1999). "Let The Good Times Roll". Herald Sun . Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2008.
  9. ↑ "[No title given]". Herald Sun . 2 April 1997. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  10. ↑ Freeman-Greene, Suzy (13 July 1998). "The Bad Boy of Good News". The Age . Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  11. ↑ Fidgeon, Robert (27 January 1999). "Ten's Good News". Herald Sun . Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  12. ↑ Devlin, Rebekah (18 March 1999). "Changing Channels". The Age . Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  13. ↑ Mathieson, Craig (July 1999). "News Hounds". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  14. ↑ "Good News For Mikey Fans". Daily Telegraph . 22 February 2001. Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  15. 1 2 Duck, Siobhan (6 February 2008). "TV Guide: Here's good news for Aussie production". Sunday Times . Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  16. 1 2 Knox, David (23 November 2009). "Online is Good News for Good News Week". TV Tonight . Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  17. ↑ Knox, David (29 June 2009). "Good News Week bumps Supernatural". TV Tonight . Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  18. ↑ Knox, David (29 March 2010). "2010 TV Week Logie Awards: Nominees". TV Tonight . Archived from the original on 31 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  19. ↑ Knox, David (11 August 2011). "Good News Week to revamp as Good News World". TV Tonight . Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  20. ↑ Knox, David (28 August 2011). "Airdate: Good News World". TV Tonight . Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  21. ↑ Knox, David (8 February 2012). "Programmers Wrap 2012: Network TEN". TV Tonight . Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  22. ↑ Knox, David (15 April 2012). "Airdate: Good News Week: The Final Farewell Tour". TV Tonight . Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  23. ↑ Yallamas, Lisa (10 June 1998). "Working for the Weekend". The Courier-Mail . Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  24. ↑ Lewdon, Courtney (6 September 2011). "'Good News World' panned by online fans". Throng. Retrieved 15 April 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  25. ↑ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.